Alma Unfolds the Scriptures

Book of Mormon Notes - Monday, August 21, 2023, Alma 12

Mormon could not write all of the words of Amulek, and neither could he write all of the words of Alma. But Mormon’s interjections and narration help us to understand why he chose to emphasize these particular passages from Alma’s record. Mormon had read and studied many more plates than we know about, and no one was more qualified than him to abridge Nephite history for the Lord’s purposes in the last days. Mormon was also preparing the record for his son Moroni in order that he could complete the record and add his abridgment of the Book of Ether as well as some of his own teachings and prophesies.

Mormon later gives us an idea of how many more records there were, because even Nephi’s record - on the small plates and the large plates - was shorter than at least some of the other records:

But behold there are records which do contain all the proceedings of this people; and a shorter but true account was given by Nephi.

Therefore I have made my record of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the plates of Nephi.

And behold, I do make the record on plates which I have made with mine own hands.

And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression. (3 Nephi 5:9-12)

Think of that. There are records that contain “all the proceedings” of the Nephites. This means that the Book of Mormon itself is, in a certain sense, the lesser portion of the word. THERE IS MORE. But we can’t receive more until we first appreciate and incorporate into our lives that which has already been given.

This is part of Alma’s message to Zeezrom as well. Amulek’s faith, discernment, and bold testimony had silenced Zeezrom and given Alma and opportunity to expound upon the scriptures more fully. Alma began to explain and to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done. I like that phrase: unfold the scriptures. The word “unfold” is often used in the scriptures in connection with words such as “revelations” and “mysteries”…

Nephi:

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. (1 Nephi 10:19)

Jacob:

Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you. (Jacob 4:18)

King Benjamin:

And these are the words which he spake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view. (Mosiah 2:9)

Mormon:

Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done. (Alma 12:1)

The Lord Himself:

And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed. (Ether 4:16)

The Lord Himself:

Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. (D&C 6:7)

The Lord Himself:

And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled; (D&C 88:95)

Isn’t this also what the Lord did for his disciples on the road to Emmaus? He unfolded the scriptures to them:

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem ^aabout threescore furlongs.

And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

And it came to pass, that, while they ^acommuned together and reasoned, ^bJesus himself drew near, and went with them.

But their eyes were ^aholden that they should not know him.

And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

And the one of them, whose name was ^aCleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

Then he said unto them, O ^afools, and slow of ^bheart to ^cbelieve all that the prophets have spoken:

Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

And beginning at ^aMoses and all the ^bprophets, he ^cexpounded unto them in all the ^dscriptures the things concerning himself.

And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

And they said one to another, Did not our ^aheart ^bburn within us, while he ^ctalked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? (Luke 24:13-32)

Jesus Christ unfolded the scriptures, he expounded in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself, and He opened the scriptures to His disciples. If the Lord did this for His disciples on the road to Emmaus, can He not do the same for us as we study the scriptures?

This is also what Alma did for Amulek, Zeezrom, and the group of Ammonihahites: he established the words of Amulek and began to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done. This is also what the Spirit of the Lord does for us, unfolding to us the scriptures beyond the written words that we read on the pages.

But the Lord and His Spirit can only give us what we are ready for, as Alma so clearly teaches:

And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to ^aknow the ^bmysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart ^conly according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. (Alma 12:9)

The Lord unfolds His mysteries, His revelations, and His truth, and He makes known His plan of salvation to us according our faith and repentance and our ^dholy works (Alma 12:30):

Jesus answered them, and said, My ^adoctrine is not mine, but his that ^bsent me.

If any man will ^ado his ^bwill, he shall ^cknow of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own ^aglory: but he that seeketh his ^bglory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. (John 7:16-18)

In the pattern of our Savior, Harold B. Lee taught:

All of the gospel principles and all of the gospel ordinances are but invitations to the learning of the gospel by the practice of its teachings. That’s all they are—invitations to come and practice in order that you can know. . . . It seems clear to me that we might well say, we never really know any of the teachings of the gospel until we have experienced them one by one by living them. We learn the gospel, in other words, by living it.

One of my favorite books ever written on this topic is Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s excellent and eloquent book Not My Will, But Thine. In this book, Elder Maxwell teaches the same principles that Mormon, by quoting Alma’s discourse to Zeezrom in the presence of Amulek and a large group of the people of the city of Ammonihah, teaches us.

The degree of the Lord’s unfolding of revelations, mysteries, and truth corresponds directly to our own degree of preparation, or our levels of faith, repentance, and holy works. And the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the Lord is “ever ready to instruct such as diligently seek in faith.” Although Zeezrom and the people of Ammonihah were not immediately ready or willing to receive such instruction from the Lord or his servants, we learn from Alma that our capacity to receive revelation corresponds directly to the condition of our hearts:

And therefore, he that will ^aharden his heart, the same receiveth the ^blesser portion of the word; and he that will ^cnot harden his heart, to him is ^dgiven the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser ^aportion of the word until they ^bknow nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the ^cchains of ^dhell. (Alma 12:10-11)

No wonder then that Nephi, in his small plates, dedicated so much effort to preaching repentance and the softening of hearts to his brothers and his people. Nephi received the greater portion of the word which included much more than a mere reception of his father’s teachings or an account of his father’s vision. Nephi diligently sought, and the mysteries of God were unfolded to his view by the power of the Holy Ghost. This same promise is available to us today, and in fact it is one of the most frequently repeated invitations in scripture:

^aAsk, and it shall be given unto you; ^bseek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (3 Nephi 14:7-11)

Mormon records that Alma’s testimony regarding the wisdom and justice of God and his plan of salvation so shocked Zeezrom and the rest of the audience that they were essentially spell-bound. Then Antionah, a chief ruler among them, approached Alma with a question:

What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an ^aimmortal state, that the soul can never die?

What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed ^acherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of ^bEden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever. (Alma 12:20-21)

Without skipping a beat or falling into the trap of Brass-Plates-bashing with Antionah, Alma begins to answer Antionah’s question by answering the question that Antionah ought to have asked. Alma’s response contains some of the greatest teachings about Jesus Christ, the Atonement, repentance, and the Plan of Salvation in all of scripture.