Alma 9

When Alma went out and preached to the people of Ammonihah again, he was challenged.

“Who are you,” they asked, “that we should believe in your testimony, even if you tell us that the world will end? If you tell us that our great city will be destroyed in a single day, we won’t believe it. Who is God to send you among us and declare the truth of such things?”

When the people of Ammonihah tried to seize Alma, they found that they could not do so. “You are a wicked and perverse generation of people to have forgotten the tradition of our ancestors,” Alma said to them. “Do you forget how God led them through the wilderness? Have you forgotten how many times God delivered our ancestors from their enemies and saved them from destruction at the hands of the Lamanites? If it had not been for his unequaled power and mercy, we would have been swept from the earth long before now. Without his mercy, we might have been consigned to eternal suffering.

“God commands you to repent. If you don’t, you cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But that is not all. If you don’t repent, God will utterly destroy you, and nothing can turn his fierce anger away. Don’t you remember the words he said to Lehi? ‘If you keep my commandments, you will prosper. If you do not keep my commandments, you will be cut off.’

“I want you to remember that the Lamanites have not kept God’s commandments and have been cut off just as God said. Even so, they will be shown more tolerance than you, if you remain in your sins without repentance. God will show their descendants mercy because they have been born into ignorance through the tradition of their ancestors. At some time, they will come to believe in God’s word, to know the error of their ancestors. Many of them will be saved who believe in his name. But, if you persist in your sinfulness, your days will not be long. The Lamanites will suddenly and unexpectedly be sent to utterly destroy you. This will happen according to God’s will and anger. After having given you so much, he will not tolerate your sinfulness, and would rather see you destroyed.

“You have been a highly favored people of God. You have been favored above all other people. You have had things made known to you, and have been shown that which is to come. Your ancestors have been visited by the Spirit of God, visited by angels, and seen the spirit of prophecy and revelation. They have been delivered out of Jerusalem, saved from starvation, and sickness, protected from destruction in battles, and delivered from slavery time after time. Because of this, you have prospered and become rich.

“Having received so many blessings, if you should now reject God’s light and knowledge, you will be far worse off than the Lamanites. God has made promises to them that do not apply to you. He promises that if you don’t repent, you will be utterly destroyed. God has sent out angels among us saying, ‘Repent now, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Soon, the Son of God will come in his glory, full of grace, equity, truth, patience, mercy, and suffering, eager to hear the cries of his people and answer their prayers. He will come to redeem those who are baptized and repent in his name. Prepare the way of God, for the time is at hand when men will reap a reward according to how they have been. If they have been righteous, they will find salvation of their souls according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ. If they have been evil, they shall find damnation of their souls and slavery to the devil.’ This is what the angel has said.

“You are my beloved brothers. I want you to repent and see that your hearts have been hardened against the word of God. I want you to see that you are a lost and fallen people.”

The people were angry with Alma when he finished because their pride and stubbornness had been inflamed. As stirred up as they were, the people of Ammonihah were still unable to seize and imprison Alma. They found that God’s protection made it impossible for them to even touch him.

Amulek then stepped forward, and he, too, preached to the people of Ammonihah. [82 BC]