1 And again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people who were in the city of aAmmonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:
2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony ofaone man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?
3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew not that the earth should pass away.
4 And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be destroyed in aoneday.
5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous aworks, for they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.
6 And they said: aWho is God, that sendeth bno more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?
7 And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly testify unto them, saying:
8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse ageneration, how have ye forgotten the btradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God.
9 Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the ahand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?
10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he adeliveredour fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?
11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his along-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of bendless misery and woe.
12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly adestroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his banger, and in his cfierce anger he will not turn away.
13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: aInasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been acut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.
15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more atolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.
16 For there are many promises which are aextended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the btraditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of cignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and dprolong their existence in the land.
17 And at some period of time they will be abrought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who bcall on his name.
18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be aprolonged in the land, for thebLamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited withcutter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce danger of the Lord.
19 For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, toadestroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could bfall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God;
20 Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been favored above every other anation, kindred, tongue, or people; after having had all things bmadeknown unto them, according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come;
21 Having been avisited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift ofbtranslation;
22 Yea, and after having been adelivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having been bsaved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they having waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out of cbondage time after time, and having been kept and preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich in all manner of things—
23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress acontrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more btolerable for the Lamanites than for them.
24 For behold, the apromises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall butterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth?
25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: aRepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
26 And anot many days hence the Son of God shall come in hisbglory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of cgrace, equity, and truth, full of patience, dmercy, and long-suffering, quick to ehear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
27 And behold, he cometh to aredeem those who will be bbaptizedunto repentance, through faith on his name.
28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a areward of their bworks, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shallcreap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the ddamnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
30 And now, my abeloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and seeing that ye are ablost and a fallen people.
31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard-hearted and a astiffnecked people.
32 And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands upon me, that they might cast me into prison.
33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they should take me aat that time and cast me into prison.
34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to preach unto them also. And now the awords of Amulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.
Thoughts:
Jason: Amulek was obviously a righteous person because he heeded to call to serve and was wiling to stand with Alma is any circumstance. These companions were not friends as the world see's it. They had the desire to serve God and spread his message. This brotherhood of the gospel is essential for us. When we are placed in positions that we are required to work with others that we have not chosen for ourselves, we need to only remember that we should be after the same goal, to bring souls to Christ. We do not know for certain how long Alma and Amukek spent together before going out as a missionary companions. The two servants we able to stand with one another because they already had the same love for our heavenly father.
The Lamanites have not had the gospel and therefore will not be held accountable for things that they did not know. We have been given the gospel and as parents are required to make sure that our children are given the opportunity to receive a testimony for themselves. We can not make them accept but we must make sure that they are given the chance to make their own educated decisions. We are not required to always be their "friend" but we are required to also teach them the gospel.
The boldness of Alma at his point is amazing. He was not welcomed yet because of his calling yet was willing to place himself into danger and accept what would come his way. Do what is right regardless of the consequences!
The Lamanites have not had the gospel and therefore will not be held accountable for things that they did not know. We have been given the gospel and as parents are required to make sure that our children are given the opportunity to receive a testimony for themselves. We can not make them accept but we must make sure that they are given the chance to make their own educated decisions. We are not required to always be their "friend" but we are required to also teach them the gospel.
The boldness of Alma at his point is amazing. He was not welcomed yet because of his calling yet was willing to place himself into danger and accept what would come his way. Do what is right regardless of the consequences!
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