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THE SON OF ALMA The commandments of Alma to his son Corianton. [Comprising chapters 39 to 42 inclusive.] |
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CHAPTER 39
Sexual sin is an abomination— |
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1 AND now, my ason, I
have somewhat more to say unto thee than what I said unto thy brother; for
behold, have ye not observed the steadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness,
and his diligence in keeping the commandments of God? Behold, has he not set
a good bexample for thee?
2 For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy brother, among the people of the aZoramites. Now this is what I have against thee; thou didst go on unto boasting in thy strength and thy wisdom.
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1a
Alma 31:7 b TG Example 2a Alma 38:3
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3 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, among the borders of the Lamanites, after the
aharlot Isabel.
4 Yea, she did asteal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thou wast entrusted. 5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most aabominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent bblood or denying the Holy Ghosta?
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5a most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost Adultry and fornication are great sins, hitting number three of the top three sins list, for they deal with the powers of creation and the creation of life. They effect the life of the child who is to be born under such circumstance. Sins are graded upon the effects which they have upon another. The greatest sins is the denying of the Christ. The next sins is the taking of innocent life knowingly. And then the third sin envolves the bring forth of life in shameful and destaining circumstances which will cause the child of such birth untold oppression. And while all sexual sin is abominable, the sins of adultry and fornication, since they deal directly with the conception of the child are of the greatest nature of all sexual sin. |
3a
1 Sam. 2:22-25;
Prov. 5:3; TG Sensuality 4a Prov. 7:18 (6-27) 5a TG Adultery; TG Fornication; TG Sexual Immorality b TG Life, Sanctity of
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6 For behold, if ye adeny the Holy Ghost when
it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a
sin which is
bunpardonablea; yea,
and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is
not easy for him to obtain
cforgivenessb; yea, I
say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness.
7 And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been aguilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good. 8 But behold, ye cannot ahide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.
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6a if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once
has had plce in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which
is unpardonable There is more specific details about this the
unpardonable sin. It is the denying of the sure witness of Christ. Paul
speaks of this sin in Hebrews 6:4-6, where he states that by so doing 'they
crudify to themselves the Son of God afresh'. That is they murder Christ in
and unto themselves, putting him to an open shame. Elsewhere it speaks of
denying the truth when one has come to know that they do deny the truth of
the Savior. Judas had such a sure testimony of Christ and he is counted as
one such who is a son of perdition.
6bwhosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgivenes Now there are degrees of 'murder'. He who is ignorant of the laws of God, to him it is less of a sin, for he has not obtained the greater witnesses of the various levels of the testimony of the Gospel and of Christ. Thus depending upon the vileness of the sin, that is the degree of inocences upon the part of the victum and the degree of testimony of Christ, the greater is the effect of the sin and the effort and degree of forgiveness received. King David had a more sure witness of Christ than many and his sin of murder was of a higher level, for he had a hieghtened testimony given him. Thus he has lost his eternal glory, his 'wives' which the Lord had given unto him, have been taken from him and though he has a degree of forgiveness and is not left unto outerdarkness like unto a son of perdition, David will not obtain the Celestial Glory. On the other had, King Lamoni, who would have his servants murdered if they failed to care for his herds at the waters of Sebus, and to the Lamanites who would war and murder the Nephites, to them was forgiveness granted under the administration of Ammon and his brothers for they had not sinned against the knowledge and light of Christ, for they were in darkness as to the knowledge of God, believing in the false traditions of their fathers. And thus they may have forgivenss of their prior murders even unto obtaining the Celestial Kingdom. |
6a
Moro 8:28;
D&C 76:35; TG Holy Ghost, Loss of b TG Holy Ghost, Unpardonable Sin against c Rom. 9:18; D&C 64:10; TG Forgiveness 7a TG Guilt 8a TG God, Omniscience of
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9 Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins,
and go no more after the alusts of your eyes, but
bcross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this
ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon
you, and ccross yourself in these
thingsa.
10 And I command you to take it upon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings; for behold, thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to be nourished by your brothers. And give heed to their counsel. 11 Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great ainiquity ye brought upon the bZoramites; for when they saw your cconduct they would not believe in my words.
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9a cross yourself in these things When one comes to understand that they have a certain propensity to a certain weakness, one is to avoid all such circumstance of temptation regarding it. That is an alcohlic does not place bottles of alcohol upon his home selves. He does not expose himself to the least bit of temptation, for he understands how easily he might slip. So also does anyone who has an 'adiction' of tendancy toward such. Just so, he who is so easily effected by the sexual appitite, should not expose himself to the least degrees of exposure to such temptations. This removal of even the temptation from one's life is the process of 'crossing one's self'. You remove yourself from all such temptation, so that in a moment of weakness, the sin is not readily available at hand. The more time and effort, in such moments of weakness it takes to gain access, the less likely one is to again fall into the sinful circumstance. And the less often that one places himself in tempting situation, the less the adiction will be stimulated. |
9a
Prov. 5:8;
TG
Carnal Mind;
TG
Chastity; TG Covetousness; TG Lust b TG Self-mastery c 3 Ne. 12:30 11a 1 Sam. 2:24 (22-25) b Alma 35:14 (2-14); Alma 43:4-6, 13 c 1 Sam. 12:14; Ezek. 5:5; Rom. 2:21-23; Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 9:14 (13-14); 1 Ne. 21:6 Alma 4:11; D&C 103:9 (8-9); TG Example
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12 And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me:
aCommand thy children to do good, lest they
blead away the hearts of many people to destruction;
therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye
crefrain from your iniquities;
13 That ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly; but rather return unto them, and aacknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done. 14 aSeek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.
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12a
TG
Commandments of God;
TG
Teaching b TG Peer Influence c TG Abstinence 13a Mosiah 27:35 14a Matt. 6:33 (25-34); Jacob 2:18-19; D&C 6:7 (6-7); D&C 68:31-32; TG Treasure
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15 And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the
acoming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he
that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to
declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people.
16 And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their achildren to hear the word at the time of his coming.
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15a
TG
Jesus Christ, Mission of 15a TG Family, Children, Responsibilities toward
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17 And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject.
Behold, you marvel 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?
18 Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be amade known unto this people as well as unto their children? 19 Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to asend his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming?
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18a
Jacob 4:4-6 18a Mosiah 3:2-3
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