Alma 37:31 - 37:35

Alma 37: 31 Yea, and cursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations, even unto destruction, except they repent before they are fully ripe.

The land is cursed to all those who are workers of secret combinations and sin. Unless they repent of their sins they will in time be destroyed when it is evident they will refuse to repent.

The question becomes at what point is it evident they have fallen to the point to qualify for death? Is it when they no longer have the power to repent? Or is it when they know that they are doing wrong but simply do not want to change regardless of how many witnesses they have that they are doing wrong? Have always wonder what is the point at which a person or people are “ripe” for destruction. It maybe the world is getting closer and closer each day.

Alma 37: 32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.

Alma warns Helaman not put any trust in the politics or philosophies of the people or their representatives. Especially if their plans are secret and not in the open for all to see. He must teach the people to forever hating evil and teach them with vigor to illuminate it from their mist.

A lot of folks like sin. We all have our favorite sins even if they are small ones. They can be hard to repent of much less hate them, but that is the first step in getting rid of sin in our lives. We first have to hate the sin to repent of it. It is almost impossible to do so for many of us. They may not be life treating to others and maybe only mildly a problem for us, but they all have to be repented of to enter the kingdom of Heaven. God means to make us perfect and it will hurt sometimes as getting rid of favorite sins is very hard sometimes. The question we can ask ourselves is what sins do we have that would be almost impossible to repent of. Better figure out a way before the Lord have to instate procedures to do it the hard way.

Alma 37: 33 Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The keep to repentance Alma reminds Helaman is centering your faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way to achieve any kind of peace for ourselves or the world either. Helaman is to teach the people to be open to instruction from the Lord on how to overcome the sins in their lives. If they are willing to listen and follow instructions from the Lord, they can overcome anything amiss in their lives.

Alma 37: 34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.

Helaman is to teach the people to always be engaged in doing good for others around them. If they will do so, they will have no guilty consciousness to deal with.

Alma 37: 35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

Helaman is young but he is to learn that keeping the commandments from now on is the wise course to take in one’s life.

Learning to keep the commandments in one’s youth makes it easier to follow in the future. Sometimes repenting later in life is a lot harder because bad habits are sometimes almost impossible to break.