Alma 12:16-37
12:16-26- In order to start here in verse 16 we have to do a quick review of the previous concept, which was that “if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word… 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 acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just.” He then goes into teaching that after this “then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death.” I’m having a little bit of trouble piecing the thoughts together, but what I’m taking away from this transition is that when we come to stand in front of God to be judged, and when we are taken in our sins and filthiness, then is the time of our permanent spiritual death, which is our permanent separation from God. We will be sent away from our loving and amazing Father and our “torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.” We’ve talked about this before, why relating spiritual pain to physical pain is such a powerful way to make people understand the exquisite nature of the pain that will encompass us when we are permanently separated from Heavenly Father. People are more in tune with their bodies than their spirits, so if he were to say, you will feel sorrow and sadness beyond comprehension, people would be like “oh ok, that doesn’t sound so bad,” but when it’ related to physical pain, people are not interested in living in a lake of fire and brimstone forever. But like my own personal Alma the Younger experience and Alma’s experience himself, when the spirit is in pain, the body is in pain as well. And like we’ve learned a couple of days ago about the body and the spirit together being so connected, it would make sense that perhaps, the body will actually feel like it’s on fire. I know that when the Spirit showed me my sins, I was physically ill, and Alma the Younger had that effect too, so much so that he was unconscious and unable to move being so overcome with his sins. So at the day of judgment, when those who are unrepentant are judged by then cast out by God, and go to where they will dwell and think about and suffer for their bad choices, then for those people it “shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice.” In an April 1972 general conference address entitled “Salvation and Exaltation,” Elder Theodore M. Burton taught “These sons of perdition (perhaps only few in number) will be resurrected but will not be redeemed from the power of Satan because they are still filthy… I suppose that having a body and not being about to do anything with it will be a true hell. All other persons will be saved by the grace of God from death, hell, the devil, and endless torment.” Alma and Elder Burton have both told us that those who refuse to repent will be physically resurrected, but spiritually dead. One of the chief rulers picked up on the dead physically vs. spiritually concept and asks, in my own words, “you say that men will rise from the dead and live forever, but the scriptures say that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword in the garden of Eden to keep Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of life and living forever. So why didn’t God want Adam and Eve to live forever, but you’re saying we can live forever?” That’s a fair question I think, imagining that they live in a society that is intensely wicked, and this judge is expert on the law, and dabbles in scripture, I can see how this could be a confusing concept. So Alma and Elder Burton have been talking about spiritual death, but now they being to talk about the way in which mankind can live spiritually. Elder Burton continues “The true value of the sacrifice of Christ means much more than this general salvation which comes to all mankind. There is an additional salvation that God has planned for his children. This additional salvation is an individual salvation and is conditioned not only upon grace, but also upon obedience to gospel law… That full reconciliation to God is extremely important to me. It is the idea of a personal atonement or reconciliation that can bring me back into the presence of God as one of his covenant sons that appeals to me. That kind of conditional salvation I call exaltation.” I’m having kind of a hard time understanding the judge’s question. I don’t know what he’s asking. Maybe it revolves around the concept of the probationary time, that’s what I’m seeing with all the references. He’s confusing the time of immortality, before life experiences instead of after life experiences. Ok, now that makes sense, he does not understand the need for a time in between the fall and the resurrection. Oh that’s interesting, ok, so I guess what he’s referring to Adam becoming mortal, then suddenly eating the fruit and becoming immortal, which would not have necessitated the plan because they never would have had children, they never would have died, they never would have been tried, they never would have tested. In an October 1996 general conference address entitled “The Atonement,” Elder Russell M. Nelson taught “The creation culminated with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were created I the image of God, with bodies of flesh and bone. (They were created as amortal beings-‘without mortality’- not at that time subject to death.) Created in the image of God and not yet moral, they could not grow old and die. ‘And they would have had no children’ not experienced the trials of life… The creation of Adam and Eve was a paradisiacal creation, one that required a significant change before they could fulfill the commandment to have children and thus provide earthly bodies for premortal spirit sons and daughters of God… The fall of Adam (and Eve) constituted the mortal creation and brought about the required changes in their bodies, including the circulation of blood and other modifications as well. (We should remember that God forgave Adam and Eve their transgression.)” So Adam and Eve eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and become fallen and mortal. So if they were to eat of the fruit of the tree of life, and become immortal, then they would have died in their sins, and had to be cut off from the Heavenly Father. So really, God removing them from Eden and guarding the tree of life, was a gift to Adam and Eve, the gift of time to repent, otherwise they would have had to be like the sons of perdition, resurrected but not redeemed, and under the power of Satan. This gift of time is what Alma calls our “probationary state.” The IM teaches “the term probationary state or probationary time is a phrase used only by Alma in the Book of Mormon. Elder L. Tom Perry… described this probationary time: ‘The main purpose of earth life is to allow out spirits, which existed before the world was, to be united with our bodies for a time of great opportunity in mortality. The association of the two together has given us the privilege of growing, developing, and maturing as only we can with spirit and body united. With our bodies, we pass through a certain amount of trial in which is termed a probationary state of our existence. This is a time of learning and testing to prove ourselves worthy of eternal opportunities. It is all part of a divine plan our Father has for His children.’” In an April 1999 general conference address entitled “Welcome Home,” Bishop Keith B. McMullin taught “Heavenly Father knew the grave dangers we would face on our journey through life, but He remains resolute in His desire to have each and every one of His children return home. Therefore, He gave us time- time to work out our mistakes, time to overcome our sins, time to prepare for reunion… But Heavenly Father knew that even if we exerted every ounce of energy, we could not make it home without divine help. Therefore, He promised, ‘We will provide a savior for you!” If Adam and Eve had gone and eaten the fruit of the tree of life, and immediately become immortal, they would have been deprived of their probationary time, and been deprived of the “plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world.” Indeed Alma teaches that “if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of the life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state.” This wasn’t a quickly put together “fix-it” that God came up with when A&E ate the fruit, this was always meant to happen, this was the plan from the beginning and so far, God has billions of years of a pretty impressive track record.
12:27-37 – So we’ve wrapped up the fall of Adam, the plan of redemption, the preparatory state and the day of judgment, so God’s laid out the plan for us 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.” This is an excellent example of God setting us up for success. Heavenly Father wants us to succeed, and so he made a plan for us to actually succeed, then he tells us all about it, and tells us what to do to get there. He spoon feeds us all of his information; we just have to open our mouths. Alma does kind of a circle back to the beginning of the chapter, when he talked about a softened hearts gets taught many things, and a hardened heart doesn’t get taught anything. Here, kind of wrapping up the message, which follows the lines of: if we soften our hearts, then the Spirit will be able to teach us the mysteries of God, and will be able to purify our hearts until we become worthy to stand in the presence of God. Alma focused the first part of the chapter on what happens to those who do not soften their hearts, they are not purified, they die in their sins and resurrected, but instead of going to dwell with God in their immortal bodies, they suffer because they finally realize what they’ve done. We see that the fall of Adam was the plan the whole time and that God has a provision prepared for us to return, and that if we wish to return to God from our fallen state, then we need to make good use of our preparatory time here on earth. Now he’s focusing on those who soften their hearts, teaching that God has “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.” So whereas, those who refuse to repent will ultimately suffer, those who do repent and do “holy works,” they will be tutored by the Spirit to know the plan of redemption. So God not only lets us know what the plan is, but he also tells us what we have to do for our part of the plan. First Alma has said that we need to soften our hearts, then “God gave unto them commandments… that they should not do evil.” In an April 2000 general conference address entitled “Keep an Eternal Perspective,” Elder Jay E. Jensen taught concerning Alma 12:32 saying “the sequence in the teaching process from this verse is that our Heavenly Father first taught Adam and Eve the plan of redemption; then He gave them commandments. All commandments have their eternal importance in the context of the great plan of happiness. I know that this truth is a key to conversion, retention, and activation. If we can help people first understand the plan, they will find a deeper and more permanent motivation to keep the commandments.” I guess that makes sense, that there would need to be a mental bridge between what we do in this life and how it affects us in the eternities, because “God gave unto them commandments, AFTER having made known unto them the plan of redemption.” Now, if we all sin, or are all fallen because of the fall of Adam, how can we be reconciled with the great plan of happiness simply by repenting and keeping the commandments? Alma answers this by quoting God as saying: “if ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son.” The answer is God’s mercy. An excellent recap on these concepts and capped with God’s mercy is an October 1996 general conference address entitled “Christians in Belief and Action,” where Joseph B. Wirthlin teaches “Our faith in the Lord moves us to the second principle of the gospel: repentance. We develop a desire to purify and sanctify ourselves so that we might be worthy to return to God’s presence. We learn of the great plan of happiness that our Father has designed for His children, and we seek the blessings of peace and joy that are linked irrevocably to obedience to the laws of God. Through the marvelous power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, a power activated by our obedience to His commandments, we can be washed clean of our sins. His infinite ‘mercy can satisfy the demands of justice’ for everyone who will repent. One of the great truths restored to the earth through modern revelation is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is universal! The saving power of the gospel spans all generations of time and extends to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. Through humble repentance, we offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit that the Lord requires of us before we can enter the waters of baptism.” That’s what all of life and existence hinges on, the Atonement. Without the Atonement, there really is no point to life, because we would have gotten our bodies, but because of the fall and our own disobedience, we would be forever trapped and unhappy. God has provided a way for us to return home with our bodies and be with him again. Kind of like how every parent wants their children home for Christmas, he wants us home forever, and he wants us home happy and healthy with our immortal bodies, just like he has.
12:27-37 – So we’ve wrapped up the fall of Adam, the plan of redemption, the preparatory state and the day of judgment, so God’s laid out the plan for us 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.” This is an excellent example of God setting us up for success. Heavenly Father wants us to succeed, and so he made a plan for us to actually succeed, then he tells us all about it, and tells us what to do to get there. He spoon feeds us all of his information; we just have to open our mouths. Alma does kind of a circle back to the beginning of the chapter, when he talked about a softened hearts gets taught many things, and a hardened heart doesn’t get taught anything. Here, kind of wrapping up the message, which follows the lines of: if we soften our hearts, then the Spirit will be able to teach us the mysteries of God, and will be able to purify our hearts until we become worthy to stand in the presence of God. Alma focused the first part of the chapter on what happens to those who do not soften their hearts, they are not purified, they die in their sins and resurrected, but instead of going to dwell with God in their immortal bodies, they suffer because they finally realize what they’ve done. We see that the fall of Adam was the plan the whole time and that God has a provision prepared for us to return, and that if we wish to return to God from our fallen state, then we need to make good use of our preparatory time here on earth. Now he’s focusing on those who soften their hearts, teaching that God has “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.” So whereas, those who refuse to repent will ultimately suffer, those who do repent and do “holy works,” they will be tutored by the Spirit to know the plan of redemption. So God not only lets us know what the plan is, but he also tells us what we have to do for our part of the plan. First Alma has said that we need to soften our hearts, then “God gave unto them commandments… that they should not do evil.” In an April 2000 general conference address entitled “Keep an Eternal Perspective,” Elder Jay E. Jensen taught concerning Alma 12:32 saying “the sequence in the teaching process from this verse is that our Heavenly Father first taught Adam and Eve the plan of redemption; then He gave them commandments. All commandments have their eternal importance in the context of the great plan of happiness. I know that this truth is a key to conversion, retention, and activation. If we can help people first understand the plan, they will find a deeper and more permanent motivation to keep the commandments.” I guess that makes sense, that there would need to be a mental bridge between what we do in this life and how it affects us in the eternities, because “God gave unto them commandments, AFTER having made known unto them the plan of redemption.” Now, if we all sin, or are all fallen because of the fall of Adam, how can we be reconciled with the great plan of happiness simply by repenting and keeping the commandments? Alma answers this by quoting God as saying: “if ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son.” The answer is God’s mercy. An excellent recap on these concepts and capped with God’s mercy is an October 1996 general conference address entitled “Christians in Belief and Action,” where Joseph B. Wirthlin teaches “Our faith in the Lord moves us to the second principle of the gospel: repentance. We develop a desire to purify and sanctify ourselves so that we might be worthy to return to God’s presence. We learn of the great plan of happiness that our Father has designed for His children, and we seek the blessings of peace and joy that are linked irrevocably to obedience to the laws of God. Through the marvelous power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, a power activated by our obedience to His commandments, we can be washed clean of our sins. His infinite ‘mercy can satisfy the demands of justice’ for everyone who will repent. One of the great truths restored to the earth through modern revelation is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is universal! The saving power of the gospel spans all generations of time and extends to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. Through humble repentance, we offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit that the Lord requires of us before we can enter the waters of baptism.” That’s what all of life and existence hinges on, the Atonement. Without the Atonement, there really is no point to life, because we would have gotten our bodies, but because of the fall and our own disobedience, we would be forever trapped and unhappy. God has provided a way for us to return home with our bodies and be with him again. Kind of like how every parent wants their children home for Christmas, he wants us home forever, and he wants us home happy and healthy with our immortal bodies, just like he has.
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