Mosiah 27:24-27

Of the five, Alma(2) apparently was the most wicked.  We learn little of the sons of Mosiah at this time.  Mormon tells us about Alma(2)’s skill with words and how influential they were. He must have been the leader of this effective band.  The sons of Mosiah heard and saw everything he did, but they did not suffer the same effects.  They kept their strength and faculties.  They were able to carry Alma(2) to his father.  They were able to recount the events that occurred. 

Alma(2) had to suffer and experience more.  He spent three days in something like a coma, experiencing the power of the Lord.  After two days of fasting and prayer, Alma(2) awakes and begins to proclaim the word of God.

²⁴ For, said he,

    I have repented of my sins,

         and have been redeemed of the Lord;

         behold I am born of the Spirit.

²⁵ And the Lord said unto me:

    Marvel not that all mankind,

        yea, men and women,

            all nations, kindreds, tongues and people,

    must be born again;

        yea, born of God,

        changed from their carnal and fallen state,

        to a state of righteousness,

            being redeemed of God,

        becoming his sons and daughters;

²⁶ And thus they become new creatures;

        and unless they do this,

        they can in nowise

            inherit the kingdom of God.

²⁷ I say unto you,

    unless this be the case,

        they must be cast off;

    and this I know, because

        I was like to be cast off.

Mosiah 27:24-27 (Emphasis mine)

I have repented and been redeemed of the Lord.  I have been born again.  His joy is reminiscence of David’s words, “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me” (Psalms 49:15).  Peter proclaimed to those who gathered after he healed the lame that they should “[r]epent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).    

We all must be born again, be changed from a “carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness.”  Being born again brings a powerful change in a person.  Christ taught this when Nicodemus came to him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?  can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

(John 3:3-7)

Alma(2) would later refer to this experience when he was preaching to the people of Zarahemla.  He asked them “have ye spiritually been born of God?  Have ye received his image in your countenances?  Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?”  The Lord made it clear to Alma(2) and he to us that this cannot be just a “change.”  We must experience a “mighty change.” 

Corbin Volluz looks at verses 24-26 explaining the importance of this passage.

“From this key passage, we learn a number of things relevant to our discussion of the plan of redemption:

• ‘All mankind’ must be ‘changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness" in order to "inherit the kingdom of God.
• Several synonyms for this change from the carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness are introduced:
• ‘Redeemed of God’;
• ‘Born of the Spirit’;
• ‘Born of God’;
• ‘Born again’;
• ‘Becoming [God's] sons and daughters’; and,
• ‘Becom(ing) new creatures.’

“The first phrase, ‘redeemed of God, is clearly used as an equivalent expression for the change from the carnal state to the spiritual state. The last five phrases, too, are synonymous with this redemptive change, and suggest the taking place of a divine regeneration, or renascence. These synonyms for redemption are helpful in identifying other instances in the Book of Mormon where persons experienced this profound change in their natures and were redeemed of God.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

After proclaiming what one must do to be saved, he warns us of the consequences of failing to be born again.  Reject this, and you “must be cast off.”  How does he know this?  He tells us that he was about “to be cast off.”

John Tvedtnes writes:

“In later years, he told his son Helaman how he had been ‘racked with eternal torment, for [his] soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all [his] sins. Yea, [he] did remember all [his] sins and iniquities, for which [he] was tormented with the pains of hell’ (Alma 36:12–13). Alma dwelt on the ‘inexpressible horror’ that ‘did rack [his] soul’ (Alma 36:14; see also Alma 36:16). As he was ‘racked with torment’ and ‘harrowed up by the memory of [his] many sins,’ he remembered his father's teachings of Christ, who would come ‘to atone for the sins of the world’ (Alma 36:17).” [2] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Cry Redemption: The Plan of Redemption as Taught in the Book of Mormon, Corbin T. Volluz, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 5, 2012.

[2] The Voice of an Angel, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 5, 2012.

Alma 12:16-24

16  And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

17  Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

18  Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God's justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Alma 12:16-18 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) now tells them about a second death.  The first death is a physical death.  The second death is a spiritual death.  Those who die in their sins suffer this death.  They die to things pertaining to righteousness. 

They will suffer great torment and eternal destruction.  They will become captives of the devil.  For them, it will be as though there was no redemption.  They will be lost forever.

4  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

5  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Luke 12:4-5 (Emphasis mine)

51  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

John 8:51 (Emphasis mine)

20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.  These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 19:20 (Emphasis mine)

19  Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;

20  But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state that the soul can never die?

21  What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever?  And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.

Alma 12:19-21 (Emphasis mine)

The people were astonished by Alma(2)’s words; however, a chief ruler challenged Alma(2).  Adam and Eve were prevented from partaking of the tree life.  How can they live forever?  There is no way possible they could, and the same applies to us.

Hugh Nibley observes:

“[Antionah’s] indignant. He's had all he can take here, and he says, what is this stuff you are talking about here, ‘that the soul can never die?’ Then he tells [Alma] about the cherubim and the flaming sword that guarded the tree of life. Adam was not supposed to touch the tree of life, lest he partake of it and live forever in his sins. So, [Antionah] said we can die—we are not supposed to eat of the tree of life; we are forbidden to touch it at all, so that settles that. ". . . lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? [no] And thus we see that there was no possible chance that we should live forever." The tree was set up there, but we couldn't eat from it. If we had eaten from it, then we would live forever. But he said, no, there's to be no tree. He thought that was a good argument. Alma said, ah, that's all right for now. ‘All mankind became a lost and fallen people. They did; that's true. They couldn't go on living that way; that's the whole point…” [1] (Emphasis mine)

22  Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain.  Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.

23  And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.

24  And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.

Alma 12:22-24 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) responds.  If you wouldn’t have interrupted me, you would have answered the question.  Adam fell because he partook of the forbidden fruit, and we all became a fallen people.  If Adam would have been able to partake of the fruit of the tree  of life, he would have made God a liar.  Remember, God told Adam and Eve that in the day eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they would surely die. 

All men die; this is the temporal death of which Amulek spoke.  But, our lives became a probationary period, a time to prepare to meet God.  This would occur after the resurrection of the dead.

 Thomas Valletta further explains:

“Alma's inspired response implied that he recognized Antionah's mixed motives in posing his questions. Alma asserted that the real contradiction would have arisen if Adam and Eve had been able to partake of the fruit of the tree of life immediately after their fall. Then ‘there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die’ (Alma 12:23). Alma then explained that temporal ‘death comes upon mankind,’ but that ‘a space [is] granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore,’ declared Alma,’this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead’ (Alma 12:24).” [2] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 48: Alma 10-12, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 28, 2011.

[2] Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 28, 2011.

Mosiah 15:24-31

24  And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them.  And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.
25  And little children also have eternal life.

Mosiah 15:24-25 (Emphasis mine)

Abinadi teaches two important concepts. 

• Those who die before Christ came will have a part in the first resurrection, have eternal life, and be redeemed.
• Little children have eternal life.

As we read Abinadi's words in v24, there appears to be a contradiction between what Abinadi is teaching and what is recorded in D&C 76.  Here are the relevant verses.

71  And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.
72  Behold, these are they who died without law;
73  And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;

Section 76:71-80 (Emphasis mine)

We also have this from D&C 138, the vision of President Joseph F. Smith  about Savior's visit to the spirits of the dead while his body was in the tomb. 

28  And I wondered at the words of Peter—wherein he said that the Son of God preached unto the spirits in prison, who sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah—and how it was possible for him to preach to those spirits and perform the necessary labor among them in so short a time ...
30  But behold, from among the righteous, [the Lord] organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to fall the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead ...
32  Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets..

D&C 138:28, 30, 32 (Emphasis mine)

These two sets of verses tell us that those who did without a knowledge of Christ would have the gospel preached to them.  It appears to contradict what Abinadi is teaching.  What is the answer?

Mack C. Sterling addressed this issue.  Let's look at what he has to say.

"I will now summarize these apparent contradictions as follows:

•"The Book of Mormon describes only two final outcomes for all mankind, while the Doctrine and Covenants describes four: celestial kingdom, terrestrial kingdom, telestial kingdom, and sons of perdition. (see D&C 131:1–2; 76:98).•"The Book of Mormon presents hell or the second death as the unending and final state of all the wicked. The Doctrine and Covenants also clearly refers to the wicked going into hell and suffering the second death (see D&C 19:15–20; 63:17–18). However, the Doctrine and Covenants informs us that many (most) of the wicked will eventually be redeemed from hell and captivity to the devil and inherit the telestial kingdom (see D&C 76:81–85, 103–6). The Book of Mormon neither suggests nor implies the possibility of redemption from hell after probation ends.
•"Abinadi's discourse before King Noah describes those who died in ignorance before Christ came as participating in the first resurrection and receiving eternal life. In contrast, the Doctrine and Covenants declares, as a general rule at least, that those who died without law will inherit the terrestrial kingdom and will not receive the 'crown over the kingdom of God'; therefore, they receive something less than eternal life (D&C 76:72–80).
•"The Book of Mormon makes the time of probation essentially equivalent to mortality. However, the unambiguous statement in Doctrine and Covenants 138:29–34 about the preaching of the gospel in the spirit world to those who either had no opportunity to hear it or rejected it in mortality necessarily implies that probation extends into the spirit world to some extent.

"... It is imperative to realize that the Book of Mormon model is not 'wrong.' The Book of Mormon [model] is simply less detailed or less complete on some issues compared with information in the Doctrine and Covenants. Thus the separation of the righteous, who participate in the first resurrection, into two groups, celestial and terrestrial (see D&C 76:50–80) can be seen as a modification by addition of detail to the Book of Mormon model ...

"Abinadi's depiction of those who died ignorant of Christ as receiving eternal life (see Mosiah 15:24) is better explained as a reflection of the Book of Mormon [model] than as a direct contradiction to Doctrine and Covenants 76:72, which portrays the same group as inheriting the terrestrial kingdom ... All the righteous, including those who sinned ignorantly and are covered by Christ's atonement, eventually receive eternal life in heaven in the presence of God; all the wicked receive everlasting death. From the perspective of the Book of Mormon model, those who die ignorant of Christ must inherit eternal life. From the perspective of modern revelation, Abinadi's statement (and even D&C 76:72) represents an oversimplification of reality ...  

"It should also not be overlooked that , that those who live in the midst of the gospel light and persist in serious wickedness in mortality may completely waste the days of their probation and lose the opportunity to repent, dooming themselves to the second death or hell upon leaving mortality. Mormon's description of the Nephites just prior to their final destruction is especially compelling in this regard: 'I saw that the day of grace had passed for them, both temporally and spiritually' (Mormon 2:15) ..." 

The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Sterling, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 8, 2011. (Emphasis mine)

So we have a situation where there appears to be contradictions, but there really aren't.  The D&C expounds upon the words of Abinadi.  We have a fuller truth with both the Book of Mormon and D&C.  

There is no question that little children receive eternal life.

26  But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.
27  Therefore ought ye not to tremble?  For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.
28  And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

Mosiah 15:26-28 (Emphasis mine)

Abinadi is very direct warning them that if they die in their sins, they will not obtain salvation.  The demands of justice must be met; when justice makes its claims on these people, they will have lost their chance.

12  Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
13  They are of those that rebel against the blight; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

Job 24:12-13 (Emphasis mine)

8  Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9  For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10  Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11  But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12  For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Psalms 5:8-12 (Emphasis mine)

25  ¶ Yet ye say, The away of the Lord is not equal.  Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal?  are not your ways unequal?
26  When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27  Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28  Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Ezekiel 18:25-28 (Emphasis mine)

29  Yea, Lord, 

      thy watchmen shall lift up their voice;

           with the voice together shall they sing;   

      for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
30  Break forth into joy, 

           sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; 

      for the Lord hath comforted his people, 

           he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
31  The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; 

           and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Mosiah 15:29-31 (See also Isaiah 52:8-10; Mosiah 12-22-24)

(Note:  Poetic formatting from The Book of Mormon - A Reader's Edition, Grant Hardy, pg. 215

As Chapter 15 ends, Abinadi quotes Isaiah.  Here he is talking about the redemption of Israel, celebrating the day that happens.

About these verses, Hugh Nibley writes:

"The earth has been the scene of Zion before; Enoch's Zion was here. There have been Zions before. Well, he is going to bring it again ... We are all in it together, and we should enjoy it all the more being together and seeing eye to eye. Incidentally, we are all saved as individuals; we all make our own covenants with the Lord. But because we are all in it together and we all experience this together, we know what others are feeling, and we can feel with them. We have perfect empathy, so we see eye to eye in these things when the Lord brings Zion ...

"Verse 31: 'And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.' Now Abinadi is preaching these things to King Noah. They've heard the scriptures. These priests he is talking to are proud of their knowledge of the scriptures. Remember, they tried to stump him with passages from Isaiah—'how beautiful upon the mountains,' etc. They know what he's talking about, but he is explaining now what it means. Of course, this is completely beyond them. They don't get this at all because they have just been living it up and giving their own learned interpretations of things ..."

(Emphasis mine)

Lecture 35: Mosiah 15-16, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed July 8, 2011.

1  THEN sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Exodus 15:1 - 2 (Emphasis mine)

1  THE LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalms 27:1 (Emphasis mine)

1  TRULY my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
2  He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

Psalms 62:1 - 2 (Emphasis mine)

15  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:15-16 (Emphasis mine)

7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

1 Peter 1:7-10 (Emphasis mine)

 

Alma 42:5-11

(Note - Alma(2)'s son Corianton is concerned about his eternal welfare because he consorted with a Lamanite harlot.  Alma(2) responds to his son's concerns in Alma 39-42.)

5  For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated.
6  But behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man.

Alma 42:5-6

Alma(2) reminds Corianton about the devil's plans for man.  It wasn't enough that Adam and Eve broke God's commandment and partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life, he wanted to undermine and destroy the entire Plan of Salvation by having them live forever in a sinful state.  

In the previous post, the principal of repentance was discussed.  Had the devil succeeded, repentance would have been invalid.  There would be no way for them to be forgiven as there would not have been a Savior.  if there is not death, fallen man becomes forever and always cut off from God. 

However, the devil not only was prevented from destroying man's opportunity for salvation, he made it so that man could someday come back and our time on Earth became a "a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God."  (Alma 42:4)

7  And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will.
8  Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.
9  Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.

Alma 42:7-9

Man was cut off from the Lord.  He would no longer be constantly guided by the Lord.  He was free to choose right or wrong.  He could choose to follow God, but he could also choose to ignore Him as well.  Man "became subjects to follow after their own will."

This led to two deaths...

• Temporal Death.  We all will die.  This is the physical (or temporal) death.
• Spiritual Death.  The consequence of the Fall is that we are cut off from the presence of God.  

It is the spiritual death from which we are to be reclaimed.  But it was desirable for man to be "reclaimed from this spiritual death."

10  Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state.
11  And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption, (laying it aside) as soon as they were dead their souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of the Lord.

42:10 - 11

Our nature changed because of the Fall.  We began to affected by the things of the flesh. Because of this change, our life became a time for us to prepare to return to the Lord.

Paul commented on the nature of man.

12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 5:12

6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God... 

Romans 8:6 - 71

14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (see note below). 

1 Corinthians 2:14 

(Note - the word used for discerned,anakrinō, means examined or judged; entry 350, Greek Dictionary, Strongest Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 2001)

Paul makes it clear about the consequences of man becoming  "carnal, sensual, and devilish."  It is most certainly not the life the Lord wishes us to live.

This became a time to prove to the Lord (and, I believe, to ourselves as well) that our greatest desires and wishes are to return to be with the Lord.

The apostle Peter emphasized that our probationary time here on Earth would not be easy. 

6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

1 Peter 1:6 - 7 

This is a time for use to be tried "with fire," which means that we will face many challenges in to our faith, some being extremely hard for us.  As always, there is a promise that follows when we overcome that carnal and natural man.  Peter said that if we do, we could "be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"

Our probationary time won't be easy; but, oh, but the promised rewards that await for overcoming our trials and staying faithful will be great beyond anything we can imagine

Mosiah 18:8-10

8  And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;
9  Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10  Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

Mosiah 18:8-10

What does it take to be a true follower of Christ?  Mosiah 18:8-10 is one of the best lists of what it takes.

First, a little background.  Alma(1) is our speaker.  Alma(1) was a priest for the wicked King Noah.  I have no doubt he was living the so-called "good" life;  however, the preaching of Abinadai touched his heart and changed him.  Because of his conversion, Alma(1) fled with a group of followers (he had been privately preaching).

They came to a place called the Waters of Mormon.  Here, the people were "...desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people.. (verse 8)"  Alma(1)'s response was this list.  I want to look at each item listed by Alma(1).

• Be "willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light (verse 8)."  We can no longer be concerned only about self.  We are required to go beyond self and help those around us.  Others are important to the point we must be "willing" to help  them as best we can.  It is easier to face life's challenges when our "burdens" are "light."
• Be "willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort (verse 9)..."  My father-in-law recently died.  He was 92 and had lived a long, good life.  I loved and admired him.  His death was not a surprise, but it was still very painful.  We called our Bishop and he offered any help we needed.  At first, my wife and I thought we could handle things alone.  (My wife's an only-child.) That afternoon, we realized we needed help and called him back.  I will always be moved by the love and support we received from those around us.  We received comfort from the support and help  we received.  The best way I know of to show my full appreciation and gratitude is to be willing to be there when others need it.  
• "(T)o stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places... (verse 10)" I am convinced that this is the key to Alma(1)'s sermon.  It's one thing to say "I believe."  It doesn't take much effort and commitment.  The true follower is willing to always  "stand as witness...at all times and in all things, and in all places..."  That is our true challenge.  It's not always an easy and comfortable thing to do; nevertheless, this is what is expected of us.  No one ever said it would be easy.  No one ever said you'd be comfortable.  No ever said it would be popular.  But those considerations don't matter.  When you covenant "to come into the fold of God," you agree to "witness" regardless of the situation.
• Like everything else we receive from the Lord, there is a great promise attached.  If you do these things, you "ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—"  The promises don't get better than this.  It takes faith and belief; commitment and courage.  The Lord understands this and gives you this great promise.  The Lord has to be the best "employer" I know of.  He "pays" us better than we deserve.  He just expects you to keep your part of the covenant. 

After this, Alma(1) asks "what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord"?  Good question!  And I am convinced that there can only be one possible response:   "And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.(verse 11).