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ing pains and afflictions, and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith, he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people; and he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people: and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succour his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh, that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions, according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

3. Now I say unto you, that ye must repent, and be born again for the Spirit saith, if ye are not born again, ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness; yea, I say unto you, come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction; yea, come and go forth, and shew unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins, and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day, by going into the waters of baptism; and whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me. And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them, is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy. For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of dilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been gratified. For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight; I perceive that it has been made known unto you by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of

turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round. And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness, or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you, the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.

4. And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you, that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him; that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received. And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive, and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive, and see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works; and may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets, who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless, even as their garments are spotless in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

5. And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you, according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word. And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess; your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and for And thus I have spoken. Amen,

ever.

CHAPTER VI.

1. And now it came to pass that Alma returned from the land of Gideon, after having taught the people of Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the order of the church according as he had before done in the land of Zarahemla; yea, he returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labours which he had performed. And

tarried many days with Amulek before he began to preach unto the people.

8. And it came to pass that the people did wax more gross in their iniquities. And the word came to Alma, saying, go; and also say unto my servant Amulek, go forth and prophesy unto this people, saying, repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent, I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my fierce anger away. And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost; and they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither were it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them.

9. And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the Spirit and power which the Lord had given them,

CHAPTER VII.

The words of Alma, and also the words of Amulek which were declared unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah. And also they are cast into prison, and delivered by the miraculous power of God which was in them, according to the record of Alma.

1. And again: I Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying, who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away? Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew not that the earth should pass away. And they said also, we will not believe thy words, if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be destroyed in one day. Now they knew not that God could do such marvellous works, for they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people. And they said who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and

marvellous things? And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly testify unto them, saying behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have ye forgotten the tradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God. Do ye not remember that our father Lehi was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness? And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren? Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth, long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and wo. Behold, now I say unto you, that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all: he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his anger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn away. Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying, that inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said, that inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments, ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

2. Now I would that you should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land. Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment, than for you, if ye remain in your sins: yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life, than for you, except ye repent, for there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites: for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them, and prolong their existence in the land. And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name. But behold, I say unto you, that if ye

prayed many days, that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the Spirit of revelation which is in me. And moreover, I say unto you, that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the Spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God, I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come; yea, the Son, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world; yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.

7. And now I say unto you, that this is the order after which I am called; yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren; yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again; yea, thus saith the Spirit, repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith, behold the glory of the king of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men: and also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying, go forth and say unto this people, repent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith, behold, the axe is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be hewn down and cast into the fire; yea, a fire which cannot be consumed; even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it. And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will still perye sist in the wearing of costly apparel, and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches; yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves, and do walk after the holy order

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