Alma 45:2 2 And it came to pa.s.s in the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma came unto his son Helaman and said unto him: Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee concerning those records which have been kept?
Alma 45:3 3 And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I believe.
Alma 45:4 4 And Alma said again: Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall come?
Alma 45:5 5 And he said: Yea, I believe all the words which thou hast spoken.
Alma 45:6 6 And Alma said unto him again: Will ye keep my commandments?
Alma 45:7 7 And he said: Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart.
Alma 45:8 8 Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall prosper thee in this land.
Alma 45:9 9 But behold, I have somewhat to prophesy unto thee; but what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make known; yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled; therefore write the words which I shall say.
Alma 45:10 10 And these are the words: Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief.
Alma 45:11 11 Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct--
Alma 45:12 12 Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into the works of darkness, and lasciviousness, and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the fourth generation shall not all pa.s.s away before this great iniquity shall come.
Alma 45:13 13 And when that great day cometh, behold, the time very soon cometh that those who are now, or the seed of those who are now numbered among the people of Nephi, shall no more be numbered among the people of Nephi.
Alma 45:14 14 But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and dreadful day, shall be numbered among the Lamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they shall become extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this prophecy shall be fulfilled.
Alma 45:15 15 And now it came to pa.s.s that after Alma had said these things to Helaman, he blessed him, and also his other sons; and he also blessed the earth for the righteous" sake.
Alma 45:16 16 And he said: Thus saith the Lord G.o.d--Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of G.o.d upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.
Alma 45:17 17 And now, when Alma had said these words he blessed the church, yea, all those who should stand fast in the faith from that time henceforth.
Alma 45:18 18 And when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pa.s.s that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of.
Alma 45:19 19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial.
Alma 45:20 20 And now it came to pa.s.s in the commencement of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people to declare the word unto them.
Alma 45:21 21 For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances which had been among the people, it became expedient that the word of G.o.d should be declared among them, yea, and that a regulation should be made throughout the church.
Alma 45:22 22 Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth to establish the church again in all the land, yea, in every city throughout all the land which was possessed by the people of Nephi. And it came to pa.s.s that they did appoint priests and teachers throughout all the land, over all the churches.
Alma 45:23 23 And now it came to pa.s.s that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the churches that there arose a dissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his brethren;
Alma 45:24 24 But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before G.o.d.
Alma 46 Chapter 46
Alma 46:1 1 And it came to pa.s.s that as many as would not hearken to the words of Helaman and his brethren were gathered together against their brethren.
Alma 46:2 2 And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them.
Alma 46:3 3 Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah.
Alma 46:4 4 And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they were seeking for power.
Alma 46:5 5 And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people.
Alma 46:6 6 Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were high priests over the church.
Alma 46:7 7 And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord.
Alma 46:8 8 Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their G.o.d, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.
Alma 46:9 9 Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.
Alma 46:10 10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of G.o.d, and to destroy the foundation of liberty which G.o.d had granted unto them, or which blessing G.o.d had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous" sake.
Alma 46:11 11 And now it came to pa.s.s that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.
Alma 46:12 12 And it came to pa.s.s that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it--In memory of our G.o.d, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children--and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
Alma 46:13 13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the t.i.tle of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his G.o.d for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land--
Alma 46:14 14 For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of G.o.d, called by those who did not belong to the church.
Alma 46:15 15 And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.
Alma 46:16 16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.
Alma 46:17 17 And it came to pa.s.s that when he had poured out his soul to G.o.d, he named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south--A chosen land, and the land of liberty.
Alma 46:18 18 And he said: Surely G.o.d shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions.
Alma 46:19 19 And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice, saying:
Alma 46:20 20 Behold, whosoever will maintain this t.i.tle upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord G.o.d may bless them.
Alma 46:21 21 And it came to pa.s.s that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their G.o.d; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of G.o.d, or fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments.
Alma 46:22 22 Now this was the covenant which they made, and they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We covenant with our G.o.d, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression.
Alma 46:23 23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of G.o.d, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.
Alma 46:24 24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed. And he said--Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of G.o.d, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.
Alma 46:25 25 Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken unto G.o.d.
Alma 46:26 26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob.