Alma 5

Relieved of his position as chief judge, Alma began preaching to the Nephite people. This is a sermon that he delivered in the city of Zarahemla.

“I have been consecrated by my father Alma as high priest in the church of God. My father was given this authority by God himself as the founder of our church in the land of Nephi. He baptized his brothers in the waters of Mormon. He delivered them first from the wicked King Noah, and then from slavery to the Lamanites through the mercy and power of God.

“In this land of Zarahemla, the church of God has grown and spread among the Nephite people. As members of this church, do you sufficiently remember the slavery of your fathers? Have you sufficiently remembered God’s mercy to them? Do you remember that God delivered their souls from hell? God changed them. He has brought them from darkness into the light of his everlasting word. Where before, they were captured by death and the chains of hell, they were released by God, and saved.

“How did this come to happen? It happened because my father believed in the word of God, spoken by the prophet Abinadi. His faith changed my father’s heart just as the hearts of your fathers were changed by the words of my father. They humbled themselves before the true and living God, were faithful throughout their lives, and so were saved.

“Don’t you know that God has created you in his image? Have your hearts been changed? Do you have faith in God’s power to redeem you? Do you look forward to standing before God and being judged by your actions during your lifetime? Can you imagine God saying to you on judgment day, ‘Come to me and be blessed for the righteousness of your acts during your mortal life’? Do you think you can lie to God and tell him that your acts have been righteous when they have not been, and that he will save you?

“When that day comes and you stand before God’s judgment, you will remember perfectly every unrighteous act that you have committed. You will remember every time that you have defied the commandments of God. Do you think that God will save you, then, if you yielded to the devil and became his subjects? I will tell you now that you cannot be saved unless you are willing to be cleansed of sin. If you have lived a filthy life, you will appear as filth and your appearance will testify against you. If you have murdered, you will be covered with blood.

“Do you suppose that you can hope to join the spotless white company of God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob1 if you are covered with filth? I say, No, you may not, unless God has lied to us from the beginning. You will be cast out if you are children of the devil.

“Do you want a change of heart? Do you want your sins cleansed white by the blood of Jesus Christ, who will redeem his people from sin? Are you ready to give up your pride? If so, you need to act now, because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon and your mortal life is not eternal.

“Are you willing to give up your envy? Then, do so now, because the hour of judgment is close at hand, and none of us knows when it will come. Do you mock or abuse your brother? If so, then you are not ready to be saved unless you repent. All sinners need to repent because God has told us so. He has opened his merciful arms and said, ‘Repent and I will receive you. Come to me and eat the fruit from the tree of life. I freely give you bread to eat and the water of life to drink. Come to me in righteousness and you will not be cast into the fire’.

“The time is at hand for those who have not been righteous to wail and mourn. If you’ve been sinful, inflated with vanity, or led astray as unwatched sheep, it is time to listen when the shepherd, Jesus Christ, calls out to you. If you are not the sheep of God, you are the sheep of the devil and part of his flock. Those who do good are children of God and those who do evil are children of the devil.

“I have been commanded by God to stand before you and testify of these things to come. I personally know them to be true. I know this because God has answered my prayers and has given me revelations. Our fathers before us have also been given these revelations and told that they were true. I know that Jesus Christ will come to redeem the sins of the world for those who steadfastly believe in him.

“So I say to all of you, repent and be born again. And the Spirit of God says, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand and the Son of God is coming. Unless you repent, you cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. Those who do not repent will be cut down and cast into the eternal fire’.

“I ask, how can you set these words aside and trample upon the will of God? How can you allow yourselves to be inflated with pride? Will you persist in wearing expensive clothing and setting your hearts on riches? Will you persist in thinking of yourselves as better than your neighbors, and abusing your brothers who remain humble before God? Will you persist in turning your backs on the poor and withholding your support from them? Unless you quickly repent your sins, you will be cast into the fire.

“Become righteous, I say, and honor the word of God so that you will be saved. The names of the righteous will be written in the book of life and the names of the sinners will be blotted out. God calls out to you. If you listen, he will bring you into his flock and you can become his sheep where the ravenous wolf cannot hurt you.

“I command you now, in the same language that I have been commanded, to do as I have said. I command you to come be baptized and seek repentance so that you may eat the fruit of the tree of life.” [83 BC]