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"Repent Ye, and Prepare the Way of the Lord," Alma 7:7-9

Alma 7:7-9

This particular injunction resonates with me, probably because of my personal circumstances at the moment. Yet it seems that the personal and individualized instruction tends to be the most universally compelling at the same time.

Alma states that the Spirit had said unto him to tell the people of Gideon:
Cry unto this people, saying—Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. (vs. 9)
In chapter 9, a different account is found where Alma is among the people of Ammonihah. This time it is the voice of an angel that had instructed Alma:
 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers. (Alma 9:25-26)
I am reminded that the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our day is the same message as what Alma taught his people: "the Kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand."

In our time, it is even more noteworthy.  For from the time that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, there has been the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth as fulfillment of one of the great signs of the last days (Dan. 2:44, see also D&C 65, 3 Ne 21). Its growth has been like the growth of a tree. Small and delicate at first, with ample nurturing and tender care. The longer that it lives, the greater the strength and protection. And yet its growth today is faster and more abundant than ever before. Its protection is more sure and steady. For those involved in the work, the spirit associated with it grows more compelling daily, and the work to gather those that will believe in it is hastening (Isa. 49:22-23). Truly, the kingdom of heaven is at hand in a way that it has never been before.
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