Alma's Redemption

I present the whole section of Alma's words with one preceeding verse of context. However, the main focus is on the Lord's words. I may add verbal and visual comment later. I consider every post open to expansion, clarification, correction and modification.

23 and it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights the limbs of Alma received their strength and he stood up and began to speak unto them bidding them to be of good comfort

 24 for said he I have repented of my sins and have been redeemed of the Lord behold I am born of the Spirit

 25 and the Lord said unto me marvel not that all mankind yea men and women all nations kindreds tongues and people must be born again yea born of God changed from their carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness   being redeemed of God becoming his sons and daughters 26 and thus they become new creatures and unless they do this they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God

and the Lord said unto me - It seems to me that the Lord's voice has a distinct sound, texture, order, feel, flavor, cadence and rhythm. It is unique. It has depth and breadth that all others do not. So, I am attempting to become more attuned to the scriptures when the Lord is being quoted. I love every word. I ponder on them. I let them rest on my soul. I prepare the soil of my soul that when the Lord's words are poured on it, it will not return void, that it will bear fruit to Him.

marvel not that all mankind- Why would one marvel over these words?

yea men and women- Why would He add the distinction?

all nations

   kindreds 

     tongues 

and people

     - He names four groups. The number four is significant. I believe it represents the four corners of the earth, or all encompassing.

1. must be born again - Is being born again being baptized with water?

2. born of God - Is being born of God the baptism of fire?

3. changed from their carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness - What happens when you move from a "carnal and fallen state" to a "state of righteousness"? What changes? Is this a formal ordinance from the Lord that has real power? Do you cease to think wicked thoughts? Are all of your carnal inclinations gone? What precisely are all the changes that happen? How can I obtain this state? Is this a change like ice to water to gas? You are either in one state or the other with an instantaneous transformation. Is this climbing Jacob's ladder? If you are a higher being and you come down to this state, do you need to follow the same path to climb back up? What changes are needed in preparation?

4. being redeemed of God  - Is this the same as how the brother of Jared was redeemed by being brought back into the presence of God?

5. becoming his sons and daughters - Is this the Father declaring you His son or daughter, being adopted into the family of God? Aren't we already sons and daughters of God? It appears not.

x. they become new creatures - Is this a final encompassing statement and not part of the other five? Five is the number that represents covenants. A new "creature". Why not a new being, a new entity or some other word? Creature suggests to me something of a lower state. Or maybe creature expands the full spectrum.

unless they do this they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God - What is the kingdom of God? If you don't enter into His kingdom, to which kingdom do you belong? Is it possible to not belong to any kingdom? The devil claims this as his kingdom. The scriptures say the kingdom of devil must shake. Could we be in his kingdom and not know it? Does he try to convince us this isn't true? Will the earth become part of God's kingdom during the millennium? If you don't become a new creature, will be able to abide here? We are told we are in the telestial kingdom. Are there mortal and immortal telestial kingdoms, or all telestial kingdoms temporary by nature? Worlds without end, perhaps? Those that keep their second estates shall be added upon.

- This is an amazing list. Could there be an order here, or is it the same thing stated six different ways? Alma went through the whole thing in two days. He was a wicked and idolatrous man. How could he repent that quickly? Is this something a man can provide? It doesn't appear so. Christ is the keeper of the gate and he employeth no servant there.

 27 I say unto you unless this be the case they must be cast off and this I know because I was like to be cast off

 28 nevertheless after wading through much tribulation repenting nigh unto death the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning and I am born of God

 29 my soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity I was in the darkest abyss but now I behold the marvelous light of God my soul was racked with eternal torment but I am snatched and my soul is pained no more

 30 I rejected my Redeemer and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers but now that they may foresee that he will come and that he remembereth every creature of his creating he will make himself manifest unto all

 31 yea every knee shall bow and every tongue confess before him yea even at the last day when all men shall stand to be judged of hi, then shall they confess that he is God then shall they confess who live without God in the world that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them and they shall quake and tremble and shrink beneath the glance of his all-searching eye

The Book of the Lamb of God

Note: 
- I'm going to go ahead and publish this. I've been working on it for too long. I consider my posts always open for expansion, correction, and emphasis changes. 
- I fixed the annoying 'font-size: x-small' style attribute. Editing the HTML in this editor is difficult at best.

We'll pick it up where the angel is revealing to Nephi The Book of the Lamb of God. I have read over this dozens of times and never pickup up the beautiful detail until I removed my preconceived notions.

21 and the angel said unto me knowest thou the meaning of the book

This is the Bible that he sees carried forth among them and the angel is about to explain the origins.

22 and I said unto him I know not

23 and he said behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew and I Nephi beheld it and he said unto me the book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews which contains the covenants of the Lord which he hath made unto the house of Israel and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass save there are not so many nevertheless they contain the covenants of the Lord which he hath made unto the house of Israel wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles

After several readings of this I interpreted this as praise for the Bible, but as I read it further, it appears to be the angel beginning the discussion of The Book of the Lamb of God and not the Bible the Gentiles were carrying forth, so he has to start from the beginning before the corruption.

24 and the angel of the Lord said unto me thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fullness of the gospel of the Lord of whom the twelve apostles bear record and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God

Which Jew? John the Revelator? Why one? Didn't the multiple apostles write it. Maybe John had the commission of compiling and abridging like Mormon?

25 wherefore these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles according to the truth which is in God

26 and after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb from the Jews unto the Gentiles thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church which is most abominable above all other churches for behold they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away

27 and all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men

There is a progression here. The first step is to "pervert the right ways of the Lord". I think the message has to appear to contain enough of the Lord's message for it to be used. The trick is just to change the right things as to create the illusion of completeness. The effect of this is to "blind the eyes". You don't know what you're not seeing until you see it. You believe you are seeing the full picture. The ultimate effect is to "harden the hearts". Once hearts are hardened and calcified, the chances of recognizing and accepting truth are diminished. False religion appears to be a very effective in hardening the hearts. Everyone wants to be believe they have bet on the winning horse.

This is what the Book of Mormon says about the effects of the Bible. There seems to be a choice here. How does one treat the Bible after this verse?

28 wherefore thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book which is the book of the Lamb of God

29 and after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles yea even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity thou seest because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb an exceedingly great many do stumble yea insomuch that Satan hath great power over them

30 nevertheless thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed which are among thy brethren

31 neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren

32 neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness which thou beholdest they are in because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church whose formation thou hast seen

We are being told that the Gentiles are in an awful state of blindness because of the Bible. What? How? Really? Come on?

33 wherefore saith the Lamb of God I will be merciful unto the Gentiles unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment

34 and it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me saying behold saith the Lamb of God after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father wherefore after I have visited them in judgment and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church which is the mother of harlots saith the Lamb I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day insomuch that I will bring forth unto them in mine own power much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious saith the Lamb

It doesn't mention the Gentiles taking The Book of Mormon to the remnant of Lehi, like it does for The Book of the Lamb of God and the "other books". Why?

35 for behold, saith the Lamb I will manifest myself unto thy seed that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them which shall be plain and precious and after thy seed shall be destroyed and dwindle in unbelief and also the seed of thy brethren behold these things shall be hid up to come forth unto the Gentiles by the gift and power of the Lamb

Nor is it mentioned in this verse that Gentiles shall take it to the remnant of Lehi.

I think it is pretty clear that this is referring to The Book of Mormon. It comes forth by the gift and power of the Lamb. What is the gift of the Lamb? What is the power of the Lamb?

36 and in them shall be written my gospel saith the Lamb and my rock and my salvation

37 and blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb and whoso shall publish peace yea tidings of great joy how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be

Well, this verse seems way out of place. Here you have Jacob throwing in some Isaiah about Zion. What a weird and odd place to slip this verse in. Or is it? It appears at some point after the Book of Mormon comes forth the commission will go out to build Zion and there will be laborers and they shall have "the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost". What is the difference between "the gift and power of the Lamb" and "the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost"?

38 and it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren and also the book of the Lamb of God which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren

Interesting that Nephi doesn't see or mention or doesn't know the means by which The Book of the Lamb of God comes forth. Why is that? He just casually mentions that he sees the remnant of the seed of my brethren and oh by the way, the book is there too. Maybe the Lord will try our faith in the manner that it comes forth? Will they be found in tact in an earthen vase?

39 and after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books which came forth by the power of the Lamb from the Gentiles unto them unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true

We now have a third set of books mentioned. These are the other books. Why do these books come forth by the power of the Lamb and not the gift of the Lamb? This is a curious thing to me. I operate under the belief that no word is inconsequential. There may be errors, but that will have to be proven to me. I will always assume there is no error.

So we have three ways the records come forth.
1. The Book of Mormon: ...come forth by the gift and power of the Lamb.
2. The Book of the Lamb of God: ...no mention.
3. Other books: ...power of the Lamb.

All three sets of records first come forth unto the Gentiles. The Gentiles have a great role in this drama.

The combination of these records has great convincing power. It convinces the Gentiles, the remnant of Lehi and the Jews scattered upon all the face of the earth. There must be some corroborating details in them. There are some fantastic things in store. I crave reading these records. When I receive them, I will feast on them, rejoice and give deep gratitude to God.

40 and the angel spake unto me saying these last records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles shall establish the truth of the first which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them and shall make known to all kindreds tongues and people that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world and that all men must come unto him or they cannot be saved

41 and they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb wherefore they both shall be established in one for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth

42 and the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews and the last shall be first and the first shall be last

It is incredibly easy to read this chapter and assume the Book of the Lamb of God is the Bible in its current condition. I don't know how many times I read this chapter without noticing that it isn't. After a few careful readings it became more clear.

Summary:
My top takeaways from this section of scripture.
1. The Book of the Lamb of God will come forth to the Gentiles and from them to the remnant of the seed of Nephi's brethren.
2. The Gentiles take The Book of the Lamb of God and the "other books" to the Jews in the whole earth.
3. The Bible in its current state is a great stumbling block.
4. God will not permit the Gentiles to remain in this great state of awful blindness.
5. Verses 35 - 39 layout an order of events.
a. The Book of Mormon comes forth.
b. The foundation of Zion is established.
c. The Book of the Lamb of God comes forth.
d. "Other books" come forth.

My top list of things that aren't mentioned in this section of scripture.
1. It does not mention the Book of Mormon being taken from the Gentiles to the remnant of the seed of Nephi's brethren. - After writing this I may have received an answer in 2 Nephi 29:1, 2 ...hmm lots of possibilities in how this could be accomplished.

2 and also that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee Nephi and also unto thy father that I would remember your seed and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed

My top questions asked in this blog and to the Lord.
1. Why the different modes of records coming forth?
2.