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    Chapter 11

    An account of Alma and the Lord’s people, who were driven into the wilderness by king Noah’s people.

  1. 23The Lord warned Alma that king Noah’s armies were coming to attack them, and Alma told his people. So they gathered their flocks, took their grain, and went into the wilderness ahead of king Noah’s armies. 2The Lord gave them strength, so they stayed ahead of king Noah’s people coming to kill them. 3They fled into the wilderness for eight days, 4arriving at a very beautiful and pleasant land with fresh water. 5They pitched their tents there and began to farm the ground and construct buildings, etc. - you see, they were productive and hard working.
  2. 6And the people wanted Alma to be their king, since they loved and trusted him. 7But he told them: It isn’t advisable for us to have a king. This is what the Lord has said: You must not value one person over another, and no one should consider themselves better than another. Therefore I advise you against having a king. 8However, if it were possible to always have ethical men as your kings, it would be worthwhile to have a king — 9but remember the iniquity of king Noah and his priests. I was trapped in it and did many wicked things offensive to the Lord, that I now bitterly regret. 10But after a lot of suffering, the Lord heard and answered my prayers and has turned me into an instrument in His hands to teach many of you knowledge about His truth. 11Nevertheless, I don’t expect praise for this, since I’m unworthy of taking any pride in myself. 12Now I tell you: King Noah oppressed you, and he and his priests enslaved you and led you into iniquity, so you were captured with the chains of sin. 13Now as God’s power has freed you from these chains, from the control of king Noah and his people, and from the chains of sin, I want you to maintain your liberty, and never trust any man to be a king ruling you. 14Don’t trust anyone to be your teacher or minister unless he’s called by God, walking in His ways, and following His commandments. 15This is what Alma taught his people, that everyone should love their neighbor as themselves, and they shouldn’t have any serious conflicts.
  3. 16Now Alma, their congregation’s founder, was their high priest. 17And no one received authority to preach or teach unless it was from God and through Alma. He alone ordained all their priests and teachers, and no one was ordained unless they were ethical men. 18So they cared for their people and taught them things required for righteousness. 19And they began to thrive in the land, which they called Helam. 20They increased in numbers and produced more than they needed in the land of Helam. They built a city that they called the city of Helam. 21However, the Lord disciplines His people; He requires them to be patient and faithful. 22Nevertheless, whoever trusts Him will be rewarded on the last day; and this is how it was with Alma’s people. 23I’ll show you that they were subjected to slavery, and no one could have freed them other than the Lord who is God: the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. 24He freed them and demonstrated His mighty power to them, making them rejoice.
  4. 25What happened was that while they were in the land of Helam, in the city of Helam, while farming the surrounding land, a Lamanite army came into the outskirts of the land. 26And Alma’s people ran from their fields and gathered in the city of Helam, being very frightened at the Lamanites’ arrival. 27But Alma went out and joined with them and urged them to not be frightened, but to remember the Lord their God, that He would protect them. 28So they subdued their fears and began to pray to the Lord to soften the Lamanites’ hearts so they would spare them and their wives and children. 29And the Lord softened the Lamanites’ hearts. Alma and his people went out and surrendered to them, and the Lamanites took control of Helam.
  5. 30Now the Lamanite armies, who had gone in pursuit of king Limhi’s people, had been lost in the wilderness for many days. 31But they had found those priests of king Noah in a place they called Amulon, where they had settled and farmed. 32Now the name of the leader of those priests was Amulon. 33And Amulon pled with the Lamanites and sent out their wives, who were the Lamanites’ daughters, to plead with their relatives not to kill their husbands. 34And the Lamanites had sympathy for Amulon and his men and didn’t kill them because of their wives. 35So Amulon and his men joined the Lamanites, and they were traveling in the wilderness in search of the land of Nephi when they discovered the land of Helam, where Alma and his people had settled.
  6. 36The Lamanites promised Alma and his people that if they would show them the way to the land of Nephi they would spare their lives and respect their liberty. 37But after Alma had shown them the way leading to the land of Nephi, the Lamanites refused to keep their promise, and instead set guards over Alma and his people surrounding the land of Helam. 38And the rest of them went to the land of Nephi; and some of those returned to Helam, bringing with them the wives and children of the guards who had been left behind. 39The king of the Lamanites appointed Amulon to be a king and ruler over his people in Helam. However, he was only given power to obey the will of the king of the Lamanites.
  7. 24And Amulon earned the trust of the king of the Lamanites, so the king allowed him and his men to be appointed teachers of his people in the lands of Shemlon, Shilom, and Amulon. 2The Lamanites had control of all these lands; so the king of the Lamanites had appointed rulers over each of them. 3Now the name of the king of the Lamanites was Laman, and he was named after his father, and was called king Laman. He ruled over many people. 4He appointed teachers from Amulon’s men in every land occupied by his people. So the Nephite language began to be taught to all the Lamanites. 5And they were people that were friendly with each other. Nevertheless, they didn’t know about God, and Amulon’s men didn’t teach them anything about the Lord God, the Law of Moses, or Abinadi’s words. 6But they taught them to write a record, enabling them to write to each other as well. 7So the Lamanites became wealthier and began to trade with each other and grow strong and become shrewd and sly, like worldly men are — indeed, very sly, enjoying all kinds of wickedness and plunder, but they didn’t cheat their own people.
  8. 8Now Amulon began to abuse Alma and his people and persecute him and have his children mistreat and harass their children. 9This was because Amulon recognized Alma had been one of the king’s priests and was the one who believed Abinadi’s words and was thrown out by the king. So he was very angry with him. Although he had to obey king Laman, Amulon still abused Alma’s people, demanding work from them and putting taskmasters over them. 10Their afflictions were so intense that they began to pray constantly to God. 11Amulon ordered them to stop praying and put guards over them to watch them, to execute whoever was found calling upon God. 12So Alma and his people didn’t pray out loud to the Lord their God but instead poured out their hearts to Him, and He understood the thoughts of their hearts.
  9. 13And the Lord’s voice came to them as they suffered, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good cheer. I’m aware of the covenant you made with Me. And I promise this people of Mine that I’ll free you from slavery. 14I’ll also ease the burdens put upon your shoulders, so that you can’t feel them on your backs, for as long as you remain in slavery. I’ll do this so you can stand as witnesses for Me after this, and know for certain that I the Lord God am with My people as they suffer. 15Now the burdens placed on Alma and his people were made light — the Lord gave them the strength to carry them with ease — and they submitted cheerfully and patiently to the Lord’s will.
  10. 16Their faith and patience were so great that the Lord’s voice spoke again, saying: Be of good cheer, because I’ll free you from slavery tomorrow. 17He told Alma: You will lead this people, and I’ll go with you and free them from slavery.
  11. 18Now Alma and his people gathered their flocks and grain at night — indeed, they spent the whole night herding their flocks. 19And in the morning, the Lord caused a deep sleep to overcome the Lamanites, and all their taskmasters were sound asleep. 20Then Alma and his people made their way into the wilderness. And when they had traveled all day, they pitched their tents in a valley, calling it Alma, because he led their way in the wilderness. 21They poured out their thanks to God in the valley of Alma because He had been merciful to them and eased their burdens and freed them from slavery — and no one could have set them free from their enslavement except for the Lord who is God. 22And they gave thanks to God — indeed, all the men, women, and children who could speak raised their voices, giving praise to God.
  12. 23Now the Lord told Alma: Act quickly and get yourself and these people out of this land. The Lamanites have reawakened and are pursuing you. So get out of this land, and I’ll stop the Lamanites in this valley, so they don’t come any further in pursuit of this people. 24And they left the valley and traveled into the wilderness. 25After they had been in the wilderness for twelve days, they arrived in Zarahemla, and king Mosiah also received them joyfully.
  13. 25Now king Mosiah called all the people together. 2This included the people of Zarahemla who were descendants of Muloch and those who came with him into the wilderness, who outnumbered the children of Nephi or the descendants of Nephi. 3But the Lamanites outnumbered the Nephites and Zarahemla’s people by more than two to one. 4Now all the Nephites and Zarahemla’s people gathered, and they were divided into two groups.
  14. 5Then Mosiah reviewed Zeniff’s records and had them read to his people. Those records covered Zeniff’s people from the time they left Zarahemla until they returned. 6He also read the account of Alma and his people and all their difficulties, from the time they left Zarahemla until they returned. 7When Mosiah had finished reading the records, the people who had remained in the land were shocked and amazed — 8they didn’t know what to think. When they saw those who had been freed from slavery, they were filled with overwhelming joy. 9But when they thought of their relatives who had been killed by the Lamanites, they mourned and shed many tears. 10When they thought of God’s immediate goodness and His power in freeing Alma and his people from the Lamanites and from slavery, they sang and gave thanks to God. 11But when they thought of the Lamanites, their relatives, of their sinful, polluted state, they were filled with pain and sorrow for their souls’ well-being.
  15. 12And the children of Amulon and his men, who had married the Lamanite young women, were embarrassed at their fathers’ conduct and didn’t want to be associated with their fathers’ name. So they changed their name to Nephi, so they could be called Nephi’s children and be included with those who were called Nephites. 13All of Zarahemla’s people were included as Nephites, because Nephi’s descendants governed the kingdom.
  16. 14When Mosiah finished reading these records to the people, he wanted Alma to also speak to them. 15So Alma spoke to them as they were gathered in large groups, going from one group to another, preaching repentance and faith in the Lord to the people. 16And he urged Limhi’s people and everyone who had been freed from slavery to remember it was the Lord who had rescued them. 17After Alma finished teaching the people many things and concluded his preaching, king Limhi wanted to be baptized and so did all his people. 18Therefore Alma went into the water and baptized them in the very same way he baptized his people in the waters of Mormon. And all those he baptized belonged to God’s congregation — because of their belief in Alma’s words.
  17. 19Then king Mosiah authorized Alma to organize congregations throughout the land of Zarahemla, letting him ordain priests and teachers over each one. 20Now they did this because there were too many people for only one teacher to guide them, or to be able to hear God’s word in one group. 21So they gathered in different groups called congregations, every congregation having priests and teachers, and every priest’s messages repeating Alma’s instruction. 22And so, even though there were many congregations, they were all one congregation: God’s congregation; because nothing was preached in any of the congregations except for repentance and faith in God. 23Now there were seven congregations in the land of Zarahemla. And whoever wanted to take upon himself the name of Christ, or of God, joined the congregations of God; 24and they were called God’s people. The Lord poured out His Spirit upon them, and they were blessed and prospered in the land.
  18. 26But many of the younger generation couldn’t understand king Benjamin’s words since they were little children when he addressed his people. They didn’t believe their ancestors’ traditions. 2They didn’t believe what had been said about the resurrection of the dead nor did they believe in Christ’s coming. 3Now because of their unbelief, they didn’t accept God’s word. And their hearts were hardened, 4and they refused to be baptized or join the congregation. They were a separate people concerning their faith and remained separated from then on, staying in their carnal and sinful state because they wouldn’t call on the Lord their God. 5Now during Mosiah’s rule they weren’t half as numerous as God’s people, but because of divisions in the congregation, they grew in numbers. 6They misled many in the congregation with their persuasive words and led them to commit many sins. As a result, the congregation needed to admonish their members who committed sins.
  19. 7So the teachers took the offenders to the priests; and the priests took them to Alma, the high priest. 8King Mosiah gave Alma control over the congregation, 9and Alma was aware of these offenders because there were many witnesses against them — indeed, many people came forward and testified of their iniquity. 10Now nothing like this had happened before in the congregation, so Alma was deeply troubled and he took them to the king. 11He said to the king: We’ve brought to you those who have been accused by their associates. They’ve been found committing various iniquities and won’t repent of their iniquities. So we bring them to you, so you can judge them based on their crimes. 12But king Mosiah told Alma: I’m not going to judge them. Therefore I give them back to you to be judged. 13Now Alma was deeply troubled again. So he went and asked the Lord what to do about the problem, since he was afraid to do wrong in God’s sight.
  20. 14After he had poured out his whole soul to God, the Lord’s voice spoke to him, saying: 15You are blessed, Alma. And those who were baptized in the waters of Mormon are blessed also. You are blessed because of your great faith based upon My servant Abinadi’s words. 16And they’re blessed because of their great faith based upon the words you’ve taught them. 17And you are blessed because you’ve established a congregation among this people. They will be strengthened and be My people. 18And this people is blessed, those who are willing to bear My name; they’ll be called in My name, and they’re Mine. 19Because you’ve asked Me about those who have done wrong, you are blessed. 20You are My servant, and I covenant with you that you will have eternal life.
  21. You will serve Me, go out in My name, and gather My sheep. 21And any who hear My voice will be My sheep; and you will receive them into the congregation, and I’ll also receive them. 22This is My congregation. Whoever is baptized will be baptized as a sign of repentance; and whoever you receive must believe in My name, and I’ll freely forgive them. 23I Am the one who takes upon Myself the sins of the world, since I Am the one who created them. I Am the one who, in the end, will give to those who believe a place at My right hand. 24They’re called in My name; and if they know Me, they’ll come forward and have a place eternally at My right hand. 25And when the second trumpet sounds, those who never knew Me will arise and stand in front of Me. 26And then they’ll know that I Am the Lord their God, that I am their Redeemer, but they won’t be redeemed. 27Then I’ll declare to them that I never knew them, and they’ll go away into everlasting fire prepared for the accuser and his angels. 28Therefore I tell you that you must not receive into My congregation any who refuse to hear My voice, because I won’t welcome them on the last day.
  22. 29Therefore I tell you: Go; you must judge whoever sins against Me according to the sins they’ve committed. And if a person confesses their sins before you and Me and repents in the sincerity of their heart, you must forgive them; and I’ll forgive them also. 30And as often as My people repent I’ll forgive them of their offenses against Me. 31And you must also forgive each other’s offenses. I tell you truthfully: The person who doesn’t forgive their neighbor’s offenses when they say they repent, that person brings themselves under condemnation. 32Now I tell you: Go; and whoever won’t repent of their sins, the same won’t be included among My people. And this shall be observed from now on.
  23. 33When Alma had heard these words, he wrote them down so he could preserve them and so he could judge the people of the congregation according to God’s commandments. 34And Alma went and judged those who had been caught in iniquity, according to the Lord’s word. 35Whoever repented of their sins and confessed them he counted among the congregation members. 36But those who wouldn’t confess their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same weren’t included among the congregation members and their names were erased. 37So Alma regulated the congregation’s business. And they again began to have peace and abundance in the congregation, walking mindfully before God, receiving and baptizing many. 38Now Alma and his fellow laborers who led the congregation did all these things, being very diligent, carefully teaching God’s word, yet encountering many challenges, and being persecuted by those who didn’t belong to God’s congregation. 39They admonished their brothers and sisters and each one was also admonished by God’s word if they had erred or had sinned, being commanded by God to pray always and to give thanks in all things. 27Now the unbelievers mistreated and harassed those of the congregation so much that they began to grumble and complain to their leaders about it, and they complained to Alma. And Alma brought the case before their king, Mosiah, who consulted with his counselors.
  24. 2King Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout the land that no unbeliever should mistreat or hurt anyone who belonged to God’s congregation. 3And a strict command went among all the congregations that there must not be any persecution among them, but there should be equality among all of them, 4that they shouldn’t let any pride or arrogance disrupt the peace, everyone should value their neighbor as themselves and work with their own hands to support themselves, 5and their priests and teachers should work with their own hands for their support in every case except for sickness or extreme poverty. As they did these things, they abounded in God’s grace. 6And great peace began to prevail once more in the land. The people grew very numerous and began to spread out over the land — to the north, south, east, and west — building large cities and villages in every quarter of the land. 7And the Lord blessed them and caused them to prosper, and they increased in number and became wealthy.
  25. 8Now Mosiah’s sons were included among the unbelievers, and so was one of Alma’s sons, who was named Alma after his father. Nevertheless, he had become a very wicked man who worshiped idols, and he was eloquent and charmed the people with his persuasive language. Therefore he led many of them to follow him into sinning against God. 9And he interfered with the prosperity of God’s congregation, stealing away people’s hearts, causing many strong disagreements among them, and giving God’s enemy the opportunity to influence them.
  26. 10While he was out trying to destroy God’s congregation (doing it secretly with Mosiah’s sons), trying to destroy the congregation and lead the Lord’s people astray, violating not only God’s commandments but also the king’s — 11and as I told you, as they were going about rebelling against God, the angel of the Lord appeared to them, descending in what seemed like a cloud. He spoke with a voice like thunder, making the ground shake where they were standing. 12Their astonishment was so great that they fell to the ground and didn’t understand the words he spoke. 13But he called out again, saying: Alma, get up and step forward. Why do you persecute God’s congregation? Because the Lord has said: This is My congregation and I’ll establish it, and nothing will destroy it except for My people’s transgressions. 14The angel also said: The Lord has heard His people’s prayers and the prayers of His servant Alma, your father. He’s prayed with great faith about you, so you could be brought to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore I’ve come to convince you of God’s power and authority, so His servants’ prayers will be answered according to their faith. 15Can you challenge God’s power? Does my voice not shake the earth? Can you not see me in front of you? I am sent from God. 16Now I tell you: Go; and remember the slavery of your people in the lands of Helam and Nephi, and remember how He has done great things for them. They were enslaved and He set them free. Now I tell you, Alma: Go your way, and so that their prayers will be answered, end your efforts to destroy the congregation, unless you want to be destroyed! 17Now these were the last words the angel said to Alma, as he left.
  27. 18Now Alma and those who were with him fell down on the ground again, since they were so astonished, having seen an angel of the Lord with their own eyes, and his voice was like thunder that shook the ground. They knew there was nothing except for God’s power that could shake the ground and make it tremble as if it would split apart. 19Alma was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t talk or open his mouth. And he was weak and couldn’t even move his hands. So those who were with him took him and carried him in a helpless condition, putting him down in front of his father. 20They told his father all that had happened to them. And he was glad, because he knew that it was God’s power. 21And he had many people gather so they could witness what the Lord had done for his son and for those who were with him. 22And he had the priests assemble and they began to fast and pray to the Lord their God that He would open Alma’s mouth so he could speak, so his limbs could receive their strength, and so the people’s eyes could be opened, to see and know about God’s goodness and glory.
  28. 23After they had fasted and prayed for two days and nights, Alma’s arms and legs had their strength return. And he stood up and began to speak to them, telling them to be of good cheer. 24He said: I’ve repented of my sins and have been redeemed by the Lord. I’m born of the Spirit. 25And the Lord said to me: Don’t be surprised that all mankind, men and women — people of every nation, tribe, and language — must be born again, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness, being redeemed by God, becoming His sons and daughters. 26Therefore they become new creatures. And unless they do this, there’s no way for them to inherit God’s kingdom. 27I tell you: If they don’t follow God, they’ll be rejected. I know this because I was on the verge of being rejected. 28Nevertheless, after wading through great distress, repenting close to death, the Lord, in His mercy, has seen fit to rescue me suddenly from an everlasting burning; and I’m born of God. 29My soul has been redeemed from a state of suffering in bondage of sin. I was in the darkest abyss, but now I see God’s marvelous light. My soul was tortured with eternal torment, but I was quickly rescued, and my soul isn’t pained anymore. 30I rejected my Redeemer and denied what our fathers had said. But now I know that they correctly predicted He will come, and that He remembers every creature of His creation, and He will reveal Himself to everyone. 31Every knee will bow and every tongue will acknowledge Him in His presence. They’ll acknowledge He is God on the last day, when all mankind stands to be judged by Him. Then those who live on earth without God will acknowledge that the judgment they receive of everlasting punishment is right and fair. They’ll shake, tremble, and recoil at a glance from His all-searching eye.
  29. 32Now Alma and those who were with him when the angel appeared to them began to teach the people from then on, traveling throughout the land, declaring to the people what they had heard and seen, preaching God’s word in very trying circumstances: receiving very harsh treatment by unbelievers and getting beaten by many of them. 33But despite all this, they imparted great comfort to the congregation, confirming their faith and urging them with long-suffering and consistent effort to keep God’s commandments. 34Four of them were Mosiah’s sons: Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni; these were the names of Mosiah’s sons. 35They traveled throughout the land of Zarahemla and among all the people who were under king Mosiah’s rule, earnestly trying to repair all the harm they had done to the congregation, confessing their sins, explaining everything they had seen, and teaching the prophecies and scriptures to all who wanted to hear them. 36So they were instruments in God’s hands in bringing many to know the truth and their Redeemer. 37And how blessed are they! Because they proclaimed peace and good news of good things, declaring to the people that the Lord reigns.

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