Alma 12

Zeezrom was silenced because Amulek had caught him in his attempts at lying and deception. Zeezrom’s efforts to destroy Amulek had failed, and now he trembled at the consciousness of his own guilt. Seeing this, Alma explained the scriptures and expanded on what Amulek had said. Many people were gathered around to listen.

“Zeezrom,” Alma said, “you have lied to your people and you have lied to God, for all of your thoughts have been revealed to us by the Spirit of God. As you can see, we know all about your devil’s plan to deceive the people and turn them against us. The devil has a hold on you and exercises his power through you. What I’m going to say to you, Zeezrom, also applies to all the rest of you. You are caught in a trap that the devil has laid to catch people. He seeks to bind you with his chains and tie you down to eternal destruction and slavery.”

After Alma spoke, Zeezrom trembled even more, because he’d become convinced that Alma and Amulek spoke through the power of God, and that they truly knew his thoughts and intentions through the spirit of prophecy. “What did Amulek mean when he spoke of the resurrection of the dead? He said that both the good and the evil would rise from the dead and stand in judgment before God according to their actions.”

“The mysteries of God are revealed to many, but the understanding of his word is withheld according to the degree of people’s devotion to him. Those who are closed to God are able to receive less of his word, and therefore become easy prey of the devil. These are the chains of hell.

“Amulek has spoken truthfully about death, about being raised from death, and about judgment by God according to your actions. Those who rebel against God’s word will be condemned by their own words, thoughts, and actions. In this depraved state you cannot look at God, and would prefer to hide from his presence. But you cannot hide from God’s judgment. When you stand before him in his glory, power, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge your shame, you will see that his judgments are fair. He has the power to save any man who believes in his name, who does good work, and who seeks repentance.

“Those who die in sinfulness will experience a second death, or spiritual death. They will find themselves in a place of eternal fire and burning sulfur. They will be chained down in slavery to eternal destruction under the power of Satan’s will. They cannot be redeemed by God’s justice and they cannot die.”

The people were astounded, when Alma finished speaking. A ruler among them came forward and asked, “Are you saying that men will rise from the dead and be changed from mortals to immortals who will never die? What, then, does the scripture mean that says, an angel and flaming sword will be placed by God on the edge of the garden of Eden to prevent Adam and Eve from returning to eat from the tree of life, and thus live forever?”

“I was just about to explain that,” said Alma. “We know that Adam fell by eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge. Because of his fall, we have all fallen, and become lost people. If Adam had eaten also the fruit from the tree of life, he wouldn’t have died and God’s word would have been meaningless. This would have made God a liar for having said, ‘If you eat, you will surely die.’

“We can all see that death comes to mankind. But you can repent during your life and prepare to meet God’s redemption after your resurrection from death. If, when the world was created, there was no plan for redemption, there would be no resurrection from death. But there was such a plan laid out, and the resurrection that we speak of will occur.

“If Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life, they would have been miserable forever, without God’s redemption. But this is not the way it is. Men must die and then, after their death, be judged. In order to let men know where they stood, God sent angels to tell them his plan, and show them his glory. From that time forward, God let them know of his plan for their redemption according to their faith, repentance, and good works. He gave them his commandments and showed them the difference between good and evil, the penalty for ignoring his word, and the reward for their compliance with his laws. Without such a plan, redemption would have no power and justice could not be served according to the supreme goodness of God.

“God called on men through Jesus Christ saying, ‘If you repent and open your hearts, then I will have mercy on you through my son Jesus Christ, and grant you a remission of your sins. Whoever closes his heart to me through sinfulness will receive my anger and be cast out.’

“So, my brothers, I say to you that if you close your hearts to God, you will not enter into eternal rest with God. If you provoke him, he will send down his anger in provocation according to the promises he’s made, and consign you to the everlasting destruction of your souls. Since you now know these things, I beg you to repent so that you don’t receive his anger. Receive the blessings that he has prepared instead.” [82 BC]