THE BOOK OF ALMA Chapter 19

    The commandments of Alma to his son Corianton.

  1. And now, my son, I have somewhat more to say unto you than what I said unto your brother. For behold, have you not observed the steadiness of your brother? His faithfulness and his diligence in keeping the mitzvot of Elohim? Behold, has he not set a good example for you? For you did not give so much heed unto my words as did your brother among the people of the Tzuramites. Now this is what I have against you: you did go on unto boasting in your strength and your wisdom. And this is not all, my son. You did do that which was grievous unto me, for you did abandon the ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron among the borders of the Lamanites after the harlot Isabel. Yes, she did steal away the hearts of many, but this was no excuse for you, my son. You should have tended to the ministry with which you were entrusted. Do you not know, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of yhwh, yes, most abominable above all sins, except it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Ruach HaKodesh? For behold, if you deny the Ruach HaKodesh when it once has had place in you, and you know that you deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable. Yes, and whosoever murders against the light and knowledge of Elohim, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yes, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness.
  2. And now, my son, I would to Elohim that you had not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes to torment your soul if it were not for your good. But behold, you cannot hide your crimes from Elohim, and except you repent, they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day. Now, my son, I would that you should repent, and abandon your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but contain yourself in all these things; for except you do this, you can in no way inherit the kingdom of Elohim. Oh remember, and take it upon you, and contain yourself in these things. And I command you to take it upon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings. For behold, you are in your youth, and you stand in need to be nourished by your brothers and give heed to their counsel. Do not allow yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; Do not allow HaSatan to lead away your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity you brought upon the Tzuramites; for when they saw your conduct, they would not believe in my words. And now the spirit of yhwh does say unto me, Command your children to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to destruction. Therefore, I command you, my son, in the fear of Elohim, that you refrain from your iniquities, that you turn to yhwh with all your mind, might, and strength, that you lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly, but rather return unto them, and acknowledge your faults, and repair that wrong which you have done. Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world, for behold, you cannot carry them with you.
  3. And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Mashiach. Behold, I say unto you that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yes, he comes to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people. And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which you were called: to declare these glad tidings unto this people to prepare their minds — or rather, that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word at the time of his coming. And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto Elohim as a soul will be at the time of his coming? Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as well as unto their children? Is it not as easy at this time for yhwh to send his angel to declare those glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming?
  4. Now, my son, here is somewhat more I would say unto you, for I perceive that your mind is worried concerning the resurrection of the dead. Behold, I say unto you that there is no resurrection — or I would say in other words that this mortal does not put on immortality, this corruption does not put on incorruption — until after the coming of Mashiach. Behold, he brings to pass the resurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knows them except Elohim himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of Elohim that I might know, that is concerning the resurrection. Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead. Now when this time comes, no one knows, but Elohim knows the time which is appointed. Now whether there shall be one time, or a second time, or a third time that men shall come forth from the dead, it matters not, for Elohim knows all these things. And it suffices me to know that this is the case — that there is a time appointed when all shall rise from the dead.
  5. And now there must necessarily be a space between the time of death and the time of the resurrection. And now I would inquire, what becomes of the souls of men from this time of death to the time appointed for the resurrection? Now whether there is more than one time appointed for men to rise, it matters not, for all do not die at once, and this matters not — all is as one day with Elohim, and time only is measured unto man. Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead, and there is a space between the time of death and the resurrection.
  6. And now, concerning this space of time, what becomes of the souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of yhwh to know; and this is the thing of which I do know. And when the time comes when all shall rise, then shall they know that Elohim knows all the times which are appointed unto man. Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection, behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yes, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that Elohim who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called pardes — a state of rest, a state of shalom where they shall rest from all their troubles, and from all care and sorrow, and so forth. And then shall it come to pass that the spirits of the wicked, yes, who are evil — for behold, they have no part nor portion of the spirit of yhwh; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good, therefore the spirit of HaSatan did enter into them and take possession of their house — and these shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of HaSatan. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yes, in darkness and a state of awful, fearful anticipation of the fiery indignation of the wrath of Elohim upon them. Thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in pardes, until the time of their resurrection.
  7. Now there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yes, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and their consignment to happiness or misery according to the words which have been spoken. And behold, again it has been spoken that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Mashiach from the dead. Now we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and their consignment to happiness or misery. You cannot suppose that this is what it means. Behold, I say unto you, no, but it means the reuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Mashiach. Now whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom have been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say. Let it suffice that I say that they all come forth, or in other words, that their resurrection comes to pass before the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Mashiach. Now, my son, I do not say that their resurrection comes at the resurrection of Mashiach, but behold, I give it as my opinion that the souls and the bodies are reunited of the righteous, at the resurrection of Mashiach and his ascension into Heaven. But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say.
  8. But this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul, in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of Elohim that the dead shall come forth and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before Elohim and be judged according to their works. Yes, this brings about the restoration of those things of which have been spoken by the mouths of the prophets — the soul shall be restored to the body and the body to the soul; yes, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body, yes, even a hair of their heads shall not be lost, but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame. And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets. And then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of Elohim. But behold, an awful death comes upon the wicked, for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness, for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of Elohim.188 But they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors, or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup.
  9. And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the restoration of which has been spoken. For behold, some have twisted the scriptures and have gone far astray because of this thing, and I perceive that your mind has been worried also concerning this thing. But behold, I will explain it unto you. I say unto you, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of Elohim, for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Mashiach, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself. And it is also requisite with the justice of Elohim that men should be judged according to their works. And if their works were good in this life and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good; and if his works are evil, they shall be restored unto him for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, everything to its natural frame: mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption, raised to Endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of Elohim, or to Endless misery to inherit the kingdom of HaSatan, the one on one hand, the other on the other, the one restored to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or to good according to his desires of good, and the other to evil according to his desires of evil.189 For as he has desired to do evil all the day long, even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night comes. And so it is on the other hand: if he has repented of his sins and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so shall he be rewarded unto righteousness. These are they that are redeemed of yhwh, yes, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness. And thus they stand or fall. For behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil. Now the decrees of Elohim are unalterable. Therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.190
  10. And now behold, my son, do not risk one more offense against your Elohim upon those points of doctrine which you have previously risked to commit sin. Do not suppose because it has been spoken concerning restoration that you shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature — or I would say, in a carnal state — are in great bitterness of mind and in the bonds of iniquity. They are without Elohim in the world and they have gone contrary to the nature of Elohim, therefore they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.
  11. And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state? Or to place it in a state opposite to its nature? Oh, my son, this is not the case, but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or demonic for demonic; good for that which is good, righteous for that which is righteous, just for that which is just, merciful for that which is merciful. Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brothers. Deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if you do all these things, then shall you receive your reward. Yes, you shall have mercy restored unto you again, you shall have justice restored unto you again, you shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again, and you shall have good rewarded unto you again. For that which you do send out shall return unto you again and be restored. Therefore, the word restoration more fully condemns the sinner and justifies him not at all.
  12. And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which does worry your mind, which you cannot understand, which is concerning the justice of Elohim in the punishment of the sinner; for you do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery. Now behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto you. For behold, after Adonai yhwh sent our first parents forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which they were taken,191 yes, he drove out the man, and he placed at the east end of the Garden of Eden keruvim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to guard the tree of life.192 Now we see that the man had become as Elohim, knowing good and evil, and lest he should put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever,193 Adonai yhwh placed keruvim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit. And thus we see that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yes, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve Elohim. For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived for ever, according to the word of Elohim, having no space for repentance. Yes, and also the word of Elohim would have been void194 and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated. But behold, it was appointed unto man to die. Therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life, they should be cut off from the face of the earth, and man became lost for ever; yes, they became fallen man.
  13. And now we see by this that our first parents were cut off, both temporally and spiritually, from the presence of yhwh; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will. Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness. Therefore, as the soul could never die and the Fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal (that is, they were cut off from the presence of yhwh), therefore it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death. Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and demonic by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state.
  14. And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption (laying it aside), as soon as they were dead, their souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of yhwh. And now there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience. Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about — only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yes, this preparatory state. For except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, Elohim would cease to be Elohim.195 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice, yes, the justice of Elohim, which consigned them for ever to be cut off from his presence. And now the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made. Therefore, Elohim himself atones for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that Elohim might be a perfect, just Elohim, and a merciful Elohim also.
  15. Now repentance could not come unto men except a punishment, which was as eternal as the life of the soul, should be affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul. Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no Torah? How could there be a Torah except there was a punishment? Now there was a punishment affixed and a just Torah given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man. Now if there was no Torah given (if, for example, a man murdered, he should die), would he be afraid he should die if he should murder? And also, if there was no Torah given against sin, men would not be afraid to sin. And if there was no Torah given if men sinned, what could justice do? Or mercy either? For they would have no claim upon the creature. But there is a Torah given, and a punishment affixed, and repentance granted, which repentance mercy claims. Otherwise, justice claims the creature and executes the Torah, and the Torah inflicts the punishment. If not so, the works of justice would be destroyed and Elohim would cease to be Elohim. But Elohim ceases not to be Elohim, and mercy claims the penitent, and mercy comes because of the atonement, and the atonement brings to pass the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead brings back men into the presence of Elohim. And thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the Torah and justice. For behold, justice exercises all his demands, and also mercy claims all which is her own; and thus none but the truly penitent are saved.
  16. What? Do you suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, no, not one bit. If so, Elohim would cease to be Elohim. And thus Elohim brings about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus comes about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery. Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely. And whosoever will not come, the same is not compelled to come, but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds. If he has desired to do evil and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him according to the restoration of Elohim.
  17. And now, my son, I desire that you should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance. O my son, I desire that you should deny the justice of Elohim no more. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins by denying the justice of Elohim, but do let the justice of Elohim and his mercy, and his long-suffering, have full sway in your heart, and let it bring you down to the dust in humility. And now, my son, you are called of Elohim to preach the word unto this people. And now, my son, go your way; declare the word with truth and soberness, that you may bring souls unto repentance, that the great plan of mercy may have claim upon them. And may Elohim grant unto you, yes, even according to my words. Amen.