The Book Of Alma (Chap. 36)

Alma 36:1
My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that
inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall
prosper in the land.

Alma 36:2
I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the
captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none
could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in
their afflictions.

Alma 36:3
And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and
therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and
learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust
in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles,
and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.

Alma 36:4
And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—not of
the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of
God.

Alma 36:5
Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I
should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of
his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any
worthiness of myself.

Alma 36:6
For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy
the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us
by the way.

Alma 36:7
And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder,
and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell
to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us.

Alma 36:8
But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and
stood up, and beheld the angel.

Alma 36:9
And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed,
seek no more to destroy the church of God.

Alma 36:10
And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for
the space of three days and three nights that I could not open my
mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs.

Alma 36:11
And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by
my brethren, but I did not hear them; for when I heard the
words—If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to
destroy the church of God—I was struck with such great fear and
amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the
earth and I did hear no more.

Alma 36:12
But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was
harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.

Alma 36:13
Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I
was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had
rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy
commandments.

Alma 36:14
Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led
them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my
iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of
my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.

Alma 36:15
Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct
both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the
presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.

Alma 36:16
And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked,
even with the pains of a damned soul.

Alma 36:17
And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment,
while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I
remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people
concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone
for the sins of the world.

Alma 36:18
Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within
my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in
the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting
chains of death.

Alma 36:19
And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my
pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no
more.

Alma 36:20
And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea,
my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Alma 36:21
Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so
exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say
unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so
exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

Alma 36:22
Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God
sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of
angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea,
and my soul did long to be there.

Alma 36:23
But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I
stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had
been born of God.

Alma 36:24
Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored
without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I
might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did
taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with
the Holy Ghost.

Alma 36:25
Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me
exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;

Alma 36:26
For because of the word which he has imparted unto me,
behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have
tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they
do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and
the knowledge which I have is of God.

Alma 36:27
And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every
kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has
delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea,
and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.

Alma 36:28
And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell
with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has
brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the
Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the
promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and
captivity from time to time.

Alma 36:29
Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of
Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered
them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to
the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their
captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I
have done, their captivity.

Alma 36:30
But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as
I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God
ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that
inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be
cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.