Come Follow Me LDS- Alma 39-42, Book of Mormon
Jul 28, 2020
'Spirit Prison & Resurrection'
- Justice vs. Mercy - Justice AND Mercy
- Siron is a 'No-Man's Land'
- Corianton had grabbed onto some wayward ideologies
- YOU are Adam or Eve
- Ponder = To Weigh, Measure
- The Resurrection is a "restoration", part of "Covenant"
- The Cherubim are a part of the LDS Temple Endowment
- The Book of Mormon clarifies and supports the Bible
Raw Transcript
all right in this come follow me episode
we are going to be covering
alma chapters 39 to 42. this is
where alma has moved from his first two
sons helaman
and shiblon and now goes to
kind of the black sheep of the family
here and we're going to get
really some great meat and theology here
from uh alma to his son
corianton it it always amazes me
and you hear this often out there from
critics of the book of mormon that there
really isn't that much doctrine
or mormon doctrine so to speak right
in the book of mormon and and yet it's
everywhere
and there are complete episodes so to
speak
like we get here with uh uh
39-42 chapters 39-42
that go in depth into
the plan of redemption
and back with
helaman in chapter 36 about the
atonement you know it's
there's a lot of meat in the book of
mormon
a lot of doctrine and there has to be
because what is one of the purposes of
the book of mormon
well it is to support to buoy up
the other stick the stick of judah the
bible
right and so the reason that
you have to have that doctrine in the
book of mormon is to clarify
so many things in the bible and that's
not just for us right now that's
i i would believe is is something that
is
more for the future right as
as things rise as the church grows as
knowledge of the book of mormon
increases throughout the world
um we're going to need that we're going
to need that
additional and clarifying doctrine
that the book of mormon offers us
so those that critique it in that way
and and
are are critical of not being a lot of
doctrine i
that's that'd be pretty hard to support
if you're speaking with someone who
knows the book of mormon
um going into chapter 39 here with Corianton
so as i said he's kind of the
black sheep of the family
we say that just because he's made some
mistakes here right
he's made a few mistakes and
his father alma is going to call him out
on it
and he's going to talk about
the importance of repentance and how
this all fits into
the plan of redemption now interestingly
enough here again with mormon
mormon follows it seems to me right
along with
alma's theme of dbr
right of that hebrew root again
introducing corianton here with the one
sentence
short sentence at the top here of
chapter 39
before the chapter summary we get
mormon's words
which are the commandments of alma
to his son corianton right so the dbr
the ha devarim
of alma to his son corianton
and of course he opens up with us he
refers to the commandments of god in
verse 1
and then to his words dbr davar
in verse 2. and he says this in verse 2
and introducing us to corianton he says
for thou dost not give so much heed unto
my words
as did thy brother among the people of
the zoramites so
what does that mean i mean well remember
his sons here
were part of the
yet shiblon and you have corianton who
were part of the entourage part of the
missionary district that went with alma
over to the land of the zoramites
now this is a distant land so to speak
it is it is
the way to the south and it's right on
the border of the land of the lamanites
so we can think of it maybe a little bit
kind of like
the american frontier right or it's it's
going out to the fringe to the
wilderness so to speak
out where we're going to get a little
less civilization
and where there's going to be some
foreign actors
and practices that are not found
in the land of the nephites
maybe an area where there's a little
less law and order
so to speak and definitely different
traditions being practiced
and so as they have gone to the land of
the zoramites to preach
well corianton in a different world here
in a new environment is going to be
tested
and maybe these are things that he
wanted to begin with
maybe this was part of his character
maybe he hadn't learned some lessons
that he should have earlier on in his
life
but he's going to take this new
environment and he's going to take
advantage of it
so this is what alma says about him he
says look corianton this
is what i have against thee thou didst
go on
unto boasting in thy strength and thy
wisdom
okay so this is what he's talking about
going into the land of the zoramite so
what kind of a missionary was he right
this is this is kind of
a lot the exact opposite of wade the way
shiblon was who was actually stoned
still lived but went through a stoning
with the zoramites
while he was out there but here
corianton
is boasting in his strength and in his
wisdom he's probably been taught an
awful lot
he comes to a new environment where the
zoramites especially
going out with among the poor zoramites
where they may have been
where he knows a lot more than what the
poor zoramites do
and instead of thinking okay i've got
this
as a gift from god this knowledge
that i can impart and give he
uses it as a tool for
pride right he's not using it as a tool
for
relational covenant right a spiritual
gift that he can impart
to those that have less of that gift and
then he follows up telling us a little
bit more about
the character of corianton here he says
and this is not all my son
thou didst do that which was grievous
unto me for thou didst forsake the
ministry
and did go over into the land of siron
interesting name of a place for what he
does
a siren but he goes to the land of siren
here
right which is again down in kind of no
man's land
among the borders of the lamanites
after the harlot isabel so
reading nibley if you read nibley on
this he talks about isabelle being the
name
of kind of the the the lady goddess
in palestine at the time especially in
cyprus
and that she was the fertility goddess
right and that they would have
priestesses
that would be more part of a fertility
cult
and this is what would happen in
anywhere
in the world unfortunately where you
have a lot of
men that are out on their own and that's
why i call
say it's kind of like the frontier right
it's kind of like it's kind of like no
man's land
and so if you were to go say for example
in ancient cities especially in
phoenicia
also where you would see this term
isabel
which is modern-day lebanon you go
especially to the
port cities right in lebanon
or phoenicia it would be tyre and sidon
especially and what are you gonna have
there well you've got a lot of men
that are out on their own together with
a lot of other men
that are on these ships they're out
there for a long time and they come into
port
and that's where these fertility cults
almost
always thrive and so
even though we may not be speaking about
a a a
port here in the land of siron
we are talking about an area that is
probably full of a lot of men
that are out on their own they might be
mercenaries they might be traitors
they might be runaways they might be
criminals
but that's that's the way i would think
of that
and interestingly enough the name siron
seems to
well it could easily come from the old
testament in hebrew
sirion is the name of or a name for
mount hermon in phoenicia
or modern lebanon and so you have that
tie with the name
isabel right and the ports and the
fertility cults
along with a possibility of the name
sirion or cyron being a phoenician name
attached to a piece of geography here
in phoenicia so corianton here
being boastful and filled with pride
also is going to be looking in places
that he shouldn't be looking he's here
teaching without the proper spirit so to
speak
right he's already full of pride now
he's going to go looking for more
trouble
he's down near the area of siron
he knows what's there or has been told
what's there
and he decides to go off and go into no
man's land so to speak
we're told here that isabel she did
steal away the hearts of many this might
even
just be a title might not be just one
individual
but this was no excuse for thee my son
thou should have tended to the ministry
wherewith thou
wast entrusted so again you know it's
not having those blinders on he didn't
really have the spirit of what he was
doing
impacting his mind he wasn't putting
himself into the fluid hierarchy
and humbling himself it was about him
it was about the knowledge that he had
it was about knowing more than everybody
else around him
it was about maybe being the son of the
high priest
and alma tells him look this is most
abominable above
all sins save it be the shedding of
innocent blood
or denying the holy ghost right it's
it's not
bridling our passions it's not staying
within the bounds we don't deny these
things
right you have extremists you know
stoics and
and and those that even in the new
testament times during paul's time paul
had to
call him out right that would go
without having any physical
relationships even being married
for long periods of time because they
felt like they were sacrificing
they were giving up something carnal but
that's not what
the lord says about physical
relationships right he says
don't deny it don't ignore it
but keep it within the bounds
right that the lord has set there is a
certain order to these things
and that order is between a man and a
woman
within marriage and when you play with
that
right then you're playing not just with
your own
salvation and maybe somebody else's
but you're you're playing with the whole
concept of bringing to past the
immortality and eternal life of man
of be fruitful and multiply
right the order of the family
and that's something that causes a
breakdown obviously within the family
but
within society itself and then we get
again hear that term
murder in in in a spiritual term
not not not as a physical term he says
whosoever
murdereth against the light and
knowledge of god
it is not easy for him to obtain
forgiveness
yea i say unto you my son that it is not
easy for him to
obtain a forgiveness well he seems to be
specifically talking about corianton
here
right he's been given all of this
knowledge he grew up with alma and
alma's wife
and grew up in a household where all
these things were taught
to him and he took them the wrong way he
took them for
advantage he didn't take them as
principles to humble yourselves to
and now he's going to support what he
told to
helaman about remembering in his chapter
36 in that chiasmus
right and that theme of of remembering
and delivery
he doesn't use the same word but it's
the same concept it's the same principle
he says here in verse seven and now my
son i would to god that ye had not been
guilty
of so great a crime
i would not dwell upon your crimes
to harrow up your soul alma used harrow up
before in 36 also
chapter 36 if it were not for
your good right again that whole idea of
remembering it's it's about remembering
the lord
but but first it's about remembering our
sins
that we have not been forgiven of so
he's saying
he wants to shine a light on this on
these sins
because it is for your good it needs to
be brought up you need to
awaken yourself here and focus on these
things
and then remember the lord
and he being the deliverer that the
sacrificial
atonement can free you from these things
and he says here look i'm shining a
light on this but in verse 8
we've talked about this before but
behold ye cannot hide your crimes from
god
so for us typically naturally we hide
our own sins from others
and from ourselves because we don't want
to shine a light on it
we want to ignore it we want not to
think about the negativity or
consequences of a sin but alma to his
sons is saying no we need to remember
our sins bring them to light confront
them
and repent as we remember the atonement
and he says something interesting here
that's really got to play on his mind
and and really pierce him somewhat here
in verse 12. he says and now the spirit
of the lord doth say unto me
command thy children to do good
remember who is that who's speaking here
this is alma the younger
right whose father was praying for him
when he was out persecuting the church
and bringing the church down
he says lest they lead away the hearts
of many people to destruction
there's no way he's not saying this
without
thinking about himself and his past it's
like look i don't want to repeat this
again i don't want you to be like i was
therefore i command you my son in the
fear of god
that ye refrain from your iniquities
and then he goes into the coming of
christ in 15 and he says and now my son
i would say somewhat unto you concerning
the coming of christ
behold i say unto you that it is he that
surely shall come
to take away the sins of the world so
here's your sins corianton
let's look at them let's remember them
and now again let's
remember the lord and remember that he
is the one who
take what taketh away the sins of the
world
yeah he cometh to declare glad tidings
of salvation unto his people that's an
important
point right there because again if we go
back to abinadi
and his what i bel my interpretation of
abinadi's interpretation
of isaiah especially 52 7 to 10.
one of the things that abinadi goes over
is far as those that have the beautiful
feet upon the mountain
right is that that
is us that is the prophets and that is
the savior himself the redeemer himself
that declares glad tidings
right so that that to me right there is
a reference directly to
the savior as the messenger on the
mountain
that is declaring glad tidings and this
is the ministry my son that
ye were called to to declare these glad
tidings unto this people
so he is also one of those messengers
with the feet upon the mountain and now
he's going to build upon this with the
plan of redemption
to corianton this is this is similar to
what we get
from alma previously along with amulek
to the people of ammonica right when
they talk about the two deaths and they
talk about resurrection they talk about
the garden of eden
and he says here you marvel corianton
why these things should be known so long
beforehand
behold i say unto you is not a soul at
this time as
precious unto god as a soul will be at
the time of his coming so
he's going to go into some ideas about
time
right which are kind of interesting and
how how
we have times that are appointed to us
but for god
time is very different right it really
doesn't the the time that
we have here in mortality does not
really apply to god
and so he's going to go over that saying
look
just because the lord hasn't come yet
that doesn't mean it applies to us
differently
we're going to look forward to the
atonement
and we can with a hundred percent faith
as if it has
already happened there there can't be
doubt about that for them
you know like oh let's hope that this
comes that
that jesus christ comes through on this
right that's not going to work that's
not faith
they need to look forward as if it has
already happened
knowing that it will happen and then he
also brings up the resurrection
why because that is a future event also
that is in man's time down the road
especially for them right there is no
resurrection yet for them
he says look i perceive that thy mind is
worried concerning the resurrection of
the dead
so here's here's something where we can
kind of piece this together a little bit
and understanding corianton maybe a
little bit
he's highly knowledgeable about things
we learned that from the last chapter
right that he has a great amount of
knowledge about the gospel
but there's doubts he has doubts
and so alma's going to try to put those
doubts to rest here by giving us this
explanation this this explanation to
corianton about the plan of redemption
he says behold i say unto you that there
is no resurrection
or i would say in other words that this
mortal does not put on
immortality this corruption does not put
on incorruption
until after the coming of christ right
so a future event
and he continues and says now i enfold
unto you a
mystery that's interesting to me because
the idea of
a mystery is oftentimes put together
with
the time frame of god or the lack of
time for god
and that's what he's going through now i
unfold unto you a mystery nevertheless
there are many mysteries which are kept
that no one knoweth them save god
himself
right so again you have doubts
that's okay and you have a high degree
of knowledge and sometimes when you have
a high degree of knowledge in something
it's frustrating not being able to find
certain things to figure certain things
out
you say look here i am i've got all this
information i've got all this knowledge
in my brain
from this but i don't understand this
and i don't understand this
that would provide an environment for a
mental environment for frustration
if you don't know very much at all then
there's no reason to be frustrated about
anything
or no reason to doubt something yet
not a good reason anyway so he says look
there are things that
there are certain mysteries that you
don't know and i don't know
that's okay right we can't know
everything but here's the basics that we
do know
he says i show unto you one thing which
i have inquired diligently
of god that i might know that is
concerning the resurrection so
this is something that he hasn't learned
alma hasn't learned
completely in the scriptures or
from his father right there's there's
words about it
and maybe those prophets knew really
well what was going on
but it hasn't been that word
has not gotten to alma yet or hadn't
gotten to alma yet
in a way that he really understood it so
he inquires
so that he can learn more so real quick
in that in that
example there we understand that there
are things we don't understand
but we can learn some of those things if
we
ask to learn about them if we pursue
them
if we ponder on them right
as latter-day saints we use that word a
lot here's a little bit
of etymology right word origin for
pondering
to understand what that is because
that's an important thing
pondering really is reason it's not the
spirit
it provides a way for us to receive the
spirit
but pondering is human reason
right we're taking knowledge information
and we're trying to reason with it we're
trying to think about it
we can think of other words that are
similar to get more context into the
idea of
pondering there's pending right you're
waiting for something you're waiting on
something right
or here's one pound
right a pound what is a pound it's a
measurement
of weight right so pendere
it's it's it's weighing something right
it's we're weighing something in the
balance here we're taking
knowledge and we're weighing it we're
measuring it where does it fit
what is it exactly how much does this
weigh what is the shape of this what is
the context what is the meaning what is
the what
what is the why right that's what
pondering is
it's reasoning as i see it
and so he talks about this timing this
mor mortal timing
that there is a time appointed that all
shall come forth from the dead
now when this time cometh no one knows
but god knoweth the time which is
appointed
and then he even goes in and we know now
through the restored gospel that
this is the case but he says whether
there shall be one time or a second time
or a third time
first resurrection second resurrection
etc
then men shall come forth from the dead
it mattereth not for god knoweth all
these things and it sufficeth me to know
that this is the case
so even on that point he doesn't know
everything
and then just like he does he talks
about things in uh
in ammonia he says there must needs be a
space
between the time of death and the time
of resurrection
of the resurrection right so we're going
to move on into the spirit world here
great piece of doctrine
something we don't have a lot of clarity
on in the bible
he says in verse 8 now whether there is
more than one time appointed for men to
rise it mattereth not
for all do not die at once and this
mattereth not
all is one day with god
and time only is measured unto men
so all is one day well a day a yom
right in in hebrew is a period of time
it's all
one piece it seems to me
especially in looking at the subject
matter that is being used here
that what we could put in place of this
phrase here
all is one day with god is
and to god all is one
eternal round right think of one eternal
round of the sun
right what eternal round of the sun
it's all one day seems to me like that's
kind of what he's
saying here and in fact we get a
reference
to one eternal round just previously
here in chapter 37
with helaman so we get a little bit more
information here
right from about truth about the plan of
redemption
and the spirit world he says now
concerning the state of the soul
between death and the resurrection
behold it has been made known unto me by
an angel
that the spirits of all men i wonder if
it's the angel that met him in the road
where he was struck dumb because that's
the same angel that met him
outside of ammonia and told him to turn
around and go back
that the spirits of all men as soon as
they are departed from this mortal body
yea the spirits of all men whether they
be good or evil are taken home to that
god
who gave them life well what do we mean
by that well
we're looking for if you've been
righteous or you're looking for being
encircled around by the arms
of everlasting love right there's a
welcoming
apparently of some sort and then those
that are righteous are received into a
state of happiness
a state of happiness which is called
paradise we get other references to
paradise for example with the garden of
eden
it is a state of rest a state of peace
where they rest from all their troubles
and from all care and sorrow
well maybe that's because you're
separated from your body
where most of that is carried right our
emotions are definitely
induced it seems to me through through
our bodies and the spirits of the wicked
yea who are evil
for behold they have no part nor portion
of the spirit of the lord for behold
they chose evil works rather than good
therefore the spirit of the devil did
enter into them and take possession of
their house their
temple and these shall be cast out into
outer darkness
there shall be weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth and this because
of their own iniquity being led captive
by the will of the devil so if we're
talking about specifically
outer darkness then there are very few
that would actually go there
but we know that in terms of that place
that weighing station so to speak
between death and resurrection
is paradise
and spirit prison right and that's
that's where we would go to teach the
gospel
and that's where the lord went right to
the spirit world between his death and
his resurrection
and then he gives us a very specific
definition for the resurrection and this
is different from most
all of christianity he says behold i say
unto you nay but it meaneth the
reuniting
of the soul with the body or the spirit
with the body
of those from the days of adam down to
the resurrection of christ
right because christ is the first to
resurrect
and it's always been fascinating to me
that that you read
specifically in the bible about those
that were resurrected from their graves
after jesus christ was resurrected
right and jesus christ is resurrected
with a body
becomes very obvious he eats and drinks
and the disciples right they feel his
wound
he is physical his resurrection is
physical
and then you have the example of those
that come out of their graves
right their bodies so it's
it's it's very specific there it's very
plain
and simple to understand that the
resurrection
is a physical resurrection
it is the bringing together of genesis 1
1 right heaven and earth of our spirit
and our body and he refers here again to
the prophets
who obviously had this information right
about
what the resurrection is this would have
been in the brass plates
and he says that this is what the
restoration is that the prophets have
all spoken of
and he bases this on what he bases this
on our
works of course works matter
right because it is only through our
works that we become
and so he says here in the last verse 26
but behold an awful death cometh
upon the wicked for they die as to
things pertaining to things of
righteousness
for they are unclean so they die not
only
separation from the body but they die in
the sense of a separation from god right
for they are unclean and no unclean
thing can inherit the kingdom of god
but they are cast out and consigned to
partake of the fruits
of their labors or their works
which have been evil then i love this
phrase he says and they drink the dregs
of a bitter cup now
he's going to go in here in chapter 41
and he's going to support what he's
saying about this idea of restoration
and and resurrection is a part of that
right he's restored you're restoring
your body
and your spirit together and again if we
think about the idea of
covenant which is so prevalent in
our theology in our doctrine that's what
covenant is right covener to come
together
to be restored it's something that has
been separated
like adam and eve and then joined back
together through
eternal marriage right there is a
separation i've gone over this
previously with the idea of
the word cleave right a cleaver
is a knife that cuts it separates things
and when the jews talk about making a
covenant
they don't say make a covenant they say
cut a covenant
right and so that is something that is
separated and that's part of even a
sacrifice that would be made with an
animal there is a
separation oftentimes think of abraham
as the animals are separated or halved
and he walks through the middle of them
and the lord walks through the middle of
them but covenant that's one half of
covenant the other half is bringing
things back together
and that includes everything from the
two different lands of the israelites
right the northern kingdom of israel
ephraim or joseph as we might call it
and the southern kingdom which was
judah they were separated and
gathering israel together again right
now a major theme for president nelson
is the covenant it's bringing that back
together even
egypt had a a lore and an upper egypt
they were separated and they would be
brought back together
under one rule sometimes
but there was the same idea and there is
the old jerusalem and there is the new
jerusalem which are separated but
need to be brought back together that's
the whole of
the plan of redemption that's the whole
of our doctrine
is about covenant so this idea that he's
talking about here about restoring
it it it's pervasive throughout all of
the scriptures and throughout all of our
doctrine
so he says i have somewhat to say
concerning the restoration
of which has been spoken which is from
all the prophets
for behold some have rested the
scriptures
and have gone far astray because of this
thing
so they've they've studied
and yet they don't get it right they
haven't been able to nail down this
doctrine this idea
of restoration especially with the
resurrection
well this is very typical of our day and
this is something that
eventually as the tide rises through
time
on truth and theology and religions
where the book of mormon here is going
to be buoyed up to the top
and float up to the top because of its
doctrine
and it will be able to help all of our
christian brothers and sisters
and others understand more about
restoration understand more about
covenant understand more about
who we are and what our future is and he
says directly to corinth and i perceive
that thy mind has been worried
also concerning this thing so it's
amazing as we go through these things
and we can relate them to today it's the
same things that have happened always
because we all have the same psychology
we all have the same sociology
we're all in the same image and so the
same problems the same
breaking apart of doctrine happens over
and over again there might be a
different type of manifestation of it
and some things might take more have
more power in their message
than at other times but it's very
similar
on how these things break down these
doctrines break down
he says here in verse 2 something
important i say unto thee my son that
the plan of restoration
is requisite with the justice of god
for it is requisite that all things
should be restored to their
proper order right cut it break it apart
and bring it back together right that's
the whole idea of
let's call it the plan of salvation we
can call it the plan of restoration as
well
man fell away from god we go through a
probationary state
and we are to be brought back together
with him
that's the idea behold it is requisite
and just according to the power and
resurrection of christ that the soul of
man
should be restored to its body and that
every part of the body should be
restored to itself
and then again importantly about works
and it is requisite with the justice of
god that
men should be judged according to their
works
we went over this a lot in the new
testament a little bit here in the book
of mormon
we don't ever want to get in a position
where we're we're
only focused on works and sometimes we
do that our checklists we earn our way
up
um that isn't true but on the flip side
of that the other side of the coin is
well grace is everything and so
we're okay right that's
wrong also all is not well and zion
all is not well with you because
you are through time constantly needing
to provide good works
and so it's an understanding of bringing
these two things together we are the
works
we're the lower law we are the earth
and the grace is heaven right and we
need to bring earth
and heaven together just like in a
resurrection
where we're bringing heaven and earth
together right which would be the spirit
and our bodies again together and how
that is
just and right and part of the plan
in our minds in our attitude and our
behavior
in our understanding we want to be
bringing together heaven and earth we
want to be bringing together
our works are reaching up to god with
what he has done to reach down to us
works and grace and so he's saying that
it's requisite with the justice of god
that men should be judged according to
their works
and if their works were good in this
life and the desires of their hearts
were good
so that's an important thing the desires
of their heart you know you'll speak to
a number of people in different
religions
and this is why actually one of the big
differences between christianity and in
judaism
right is that judaism doesn't focus as
much on
your thoughts being as important in
terms of being judged
or being a good person what christianity
does right we get that with a sermon on
the mount
how adultery is bad but even if you're
thinking about it right in your mind you
have still
committed adultery so for us that's a
higher law
because it's about who we are again it's
about becoming
and our thoughts certainly dictate that
it just went over a talk
from then elder nelson that was
specifically talking about
remembering as we've just gone over here
with alma
as a man thinketh so is he something to
that effect
so if their thoughts were good if their
works were good
that they should also at the last day be
restored into that which is good
so we decide what type of restoration
or resurrection we're going to have and
if their works are evil they shall be
restored unto them for evil
all things shall be restored to their
proper order
so proper here then can be for us
what is intended to be restored to a
resurrection that is
going to give us everlasting life that
is going to give us exaltation
or a proper order based on our works
which are evil
which is going to give us something else
and then talking about those who repent
and have a desire
to do good he says these are they that
are redeemed of the lord
these are they that are taken out that
are delivered
there's our message from alma from that
endless night of darkness
and thus they stand or fall for behold
they are their own
judges whether to do good or to do evil
right so in a sense
if we understand we have to know this
first
right a lot of people don't but if we
know about what is good and about what
is evil
and we live our lives according to that
knowledge
then in that sense we are our own judge
because we determine
our judgment based on our works
so we're going to go wherever we want to
go
as a final state or destination
we're going to go where we are
comfortable so we are
truly through our actions through our
works
we really know what we want we can say
we desire something or
want something but really that i don't
think that there's really any meat
behind that
unless we have the works that back that
up right faith without works is dead
in 10 we get the famous phrase i say
unto you wickedness
never was happiness so oftentimes we
look for something short-term
something pleasurable something carnal
that is something that feeds us right
that's not happiness that is
building a little lean to onto the tree
of knowledge of good and evil
it's pride it's taking up a lease
in the great and spacious building right
happiness comes
happiness or joy right comes from the
tree of life
so it gives us an idea here again using
the word word right and now behold is
the meaning of the word restoration
to take a thing of a natural state and
place it in an unnatural state or to
place it in a state
opposite to its nature well my son this
is not the case
right in other words what we do here in
our probationary state is what we are
going to end up with
right we determine that well my son this
is not the case but the meaning of the
word
restoration is to bring back again evil
for evil and carnal for carnal or
devilish for devilish
good for that which is good righteous
for that which is righteous
just for that which is just merciful for
that which is merciful
so how we treat our probationary state
here our mortality
after death being separated from our
body the restoration of that body and
spirit
together will be a reflection of what we
do with our lives here today
and then in verse 15 here at the end of
41 he gives us an idea of
karma he doesn't use that word but it's
the same idea
right he says for that which we do send
out
shall return unto you again and be
restored
so i think the idea of sending something
out that's our works
and so that's going to come back to us
when our body
and our spirit are reunited in the
resurrection
whatever it is that we're doing what
we're sending out there
is what will come back to us in that
restoration in that resurrection
therefore the word restoration more
fully condemneth the sinner
and justify him not at all so you can
see that there must have been an idea
out there not just with corianton but
something
some idea that he was holding on to from
others
that hey it's okay today right more of a
nihor type of an idea
don't worry about judgment don't worry
about the resurrection
we're going to be in this low state here
today and then hey we all
get some great state and then we get
you my my eyes i was saying my ears
always perk up here but
whenever we talk about the garden of
eden we need to spend a lot of time on
it
we need to really focus on i'm not going
to spend a lot of time now but
read the top part of alma 42 and really
focus on it
really learn and understand and insert
into your subconscious if possible
the idea of this vision because that's
what it is it's a vision
right the garden of eden is a vision and
it's meant for you and me
so he brings up the garden of eden here
in chapter 42 and he says 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 at work from whence
they were taken
yeah he drew out the man and he placed
at the east end of the garden of eden
cherubim remember he did this again he
talked about this
in back in alma 11 or 12 i think twelve
and in fact one of the high priests
there in my has the one who brought it
up because he knows that's a conflicting
point of doctrine
between those after the order of nihor
and what almond amulek were teaching
and here it is again right still
pervasive throughout the land and
something that
corianton is grabbing onto it appears to
me
so he says and he placed at the east end
of the garden of eden
cherubim remember the east side of the
temple
is where you come into and you move
toward the west or the toward the holy
of holies
so where you could say there's cherubim
outside whether it be the pillars
of the temple of solomon you can also be
looking at just outside the veil or
on the veil where angels were depicted
or even guarding the ark of the covenant
and probably the throne itself
but that he placed their cherubim and a
flaming sword which turned every way to
keep the tree of life
so that they couldn't partake of it we
see that the man had become as god
knowing good and evil all right how does
he know good and evil again
he partook of the knowledge of the tree
of good and evil
that's the law he learned the law
of god and once you know that
now you're responsible for the
consequences now you're responsible for
following it
and that's what causes you to fall
that's what caused adam and eve to fall
right their eyes were opened they could
see
what was right and what was wrong to a
greater degree and so lest they should
put forth his hand and take
also of the tree of life and eat and
live forever
the lord god placed cherubim in the
flaming sword that he should not partake
of the fruit
and thus we see that there was a time
granted under man
to repent a probationary time
a time to repent and serve god now let
me go into a little bit of temple
imagery
on this further because i think it's
important that we understand this
this is what we do in the endowment
right there are cherubim
placed before us to go through a
probationary period
and to ascend toward
the holy of holies or the celestial room
the tree of life
this is absolute endowment
temple imagery a probationary state
can be looked at as what we go through
in the endowment and it's practical
in our everyday life we're in a
probationary state
and so we're given a time to go through
mortality to be tested
and to repent before we get to the tree
of life
because we can't really enjoy the tree
of life
unless we have become something
unless we're in the right state we need
judgment in that case
and we need to be held off to go through
certain phases of repentance and others
other covenants before we can get there
it's crucial and he tells us here in
verse 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 and the
word of god would have been
void and the great plan of salvation
would have been
frustrated you really should go back and
read alma chapters 11 and 12.
get even more context on this so why is
again going back to authorship why is he
covering these specific points
because corianton is a bright kid
and very knowledgeable and he has taken
what his parents have given him and the
church has given him
but also brought in these other ideas
from the order of nehor likely
right or other ideas that the zoromites
had and they are confusing him
and so alma is going over these points
specifically for him and so we get here
in verse 9 therefore as the soul could
never die
and the fall had brought upon all
mankind and we all fall
i think of the fall of adam that's the
fall of you
right adam and eve are you you are adam
or
you are eve literally
those are titles not that there wasn't
an adam and eve there certainly was
but that's not what the story of the
garden of eden is about the story of the
garden of eden
is about you you are adam and you are
eve
so you are the one who fell and had been
brought up
upon all mankind a spiritual death as
well as a temporal death
right so it created death our separation
of body and spirit and it created
immediately a separation from god right
a spiritual death
and the resurrection brings both of
those into a restoration restorative
state therefore as they become carnal
sensual and devilish by nature
because we're in immortality this
probationary state
right the time that the cherubim makes
us hold off from
we need judgment and time to repent this
probationary state became a state for
them to prepare
it became a preparatory state ah
this goes to the higher and lower laws
right
because this is a carnal state this is a
probationary state
it is a temporal state it is a
preparatory state
those are all terms used with the
aaronic priesthood
right the aaronic priesthood in my mind
as far as i can i can see is the
priesthood of the individual and the
priesthood of the earth
right of the temporal law
and of course that's what we get with
the aaronic priesthood it is a
the preparatory priesthood not for
young men to receive the melchizedek
priesthood
that is a falsehood and and and i've
that has got to change out there in
understanding
i think it will but i would say the
majority of the church
believes that the preparatory priesthood
is about the young aaronic priesthood
men preparing to receive the melchizedek
priesthood
that is false right we are
all in a preparatory state we all are
part of the iranian priesthood we don't
all
bear it but we are all in a preparatory
state for what for a higher law
for the melchizedek law for
fulfilling our potential for pulling
from grace from the lord and his
sacrifice
the preparatory priesthood is about
men and women the aaronic priesthood
is simply what manages the preparatory
state
remember that it is john the baptist as
the icon
who talks about preparing the way
right that he's not talking to a bunch
of young men who are going to become
melchizedek priesthood holders
he's talking about preparing the pathway
to the temple
that we all go to
right okay i'm off of my soapbox here
now he says here that there's no means
to reclaim men from this fallen state
so therefore there had to be a plan of
redemption
and the only way it works is on
conditions of repentance
in this probationary state right
yea this preparatory state for except it
were for these conditions
mercy could not take effect except it
should destroy the work of justice
right so the way that mercy overcomes
justice is by us participating also
through repentance otherwise it it can't
it can't destroy justice
says here now the work of justice could
not be destroyed
if so god would cease to be god
he has to follow that obviously because
if there's no justice how do we have
faith in a god that's not just
and the plan of redemption and the plan
of mercy could not
be brought about except an atonement
should be made
and at one minute a covenaire a covenant
right
therefore god himself atoneth for the
sins of the world
to bring about the plan of mercy to
appease the demands of
justice for those that repent that god
might be a perfect
just god and a
merciful god also
so he is both we get here also in in
verse 24
elma says for behold justice exerciseth
all his demands and also mercy
claimeth all which is her own and thus
none but the truly penitent are saved
so moving ourselves between justice and
mercy here
it's only those that are truly penitent
right those who repent that are truly
saved
at least spiritually it's interesting to
me here that we get
for behold that justice exerciseth all
his demands
so justice here for alma is male
and also mercy claimeth all which is
her own so it's lady mercy
in the greek it seems or the roman where
we
have more of a western tradition here we
have lady justice typically
right but here for alma he's got
the male justice as a male and
mercy as a female and
then he asks the big question right
what do ye suppose that mercy can rob
justice
i say unto you nay not one wit
if so god would cease to be god right so
it's
all about our works on our end and the
sacrifice and gifts
of atonement and the spiritual gifts
that the lord gives us
it's us reaching up to him and it's him
reaching down to us
both have to play a part otherwise
we don't have both justice and mercy
and he finishes off and says to
corianton my son
whosoever will come may come and partake
of the waters of life
freely think about the four rivers
coming out from
the tree of life right and whosoever
will not come the same is not compelled
to come
just like with alma the younger he goes
over that several times
but in the last day it shall be restored
unto him according to
his deeds o my son i desire that ye
should deny the justice of god
no more do not endeavor to excuse
yourself in the least point because of
your sins
by denying the justice of god
but do you let the justice of god and
his mercy and his long suffering
have full sway in your heart and let it
bring you down to the dust in humility
and he finalizes here in 31 and now o my
son
ye are called of god to preach the word
unto this people and now my son go thy
way declare the word
with truth and soberness that thou
mayest bring souls unto repentance
that the great plan of mercy may have
claim
upon them and may god grant unto you
even according to my words
amen so alma takes his son coryanton he
sees where he is confused he sees where
he has
adopted perhaps some ideas and
ideologies
outside of the gospel and so he tries to
explain to him fill in the gaps
by going over the entire plan of
redemption
and this is where there is so much meat
and doctrine
in the book of mormon here things that
clarify
the bible things that as time moves
forward and that tide rises
that the book of mormon will be buoyed
up to the top
and will be held as an anchor for truth
i'll talk to you next time
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Book of Mormon Alma
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