9:1 And again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take
Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people
who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach
unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:
9:2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one
man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?
9:3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew
not that the earth should pass away.
9:4 And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst
prophesy that this great city should be destroyed in one day.
9:5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous works, for they
were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.
9:6 And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one
man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and
marvelous things?
9:7 And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did
not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly
testify unto them, saying:
9:8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have ye forgotten
the tradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the
commandments of God.
9:9 Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of
Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led
by him through the wilderness?
9:10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our
fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from
being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?
9:11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his
mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have
been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of
time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe.
9:12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and
except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But
behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will
utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit
you in his anger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn away.
9:13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi,
saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall
prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not
keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
9:14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the
Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been cut off
from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has
been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from
his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.
9:15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for
them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins,
yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except
ye repent.
9:16 For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites;
for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them
to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be
merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.
9:17 And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his
word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their
fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful
unto all who call on his name.
9:18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness
that your days shall not be prolonged in the land, for the Lamanites
shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time
when you know not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and
it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord.
9:19 For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities,
to destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that
the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of
Nephi, if it were possible that they could fall into sins and
transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge
given unto them of the Lord their God;
9:20 Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord;
yea, after having been favored above every other nation, kindred,
tongue, or people; after having had all things made known unto them,
according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which
has been, and which is, and which is to come;
9:21 Having been visited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with
angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and
having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also
many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of
preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of translation;
9:22 Yea, and after having been delivered of God out of the land of
Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having been saved from famine, and
from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they
having waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having
been brought out of bondage time after time, and having been kept and
preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich
in all manner of things—
9:23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have
received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress
contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you
that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression,
it would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for them.
9:24 For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the
Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the
Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel
against him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face of the
earth?
9:25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has
sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that
they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent
ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
9:26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory;
and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father,
full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and
long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer
their prayers.
9:27 And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto
repentance, through faith on his name.
9:28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand
that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that
which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall reap the
salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of
Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation
of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
9:29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the
people.
9:30 And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought
to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for
repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against
the word of God, and seeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people.
9:31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words,
behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that
they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.
9:32 And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a
fallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands
upon me, that they might cast me into prison.
9:33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they
should take me at that time and cast me into prison.
9:34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to
preach unto them also. And now the words of Amulek are not all written,
nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.