Alma — Chapter 5
1 Alma began to teach the people God’s word, beginning first in Zarahemla, and then throughout all the land.
2 This is what he said to the people of the church in Zarahemla, based on what he wrote down himself.
3 I, Alma, was made a high priest over God’s church by my father Alma, who had power from God to do this. He began a church in the land in the borders of Nephi — yes, the land called Mormon. He baptized his brothers and sisters in the Waters of Mormon.
4 God’s mercy and power saved them from King Noah’s people.
5 Then the Lamanites made them slaves in the wilderness. Yes, they were slaves, and God’s power saved them again. Then we were brought to this land, and began to build up God’s church here, too.
6 Now I ask you, my brothers and sisters of this church, have you remembered your parents’ slavery enough? Yes, have you remembered God’s mercy and patience with them enough? And more, have you remembered that he saved their souls from hell enough?
7 You see, he changed their hearts. He woke them from a deep sleep, and they woke up to God. Yes, they were in darkness, but their souls were given the light of the gospel. They were tied up with the cords of death and the chains of hell, and an eternal destruction waited for them.
8 Now I ask you, my brothers and sisters, were they destroyed? I tell you, No, they were not.
9 I ask you again, were the cords of death broken? Were the chains of hell around them taken off? I tell you, Yes, the cords were broken, and the chains taken off, and your parents sang about saving love. And they are saved.
10 Now I ask you, how were they saved? Yes, why did they hope for salvation? Why were they freed from the cords of death and the chains of hell?
11 I can tell you. Wasn’t Abinadi a holy prophet? Didn’t Abinadi say what God told him to, and didn’t my father Alma believe the words he spoke?
12 Alma’s faith made a great change in his heart. I tell you that all this is true.
13 He taught the gospel to your parents, and a great change was made in their hearts, and they became humble and put their trust in the true and living God. They were faithful all their lives, so they were saved.
14 Now I ask you, my brothers and sisters of the church, have you been born of God in the spirit? Can you see his face in your faces? Has this great change been made in your hearts?
15 Do you have faith in your Maker’s salvation? Do you look forward in faith and see this mortal and imperfect body becoming immortal and perfect, to stand before God to be judged for what is done in this life?
16 I ask you, can you imagine hearing the Lord say to you on that day, “Come to me, you blessed ones, because your works on earth have been righteous”?
17 Or do you imagine you will be able to lie to the Lord on that day and say, “Lord, we have done righteous works on the earth,” and he will save you?
18 Can you imagine going before God filled with guilt and shame, remembering all your wickedness, remembering that you would not obey God’s commandments?
19 I ask you, will you be able to look at God on that day with a clean heart and clean hands? I ask you, will you be able to look up with a face like God’s face?
20 How can you even think of being saved when you have let yourselves become slaves of the devil?
21 I tell you, on that day you will know you cannot be saved, because people can only be saved if their clothes are washed white. Yes, their clothes must be washed clean of all sin through the blood of the One our ancestors said will come and save his people from their sins.
22 Now I ask you, my brothers and sisters, how will any of you feel about standing before God with your clothes all filthy with blood and wicked things? What will these things tell him about you?
23 Won’t they show him that you are murderers and guilty of all kinds of wickedness?
24 My brothers and sisters, do you think such people will be able to sit down in God’s kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the holy prophets, who are wearing clean and pure and white clothes?
25 I tell you, No, or else you are saying our Maker has been lying since the beginning. You cannot think that such people will live in the kingdom of heaven. They will be thrown out because they are the children of the devil’s kingdom.
26 Now, my brothers and sisters, if you have had a change of heart, and have felt like singing the song of saving love, I ask you — Do you feel that way now?
27 Have you lived righteously before God? If you died right now, could you say inside yourselves that you have been humble enough? — That your clothes are clean because of the blood of Christ, who will come to save his people from their sins?
28 Have you gotten rid of your pride? I tell you, if you have not, you are not ready to meet God. You must prepare quickly, because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon. Whoever is proud will not have eternal life.
29 Do any among you have envy? Those people are not ready. I want them to prepare quickly, because the time is almost here. They will not know when it will be, and they will be found guilty.
30 Do any among you persecute or make fun of their brothers or sisters?
31 Woe to them, because they are not ready. Now is the time for them to repent, or they cannot be saved!
32 Yes, woe to all you who do evil. Repent, repent, because the Lord God has commanded it!
33 He has opened his arms of mercy to all people, saying to them: “Repent, and I will take you in.”
34 Yes, he says: “Come to me and you will eat the fruit of the tree of life. Yes, you will eat and drink the bread and waters of life freely.
35 “Yes, come to me and do righteous works, and you will not be cut down and thrown into the fire.
36 “The time will soon be here when whoever does not do righteous works will have good reason to weep and be sorry.”
37 O you evil doers, you who are proud about the vain things of the world, you who have said that you know about righteousness! You have gone the wrong way just like sheep without a shepherd, even though the shepherd has called you and is still calling you. But you will not listen to him!
38 The good shepherd is calling you. He calls you by his own name, which is Christ. If you will not listen to him or to the name he is calling you by, then you are not his sheep.
39 If you are not the good shepherd’s sheep, whose sheep are you? I tell you that the devil is your shepherd, and you are his sheep. Who can deny this? Whoever denies this is a liar and the devil’s child.
40 I tell you that whatever is good comes from God, and whatever is evil comes from the devil.
41 So if people do good works, they are listening to the good shepherd’s voice and follow him. But if they do evil works, they become the devil’s child, because they listen to him and follow him.
42 Whoever does this must paid by him, and they will be paid with death to righteous things and all good works.
43 Now, my brothers and sisters, I want you to listen to me, because I am speaking to you with all my soul. I have said these things plainly to you so you cannot make any mistake about them. I have told you these things as God has commanded me to do.
44 I have been called to speak to you like this by God’s holy priesthood, which is in Jesus Christ. Yes, I have been commanded to stand and witness to this people about the things our ancestors said would happen.
45 This is not all. Do you think I know all these things for myself? I know these things I have said are true. And how do you think I know they are true?
46 I know them by God’s Holy Spirit. I fasted and prayed many days so I could know these things for myself. Now I know for myself that they are true, because the Lord showed them to me by his Holy Spirit. This is the spirit of revelation in me.
47 I also tell you that it has been shown to me, by the spirit of prophecy in me, and also by God’s Spirit, that the words our ancestors have said are true.
48 I know for myself that everything I tell you about what will happen is true. I know Jesus Christ will come — yes, the Father’s Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and mercy and truth. He is the One who will come to take away the sins of the world — yes, the sins of all who truly believe on his name.
49 This is the priesthood by which I am called to teach my dear brothers and sisters — everyone living in the land — old and young, slave and free. Yes, I say to you old people, and middle-aged people, and to you young people that you must repent and be born again.
50 This is what the Spirit says: “Repent, all you on earth, because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon. Yes, the Son of God is coming in his glory and power and strength.” Yes, my dear brothers and sisters, the Spirit says: “Look at the glory of the King of all the earth”; and also, “The King of Heaven will soon shine among all people.”
51 And the Spirit also says to me — yes, even shouts to me: “Say to this people: ‘Repent, because if you do not repent you will not live in the kingdom of heaven.’”
52 Again, the Spirit says: “The ax is right at the roots of the tree. Every tree which does not grow good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire which cannot be put out. Remember that the Holy One has said it.”
53 Now, my dear brothers and sisters, can you fight against what I have said? Yes, can you listen to these things, and still walk all over the Holy One? Yes, can you still be proud in your hearts, and still wear rich clothes, and still set your hearts on the vain things of the world and on your riches?
54 Yes, will you keep on thinking that you are better than other people? Will you keep on persecuting your brothers and sisters, who humbly follow God’s priesthood (which brought them into the church and made them holy by the Holy Ghost), and who do good works to show they repent?
55 Yes, will you keep turning your backs on the poor by not giving what you have to them?
56 And last of all, I tell all of you who keep on being wicked that you are the ones who will be cut down and thrown into the fire if you do not quickly repent.
57 Now I tell all of you who want to follow the good shepherd to get away from the wicked. Don’t touch their filthy things. The names of the wicked will be crossed out and not counted with the names of the righteous. This way God’s words will come true which say: “The names of the wicked will not be counted with the names of my people.
58 “The names of the righteous will be written in the Book of Life, and they will live with me.” Now, my brothers and sisters, what can you say against this? I tell you, it does not matter if you say anything against it, because God’s words will come true.
59 What shepherds among you with many sheep do not watch them carefully so the wolves will not come in and eat them up? And if a wolf gets in, don’t they chase him out? Yes, and if they can, they will destroy it.
60 The good shepherd is calling you. If you listen to him, he will bring you into his flock, and you will be his sheep. He commands you not to let any hungry wolf come in with you, so you will not be destroyed.
61 Now I, Alma, command you with the same words God used to command me, to obey the things I have said.
62 I command you who belong to the church to do this. I ask those of you who do not belong to the church to come and be baptized to repentance, so you can eat the fruit of the tree of life, too.
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