The spirit of prophecy is the spirit
of testimony. Except it be through the spirit of prophecy, no
man ever testified of Christ. Filled to overflowing with that spirit,
Alma diffused knowledge and understanding in every direction as if they were
rays of light. Like Abinadi, in Lehi-Nephi, Alma was commanded of the Lord to
declare His holy word, and to proclaim true, "the
things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which were
to come." This, in meekness, Alma had done.
Alma now called upon a Higher Judge than
he to witness the truth of all he had said. He carried his appeal to the
supreme tribunal in the land, Conscience, "that court of
righteous and holy decisions" which is folded up in the bosoms of even the
humblest. Alma's case was that his people should eschew the
very appearance of evil and be prepared for that day which Alma said was not
far distant when "The Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might,
majesty, and dominion."
In the cause he had espoused, Alma was his own
advocate; the spirit of prophecy was his witness.
Plainly, and with great deliberation, the spirit testified
that there is a God in heaven, and that through Jesus Christ,
His Only Begotten Son, all mankind might be saved from the sins of the world,
"Yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name."
Alma invited all men, everywhere, to repent of their sins and banish pride from
their hearts which in times past had interfered in God's service. Keep the
commandments of God that His Spirit will always be with you that thereby you
will be holy unto Him, was the counsel Alma gave. The faithful knew that if the
Holy Spirit was ever within them, many of the problems that otherwise would be
painful to their hearts and perplexing to their minds could never assail their
determination to do His will.
Like King Benjamin, forty years before, when that
God-fearing monarch preached Salvation to his people, Alma was filled with
the spirit of prophecy and by that same spirit his
people, too, understood his words. Here we find an ideal place to repeat the
words of the Apostle Paul:
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of man that is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the
Spirit of God. (I Cor. 2:11)
The Apostle Peter, in writing to the Hebrew Saints in
Asia Minor, said that the apostles had not followed "cunningly devised
fables" when they recounted the life of Jesus, His power and coming: for
they were eyewitnesses to His majesty; they saw His glory and heard the voice
from heaven when they were in the holy mountain. But, he argued, if one wants
still more evidence of Jesus' divinity,
We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye
will do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scriptures
is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (II Peter
1:19-21)
Such is the value the Apostle Peter placed on the
prophetic word. It is more sure than what? More sure than the historical part
of the Gospel to which the apostles testified as eyewitnesses! It shines as a light in a room during the dark hours. It is given
us to heed, not to ignore. Indeed, the prophetic word
is one of the most wonderful manifestations of the Priesthood, caused by the
operations of the Spirit upon the minds of holy men. It is the starlight for
the guidance of the people of God, until the day-star, the sun, comes up in
glorious effulgence.
Alma's testimony grew more overpowering as he
fervently invoked God's blessings upon his beloved people. As a father, he
cautioned them against pride and its attendant deceptions. As their High
Priest, he warned them of its follies, and pointed out the path which is
straight and narrow, and into which the Good Shepherd called them with His own
voice. "If you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his
fold," Alma said, "and ye are his sheep."
The final appeal Alma made was, no doubt, influenced
by the words of Isaiah, all of whose sayings the Nephites loved. These words
were engraved upon the Plates of Laban, Lehi had brought from Jerusalem, and
were then in the possession of Alma:
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)
Alma's message to the people of Zarahemla was now
complete. He had testified as the Lord had commanded him to do; the burden of
his message was:
The Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and
the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be
saved. (I Nephi 13:40) (George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book
of Mormon, 7 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1977], 3:96-99, emphasis in bold added)