My first post covering Alma
40 to 42 was written in 2016. It can be accessed at: https://gospeldoctrine2016.blogspot.com/2016/09/book-of-mormon-30-great-plan-of_14.html.
I spent many days on research for this post as I was intensely interested in
the content. I accessed the comments of Presidents of the Church and General
Authorities. I found information on the spirit world, still born and miscarried
babies, attributes of the spirit, including enhanced travel, enhanced
communication, and enhanced learning, resurrection, and the resurrected body.
This post covers Alma
39 to 42. I will focus more on the contents of these scriptures and less on
the information I tracked down in my initial post. In Alma
39, the most serious sins are listed and put into perspective. The worst of
these is denying the Holy Ghost. Individuals who commit this sin do five things
(D&C
76:31): they “know my power”; they have been made partakers of this power; they
have suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome; they
“deny the truth”; and then “deny my power”. A level of revelation is needed to
become a Son of Perdition and commit this sin. Joseph Smith stated, “he must have
the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against Him…He has got
to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus
Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of
salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it” (Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, p. 358). I find this quite terrifying as it provides clear
evidence of the power of Satan.
We read about the unpardonable sin in Alma
39:6. We also read about the second most serious sin: “whosoever murdereth
against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain
forgiveness”. The third most serious sin is the one that Alma’s son Corianton
committed, that of sexual immorality, “an abomination in the sight of the Lord”
(Alma
39:5). Corianton was told, “I would that ye should repent and forsake your
sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all
these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of
God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and cross yourself in these things” (Alma
39:9). In this scripture ‘cross yourself’ means to stop and have mastery
over the urges of the flesh.
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| This My Son by Elspeth Young - Alma & Corianton |
It is sad to think of the temptations that surround our young
people. I have only one child out of six who is active in the church. I see
them do things that I know are wrong, yet I cannot help but love them
unconditionally. I am hard on myself and can be very self-critical. Why am I so
critical? Perhaps because I keep thinking that I could have done so much better
for my children, been a better mother and a better example. In Alma
39:11, Alma says to his son, “O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon
the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my
words”. Maybe if I had been a better example my children would have not made
the same mistakes. I love the quotes below. We never know who is watching us
and what effect our behaviour and actions may have on them.
I do have hope. I rely on the teachings of the leaders of
the church for guidance and direction. Alma did not give up on his wayward son.
We can see this in the little Knowhy video below.
We have been told to never give up on our wayward children.
One of my favourite quotes comes from an April 1929 General Conference talk by
Elder Orson F. Whitney.
You
parents of the wilful and the wayward! Don’t give them up. Don’t cast them off.
They are not utterly lost. The Shepherd will find his sheep. They were his
before they were yours – long before he entrusted them to your care; and you
cannot begin to love them as he loves them. They have but strayed in ignorance
from the Path of Right, and God is merciful to ignorance. Only the fulness of
knowledge brings the fulness of accountability. Our Heavenly Father is far more
merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of his servants, and
the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in power to save than our narrow finite
minds can comprehend.
Either
in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their
debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path;
but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and
forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in
vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with
your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.
We find similar sentiments expressed by many other General
Authorities in an article called Prophets’
promises to parents of wayward children.
In the next few chapters, Alma addresses Corianton’s issue,
i.e. he seems to have a problem with acknowledging and understanding the
reality of prophecy. The following Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central)
answers an important question, Why was Corianton so concerned about the
resurrection?
In Alma
40, Corianton is presented with information on the part of the Plan of
Redemption that occurs between death and the resurrection. This is the
information that I researched so intensely for my post
in 2016. I learned so much and loved what I learned. Please access this if
you would like to share my discoveries.
In Alma
41 we find another chiasmus (see my previous post for a chiasmus in Alma
36). This chiasmus contains the Law of Restoration. It is interesting to
note that the chiasmus accomplishes what it teaches. I will try to explain.
Please follow what I am saying in the visual representation of this chiasmus
below. Alma begins and ends the chiasmus with ‘the doctrine of restoration’ or
‘the word restoration’. The chiasmus has two repetitions which you can see
clearly below. The double repetition in the first half is then repeated twice
(double). So, the first half ‘gives’ things like justice, righteousness, and
doing good—the second half reflects these things back a first time, and then a
second time in which these things are come ‘unto you again’. The poem itself ‘restores’
things” (from John W. Welch, Chiasmus in antiquity, 1981, p. 207).
In Alma
41:10, we learn that “wickedness never was happiness”, or ‘you reap what
you sow’.
The following Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central) explains
Why can wickedness never bring happiness? It mentions the significance
of the chiasmus.
The final chapter, Alma
42 discusses the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how this makes the Plan of
Redemption possible. It is noteworthy that Alma mentions “the Plan” ten times
in his words to Corianton. The following Knowhy video presents reasons for this
repetition.
Alma discusses the Garden of Eden and the Fall, how God
atones for the sins of the world, and how justice and mercy can exist at the
same time; “mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the
atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and
the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and
thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their
works, according to the law and justice” (Alma
42:23). I find the next verse fascinating, “For behold, justice exerciseth
all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none
but the truly penitent are saved” (Alma
42:24). Note that justice is referred to as ‘his’ while mercy is “her’,
i.e. justice is seen as male and mercy as female. I love the way that the
balance between justice and mercy is made crystal clear in the video The
Mediator based on a talk by Elder Boyd K. Packer from April 1977 General Conference.
An analogy is presented as the story of a young man who fails to pay a debt and
is saved from the grasp of justice through the mediation of a friend.
Alma
42:15 reads, “And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except
an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the
world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice,
that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also”. I testify of
the importance of the Atonement. Jesus Christ brought about the means whereby
justice and mercy could be balanced, and we could once again enter the Lord’s
presence. Our God is perfect, just, and merciful. I love Him and I am grateful
for the gift of the Atonement and the ability to repent of my sins.
For a download of this infographic, please see: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/magazines/ensign/2020/08/16770_000_28.pdf
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