Alma 7:11 - 7:15

Alma 7:11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

During the Messiah’s life time, He will be exposed to all the temptations and troubles faced by mortals on this earth. He will do so to fulfill the scriptures which say that will be what He will do.

It is interesting that fulfilling scriptures is a major factor in the Messiah life. I guess He does not want anyone being able to say that He got away with not experiencing some situation that someone else did and therefore is not qualified to be a judge.

Alma 7:12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

He will suffer death of the mortal body just so He can bring about the resurrection for us all. He will suffer the things that mortals suffer so He will understand our situation as mortals and have first-hand knowledge of what we face each and every day. This will give Him understanding on how to help us in our mortal journey or at least sympathize with our complaining.

This is a very important concept to me. How could anyone sympathize with me if they do not know or have felt the pains I have experienced? The one thing we all fear is someone in authority is to pass some critical judgment over us and they have no clue of what I have just gone through? I would discount their judgment and feel that way forever. That is a fear that our Father in Heaven recognizes and has compensated for. The Messiah will come to earth and go through what we have gone through so we will not have that excuse at judgment day and therefore feel we have been cheated and hold an external grudge.

Alma 7:13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

So in addition to learning by experience what we experience as mortals, He will therefore be qualified to perform the atonement. The atonement being that He will suffer or experience all the sins we are capable of experiencing and suffer the punishment that would normally to meted out to the sinner.

If there is anything more certain than wanting people to suffer for sins committed against us personally, I don’t what it would be. We all want revenge for those who violate us in some way. But it is just as certain that those who did the crime want to escape the punishment when they recognize their error and try to make restitution. The violated demand justice, but the sinner wants mercy. The Messiah has said that He knows that. He, therefore, has said if a sinner will repent, He will suffer the punishment that we would demand that the sinner go through.

Alma 7:14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

Alma is therefore saying that the stag has been set and the repented sinner has a way to escape his errors. A person must recognize that they have come up short in the perfection department but are wanting with all their heart to be better. Christ has said, be baptized to symbolically wash away your sins and have faith that Christ can lead you in the proper direction for the rest of your life.

Alma 7:15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

So Alma is pleading for all of us to quit sinning. Do the right thing and avoid being destroyed as a person and condemned to be given what is less than what we can be given if more faithful. The first step is baptism. This will show that we are willing to try to do better and avoid the destruction of our souls to living below our potential.