AlmaChapter12

v1.10

Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.

Now the words that Alma spake unto Zeezrom were heard by the people round about; for the multitude was great, and he spake on this wise:

And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out—

Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.

And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.

Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was convinced more and more of the power of God; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of him, for he was convinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart; for power was given unto them that they might know of these things according to the spirit of prophecy.

And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works?

And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.

Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;

What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.

And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.

Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.

But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;

Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.

And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.

And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

Now Alma saw that Amulek's words had silenced Zeezrom, who had been caught out in the lies and deceit he was using to destroy him. And he saw Zeezrom starting to tremble as he became conscious of his own guilt. So Alma spoke up to reinforce what Amulek had said, to explain more, and to open up the scriptures further than Amulek had. The people all around heard what Alma said to Zeezrom, because the crowd was large. And he spoke this way:

Now, Zeezrom, you see that you have been caught in your lying and craftiness, for you have not lied only to people, but you have lied to God. He knows all your thoughts, and you see that your thoughts are made known to us by his Spirit. And you see that we know your plan was a very cunning one, with the cunning of the devil, to lie to and deceive the people here so that you could set them against us, to insult us and drive us out.

Now, this was a plan of your adversary, and he has exercised his power in you. And I want you all to remember that what I say to you, Zeezrom, I say to everyone.

And I say to you all: this was a snare of the adversary, laid to catch you, to bring you into subjection to him, to encircle you with his chains, to chain you down to everlasting destruction by the power of his captivity.

When Alma said this, Zeezrom trembled even harder because he was more and more convinced of the power of God. He was also convinced that Alma and Amulek knew him, because he was sure they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart, since they had been given power to know these things by the spirit of prophecy.

And Zeezrom began asking them questions eagerly, wanting to know more about the kingdom of God. He said to Alma, "What does Amulek mean by what he said about the resurrection of the dead, that everyone will rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and be brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works?"

And Alma began explaining these things to him: It is given to many to know God's mysteries. Even so, they are placed under a strict command to share only the portion of his word that he grants to humankind, according to the attention and diligence they give him.

So whoever will harden his heart receives the lesser portion of the word, and whoever will not harden his heart is given the greater portion of the word, until he is given to know God's mysteries and to know them in full. And those who will harden their hearts are given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing about his mysteries. Then they are taken captive by the devil and led down to destruction by his will. This is what is meant by the chains of hell.

And Amulek has spoken plainly about death, being raised from this mortal state to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God to be judged according to our works. Then, if our hearts have been hardened, if we have hardened them against the word so that it has not been found in us, our state will be terrible, for then we will be condemned.

For our words will condemn us. Indeed, all our works will condemn us, and we will not be found spotless. Our thoughts will condemn us too. And in that terrible state, we will not dare to look up to our God, and we would be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall on us to hide us from his presence. But this cannot be. We must come forth and stand before him in his glory, power, might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just, that he is just in all his works, that he is merciful to humankind, and that he has all power to save everyone who believes in his name and produces fruit worthy of repentance.

And now I say to you: then comes a death, a second death, which is a spiritual death. Then is the time when anyone who dies in his sins, as to a temporal death, will also die a spiritual death. He will die as to the things that pertain to righteousness. Then is the time when their torments will be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame rises up forever and ever. And then is the time when they will be chained down to everlasting destruction by the power and captivity of Satan, who has made them subject to his will. Then, I say to you, they will be as though no redemption had been made, for they cannot be redeemed according to God's justice, and they cannot die, since there is no more corruption.

When Alma finished speaking, the people grew even more astonished.

But a man named Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forward and said to him, "What is this you've said, that people will rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal state to an immortal one, so that the soul can never die? What does the scripture mean when it says that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, so that our first parents would not enter and eat the fruit of the tree of life and live forever? So we see that there was no possible chance that they could live forever."

Now Alma said to him: This is the very thing I was about to explain. We see that Adam did fall by eating the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God, and so we see that by his fall all people became lost and fallen. And now I say to you that if it had been possible for Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: "If you eat it you shall surely die."

And we see that death comes upon all people, the death Amulek spoke of, which is the temporal death. Even so, a space of time was granted to people in which they might repent. So this life became a probationary state, a time to prepare to meet God, a time to prepare for that endless state we have spoken of, which comes after the resurrection of the dead. Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead. But a plan of redemption was laid, and it will bring about the resurrection of the dead that has been spoken of.

And now, if it had been possible for our first parents to go forward and eat of the tree of life, they would have been miserable forever, having no preparatory state. And so the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking no effect. But it was not so. Instead, it was appointed to people that they must die, and after death they must come to judgment, that same judgment we have spoken of, which is the end.

And after God had appointed that these things should come upon people, he saw that it was necessary for them to know about the things he had appointed for them. So he sent angels to converse with them, and they caused people to see his glory. From that time on, they began calling on his name. So God conversed with people and made known to them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world. And he made it known to them according to their faith, repentance, and holy works.

So he gave commandments to people, after they had first broken the first commandments as to things that were temporal, and had become as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their own wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good. So, after he had made the plan of redemption known to them, God gave them commandments that they should not do evil. The penalty for that was a second death, an everlasting death as to the things that pertain to righteousness. For on such people the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

But God did call on people, in the name of his Son (this being the plan of redemption that was laid), saying: "If you will repent and not harden your hearts, then I will have mercy on you, through my Only Begotten Son. So whoever repents and does not harden his heart shall have claim on mercy through my Only Begotten Son, to the forgiveness of his sins. And these shall enter into my rest. And whoever will harden his heart and do wickedness, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest."

And now, my brothers, I say to you that if you will harden your hearts, you shall not enter into the rest of the Lord. So your sin provokes him to send down his wrath on you as in the first provocation. Indeed, according to his word, it is so in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; according to his word, to the last death as well as the first. And now, my brothers, since we know these things, and they are true, let us repent and not harden our hearts, so that we do not provoke the Lord our God to pull down his wrath on us in these, his second commandments, which he has given us. Instead, let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

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OriginalModern English

Now the words that Alma spake unto Zeezrom were heard by the people round about; for the multitude was great, and he spake on this wise:

The people all around heard what Alma said to Zeezrom, because the crowd was large. And he spoke this way:

And you see that we know your plan was a very cunning one, with the cunning of the devil, to lie to and deceive the people here so that you could set them against us, to insult us and drive us out.

Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.

Now, this was a plan of your adversary, and he has exercised his power in you. And I want you all to remember that what I say to you, Zeezrom, I say to everyone.

And those who will harden their hearts are given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing about his mysteries. Then they are taken captive by the devil and led down to destruction by his will. This is what is meant by the chains of hell.

And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

And Amulek has spoken plainly about death, being raised from this mortal state to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God to be judged according to our works.

Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

Then, if our hearts have been hardened, if we have hardened them against the word so that it has not been found in us, our state will be terrible, for then we will be condemned.

But this cannot be. We must come forth and stand before him in his glory, power, might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just, that he is just in all his works, that he is merciful to humankind, and that he has all power to save everyone who believes in his name and produces fruit worthy of repentance.

Then is the time when their torments will be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame rises up forever and ever. And then is the time when they will be chained down to everlasting destruction by the power and captivity of Satan, who has made them subject to his will.

Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Then, I say to you, they will be as though no redemption had been made, for they cannot be redeemed according to God's justice, and they cannot die, since there is no more corruption.

Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;

When Alma finished speaking, the people grew even more astonished.

What does the scripture mean when it says that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, so that our first parents would not enter and eat the fruit of the tree of life and live forever? So we see that there was no possible chance that they could live forever."

And now I say to you that if it had been possible for Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: "If you eat it you shall surely die."

Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead. But a plan of redemption was laid, and it will bring about the resurrection of the dead that has been spoken of.

But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

But it was not so. Instead, it was appointed to people that they must die, and after death they must come to judgment, that same judgment we have spoken of, which is the end.

And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;

And after God had appointed that these things should come upon people, he saw that it was necessary for them to know about the things he had appointed for them.

Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.

So he sent angels to converse with them, and they caused people to see his glory.

From that time on, they began calling on his name. So God conversed with people and made known to them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world. And he made it known to them according to their faith, repentance, and holy works.

So, after he had made the plan of redemption known to them, God gave them commandments that they should not do evil. The penalty for that was a second death, an everlasting death as to the things that pertain to righteousness. For on such people the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.

So whoever repents and does not harden his heart shall have claim on mercy through my Only Begotten Son, to the forgiveness of his sins. And these shall enter into my rest.

And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

And whoever will harden his heart and do wickedness, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest."

And now, my brothers, since we know these things, and they are true, let us repent and not harden our hearts, so that we do not provoke the Lord our God to pull down his wrath on us in these, his second commandments, which he has given us. Instead, let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

OriginalModern English

Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit; And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out—

Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.

Now, this was a plan of your adversary, and he has exercised his power in you. And I want you all to remember that what I say to you, Zeezrom, I say to everyone.

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works. Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence. But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.

And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness. Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will. Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;

When Alma finished speaking, the people grew even more astonished.

But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state that the soul can never die? What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.

Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain, now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people. And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.

And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead. Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.

And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect. But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them; Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory. And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good— Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest. And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first. And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.