Category: Alma

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:1-4).

Wilfred Griggs once told me that he asked Hugh Nibley if he had ever considered writing a commentary on the gospel of John. Nibley’s response was something like this: “No, I haven’t. It would take 300 or 400 pages, then I would be to verse 5.”

That seems reasonable to me, but I don’t intend to write anywhere near that much. I think the best place to start would be to discuss eternal priesthood in light of the Savior’s Atonement and the place to begin to do that is to review Alma 13:1-21.

Like everything else I write, this is only my opinion, but like my other opinions, I like this one a lot.

Alma’s words to Zeezrom are organized as follows:

Verse 1 — ORDINATION OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL IN HEAVEN. This maps to Abraham 3:23.

Verses 2-5 — FLASHBACK: PRIESTHOOD OF INTELLIGENCES. This maps to Abraham 3:22.

Verses 6-9 — RELATIONSHIP OF THE TWO PREMORTAL PRIESTHOODS

Verses 10-20 — THE MORTAL PRIESTHOOD

In the following quotes, I have put the word “order” in all caps to facilitate reading the texts as a discussion of priesthood orders.

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Verse 1 — ORDINATION OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL IN HEAVEN. This maps to Abraham 3:23.

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
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1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children

In these passages, the word “forward” has two different and opposite meanings. The meanings are made apparent by their contexts. The first “forward” projects our thinking to the distant past, “forward to the time when the Lord God gave [past tense] these commandments unto his children .” The second meaning projects our minds to the future, “in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.”

In order to make the first “forward” fit with the past tense “gave,” all we have to do is read the world’s best English dictionary to discover that Joseph used precisely the right word if he intended to project our thinking toward the very beginning of time. The first definition of “forward” in the Oxford English Dictionary is an absolute vindication of the use of that word with a past tense verb. It reads,

1. In OE [Old English] used in partitive concord: The front part of (any thing material); the first or earliest part of (a period of time, etc.).

Discovering the time frame of the story as “the first or earliest part of time, when the Lord God [Heavenly Father] gave these commandments unto his children” is the key to our understand the rest of the verse, as well as to our understanding the entire chapter.

to the time when the Lord God [Heavenly Father] gave these commandments unto his children [his spirit children];

Before their birth in the spirit world they had been the noble and great intelligences who were organized, probably in priesthood quorums as is suggested further on in chapter 13. They are now his spirit children who were members of the Council in Heaven

“After” is another word that has different meanings and both meanings are used in this chapter. As with forward, the meaning of “after” has to be determined by its context. The usual meaning of after is following — “subsequent to in time, or behind in place.” The other meaning is “in the characteristic manner of.” There is nothing unusual about using the same word with different meanings. After I wrote the sentence about this being my opinion, I was amused to notice that I had used the word “like” three times and with two entirely different meanings.

and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after [in the manner of] his holy ORDER, which was after [following] the ORDER of his Son,

The context insists on those two meanings of “after” The first one clearly says that they were ordained to the priesthood ORDER of the Father. The second “after” has to be a statement of sequence because it would make no sense at all for the Father’s priesthood to be a subset of the ORDER of the Son. So that “after” has to mean “following.”

to teach these things unto the people

Immediately before this, Alma had walked Zeezrom through the steps of the Nephite temple service (Alma 12:28-34). Here, as elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, “these things” is code for that temple drama. However, in this context it is a premortal temple drama (probably the same one Paul describes in Ephesians 1). The Father ordains his “children” to teach to the “people.” “People” and “children” are not the same I thing. At the Council in Heaven, “Children” would be his spirit children and “people” would be those intelligences who had not yet been born into a spirit body. As far as I can tell, this is the same event as is described in Abraham 3:23. The stories are different because in Abraham 3:22 – 4:1 the noble and great ones create the spirit world, while in Alma 13 they are ordained to teach the intelligences how to prepare to inherit that spirit world. (For a discussion of why I think the world described there is the spirit world, go to the scriptures section of this website, then Pearl of Great Price, then Abraham 3:22.)

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Verses 2-5 — FLASHBACK: PRIESTHOOD OF INTELLIGENCES. This maps to Abraham 3:22.

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized [into priesthood quorums] before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
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2 And those priests [the children] were ordained after [in the manner of] the ORDER of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people [intelligences] might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

Their object is to teach the people how to come into the presence of God. That’s what “redemption” means in Ether 3:10-13; 2 Nephi 1:15, 2:3-4; Alma 58:41; Helaman 14:16-18.

3 And this is the manner after which they [the children] were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place [I do not believe that “first place” here is a colloquialism. I read it as meaning FIRST PLACE — that is, when they were intelligences] being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith [pistis — “great faith” would be keeping those covenants with diligence], are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

We learned in verse 2 that “those priests were ordained after the ORDER of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.” Here we are told the purpose of the priesthood to which they were ordained when they were intelligences. This priesthood, after the ORDER of the Son, “was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.” As intelligences they have not yet been born as spirit children of our heavenly parents. This priesthood after the ORDER of the Son is to enable them to do that. Their being born into God’s presence as his children was a “preparatory redemption” rather than the final one. The final redemption will come after their resurrection, when they will enter the presence of God and be able to remain there.

4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith [if faith is pistis, as it is elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, then what Alma says is that their calling came because they had kept their covenants], while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds [Alma had just defined a hardness of heart as choosing not to know the “mysteries of God” (Alma 12:9-11)], while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.

This statement, and the explanation that follows express one of the most fundamental and most important principles of the gospel. It reaches back into eternity to the origin of our free agency at the very beginning of our cognizance.

5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren;

If, in the first place they were on the same standing of those who eventually became the noble and great ones, and if they might have had as great privilege as their brethren had they not hardened their hearts, then we must conclude that any differences that developed between them and the noble and great ones were the products of their own choices. That would be equally true for the noble and great as well as for those who were not.

At this juncture Alma calls our minds back to the Council in Heaven in verse 1, where those noble and great ones, who were now spirits, were ordained after the ORDER of the Father.

In the story told by Abraham, that same juncture is tucked away between verses 22 and 23. (Abraham 3:22-23)

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized [into priesthood quorums] before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

There is a spirit birth between these two verses. The noble and great intelligences are next described as “for he stood among those that were spirits.” Spirits are intelligences who now inhabit spirit bodies, just as mortals are intelligences who inhabit both spirit and mortal bodies (see the explanations by B. H. Roberts in this website under “favorite quotes”).

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. [Which “born”? I suspect “both” would be the correct answer.]

Alma continues by merging the qualifications of the earlier priesthood with the qualifications of the order of the Father. The qualifications are “for such as would not harden their hearts.”

The definition of “this holy calling” is “being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son.”

thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared—

This new definition brings the meaning of priesthood into sharp focus. It says that the eternal priesthood given to us in various stages is virtually a subset of the Savior’s Atonement. That is easy to understand. The purposes of the Savior’s Atonement and the purposes of priesthood are the same. The object of each is to invite people to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and …. if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot (Moroni 10:32-33).”

Having returned us to the Council in Heaven where he began in verse 1, Alma teaches the responsibility of the holy ORDER of God.

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Verses 6-9 — RELATIONSHIP OF THE TWO PREMORTAL PRIESTHOODS
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6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy ORDER of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest—

In verses 1-3 we learned that the ORDER of the Son was to teach intelligences how to receive a preparatory redemption. Here we learn that the ORDER of the Father is to “to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest.” So the priesthood they received at the Council extended their responsibility to teach “the children of men” in this world, and with the same purpose: that they also might be redeemed.

We can understand that continuum between premortal and mortal priesthood more easily if we read it in light of Abraham 3: where we learn that Abraham was one who was chosen at the Council to be one of God’s rulers. Later in this chapter Alma tells us that Melchizedek was another.

While Alma draws a distinction between the ORDER of the Son and the ORDER of the Father, he also wants to make sure Zeezrom understands that they are both one eternal priesthood. It is useful for us to understand this relationship by remembering that the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood are the same, yet different. Or a better example is that the offices of elder and high priest in the Melchizedek priesthood are the same, yet different. So in the next three verses Alma calls attention to that intertwined relationship.

7 This high priesthood [ORDER of the Father] being after [following] the ORDER of his Son, which ORDER [of the Father] was from the foundation of the world [when the spirit children, who were members of the Council, created the world]; or in other words, [these two priesthoods] being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things—

8 Now they [the ‘children’ whom the Father ordained at the Council] were ordained after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy ORDER, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end—

9 Thus they become high priests forever, after [following] the ORDER of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.

The “Amen” is significant because it is the transition between our premortal priesthood and its continuation into this world where those high priests are to teach “the children of men.” as he mentioned in verse 6.

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Verses 10-20 — THE MORTAL PRIESTHOOD
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10 Now, as I said concerning the holy ORDER, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;

11 Therefore they were called after this holy ORDER, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.

12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

13 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.

14 Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of Melchizedek, who was also a high priest after [in the manner of] this same ORDER which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever.

15 And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed.

In the next verses, Alma points out that the priesthood we have in this world is the same priesthood we had before, even though we can no longer function in the fullness of that priesthood. A way to understand this is that we have moved out of the time and place where it was appropriate for us to exercise the fullness of our priesthood. Like a bishop who is released from serving in his ward. He is still a bishop but he cannot function in that office. Or like a patriarch who moves from his stake. He is still a patriarch but is not called to give blessings in his new stake. We come into this world as innocent children who have to be nurtured and taught, step by step, how to function here with that priesthood that is appropriate to this time and place.

16 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it [the earthly Melchizedek priesthood] being a type of his ORDER, or it being his ORDER, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord.

17 Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;

18 But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy ORDER of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father.

19 Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention.

20 Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own destruction.

From this analysis of the scriptures we have learned the following: The Covenant is between the Father, his Son, and ourselves. The Savior’s is the validation and the fulfillment of that covenant. His Atonement defines the terms. The object is our redemption — to bring as many as will come back into the presence of God. The hope is a product of our own righteousness. It is the assurance we receive that the covenant is real and its object is attainable. The fulfillment of the covenant comes after we have endured to the end.

The priesthood is a gift from God that is, for us, the enabling power by which we can bless others and be blessed by them, with the intent that they and we will enjoy the fulness of the blessings of the Gospel from the beginning of our cognizance, to our resurrection, and beyond.

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Alma 13:1-5, LeGrand Baker, about intelligences

Following my discussion of the scriptures, I have attached a statement by B. H. Roberts, which I believe is the most intelligent analysis of the question of intelligences in Mormon literature.

1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

The best place to begin a discussion of Alma 13 is Abraham 3, where we learn:

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones (Abraham 3:22)

One finds another version of that same story in Alma 13, where we learn how the noble and great ones came to be that way. Alma spoke of the time when “the Lord God ordained priests after [patterned after] his holy order, which was after [following] the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.”

It makes no sense that the holy order of “the Lord God” should be patterned after the order of the Son, so the second “after” must mean following in time.

Alma does not mention that they are members of Council in Heaven, but all other indications suggest the ordinations “after the order of” the Father that he talked about took place at that Council, so I presume the setting of Alma 13 and Abraham 3 is the same, and that each is simply a different version of the same story – except that Alma 12 and 13 tell us more about intelligences – much more detail about who the noble and great ones were before they were spirits in the Council – than any other scriptures I know about.

The first definition of “forward” in the Oxford English Dictionary is an absolute vindication of that word in this chapter of Alma.

It reads, “1. In OE [Old English] used in partitive concord: The front part of (any thing material); the first or earliest part of (a period of time, etc.).

So, in order to make “forward” fit with the past tense “gave,” all we have to do is read the world’s best English dictionary to discover that Joseph used precisely the right word if he intended that our minds should look toward the beginning of time.

This is the setting: The first OED definition of “forward” is the first or earliest part of a period of time. {1} So even though Joseph Smith’s translation does not use the phrase “in the beginning,” it uses the correct word to take us there. This is the time and place when the Father – the Lord God, Elohim – ordained priests. We know it is talking about Elohim because he “gave these commandments unto his children,” then “ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son.” In Abraham we are told that the Father chose the “noble and great ones,” who were at that time “spirits.” To be a spirit one must have received a spirit body from heavenly parents. Thus, “children” and “spirits” are the same thing. So Alma 13 is the same story as the same as Psalm 82, and the same as Abraham 3. “The Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son.” – “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods,” – “and he said: These I will make my rulers.” Alma said that the purpose of the ordination was so the “children” could teach the commandments of the Father to the “people.”

1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.
2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.
3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained——being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.
4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren
5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren…

Let us now examine that very carefully:

1  And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, (Alma 13:1a)

This is the setting: The first OED definition of “forward” is the first or earliest part of a period of time.{2} So even though Joseph Smith’s translation does not use the phrase “in the beginning,” it uses the correct word to take us there. This is the time and place when the Father – the Lord God, Elohim – ordained priests. We know it is talking about Elohim because he “gave these commandments unto his children,” then “ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son.” In Abraham we are told that the Father chose the “noble and great ones,” who were at that time “spirits.” To be a spirit one must have received a spirit body from heavenly parents. Thus, “children” and “spirits” are the same thing. So Alma 13 is the same story as the same as Psalm 82, and the same as Abraham 3. “The Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son.” – “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods,” – “and he said: These I will make my rulers.” Alma said that the purpose of the ordination was so the “children” could teach the commandments of the Father to the “people.”

to teach these things unto the people.

Now the question is, Who are the “people,” and why are they not also called “children”? The answer seems straight forward enough: If “people” are different from “children,” and the children are those who have already received spirit bodies from their heavenly parents, then the “people” must be intelligences – those individuals who have not yet been born into spirit bodies. If that is so, then the purpose of the teaching would have been to prepare the “people” to enter the presence of God and be born as “children.” That interpretation is substantially strengthened as we continue in the passage.

And those priests [the “children’] were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people [intelligences] might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

If the non-children – the “people” – are intelligences, then this sermon by Alma gives us great insight about the meaning and extent of the atonement – about what it means to say that the atonement is infinite and eternal. That insight is this: Intelligences are represented here as being self cognizant, capable of learning and of interacting with others. They have free agency and are therefore capable of error. If they are capable of error – sin – they become unclean while they were still intelligences. Since no unclean thing can enter into the presence of God, no intelligence who had ever made a wrong decision could enter his presence to become one of his spirit offspring. (Only Christ had never sinned, so only Christ could – by right – enter the presence of God to become his Son. Therefore Christ was the “Firstborn” and “Only Begotten.”) However the intelligences could enter the presence of God on the same principles that one has always been able to do so. That is, because Christ’s atonement is infinite and eternal it has the power to reach back in time to where intelligences could be redeemed and brought into the presence of God. If I read Abraham 3 and Alma 13 correctly, some intelligences qualified to become spirit children of Heavenly Father before others qualified. Those who qualified first became members of the Council (Satan, who was a liar from the beginning, qualified by knowing the requisite things and performing the requisite performances, but when he was presented with a plan which would send him to earth where he would be judged by charity rather than performance, he realized he could no longer lie his way through the system, and tried to mess everything up.)

Abraham 3-5 tells about the Father’s spirit children (the gods) who created the earth, while Alma 12-13 tells about the Father’s spirit children who were ordained to teach the unorganized intelligences about the atonement. Of those members of the Council, Abraham wrote, “God saw these souls that they were good.” Alma was much more explicit:

And this is the manner after which they were ordained – being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God,

Alma then says that “foreknowledge” was a projection of the past into the future – that is, God knew their works in the past; he knew their integrity, and therefore he knew their future.

being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works;

That says that because of their faith (pistis – tokens of the covenants) – and good works (in James, Paul, throughout the Book of Mormon and many other places in the scriptures, “works” refer to ordinances.), that they were called and prepared. That should come as no surprise, because that is always the criteria God uses. The surprise may come in the next phrase which answers the question, When?

in the first place being left to choose good or evil;

The phrase “in the first place” has one of two meanings: either it is a colloquial expression that is just stuck in there, or it means precisely what it says: “in the first place.” If it is only a colloquialism one can make the chapter mean almost anything one wishes. However if it does mean “in the first place,” then these statements describe the noble and great ones as intelligences, and tell why and how they qualified to be among the earliest spirit children born to our heavenly parents. In this chapter, the phrase, “in the first place” is used twice. I take them to mean exactly what they say: in the first place – as intelligences they were free to choose good or evil –

therefore they [the intelligences] having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith [in Christ],

In this verse these “children” are described as having “exceeding faith and good works” and “exercising exceedingly great faith.” If “faith” means belief, that speaks highly of their conviction. However, if “faith” means the same as pistis – tokens of covenants – that helps us understand how truly great these illuminaries must have been. Alma says that they “are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.”

“Preparatory redemption” is another key phrase which helps us determine the time this was happening. “Redemption” is coming into the presence of God. In terms of this life, to be redeemed is to be brought back into his presence. (Ether 3:13-14, Helaman 14:17, 2 Nephi 2:2-4, 2 Nephi 1:15). The final redemption is being brought into the Celestial Kingdom where one may reside with God.

“Preparatory redemption” does not mean “preparing for a redemption,” it means a redemption which prepares one for something else – a redemption which is “preparatory.” In this case it would preparing intelligences to be redeemed the first time – that is, to be brought into the presence of God as his spirit children. It is preparatory because it is not permanent.3 As children we must leave his presence again when we come into this world. When we return to his presence to stay, that will be a permanent redemption. So the first redemption when we became his spirit children is “preparatory” because it looks forward to the final redemption.

4 And thus they [the “children” – members of the Council] have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith [in Christ], while others [intelligences] would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts [That phrase is defined in Alma 12: 9-11 as refusing to know the “mysteries” of God.] and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this [their refusal to know] they [the “people”] might have had as great privilege as their brethren [the “children”].

That may be the most important concept in the scriptures. For, as the next verse makes it clear, the noble and great ones were not noble and great because they had some special advantages, but “on account of their exceeding faith and good works” – because of the way they exercised their free agency, their advancement as intelligences was an entirely individual matter. (Abraham 3:18-21 seems to confirm that.)

5a. Or in fine, in the first place [“In the first place” – when they were intelligences] they [the “people”] were on the same standing with their brethren [the “children”];

That is, at some point in time – in the very distant past – the intelligences who are here identified as the “people” were on the same standing as the intelligences who are here identified as “children.” There was nothing arbitrary about the selection of the noble and great ones. They were not noble and great because they were the among the first to be born to our Heavenly Parents, but they were among the first to be born to our Heavenly Parents because they were noble and great.

5b. thus this holy calling [the ordination mentioned in verse one] being prepared from the foundation of the world [that always means at or before the Council] for such as would not harden their hearts [when they were intelligences], [This priesthood calling] being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared –

If I read that correctly it says that in the very beginnings of our beginning we were free to choose. Those who chose to have faith in Christ and follow him did so; those who chose not to, did not do so. To accept that notion, one must also accept the idea that the atonement reaches back forever (“Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” D&C 93:29), and continues forever into the future. I accept that as truth. But in my imagination, I cannot conceive of our origin being so two dimensional as to simply assert that one only accepted Christ or not accept him. My notion is that by the time one had matured sufficiently as an “intelligence” to be ready to be born a child in the world of the spirits, one had not only developed one’s inclination to love the Lord and his children; but one had also fully, or very nearly, developed the whole complex system of preferences and non-preferences which we call personality. I suppose also, that all the other attributes of personality were subsets of the most important one, which was (still is) charity – one’s love for the Father and his children.

The first commandment is to Love the Lord. The second is to love your neighbor. If our this-physical-life experience was designed to see if one will love in an environment which is not conducive to love, then it was designed very well indeed. The farmer who beats his dogs and children, and indiscriminately uses his chickens for a football is, at his core, not substantially different from the tyrant who over-taxes his people and oppresses them with unjust laws. Similarly the impoverished housewife who feeds the hungry neighbor child is not substantially different from the middle class Latter-day Saint Relief Society sister who looks after her ill neighbor because she chooses to rather than because she feels it is her duty. It seems to me that earth’s experience was designed, not to show if we will obey, but to show why we obeyed – that is, so we can have sufficient opportunity to confirm to ourselves and all creation whether we obeyed in the spirit world because we knew which side our bread is buttered on, or whether we obeyed because we truly love the Lord and love his children.

In the Gospel of John, the beloved disciple, quotes the Saviour as saying,

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13: 34-35)

This does not imply that the command to love one another was never given before that time. In his letters John explains that the commandment is “new” because it is renewed in this world, but it was first given in the pre-mortal existence. He used the phrase, “from the beginning” four times in these few verses. (Later, I shall show how “new and everlasting covenant” has the same connotation.)

4 He that saith, I know him [God], and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. (1 John 2: 4-10)

and

1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
2 For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. (2 John 1: 1-6)

If the object of our earth life experience was designed to that end, then human and individual history takes on a whole new meaning. Whether in the extreme of poverty and utter obscurity, or in great wealth and reputation – or somewhere in between – the purpose of life is the same for everyone – only the specific assignment is different – in this life and, I suppose, in the spirit world which follows. Since “where much is given, much is required” is a true principle, for the rich and the poor, the well educated and the ill-educated, the opportunities for doing good in this life (and/or in the next), are ultimately worked out on a level playing field.

An example is one of the most moving autobiographies I have ever read. Martha Cox’s parents were among the first settlers in St. George, Utah. All of her life she was very poor. Near the end of her autobiography she wrote something like this: “I have always been grateful to the Lord that I had no money. I have noticed that rich people cannot give to poor people without the poor people being reluctant to accept, because they think the rich people are being condescending. But I have always been so poor that I could help whomever I wished, and they were always able to accept whatever I had to give.”{4}

I believe that one’s charity (in combination with other personality attributes) and one’s priesthood authority, as they are described as a single unit in Abraham 1:2-4, constitute the ‘law of one’s own being.’ (As I consider it, I think that the phrase “priesthood authority” is the right concept there, but as we use the words, probably not the right phrase – though I have no idea what a better one would be. Considering the grand sweep and eternal scope of Abraham’s statements, I think the concept is far too big for our gender oriented “priesthood authority” to say all that is necessary to say. But as I observed, I haven’t the foggiest idea what a better phrase would be.)

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Endnotes

{1} Oxford English Dictionary: The first meaning of the word “forward.” The definition reads: “The front part of (any thing material); the first or earliest part of (a period of time. etc.).”

{2} Oxford English Dictionary: The first meaning of the word “forward.” The definition reads: “The front part of (any thing material); the first or earliest part of (a period of time. etc.).”

{3} “Preparatory … 1. That prepares or serves to prepare; preliminary; introductory, 2. Undergoing preparation, or preliminary instruction, …” (Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language [Cleveland, World Publishing Company1959.] )

{4} I apologize that I no longer have the exact quote or the precise citation. The original is in the Church Historical Department in SLC; a xerox copy is in Special Collections at BYU library. Her statement is somewhere near the end of her autobiography.

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The Seventy’s Course in Theology

SECOND YEAR

Outline History of the Dispensations of the Gospel

Compiled and Edited by

B. H. ROBERTS
Of the First Council of
the Seventy 

“The things of God are of deep import; and time and experience, and
careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. –
Joseph Smith.

SKELTON PUBLISHING Co.

Salt Lake City

1908

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[page 7] The Seventy’s Course in Theology

SECOND YEAR

Outline History of the Dispensations of
the Gospel
PART I
PRELUDE TO THE DISPENSATIONS

LESSON I.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

INTELLIGENCIES AND SPIRITS.

ANALYSIS.
I. Intelligencies – Existence and Character of.

REFERENCES.
Pearl of Great Price ch.iii. St. John i: 1-14 Compared with Doc. and Cov. Bee. xciii 6-31. See the Prophet Joseph’s “King Follett Sermon” Api. :, 1844, Mill. Star Vol. xxiii, pp.245-280 and notes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

II. Distinction Between “Intelligences” and “Spirits.”

Book of Ether ch. iii: 13- 16, and the foregoing references of the lesson and notes 1, 7. Also Article in the “Improvement Era,” Apri 1907, on the “Immortality of Man,”{1}

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
{1} [B. H. Robert’s footnote:]
The following appears as a note preceding the article In question, from which article most of the notes in this and in lessons following in Part I are taken: “Elder Roberts submitted the following paper to the First Presidency and a number of the Twelve Apostles, none of whom found anything objectionable in It, or contrary to the revealed word of God, and therefore favor its publication.-Editors.”

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NOTES.
1. Intelligencies-Co-Eternal: “If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them. * * * * * If there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist, for they are gnolaum, or eternal. Book of Abraham ch. 3, 16, 18.)
2. Intelligencies, Eternal, Self-existent: “The soul-the mind of man-the immortal spirit-where did it come from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created It in the beginning; but It is not so: the very idea lessens man in my estimation. I do not believe the doctrine. I know better. Hear it, all ye ends of the world, for God has told me so, If you don’t believe me, It will not make the truth without effect . * * * We say that God himself Is a self-existent being. Who told you so? It is correct enough, but how did it get into your head? Who told you that man did not exist in like manner, upon the same principles? Man does exist upon the same principles. * * * * * The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal [co-eternal*], with God himself. I know my testimony is true.”-Joseph Smith, (Mill. Star, Vol. XXIII p. 262.)
3. The Nature of Intelligencies: There is in that complex thing we call man, an intelligent entity, uncreated, self existent, indestructible, He-for that entity is a person; because, as we shall see, he is possessed of powers that go with personality only, hence that entity is “he,” not “it,”-he is eternal as God is; co-existent, in fact, with God; of the same kind of substance or essence with deity, though confessedly inferior In degree of intelligence and power to God. One must needs think that the name of this eternal entity-what God calls him – conveys to the mind some idea of his nature. He is called an “intelligence;” and this I believe is descriptive of him. That is, intelligence Is the entity’s chief characteristic. If this be a true deduction, then the entity must be self- conscious, and “others-conscious,” that is, lie must have the power to distinguish himself from other things-the “me” from the “not me.” He must have the power of deliberation, by which he sets over one thing against another; with power also to form a judgment that this or that is a better thing or state than this or that. Also there goes with this idea of intelligence a power of choosing one thing Instead of an- other, one state rather than another. These powers are inseparably connected with any idea that may be formed of an intelligence. One cannot conceive of Intelligence existing without these qualities any more

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than he can conceive; of an object existing in space without dimension.. The phrase “the light of troth” [Doc. & Cov., Sec. xciii.] is given in one of the revelations as the equivalent for an “intelligence” here discussed; by which is meant to be understood, as I think, that intelligent entities perceive the truth, are conscious of the truth, they know that which Is, hence “the light of truth,” “intelligence.” Let it be observed that I say nothing as to the mode of the existence of these intelligences, be- yond the fact of their eternity. But of their form, or the manner of their subsistence nothing, so far as 1 know, has been revealed, and hence we are without means of knowing anything about the modes of their existence beyond the fact of it, and the essential qualities they possess, which already have been pointed out.

4. Words Used Interchangeably: It is often the case that mis- conceptions arise through Ii. careless use of words, and through using words interchangeably, without regard to shades of differences that attach to them; and this in the scriptures as in other writings. Indeed, this fault is more frequent in the scriptures perhaps than in any other writings, for the reason that, for the most part, they are composed by men who did not aim at scientific exactness In the use of words. They were not equal to such precision In the use of language, in the first place; and in the second, they depended more upon the general tenor of what they wrote for making truth apparent than upon technical precision. In a choice of words; ideas, not niceness of expression, was the burden of their souls; thought, Rot Its dress. Hence, in scripture, and I might say especially in modern scripture, a lack of careful or precise choice of words, a large dependence upon the general tenor of what is written to convey the truth, a wide range in using words interchangeably that are not always exact equivalents, are characteristics. Thus the expressions, “Kingdom of God,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” “the Whole Family In Heaven,” “the Church,” “the Church of Christ,” “the Church of God,” are often used Interchangeably for the Church of Christ when they are not always equivalents; so, too, are used the terms “Spirit of God,” and “Holy Ghost;” “Spirit of Christ,” and the “the Holy Ghost;” “Spirit,” and “Soul;” “Intelligences,” and “spirits;” “spirits,” and “angels.” I mention this In passing, because I believe many of the differences of opinion and much of the confusion of ideas that exist arise out of our not recognizing, or our not remembering these facts. Hereafter let the student be on his guard in relation to the use of the words “Intelligencles,” “spirits,” “soul,” “mind,” etc.; and he will find his way out of many a dlfftculty.

5. Intelligence Eternal-Not Created: “Man was also In the be- ginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither Indeed can be.” (Doc. & Cov., Sec. xcltt, 29.)

“I am dwelling on the Immorality of the spirit of man. Is it logoli- cal to say that the intelligence of spirits Is Immortal, and yet that It (i. e. the intelligence) had a beginning. The Intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither wlll it have an end, That Is good logic. That which

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has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were no spirits, for they are co-equal (co-eternal) with our Father in heaven. * * * * * I take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man-the immortal part, because it has no beginning. Suppose you cut it in two; then it has a beginning and an end; but join It again and it continues one eternal round. So with the spirit of man. As the Lord liveth, if it had a beginning it with have an end. * * * * * Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle. It is a spirit* from age to age and there is no creation about it. * * * * * The first principles of a man are self-existent with God.-Joseph Smith-(Mill. Star, Vol. 23, p. 262.)
6. The Difference Between “Spirits,” and Uncreated “Intelligencies:” In the Book of Mormon we have the revelation which gives the most light upon spirit-existence of Jesus, and, through his spirit-existence, light upon the spirit-existence of all men. The light is given in that complete revelation of the pr~existent, personal spirit of Jesus Christ, made to the brother of Jared, ages before the spirit of Jesus tabernacled in the flesh. The essential part of the passage follows:

Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ; * * * * * and never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own Image. Behold this body which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

What do we learn from all this? First, let it be re-called that according to the express word of God ‘intelligences” are not created, neither indeed can they be. Now, with the above revelation from the Book of Mormon concerning the spirit-body of Jesus, before us, we are face to face with a something that was begotten, and in that sense a “creation,” a spirit, the “first born of many brethren;” the “beginning of the creations of God.” The spirit is in human form-for we are told that as Christ’s spirit-body looked to Jared’s brother, so would the Christ look to men when he came among them in the flesh; the body of flesh conforming to the appearance of the spirit, the earthly to the heavenly. “This body which ye now behold is the body of my spirit”-the house, the tenement of that uncreated intelligence which had been begotten of the Father a spirit, as later that spirit-body with the Intelligent, uncreated entity Inhabiting it, will be begotten a man. “This body which you now behold is the body of my spirit,” or spirit-body. There can be no doubt but what here “spirit,” as in the Book of Abraham, is used interchangeably with “intelligence,” and refers to the uncreated entity; as if the passage stood; “This is the body inhabited by an Intelligence.” The intelligent entity inhabiting a spirit-body make up the spiritual] personage. It is

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this spirit life we have so often thought about, and sang about. in this state of existence occurred the spirit’s “primeval childhood;” here spirits were “nurtured” near the side of the heavenly Father, in his “high and glorious place;” thence spirits were sent to earth to unite spirit-elements with earth-elements-in some way essential to a fulness of glory and happiness (Doe. & Coy. Sec. xciii: 32-35)-and to learn the lessons earth-life had to teach. The half awakened recollections of the human mind may be chiefly engaged with scenes, incidents and impressions of that spirit life; but that does not argue the non-existence of the uncreated intelligences who preceded the begotten spiritual personage as so plainly set forth in the revelations of God.

The difference, then, between “spirits” and “intelligencies,” as here used, is this: Spirits are uncreated intelligencies inhabiting spiritual bodies; while “intelligencies,” pure and simple, are intelligent entities, but unembodied in either spirit bodies or bodies of flesh and bone. They are uncreated, self-existent entities, possessed of “self-consciousness,” and “other-consciousness” -they are conscious of the “me” and the “not me”; they possess powers of discrimination, (without which the term “Intelligence” would be a solecism) they discern between the evil and the good; between the “good” and “the better.” They possess “will” or “freedom,”-within certain limits at least – the, power to determine upon a given course of conduct, as against any other course of conduct. This intelligence “can think his own thoughts, act wisely or foolishly, do right or wrong.” To accredit an “intelligence” with fewer or less important powers than these, would be to discredit him as an “intelligence” altogether.
7. Effect of the Doctrine of the Eternal Existence of Intelligences on Our Terminology: The conception here set forth in the doctrine that intelligencies are co-eternal with God uncreated and uncreatable, self-existent, indestructible, will be to change somewhat the currently accepted notion In regard to pre-existence of intelligencies and spirits, and In a way the number of estates through which they pass. It is customary for us to say, that there are three grand estates of existence through which intelligencies pass in the course of their exaltation to resurrected, immortal, divine beings (See Jacques’s Catechism, chap. vi.): first, their pr~existence as spirits, sons and daughters of God, in the spirit world; second, these spirits clothed upon with mortal bodies-earth-life of men and women; third, spirits inhabiting bodies that have been resurrected, Immortal beings clothed with imperishable bodies prepared for eternal advancement in the kingdoms of God. But the doctrine of the Prophet and of the scriptures he gave to the world, require us to recognize before the first

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estate as set forth in the above order, the existence of the self-existent intelligencies before they are begotten spirits, sons and daughters of God. So that it could be said that there are four estates in which intelligencies exist instead of three; namely; self-existent, uncreated and unbegotten intelligencies, co-eternal with God; second, intelligencies begotten of God spirits; third, spirits begotten men and women, still sons and daughters of God; fourth, resurrected beings, immortal spirits inhabiting imperishable bodies, still sons and daughters of God, and in the, line of eternal progression, up to the attainment of divine attributes and powers. Still, if we have regard to those changes through which Intelligences pass, rather than to their status before and after those changes, then we may still say that so far as the matter has been revealed there are three estates or changes through which intelligences pass in the course of their development or evolution into divine beings; and thus reserve the terminology of our sacred literature to which we are accustomed. (See Book of Abraham, ch iii: 22-26. Also Jaques’ Catechism, ch. vi.)

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The following is from B. H. Roberts, The Truth, The Way, The Life (Provo, Utah, BYU Studies, 1994), 98.

Do these higher intelligences of the stellar universe and planetary systems have so developed in themselves the quality of love that makes it possible to think of them as being willing to sacrifice themselves–to empty themselves in sacrifice to bring to pass the welfare of others whom they may esteem to be the undeveloped intelligences of the universe and may they not be capable of giving the last full measure of sacrifice to bring to pass the higher development of the “lowly” when no other means of uplift can be serviceable? Is the great truth operative among these untold millions of intelligences that greater love hath no intelligence for another than this, that he would give his life in the service of kindred intelligences when no other means of helpfulness is possible?

Alma 13:1-3, LeGrand Baker, The Council in Heaven in Alma 13.

1   And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.
2   And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.
3   And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

As I observed last week, I believe that the last few verses of Abraham 3, and the first few verses of Alma 13 are simply two views of the same events. In Abraham 3, we are told about the selection of those “noble and great ones” whose assignment it was to create the earth “on which these may dwell.” In Alma 13 we are told about the selection of Heavenly Father’s “children” who are to teach the “people” how to prepare to inhabit that earth.

One of the first problems we encounter in Alma 13 is that the word “forward” is used with past tense verbs. There are two ways to try to resolve that apparent oversight. One is to simply decide it is an oversight and choose to focus on either “forward” and read the chapter as a prediction of things to come; or else to ignore “forward” and choose to focus on the verb tenses and read the chapter as a description of things that have been in the past. In either case, when we have chosen our focus, we will read the rest of the chapter to accommodate our choice of directions.

The other way is to go to the Oxford English Dictionary and see if somehow the meaning of the word “forward” might correctly be read with the past tense verbs.

I chose to do the latter — not because I was especially clever, but because I had served my mission in England where I frequently heard bus drivers say, “Please step forward to the back of the bus.” The first time I heard that I thought it was an oxymoron, because everyone who was standing in the bus was facing toward the front, and people just don’t go “forward” and end up backward. So when I found that same word used in that same seemingly contradictory way in the Book of Mormon, I decided to try to find out why it might make sense. (I mentioned this a while back, but for the sake of my friends who have recently joined our email list, and because I believe that the definition of that single word is the key to understanding the rest of the chapter, I’ll mention it again.)

The first definition of “forward” in the Oxford English Dictionary is an absolute vindication of the use of that word in our verse in Alma 13. Alma. It reads,

1. In OE [Old English] used in partitive concord: The front part of (any thing material); the first or earliest part of (a period of time, etc.).

So there you are! In order to make “forward” fit with the past tense of the phrase, “when the Lord God gave…” all we have to do is read the world’s best English dictionary to discover that “forward” can correctly be used to direct our minds to the past. If that was Alma’s intent, then Joseph used precisely the right English word to cause us to look “forward” toward the very beginning of time.

Even though Joseph Smith’s translation does not use the phrase “in the beginning,” it uses another correct word to take us there. Thus, I for one, am convinced that the setting of the first verses of Alma 13 is the Council in Heaven when Heavenly Father himself ordained his children.

Alma writes:

1. And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward [to the beginning of time] to the time when the Lord God [Heavenly Father] gave [past tense] these commandments [the ones he is about to describe] unto his children [“Children” were children. That is, they were spirit children of our Heavenly Parents. I read that to be equivalent to this statement in Abraham,

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. (Abraham 3:23 italics added)

Alma continues,

and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God [Heavenly Father] ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son [The Holy Priesthood After the Order of the Son of God (D&C 107:1-3)], to teach these things [I take it that “these things” are the things Alma had just discussed in chapter 12— i.e. the drama’s instructions about how to come into the presence of God] unto the people [“The people” are different from “his children” in two respects. First, they are not called “children” which probably means they were then intelligences who had not yet been born into the presents of our Heavenly Parents as their spirit children. The second is that they had not yet been instructed sufficiently in “these things.”]

2. And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption. [In the past three weeks several of our friends have suggested what that “manner” might have been. I would like to add one more suggestion to that list. That is the one that is suggested in Isaiah 40:12. The suggestion is in the form of a question. The context is a series of questions, ending with this one:

Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? (Isaiah 40:21)

Alma continues,

3. And this is the manner after which they were ordained — being called and prepared from the foundation of the world [that is, “in the beginning”] according to the foreknowledge of God [God knew their heart, not because he made them first or something like that, but by the way they had already proven themselves : ], on account of their [the “children’s”] exceeding faith [in Christ] and good works [In Alma 12, he had used “holy works” to refer to ordinances and covenants]; in the first place [I understand “first place” to mean “first place.”] They [the children] being left to choose good or evil; therefore they [the “children”] having chosen good [in the first place], and exercising exceedingly great faith [in the first place], are called with a holy calling [the order of the priesthood just mentioned], yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with [a preparatory redemption for the children], and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. [To be redeemed in the Book of Mormon frequently means to come into the presence of God. (Ether 3:13; Helaman 14:16-18; 2 Nephi 1:15, 2:1-3 are examples.]A “preparatory redemption,” then, would be a temporary redemption in preparation for a final redemption. The first “preparatory redemption” was when we were born as spirit children to our Heavenly Parents. The final redemption will be after we have proven ourselves here, so we can be with them forever. If that is correct, what Alma is saying is this:

They [the children] being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good , and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling [the order of the priesthood just mentioned], yea, with that holy [priesthood] calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption [their coming the first time into the presence of their Heavenly Parents] for such [the children]

Next week we will continue with verse 4.

Alma 13: 1, LeGrand Baker, “Forward” to “the first place.”

Alma 13:1
1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

To understand this verse, here is a very helpful phrase used twice in this chapter. It is “in the first place.” The phrase is found only five times in the Book of Mormon. Two, 2 Nephi 32:9, and Alma 32:22 simply mean as you get started. The other three mean the same thing, but the referent projects the reader back into the eternities— as we got started there. Mosiah 2:23 is a reference to the time of creation: “And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives,.”

The two in Alma 13 refer to the very beginnings of our beginning. They read: “In the first place being left to choose good or evil,” (v 3) and “in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren.” (V. 5) One can read them simply as colloquial expressions, or one can read them to mean “in the first place.” I personally believe they mean what they say. A similar phrase in the Secrets of Enoch that expresses the same idea is, “even before the very beginning.” (Charles, 24:3)

If one accepts that definition of “in the first place,” it causes and interesting (but only apparent) problem with the wording of the first two verses. The apparent problem is in the use of the word “forward.”

Verse one reads, “And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children.” That is followed by, “And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.”

There is no difficulty with the second verse. There “forward” means “forward.” Alma is simply projecting his listeners minds into the future when the people can take full advantage of the blessings of the atonement.

It is “forward” in the first verse that presents the apparent difficulty. “I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave…” “Gave” is past sense, so the implication is that Alma is using the word “forward” to call attention to something that happened in the past. If one reads that carefully “forward” seems to mean “backward.” In fact, that is precisely what it does mean—the use of that word is just one more incidental, but remarkable, evidence that the English translation of the Book of Mormon is very precise, and that the English words were chosen because they convey the same meaning as the words in the original language.

The first definition of “forward” in the Oxford English Dictionary is an absolute vindication of the use of that word in this chapter of Alma. It reads,

1. In OE [Old English] used in partitive concord: The front part of (any thing material); the first or earliest part of (a period of time, etc.).

So, in order to make “forward” fit with the past tense “gave,” all we have to do is read the world’s best English dictionary to discover that Joseph used precisely the right word if he intended that our minds should look toward the very beginning of time.

Discovering the time frame, “when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children” also helps us understand the rest of the verse, and even the entire chapter.

In the first verse, “the Lord God” is Heavenly Father, One can know that it is Heavenly Father from the wording of the last half of the verse. “the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son.” The other evidence that it is Heavenly Father is that the only time in the scriptures when the Father gives commandments, and ordains his children, is in the context of the Council in Heaven—either there in fact, as in Abraham 3: 22-23; or in a sode experience like Isaiah 6.

The last phrase in the verse also presents some interesting questions. “The Lord God ordained priests…to teach these things unto the people.” The first question is, “What were “these things”? The most immediate antecedent to that statement is in the last part of chapter 12, where Alma challenges Zeezrom to accept the Lord’s invitation to “enter into his rest.” However, it seems to me that the more likely antecedent is Alma’s review of the entire Feast of Tabernacles temple drama that builds up to, and concludes with that invitation. (Alma 12:28-37)

If that is correct, then the setting for Alma 13 is the same as the setting for Abraham 3. It is the temple in Kolob, at the Council in Heaven. It is the same time as the story in Abraham 3, except in Alma 13 the “children” are ordained to teach; while in Abraham 3-5 the “noble and great ones” organize the worlds. In other words, both versions are simply different chapters of the same story.

If that is correct, then I suspect the first verse of Alma 13 might be understood to mean something like this:

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward [to the beginning of time] to the time when the Lord God [Heavenly Father] gave these commandments [those found in the ancient temple drama] unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God [Heavenly Father] ordained priests [these would be “noble and great ones” as in Abraham 3], after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things [necessary ordinances and covenants of the ancient drama] unto the people.

That leaves us with another question. Why is there a distinction made between the “children” and the “people,” and what is the difference? I would like to try to deal with that question later.

Alma 12: 28-34, LeGrand Baker, Alma’s review of Feast of Tabernacles drama

The thing that strikes me as most extraordinary about Alma’s ‘private’ conversation with Zeezrom is that this is a kind of debate setting, and not the sort of time where Alma would be introducing new concepts that Zeezrom had never heard before. The thing that is remarkable about that is that these chapters are among the ‘deepest doctrinal’ chapters in the Book of Mormon, which means tahat Zeezrom had an amazing understanding of the gospel. Which implies that he had been a student of the scriptures and had gotten off onto some pretty thin ice, or else that the ‘deep’ doctrines Alma was discussing were generally known among the Nephites. In Alma 12, Alma beats Zeezrom with the covenants he has made in this world, in chapter 13 he clobbers him with the covenants he made in the pre-mortal existence. Both chapters say a lot about the intellects of Alma and Zeezrom.

Chapter 12 has focused on the covenants associated with the temple drama of the Feast of Tabernacles. As I mentioned last week, that concluded with the invitation,

34  Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.

But also with the warning:

5   And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

Before issuing that invitation and that warning, Alma reviewed the most relevant parts of the drama he was referring to. He said,

28   And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, [that is, at the Council in Heaven] behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;
29   Therefore he sent angels [don’t know how many. Two or three maybe, perhaps more] to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory. [the object of the angels’ teaching was to teach people how to enter God’s presence.]
30      And they [the people] began from that time forth to call on his name [so the angels taught them how to pray]; therefore God conversed with men [the Father himself spoke], and made known unto them the plan of redemption [‘redeem’ in the Book of Mormon, means to enter God’s presence (Ether 3:13; 2 Ne. 1:15, 2:1-3; Helaman 8:23)], which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to [that is, these were the methods he used for insturction] their faith [pistis, tokens of the covenants] and repentance [repentance is the very best teacher] and their holy works [‘Holy’ means holy, works are ordinances——the ordinances are also a source of instruction].

31   Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal [‘temporal’ is time related, so he is talking about the commandments associated with linear time.] and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil [that is very different from ‘good and evil’], placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good——
32   Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption [again, having taught them how to come into the presence of God], that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness [righteousness is zedek which is correctness in temple things, so the second death he is talking about is the state of being without zedek type blessings]; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power [without zedek , one cannot come into God’s presence], for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.
33   But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;
34   Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.

Alma 12:34-37, LeGrand Baker, Alma’s invitation to enter into the rest of the Lord.

Alma 12:34-37
34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.
35 And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.
36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.
37 And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

Alma’s speech in chapter 12 reaches a powerful crescendo, which, in turn becomes a springboard to his discussion of the priesthood covenants in our premortal existence in chapter 13. But, for us, the crescendo often falls flat because his ideas are outside of our usual frame of reference. But, for his audience, his point was powerful and well aimed.

In verses 36-37 Alma called their attention to both the warning and the blessing promised in the 95th Psalm. The psalm reads,

1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. (Psalms 95:1-11)

Alma said the provocation would preclude their entering into the Lord’s rest. Many years before, Nephi’s brother Jacob had drawn a similar conclusion.

7 Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness. (Jacob 1:7)

Paul understood the psalm’s message the same way.

7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)….
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:7-19)

Each used the ideas in the psalm to remind his audience of the time when the children of Israel were camped at Horeb, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, and though they had the opportunity, they refused to hear the voice of the Lord. The Lord stood on the mountain, concealed behind dark smoke (as a veil) and spoke to them, but they refused to hear him, or to regard his invitation.

This is the way Moses tells the story in Exodus:

3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;….
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel…..
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai…..
16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

On the mountain, Moses received the Ten Commandments.

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. (Exodus 19 & 20)

Moses retold the story with a somewhat different emphases in Deuteronomy, which was his great last sermon to his people.

10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. (Deuteronomy 4:10-12)

4 The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5 (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the work of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deuteronomy 5:4-6)

8 Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you.
9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
10 And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. (Deuteronomy 9:8-10)

The provocation was that the Lord had invited them to hear his own voice, and they refused. In the above accounts, there are four verses that tell the whole story:

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. (Exodus 19 & 20)

4 The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5 (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the work of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) (Deuteronomy 5:4-6)

While Moses was on Sinai the people built and worshiped the golden calf, and their incontinence also provoked the Lord. But the provocation Alma was talking about was their refusal th accept the opportunity to speak to, and learn from the Lord.

The 78th Psalm says it most succinctly:

40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness,
and grieve him in the desert!
41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God,
and limited the Holy One of Israel. (Psalms 78:40-41)

It was the limitation they placed on God that disabled his ability to bless them. Paul, Jacob, and Alma all used that story to urge the people to not hobble God’s ability to be kind.

The 95th Psalm had urged,

8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness….
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath
that they should not enter into my rest (Psalm 95:8, 11).

Paul quoted the psalm, “ So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest,” then he asked, “And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?” (Hebrews 3:7-19)

Jacob recorded, “

7  Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, (Jacob 1:7)

Alma warned,

34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.
35 And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.
36 … if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord;…
37 …but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word. (Alma 12:34-37)

Alma spoke of two “provocations.” The first was the time the people refused to hear the Lord at Sinai.

36 … if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation,

The second would be the last provocation, on judgement day, when the wicked will turn away again because they cannot endure the glory of the Lord.

36 … yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.

In the last verse of the chapter, Alma returned to his earlier statement that to harden one’s heart is to refuse to know the mysteries. Thus he wrapped this part of his discourse into a single package, with the “second commandments” he mentions apparently representing their present opportunity to enjoy the ordinances and covenants that will bring one into the presence of God, for he says,

37 And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word. (Alma 12:34-37)

Alma 12:31 — LeGrand Baker — Atonement in linear time

Alma 12:31
31 Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal [“temporal” is time related, so he is talking about the commandments associated with linear time.] and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil [that is very different from “good and evil”], placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—

Some time ago when I was thinking about the atonement, I asked a question I had not asked before: “What physical—meaning, time and space, as well as world and body—what physical environment must have been provided for us in order that the atonement would work.”

The time-tested system proved effectual again: If one asks the right questions in the right order the questions themselves provide the magic key.

Once I knew the question, the answers came readily. The answers were not new in any particular, but they created a new panorama for me as I put them together into a single unit.

I realized something I had not thought of before: It is only by virtue of the Saviour’s atonement that we find ourselves in this kind of physical environment that enables us to accept the cleansing power of the atonement.

It seems to me that there are at least seven necessary conditions that must be met by our “physical” experience, in order for us to be free to take advantage of all the blessings of the atonement. By identifying those seven, I believe I came closer to understanding the magnitude of the atonement than I had come before. (Im sure there are more than 7, but this is a good start.)

They are these:

(1) In this world, we must forget. We must not be able to bring any memory of our previous existence with us to this world. If we were to do so, that memory would impose itself upon our purposes, motives, and actions, and we could not be free here to make independent decisions. So, in order for us to have free agency here in this world, we had to come innocent, and without memory of our previous life. (I suspect, if our pre-earth spirit world experience required the same kind of free agency, one also had to enter that world innocent, and having forgotten the experiences one had as an intelligence.)

(2) In this world, we have to be in linear time. In linear time one can experience only the moment of the present, and can neither return to that moment after it has passed, nor carry it into the future. Sacred time is very different from that. When one is in sacred time, one does not have the restraints of “before” and “after.” Sacred time is time through which one can move in somewhat the same way we move through space. There is a relationship between sacred and linear time. That is, those in sacred time can move through past, present, future, and back again in linear time. Therefore, when one is in sacred time, one can know both causes and consequences of events that occur in linear time. That is why God and the members of the Council in Heaven were able to plan so perfectly. They were in sacred time and could understand everything that would occur in linear time. Were that not so, that is if God could not see the beginning from the end, then foreordination would have been impossible or meaningless. God had to know all things that would occur throughout linear time in order to make assignments to us and arrange that we could be born in the time, and the place, and under the right circumstances so we could keep our eternal covenants.

The purposes of our present world would be defeated if we had remained in sacred time.

One reason that our experience here must be in linear time is the same as the reason we must lose our memory: that is, if one could move through time to go back and fix things, or go forward to know which problems to avoid, it would preclude independent thinking in this world and thus would prevent our having free agency.

(3) (I don’t know quite how to say this so it will make sense, so please be patient while I try to muddle through.) In this world, we are in a strange kind of reality, that isn’t quite real. It is not dream-like, because it is very real, but neither is it an absolute, straightforward reality. Let me try to explain.

If our situation were absolute reality, we would be fully punished whenever we sinned, and fully blessed whenever we did something good. That is not, and must not be the case. If we were fully punished when we sinned two things would happen. One is that our Self would diminish because of the punishment. For example, if one hurts another because of hatred or envy, there are two sins involved. The first is the motive, the second the action. I suspect that in many cases the motive is the greater sin than action. The punishment for hatred would be, I suppose, an exposure of one’s cankered soul to one’s Self, sealing it in reality. In the world we now live in one can avoid that through repentance, but if time for repentance were not given, the exposure would occur in the intensity of the hatred one’s soul would be diminished. So each time one sinned, one would get closer and closer to hell, with no possible way to get out. The second is that if we anticipated the immediate punishment we would avoid the sin, which would have the same effect as being forced to not do evil. As a result, we might be saved, but the salvation would be meaningless because it would have been without free agency.

On the other hand, if we were blessed each time we did something good, we would be bribed or forced into heaven, and again, without our free agency.

So one of the conditions we must find ourselves in is this kind of unreal suspension is that one may taste the consequence of sin, but not fully experience it. Also, one may taste the consequence of doing good, but not fully experience that either. Having tasted the partial effects of good and evil, then one is free, not to return to it, but to try to duplicate or enhance it next time. Let me give you a simple example: one of the first things a toddler learns is that there is advantage in cheating. If another toddler is looking away, he can take her toys without getting into a fight. The child is innocent so that is not a sin, but it is a learning experience. When the child matures, one of three things will come from his repetition of that experience. (1) The adult will embrace its advantage and base his whole political or economic career on that principle of cheating. (2) Or, the adult may resort to it only on occasion, when it seems especially advantageous or necessary. (3) Or, as an adult, one may have discovered that cheating is repugnant to one’s soul, and simply refuse to do it because it is bitter to one’s taste, and therefore, because one chooses not to cheat.

The same principle works for the kinds of actions and attitudes that the prophets have defined as evil. Example:

A toddler responds to another’s sorrow, pain, or misfortune with kindness, but as an adult that child may be kind only on occasion when it seems necessary or self-advantageous; or he may avoid feelings of empathy and kindness altogether, seeing them as evidence of weakness—as demeaning—violating one’s sense of strength and superiority, and therefore behave with contempt toward other people.

In each example, the persons began at the same place, but their choices ultimately defined their Selves to themselves and to God quite differently.

So it is with everything one does, and every decision one makes. Because we are in linear time, and in a state of suspension where we do not receive the full consequences of our actions, we are free to be ourselves. This is a perfect environment in which one may answer the question: When you were in the spirit world, why did you obey: was it because you recognized obedience would bring power and authority, or was it because you loved your Father and His children.

The reason this earth life is a perfect environment for one honestly answer those questions is because one cannot remember what pre-mortal advantages he sought after, so in this world one seeks after the things that brings the greatest gratification —whether that gratification comes from doing good, or doing evil.

There is a problem: Frequently, in this world, one’s environment gets in the way of one’s having the freedom to be oneself. That also has been taken into account. If some environmental or cultural circumstances imposed unnatural attitudes upon one in this life, then in the post-life spirit world one can rethink and redefine one’s Self, rejecting the things that are not compatible with one’s true desires; or continue as one did here, moving in the same direction and defining one’s Self with even greater clarity.

(4) In this world, one must have a way to tell the difference between good and bad. We come equipped with that. It is one’s conscience. The problem with one’s conscience is that it is conditioned by one’s culture. For example, in some cultures telling a lie is the norm, in others it is a very bad thing to do. One’s conscience accepts what one’s culture dictates. So the value of its truthfulness is relative to the culture one grows up in. Another, more severe example: During the dark ages, when Augustine set out to standardize penances for sin, he created a catalog that rated the seriousness of different sins. In his catalog, premarital sex was not as bad, and required a less severe penance than self stimulation. So in the culture he influenced, premarital sex was considered the lesser evil, and therefore an acceptable behavior—and in that particular, individual consciences were stifled. The more frequently that sort of abrogation of correct principles occurs in a society, the easier it is for more to be added. Eventually, that which is good is called evil and that which is evil is called good. Then, not only does the culture fall in to decay, but individual consciences do not know how to respond.

Because one’s conscience is conditioned by one’s culture, all the problems associated with its inaccuracies in this life will have to be sorted out in our post-life spirit world. That’s why we do baptism and temple ordinances for the dead—so it can be sorted out with perfect fairness.

(5) In this world’s environment of linear time, each individual walks alone and in relative darkness. For one to have absolute free agency, there must be a way provided for one to penetrate that darkness and develop relationships with other people and with God. The Holy Ghost provides that way. It seals families and friendships, and creates a quality of love that cannot otherwise be known. The Holy Ghost works with people on two different principles.

In order to insure that every person has a full opertunity to fulfill the assignments given him in the Council in Heaven, every individual must have access to the blessings of the Holy Ghost—at least enough access to be taught on an as-needed basis, the things that he must do. One of the most striking examples of that is Nephi’s prophecy of Columbus: “…and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.” (1 Ne. 13:12b)

However, in the end, that is not enough. For there must be a consistent and predictable way for one to have access to light and truth—there must be the Gift of the Holy Ghost to teach one how to know truth, and how to fulfil one’s pre-mortal covenants. In order for one to be saved in the Kingdom of God, one must learn to respond to the teachings and instructions from the Holy Ghost—if not in this world, then in the next.

6) Our being in this world must not be permanent—there must be a way to get out of here. For the overwhelming majority of us that way is death. Death is one of the greatest blessings of the atonement. It enables us to leave behind in this world everything that is not essential for our continued growth in the spirit world. Death is different from the transition stages we have experienced in the past. In those, innocence and loss of memory guaranteed that one’s free agency would not be infringed upon when we came into a new world. However, as far as I can tell, when we die here, our personalities and memories remain intact, and the circumstances that gave us agency in this world are continued in the next. Consequently, by the time one has passed through this world and also the next in the spirit world, one has had sufficient time and experience to thoroughly define one’s Self.

7) The final step is the completion of one’s creation process. It is when one receives a fully functional, resurrected body that is perfectly compatible with one’s spiritual Self. That is the key: we will receive a resurrected body whose glory is the same as the glory of our spirit in this life. Our resurrected body will not be a kind of a reward or a punishment, but it will just be what it is supposed to be—be a natural product of the kind of person we have chosen to become. The Lord explained to the Prophet Joseph:

25  And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—
26  Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.
27  For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual [resurrected] body.
28  They who are [present tense] of a celestial spirit shall receive [future tense] the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive [future tense] your bodies, and your glory shall be [future tense] that glory by which your bodies are quickened [present tense].
29  Ye who are [present tense—now] quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
30  And they who are [present tense—now] quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
31  And also they who are [present tense—now] quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
32  And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. (D&C 88:29-32)

And thus, with the resurrection, our the creation process will have become complete, and those who, through the blessings of the atonement, have become like God, will be with God forever and ever.

If that analysis is correct, it is also correct that the entire process–at every stage and in every environment–is a gift and blessing of the Saviour’s love.

Alma 12:16-18, LeGrand Baker, Alma’s predictions of Zeezrom’s fate.

Alma 12:16-18
16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.
17 Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.
18 Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Everyone agrees that the cheapest way to prove something out of the scriptures is to take a phrase or a verse out of context, and pretend it says something its author did not intend it to say. But sometimes we do that unawares, because we just don’t know the context. Dealing with these verses presents one of those kinds of problems. So, I wish to try to lay some background, then try to deal with the contextual problem. I hope it is needless to say that I do not expect to solve the problem, only just describe it. Translated, that means that I readily admit that haven’t the foggiest idea what I am talking about !

There are some phrases that Alma uses that sound very much like others we have no problem understanding. For example:

And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death;…Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will … they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

However, there are others that do not seem to square with what we think it is easy to understand. For example: (oops! Some are the same ones)

then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness…. they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Not long ago I pointed out that the Book of Mormon often uses the word “redeem” to mean to be brought into the presences of God. Some are brought back (redeemed) only long enough to be judged, and then they must leave again. Others are brought back to stay forever (redeemed), as in these examples. The first example talks about the judgement. The second tells that the wicked cannot stay in the Lord’s presence; and the third is the testimony of Lehi—one who is redeemed for ever.

16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. (Helaman 14:16-17)

26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection. (Mosiah 15:26)

15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love. (2 Nephi 1:15)

The next set of scriptures deal with those classes of persons who will remain eternally outside the presence of God — that is, who do not enjoy redemption in the eternities. Both scriptures are from D&C 76:

109 But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore;
110 And heard the voice of the Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever;
111 For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared;
112 And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. (D&C 76:109-112)

These people are not sons of perdition, but they have merited the telestial glory. The telling phrase here is “but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.”

Part of the statement that describes the sons of perdition reads:

33 For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity;
34 Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—
35 Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.
36 These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—
37 And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power (D&C 76:33-37)

The phrase we are concerned with is, “the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power.”

Now to return to Alma’s words to Zeezrom:

16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death

That seems to identify Zeezrom as a son of perdition – which would mean that he has seen and denied the Saviour

which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

That implies that the spiritual death Alma is talking about is the preclusion of temple’s sealing blessings—a fate that awaits anyone who is not in the Celestial Kingdom.

17 Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

That sounds like they are going to be with Satan forever.

18 Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice

That may mean, “ but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.”

So my conclusion is that I don’t know what fate Alma was threatening Zeezrom with.

Actually it all comes down to an even more interesting question: Had Zeezrom been so righteous in the past that he was now qualified to become a son of perdition? Or was he one who would ultimately inherit only the Telestial kingdom because he fell into the category of “liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. (D&C 76:103)

My answer is: “I do not known!” If the former, then Zeezrom’s repentance is one of the truly great stories in the scriptures. If the latter, its still a really good story.

Alma 12:16, LeGrand Baker, The Atonement as the Conclusion of the Creation

Alma 12:16
16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

A persistent theme that runs throughout the 12th chapter of Alma is the contrast between life and death. It is easier to understand what Alma was talking about if we consider the two parallel ancient concepts of cosmos and chaos, for, in fact, it is chaos with which Alma is threatening Zeezrom. Alma described darkness in this world as one’s not knowing the mysteries, and then adds, “Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.” He then discusses both the “temporal death,” which is the death of the body; and “a second death, which was an everlasting death.” These, as Alma describes them, are three magnitudes of chaos,

In contrast, Alma offers Zeezrom the blessings of eternal life—which is ultimate cosmos.

In the attached short essay, “The Atonement as the Conclusion of the Creation” I have tried to show that the atonement was the final act of creation, performed by the same Saviour by whose powers the worlds were originally created. And that he did, as the prophets testified he would, defeat of the final vestiges of chaos—the twin monsters of death and hell—to complete the creation process that he had begun eons before in the Council in Heaven.

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ATTACHMENT:

Alma 12:16 — LeGrand Baker — The Atonement as the Conclusion of the Creation

The entire story of the “creation” covers the full sweep of human existence, from the time we were intelligences until our future grand “beginning” when we receive fully functional resurrected bodies. The story of that creation is primarily an account of the workings of the Saviour’s atonement—of his bringing chaos into cosmos.
Chaos is confusion and disorder. It is represent in ancient writings as the unpredictable movements of a raging sea. In Lehi’s vision it is the mist of darkness through which he must find his way to the tree of life. In the whole of First Nephi it is the raging storm that Nephi controls by faith, through which Nephi is identified as legitimate king and priest. In the entire Book of Mormon it is the three days of darkness that precedes the coming of the Saviour, then, at the end, it is the spiritual darkness into which the people sank, preparatory to the eventual coming forth of the Book of Mormon to the Prophet Joseph.

Cosmos is order that expresses beauty. It is the perfect structure of the stars in the heavens. It is the precise and predictable movement of the planets that foretell the seasons, show the time for planting, and demonstrate the unchanging power of God. It is the tree and the fruit in Lehi’s vision. It is the Zion of Fourth Nephi. It is the promise of Moroni, found on the last page of the Book of Mormon:

31 …put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. (Moroni 10:31)

Creation is organization—arranging, classifying, separating, and restructuring until the result is cosmos—perfect symmetry, balanced proportion, and symphonic harmony. The object of the physical creation is to achieve that end. We usually think of “the creation” as the time when Jehovah and the Council brought this physical world into existence. However that was only one step in a series of events that would result in perfect harmony. The earth, and all other of God’s creations, needed to pass through a sequence of “creations” in order to attain perfection. The first was the spiritual creation, then the physical, and finally the resurrection. One can describe the whole of that sequence as “the creation.”

The sanctification and resurrection of the earth, and all else the Lord has created, is a gift given to all things, without price, by virtue of the Saviour’s resurrection. However the quality of one’s resurrection is conditional upon the quality of the spiritual truth, light, and love one has chosen to assimilate. The reason is that there must ultimately be an absolute compatibility between the quality of one’s spiritual Self and the quality of one’s physical Self.

The account we have of the physical creation begins in the Council in Heaven, where Jehovah instructed the gods, “We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” (Abraham 3:24-25)

In those instructions, Jehovah identified two kinds of incompleteness—of chaos. The first was space (and matter) without structure. The second was a group of intelligences without perfection. The plan that was then discussed would answer the needs of both—it would bring them into perfection together, thus bringing universal cosmos out of universal chaos.

Both had to be accomplished together because each was dependent on the other. As the Lord explained,

33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
35 The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple. (D&C 93:33-35)

All material element must be brought into a perfection that is consistent with the perfection of the intelligences who inhabit it. For celestial persons, not just their individual physical bodies, but the earth also—must be brought to a celestial perfection…

17 …that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.
18 Therefore, it [the earth] must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;
19 For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified….

25 And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—
26 Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it. (D&C 88:17-26)

The issue of material (physical) cosmos is entirely taken care of by the power of the Saviour’s resurrection. Similarly, the matter of spiritual cosmos is entirely taken care of by the Saviour’s atonement.

The ultimate rectitude of the atonement’s powers enables intelligences to seek and achieve perfection according to their own sense of fulfillment, wholeness, cosmos. It can only come as the fruition of their own agencies—the product of their individual self-identification, and the ultimate maturation of the laws of their own beings.
Perfection is a state of wholeness. Moroni described celestial perfection as being “holy, without spot.” (Moroni 10:33) Paul described it as “holy and without blame before him in love.” (Ephesians 1:4) Mormon described it as being “…filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” (Moroni 7:48) The Lord explained, “They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace.” (D&C 76:94) In each of those descriptions there is no incongruity within one’s Self. There is only perfect harmony—“holy [wholly, complete, perfect] without spot.”

If perfection is a state of integral wholeness, but one’s self-definition is something different from celestial love, then there must be accommodation for a kind of perfection (internal unity—cosmos) that is different from celestial glory. And there is, as the Lord has explained.

28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. (D&C 88:28-32)

Perfection, as statement about a thing’s wholeness, need not necessary be a reference to its relative value. Thus there can be a perfect diamond setting for a ring, a perfect crystal goblet, and a perfect plate glass window. To say each is perfect only says there is an internal integrity with no flaws. The value is found in the object that is perfect, not in the perfection of just any object. For intelligences who define their sense of self in terms different from “the pure love of Christ,” there is a state of perfection and glory that is compatible with their self-definition. But for those who love as the Saviour loves, the perfection of that compatibility is equivalent to eternal life. For the intelligences who receive celestial resurrected bodies, cosmos is perfect symmetry and harmony—in their physical persons, their personal sense of Self, and also in their social environment.

40 For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things.
41 He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever. (D&C 88:40-41)

Since the success of the entire plan of salvation has always rested upon the Saviour’s providing an opportunity for people to come to this earth where they could define themselves in an environment away from the overriding influence of the presence of our Father in Heaven, a path had to be provided so that people could leave his presence and then return again. But to leave the presence of God was to enter chaos.

To enable the intelligences to achieve a final perfection of self-identification and cosmos, they were given bodies and introduced into new conditions of chaos that followed the same sequence as the earth and other material creation. The first was that they received a spirit body in a world where they could learn and choose to obey. From there, the intelligences (now spirits), are introduced into physical bodies, and into our present chaotic environment where the quality of our love can be challenged by avarice, advantage, and the desire to acquire authority. Chaos in this world is our confrontation with never-ending choices and seemingly equivocal consequences, and it is living among people whose choices and consequences cover the full range of the possibilities of good and evil.

It is in the tensions and contrasts of this world that we are enabled to define who and what we are. We do that by identifying and seeking to replicate—and ultimately to perpetuate—the experiences and relationships in which we find fulfillment and happiness. We are here to discover for our Selves whether that fulfillment is consistent with telestial, terrestrial, or celestial glory. For us to be able to do that, this world’s environment must be full of difficult choices with inexplicable tensions and contradictions. For us, coming here introduced us to a new kind of chaos, in a darkness we have not known before. Its experience is invaluable, but to remain here would be an eternal damnation.

Our coming into this chaos would have accomplished nothing if a way had not been provided for us to get out, and return home in the full bloom of our cognizance. Therefore a way had to be provided so we could escape. But that way appears from human perspective to be an even greater chaos—the natural consequence of mortal sin—to be entombed by the twin monsters of death and hell.

The escape rout through death was explained to Adam when the earth was created—when he was in the Garden, but before Eve had come to join him.

12 And the Gods commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
13 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. (Abraham 5:12-13)

The promise of death is the guarantee that this earth-life experience is a part of the journey, and not its conclusion. Death is the way out of this world. It is a foreshadowing of something beyond—of continued eternal progression. Thus, death, and the world into which it introduces us, is (like birth and the experience we now share) among the greatest blessings of the atonement. But from a human perspective it is as dark and foreboding as a closing grave. Without the final acts of the Saviour’s atonement, the odyssey of the intelligences who are traversing linear time and space to find perfection, would have ended in the eternal darkness of death and hell.

I visualize it this way. The Lord tied a rope around our waist and lowered us into this present life where we can learn to distinguish between good and evil. He will then lower us again, this time into death, where we can re-reevaluate our experiences here, and make a final decision about who and what we are. We agreed to come here, and to die, because the Lord covenanted with us that he would never let go of his end of the rope. Alma explained,

1 And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot understand—which is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery.
2 Now behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto thee. For behold, after the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were taken—yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the tree of life—
3 Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit—
4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.
5 For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated.
6 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 forever, yea, they became fallen man.
7 And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will.
8 Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.
9 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 the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.
10 Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state. (Alma 42:1-10)

The fullness of the creation that began with the work of Jehovah in the members of the Council in Heaven could not be accomplished until death and hell are defeated by the Saviour’s atonement. When the atonement was accomplished, cosmos, light, and life arose from all the benighted domains of hatred and chaos.

Thus, the Saviour’s triumphs at Gethsemane, on the cross, in the congregation of the dead, and in the tomb of the resurrection—all of those triumphs together constituted the culminating act of creation—of defying infinite chaos and establishing eternal cosmos.

The prophets of all ages have testified of the atonement, and the ancient Israelite Feast of Tabernacles temple drama brought its reality into sharp and tangible focus. Near its conclusion, it portrayed the death of the king (and symbolically of all mankind), and showed that Jehovah himself would descend into death and hell, and he would rescue the entombed king. Psalm 18 recounts that event from the king’s perspective.

1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. [chaos]
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.(Psalms 18:1-19)

In that same psalm, the king tells why Jehovah had condescended to do this. Later, in the Beatitudes, Jesus will cite this psalm as a reciprocal promise to those who are merciful to others.

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure…(Psalms 18:20-26)

The Beatitude are short quotes or paraphrases from Isaiah or the psalms. If the one that reads, “Blessed are all the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” was intended to remind the Saviour’s audience of Psalm 18, then the statement in the Beatitude is apparently a promise of one’s ultimate triumph over death and hell.

In another psalm, the king recalls the Lord’s salvation, and again expresses his wonder and his gratitude.

1 I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalms 116:1-9)

We hear of the same triumphal events described from a different perspective in President Joseph F. Smith’s vision of the redemption of the dead.

23 And the saints [those in the spirit world] rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell.
24 Their countenances shone, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto his holy name. (D&C 138:23-24)

The Book of Mormon prophets had a perfect understanding of this principle of salvation, and spoke of it often. {1} Jacob was the most explicit.

5 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.
6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.
11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect. ….

19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.
21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.
22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day….
26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 9:5-26)

Thus, it was planned from the beginning that we should live, and die, and live again. In several revelations to the Prophet Joseph, the Lord explained something about how it was done. In one of those revelations, the beginning of creation is described this way.

6 And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the fulness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed.
7 And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was;
8 Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—
9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.
10 The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. (D&C 93:6-10 – italics added)

The powers exercised by the Saviour in the beginning were the same powers by which he defeated death and hell. Those powers are his perfection of character, and his loving kindness. He said,

1 Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been given; hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being.
2 And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45:1-6)

Finally, we have this testimony from the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is part of A Vision, his poetic version of the revelation that is now section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

And while I did meditate what it all meant,
The Lord touch’d the eyes of my own intellect.

Hosanna, for ever! They open’d anon,
And the glory of God shone around where I was;
And there was the Son at the Father’s right hand,
In a fulness of glory and holy applause.

I beheld round the throne holy angels and hosts,
And sanctified beings from worlds that have been,
In holiness worshipping God and the Lamb,
For ever and ever. Amen and amen.

And now after all of the proofs made of him,
By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
And sits at the right hand of God on his throne.

And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav’n,
He’s the Saviour and only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that careen in the heavens so broad.

Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers. {2}

Thus, through the Saviour’s atonement, all the covenants made at the Council in Heaven are fulfilled. Perfect order is accomplished in material things through the resurrection, and perfect order is given the intelligences according to the limitations or expansiveness with which they choose to define themselves. Perfect Love brings Perfect Love. All else is perfected in its own right. The only chaos remaining is for those who choose “to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received.”

ENDNOTES
1 See also: the remainder of 2 Nephi 9; 2 Nephi 28:19-27; Jacob 3:10-14; Alma 5:6-11, 13:27-31.

2 At the request of W. W. Phelps, the Prophet re-wrote the vision that is now the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants in poetry form. It was published in the Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843, and republished in the Millennial Star, August, 1843.

Alma 12:12-14 code words:  (part one) “The Negative Confession”¹

12  And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

13  Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

14  For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and 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 (Alma 12:12-14 ).

The power of Alma’s words came from his and Zeezrom’s understanding of some of the most sobering truths that they had been taught during their Nephite temple drama.²  That connection becomes even more clear to us when we remember that only a short time later, in the same speech, Alma reviewed the entire drama using some of this same language he used here. He said,

30 …God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption…and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works (Alma 12:12-14 ).³

As elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, “faith” is covenant (pistis) just as it is in the New Testament and, in this context, “holy works” are the validating ordinances, just as in many places of the New Testament.⁴  If in verse 14 “works” means the same as it does in verse 30, then Alma’s words “all our works will condemn us” are about Zeezrom’s violation of the sanctity of his sacred ordinances. If that is so, then a hardened heart is about those qualities of one’s inner Self which initiates evil deeds, rather than being just about the deeds themselves.

In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord we demonstrated that the psalms were the liturgy of the Nephite temple drama just as they had been the text of the temple service used while Solomon’s Temple was in operation.⁵ That being so, if one is to know the ancient temple drama as Alma and Zeezrom understood it, one must know the psalms.

Psalm 26 shows the criterion for the final judgment and may have been the one to which Alma was referring when he confronted Zeezrom. It is the one that most vividly expresses the tensions of the juxtaposition between our thoughts and our actions and their impact on our final judgment.

During the temple drama the king was symbolically killed by his enemies. He remained in the underworld for three days while the Savior’s body was in its tomb. Then, in the temple drama, Jehovah himself went down into the underworld and rescued the king from the clutches of death and hell. This was surely one of the most dramatic and one of the most pivotal junctures of the Nephite temple experience.⁶  Psalm 26 expresses the tensions of that moment.

The psalms contain much of the liturgy of the Israelite temple drama. However, their present arrangement gives us no context for knowing how they fit into the story and they have no stage directions to show how they were performed.⁷ That being so, it is reasonable that we look to some of the main events of other ancient rites to help understand the intent and use of some of the Israelite psalms. We can do that because the pre-exilic Israelite drama was a version of an even older temple service. Apostate variations of that original can be found all over the ancient world.⁸ Latter-day Saints understand that in the scriptures we have sufficient evidence that priesthood powers and the temple rites and covenants predated the flood and reached back to the “the reign of Adam.”

26  Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood (Abraham 1:26).

Hugh Nibley has firmly established that “the Egyptian endowment” and the pre-exilic Israelite temple rites were near enough alike that we may assert that they came from the same original source. Therefore, the Egyptian version can help us discover some of the lost contexts, stage directions, and the uses of the psalms in the Israelite drama.

The Egyptians believed that their brief life on this earth was only one phase of their progress through eternity: for the soul lives forever and cannot die.

For that reason, their temple rites showed that an Egyptian’s next juncture in his eternal journey, the final judgment after his mortal death, was one of his most critical crossroads. It would determine his status during in the rest of his eternal existence. At that judgment he must perform all the rites correctly and answer the questions with precision.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead was a funerary text used to provide instruction to one’s soul in the afterlife. It was a guide book that contained reminders of the things one must do and say as he approached his final judgment. After that judgment there were only two options: life with the gods or misery in the underworld. Therefore, his soul needed this crib sheet because if he did not get it right he could not pass through the gate that led to the home of the gods.

Among the instructions given in the Book of the Dead were the words he should say to insure a positive final judgment. They included his Negative Confessions, which were not confessions at all but declarations of his innocence.

Hugh Nibley describes the importance of the Negative Confessions in his The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment.

            The Candidate Is Challenged. This is a form of the famous “Negative Confession” of the Book of the Dead.}a{ The  Challenge at the Gate is a familiar  form and aspect of initiation rites the world over.}b{ Here the candidate  is challenged at seven gates, matching “the seven gates through which the solar bark passes” in the Book of the Dead.}c{⁹

Drioton holds that the “Negative Confession” bears  the marks of an initiation rite so strongly that it would  seem to be the production of a religious cult ]temple service[ that  flourished along with the Essenes, having “only a brief  and late existence in Egyptian religion.”}d{ Nagel finds that the declarations of the  Negative Confession as found in his “Breathing” text,  Louvre}e{ are “strictly moral,”}f{ and F. de Cenival comes still closer to home in calling attention to the resemblance of the Negative Confession situation  to certain examinations of members conducted by  Egyptian temple associations, which in turn remind him  of the initiation process in the “Manual of Discipline” of  the Dead Sea Scrolls.}g{¹⁰

The object of the  dead is here the double one of getting out of the place where he is and passing into a better one; hence the gate  to heaven when it is open is the gate of hell when it is  shut, or, as Hornung notes, the gate marks the transition  between “spheres on this side and on the other side,” and  so corresponds to the horizon between the upper and  lower worlds.}h{ The word for “gate” in our  text denotes not just a barrier but rather a passageway  )Torweg(, “a section of the Underworld, the centerpoint  of which is formed by the gate )sba( of the horizon.”}i{  The gate is the natural place to stop and challenge  anyone. The designation of the official barriers as “the  Gate of the Place of Truth”}j{ indicates the gate as a place of testing, of trial: “I  will not open to you says the door, unless you tell me my  name!”}k{ ¹¹

The common symbolism is brought out in the Zohar: “The Gate of Psalm 24:2 refers to the supernatural grades  )lit. steps( by and through which alone a knowledge of the Almighty is possible to man, and without which a man could not communicate with God.” }l{¹²

Those concepts were also understood by the Nephites. Jacob reminded his audience about the importance of that gate when, in his sermon at the temple, he reviewed parts of the Nephite drama and urged the people to keep the covenants they made.

41  O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One.  Remember that his paths are righteous.  Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name. ¹³

42  And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them (2 Nephi 9:41-42).

Psalm 26 is an excellent example of a Negative Confession, however, Alma did not treat it as a Negative Confession but rather he turned it on its head and used its ideas as an accusation. The psalm is not about what one had done so much as it is about one’s thoughts and attitudes. It is filled with ancient temple connotations and code words. For example: Walk— to “walk in the ways of the Lord” is to keep one’s covenants and honor one’s ordinances. Trust— like pistis (faith) in the New Testament, trust can only be sure when there is a contract or covenant already in place.¹⁴

Another is: I shall not slide…My foot standeth in an even place. Having one’s feet firmly established is also about priesthood worthiness, as in this exaltation from Isaiah:

13  Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established;¹⁵  and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted (1 Nephi 21:13).

It is similarly expressed in this prayer:

5  Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

6  I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech (Psalms 17:5-6).¹⁶

We find that idea expressed twice in Psalm 26: “I have walked in mine integrity… therefore I shall not slide,” and “My foot standeth in an even place.”

The psalm begins with the acknowledgment that the candidate is now anticipating he final judgment.

1  Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.

2  Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins [mind] and my heart.

3  For thy lovingkindness [hesed] is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

Those assertions of his worthiness are followed by his Negative Confession:

4  I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

5  I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

Further assertions of his worthiness:

6  I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass¹⁷ thine altar, O Lord:

7  That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

8  Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

The anticipated response to his Negative Confession and his expectation of redemption:

9  Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

10  In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.

11  But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

12  My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord (Psalms 26:1-12).

We return now to the pre-exilic Israelite drama while Jehovah was in the spirit world before his resurrection. It is similar to the event when the Egyptian rites portray a time, after one is dead, when he must stand at “the  Gate of the Place of Truth.”

During days 4, 5, and 6 of the 8-day Israelite temple drama, while the king remained in the world of the dead, the drama focused on the life and Atonement of the Savior, then on his mission among the dead, and finally on his resurrection.

During those days, while the king waited in the Underworld for Jehovah to rescue him, the people who were outside among the living prayed for the king’s restoration to life. Psalm 20 was a plea that the Lord would save “his anointed [the king]” and an expression of assurance that Jehovah “will hear him [the king] from his [Jehovah’s] holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.” The people understood that the king was not yet permanently dead. For, as they prayed for his deliverance, they also prayed that he would find encouragement through their faith. Psalm 20 concludes, “Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call.” In Psalm 13, from the Underworld, the young king joined the plea:

1 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me (Psalm 13:1-6).

Jehovah did act in the king’s behalf. He asserted his royal prerogatives and descended into the Underworld to save the earthly king. It would have been at this place and time in the Israelite drama that the king approached “the gate of truth, testing, and of trial.” Therefore, this would be when he would have recited his Negative Confession.

By reversing the concepts of the Negative Confession and reminding Zeezrom that he had failed to keep his covenants, Alma focused his argument on the assurance of Zeezrom’s current prospect of an eternal doom. Or, in other words, Alma assures him of damnation because of his arrogance.

It was to reinforce the truth that Zeezrom was bound by his own covenants to keep the assertions of that Negative Confession that Alma reminded him that on the day of our final judgment, “our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us.” Then, almost immediately thereafter in the same speech, Alma gave him a recap of the entire drama:

28  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;

29  Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.

30  And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and 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.

31  Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—

32  Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

33  But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;

34  Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest (Alma 12:28-34).

FOOTNOTES  FOR PART ONE,  NEGATIVE CONFESSION

     ¹  I owe a special thanks to my friend and editor Alex Criddle for his assistance with this chapter.

     ²  We can be quite sure that Zeezrom was completely conversant with the covenants and rites of the Nephite temple drama. There are two reasons. First, if that were that not so there would have been no point in Alma’s using them as the basis of his arguments. The second is the intensity of Zeezrom’s repentance (Alma 14:6, 15:3-11).

     ³A similar idea with the same kind of priesthood connotation is in the beginning of Mormon’s letter to his son Moroni,

2  My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to his ministry, and to his holy work (Moroni 8:2).

     ⁴ James says “faith (pistis) without works is dead.” The ordinances are the validation of the covenant just as a signature is the validation of a contract. A covenant is dead because without the validating ordinances it is not binding on anybody (James 2:17, 20, and 26).

     ⁵ LeGrand L. Baker and Stephen D. Ricks, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord? The Psalms in Israel’s Temple Worship In the Old Testament and In the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Eborn Books), first edition, 2009, second (paperback) edition, 2011.

The first half of our book uses the psalms to reconstruct much of the ancient Israelite temple drama. The second half shows that every major sermon in the Book of Mormon cites their temple experience. My reference to “the Nephite temple drama” is based on the conclusions of our book.

     ⁶   For a discussion of psalm 22 and Jehovah’s rescuing the king from death see Baker and Ricks, “Act 2, Scene 7: Jehovah Conquers Death and Hell,” Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, 415-44; second (paperback) edition, 300-23.

     ⁷  Reading them is like reading Hamlet without stage directions, having only the dialog to discover who is speaking and to whom. That is what we did in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord to reconstruct the scenes of the drama. While some are questionable, some impossible, others are surprisingly easy

     ⁸   Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend. Hamlet’s Mill: An Essay on Myth and the Frame of Time (Boston, Gambit, 1969).

     ⁹   Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 1975), 217.

NOTE:  Nibley often puts citations in parentheses within his text. This works fine for the book but tends to clutter our short quotes. I have included them in alphabetical rather than numerical order in brackets in the footnotes to lessen that clutter.

{a}  B.D., Ch. 125.

{b} See the  vivid passage in Zohar, Vayera 1036.

{c} B.D., Ch. 144,  and Section II of the Two Ways (Lesko, Two Ways, p. 45).

     ¹⁰  Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 219.

{d} Neg. Conf., pp.  559, 563-64.

{e} # 3292.5

{f}  BIFAO, 29:87f.,5

{g} F. de Cenival, REHR, pp. 17f.

     ¹¹   Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 211-12.

{h}  Amduat, II, 4.

{i} Ibid.,  p. 5; cf. Gardiner, JEA, 4:147; K. Sethe, ZA, 67:115-17.

{j} A. Piankoff, An. Serc.,  49:137.

{k} B.D. Ch. 125, in De Buck, Reading Book, p. 121.

     ¹²   Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 211-12.

{l} Zohar, I; Vayera, 103b.

     ¹³

This reminds one of Nibley’s quote where the god declares, “I  will not open to you says the door, unless you tell me my  name!”  (Bold added, Fn. # k)

     ¹⁴   Baker and Ricks, “Meaning of ‘Faith’—Pistis,” Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition,  1007-25; second (paperback) edition. 697-710.

Also in my Alma, vol. 2, the chapter called “Alma 32:17-43—The Multiple Meanings of Faith.”

     ¹⁵  The words in bold have been removed by ancient editors from our Isaiah 49.

     ¹⁶ Other places are: Psalms 18:32-33 with Habakkuk 3:19; Isaiah 52:7-8; Psalms 17:5-6, 37:31, 56:13, and 66:8-10.

     ¹⁷  Strong # 5437: “to revolve, surround, or border; used in various applications, literally and figuratively:… be about on every side.”

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Alma 12:12-15, LeGrand Baker, Some code words in Alma 12

Alma 12:12-15
12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.
13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.
14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and 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.
15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.

By this time the exchange we are reading has become a very private—and a very personal—conversation between Zeezrom and Alma. Everyone who is standing about can hear the words, but not not everyone can hear their intent.

Alma has just explained to Zeezrom that the “mysteries” are sacred, and must be discussed with great care, and then only when it is appropriate to do so. That caution also teaches us that what we are about to read is sacred. Alma continued:

12  And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, [Amulek had just explained that everyone will be resurrected] and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged

That judgement, we have learned, will occur after the resurrection. Which suggests that the final judgement is more of a conformation of a self-established reality, than it is something like passing out the final test scores and grades.

according to our works.

“Works” is an important word in this context. It is used here the same way James uses it in the New Testament when he says “faith without works is dead.” Faith is pistis (the visible evidences or tokens of the covenants, just as Paul said it is). “Works,” for James, meant the ordinances. (That is why Luther wanted to remove James from the New Testament. The Catholics had a monopoly on the ordinances, and Luther didn’t like the idea that they were necessary.) Latter on in our chapter, Alma will clarify his meaning by calling them “holy works,” and pointing out that they are an important teaching tool that God uses to instruct us about how to come into his presence.

13  Then if our hearts have been hardened,

The heart is the cosmic center of a human being. It is the seat of one’s emotions and one’s intellect. In the verses immediately preceding these, Alma has defined a hardened heart as one that chooses not to know and understand the “mysteries.”

13b  yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

Alma has also just defined “the chains of hell” as the condition of one who has chosen to not know the mysteries.

14   For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us;

While it is possible that this is simply a generic observation, it is more likely, given the context of what Alma is talking about, that the words, works, and thoughts are specific, and relate to one’s willingness or unwillingness to understand and fully participate in the “mysteries.”

and 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.

This entire discussion, from Alma’s point of view, has been and will continue to be is about preparing oneself to come into the presence of God (see my note on the meaning of redeem of a couple weeks ago). Alma assures/warns Zeezrom that ultimately he will be brought into the presence of the Saviour to be judged—that is not the issue. The issue is whether that redemption will be a joyful or a fearful experience. Alma has just said it might be really scary.

15   But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men,

While the Saviour’s atonement and his mercy enables us to repent and become clean

(holy and without spot), in the final judgement, it is not mercy that will save us. We are saved by the laws of justice. Mercy —here and now— enables us to repent and become clean, and if we become clean, then justice enables us to enter— and remain—in the presence of God. But if we do not avail ourselves of the blessings of mercy in this life, and do not become clean, then justice insists we must ultimately reside someplace where God is not. Mercy cannot bring the unclean into the Celestial Kingdom, because mercy cannot rob justice. The last part of the sentence tells it all:

and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet [appropriate] for repentance.

Even the Saviour’s power to save is qualified. Alma does not say “and that he has all power to save every man”—and stop there. Rather he adds two qualifications that one must have in order to enable the saving powers of the atonement: “[1] that believeth on his name and [2] bringeth forth fruit meet [appropriate] for repentance.

Alma’s message is one that is repeated so often in the scriptures: God’s purpose is to save his children, but he will not insist they be saved, and he will not bring them kicking and screaming into heaven.