The Book of Alma

THE SON OF ALMA

The account of Alma, who was the son of Alma, the first and chief judge over the Nephites, and high priest over the congregation. An account of the judges’ rule and the wars and conflicts among the people. And an account of a war between the Nephites and Lamanites according to Alma’s record, who was the first and chief judge.

King Mosiah died and returned to the dust...

In the sixth year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites, there were no conflicts or wars in Zarahemla. But the people mourned terribly over the loss of their relatives and fellow Nephites, over their flocks and herds being killed, and over damage to their farms from being trampled and destroyed by the Lamanites. The disruption was so widespread that every one of them was directly impacted, and...

The teaching Alma, the high priest belonging to the Holy Order of God, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land.

Alma started teaching God’s word to the people, first in Zarahemla, and afterward throughout the land. This is what he taught the congregation in the city of Zarahemla, according to his own record: I Alma was ordained by my father Alma to be a high priest...

After Alma had finished speaking to the congregation established in Zarahemla, he ordained priests and elders by placing his hands on them and ordaining them, according to God’s Order, to protect and watch over the congregation. Those who didn’t belong to the congregation and repented of their sins were baptized as a sign of repentance and received into the congregation. And those who belonged to...

Alma’s teaching, which he delivered to the people in Gideon, according to his own record.

My dear people, since I’ve been permitted to come to see you, I’ll attempt to teach in my own words, from my own mouth. This is the first time I’ve spoken to you in person, since I’ve been completely tied up handling the judgment seat solving many disputes, and therefore was unable to visit you. I couldn’t...

Then Alma returned from the land of Gideon after teaching Gideon’s people far too much to be written, having organized the congregation like he did before in Zarahemla. He went back to his own house at Zarahemla to rest. So the ninth year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites ended.

At the start of the 10th year, Alma went to Melek, west of the Sidon River, on the western border of the wilderness....

The words of both Alma and Amulek that were proclaimed to the people living in Ammonihah. In addition, they’re imprisoned and rescued by the miraculous power of God protecting them, according to Alma’s record.

I Alma was commanded by God to take Amulek and again preach to the people in Ammonihah. As I started to preach to them, they argued with me. They asked, Who are you? Do you think we’re going...

This is what Amulek preached to the people in Ammonihah: I’m Amulek, the son of Gidanah, the son of Ishmael, a descendant of Aminadi — the same Aminadi who interpreted the writing on the temple wall, written by God’s finger. And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, the son of Lehi, who came from the land of Jerusalem and was a descendant of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt by...

Alma saw that Amulek’s words silenced Zeezrom. Zeezrom realized Amulek caught him lying and misleading, attempting to destroy him. Because Zeezrom was trembling in fear from his guilt, Alma spoke directly to him, confirming Amulek’s words and elaborating and explaining the scriptures beyond what Amulek had covered. What Alma told Zeezrom was overheard by everyone who gathered around them. He said...

As I said about the Holy Order, or this High Priesthood: many were ordained and became high priests of God. It was because of their great faith, repentance, and righteousness before God, choosing to repent and bring about righteousness rather than perish. Therefore they were called according to this Holy Order and were sanctified, and their clothes were washed white through the Lamb’s blood. Now...

In the 11th year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites, up until the fifth day of the second month there had been no wars or conflicts for a number of years and widespread peace had prevailed in the land of Zarahemla. But on the fifth day of the second month a cry of war was heard throughout the land. Lamanite armies entered the outskirts of the land from the wilderness side, coming right into...

An account of Mosiah’s sons, who rejected their rights to the kingdom for God’s word and went up to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites. Their times of suffering and their liberation, according to Alma’s record.

As Alma was traveling from Gideon southward to Manti, to his surprise he came upon Mosiah’s sons on their way to Zarahemla. Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma when the angel...

An account of the preaching of Aaron, Muloki, and their companions to the Lamanites.

When Ammon and his companions split up in the border region of the land of the Lamanites, Aaron traveled toward the place called by the Lamanites Jerusalem, named after the place of their ancestors’ birth. It was adjoining the land of Mormon. It was the Lamanites, Amlicites, and the people of Amulon who built the...

Now the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation to all his people that they were to leave Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni alone, as well as any of their companions who were preaching God’s word, in any place they went, in any part of their land. He sent a decree prohibiting their arrest, or tying them up, or throwing them in prison, forbidding them from spitting on them, or beating them, or...

When the Lamanites who went to war against the Nephites found — after many persistent attempts to destroy them — that it was useless to try to destroy them, they returned to the land of Nephi. And because of losing, the Amlicites were very angry. When they saw they couldn’t get revenge on the Nephites, they started to provoke the people to be angry with the former Lamanites, the people of...

Ammon’s people had been settled in the land of Jershon, and the Lamanites had been driven out of the land and their dead had been buried by the residents. Because there were so many dead Lamanites they weren’t counted. Neither were the Nephite dead counted. But following burying the dead and after time spent fasting, mourning, and praying, a time of peace arrived. This was in the 16th year of the...

Alma’s commandments to his son Helaman.

My son, listen carefully. I promise you that to the extent you keep God’s commandments, you’ll prosper in the land. I want you to follow my example and always remember our ancestors’ captivity. Because when they were slaves no one could save them except for the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob — He certainly rescued them from their...

Alma’s commandments to his son Shiblon.

My son, listen to me carefully. I say to you, just as I said to Helaman, that to the extent you keep God’s commandments, you’ll prosper in the land; and to the extent you don’t keep God’s commandments, you’ll be cut off from His presence. Now, my son, I expect to have great joy because of you, as a result of your steadiness and your faithfulness to God....

Alma’s commandments to his son Corianton.

Now, my son, I need to say a little more to you than I said to your brother. Haven’t you observed your brother’s steadiness, his faithfulness and diligence in keeping God’s commandments? Hasn’t he set a good example for you? However, you didn’t follow my instructions while with the Zoramites like your brother did. Now this is my complaint against you: You...

Now Alma’s sons went out to preach the word to the people. And Alma himself couldn’t rest either, and he also went out. Now we won’t say anything else about their preaching except they preached the word and truth according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation, and they preached according to the Holy Order of God by which they were called.

And now I’ll pick back up the account of the wars...

The account of the Nephites and their wars and conflicts during Helaman’s time, according to Helaman’s record, which he kept during his life.

Now the Nephites were overjoyed because the Lord had again saved them from the power of their enemies. So they gave thanks to the Lord their God. And they fasted and prayed a great deal, and joyfully worshiped God.

In the 19th year of the judges’ rule over...

Now Moroni didn’t stop preparing for war or to defend his people against the Lamanites. Indeed, at the start of the 20th year of the judges’ rule, he had his armies begin to dig up piles of earth around the outside of all the cities throughout the Nephites’ lands. On top of those ridges of earth around the outside of the cities, he had walls of timbers erected to the height of a man. He had a...

Now at the start of the 25th year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites, they had resolved the conflict between the peoples of Lehi and Morionton over their lands, and began the 25th year peacefully. However, they didn’t maintain complete peace in the land for long. Indeed, a dispute arose among the people over the chief judge Parhoron; some of the people wanted a few specific points of the law...

Now in the 26th year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites, when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, they found Amalickiah dead in his own tent. They also saw Teancum was ready to give them battle on that day. When the Lamanites saw this, they were frightened; and they abandoned their plan to march into the land to the north and retreated with their whole army into the...

At the start of the 29th year of the judges, Ammoron sent a message to Moroni, asking him to exchange prisoners. Moroni was overjoyed at this request, since he wanted the supplies used to maintain the Lamanite prisoners for his own people; and he also wanted his own people returned in order to strengthen his army. Now the Lamanites had captured many women and children; but there wasn’t a woman or...

Now at the start of the 30th year of the judges’ rule, on the second day of the first month, Moroni received a letter from Helaman describing the affairs of the people in that region of the land. This is what he wrote: My dearly loved brother Moroni, both in the Lord and in sharing the difficulties of our warfare: My dear brother, I will tell you an account of our warfare in this part of the...

Now in the 30th year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites, after Moroni received and read Helaman’s letter, he rejoiced over Helaman’s success in regaining the lands that had been lost. He let all his people know throughout the surrounding area so they could also celebrate.

Then he immediately sent a letter to Parhoron, asking him to send men to reinforce Helaman, or Helaman’s armies, so he could...

Soon after Moroni had sent his letter to the chief governor, he received a letter from Parhoron the chief governor. This is what it said: I Parhoron, the chief governor of this land, send this to Moroni, the chief captain over the army. I tell you, Moroni, I have no pleasure in your great difficulties; they distress me. But there are some who are pleased by your troubles. There is a rebellion...

Now when Moroni received this letter, he was encouraged and filled with joy because of Parhoron’s faithfulness, learning he wasn’t a traitor to the freedom and cause of his country. On the other hand, he was also very sad for the iniquity of those who had driven Parhoron from the judgment seat who clearly had rebelled against their country and God.

Moroni took a small number of men, as Parhoron...

At the start of the 36th year of the judges’ rule over the Nephites, Shiblon took possession of the sacred artifacts given to Helaman by Alma. He was a good man who lived righteously before God and took care to be good and keep the commandments of the Lord his God, like his brother had done.

Then Moroni also died. And so ended the 36th year of the judges’ rule. In the 37th year of the judges’...