You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/7?lang=eng.
Alma anticipates that the people of Gideon will be more prepared to listen to his teachings than the people of Zarahemla, though he rejoices in the turning of Zarahemla back to righteousness (verses 3-6). Perhaps because the people of Gideon are more open, Alma is able to share details about the mortal life of the coming Christ.
He shares that Jesus is the Son of God and will be born of the Virgin Mary in the “land of Jerusalem” (verses 7-10) Bethlehem, being a short distance south from Jerusalem, can easily be said to be part of the land or vicinity of Jerusalem.
More importantly, Alma teaches that Jesus will suffer “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind.” And He won’t do it for show or for its own sake, but in an effort to understand and ease the suffering of “his people,” which means all of us. Alma indirectly alludes to Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 53:3-5) that the Messiah will somehow take upon Him the pains and sicknesses of his people (verses 11-13). Isaiah’s poetic words: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” As one of the priests of the wicked King Noah, Alma’s father (Alma the Elder) heard these same lines from the great Abinadi (in Mosiah 14) as Abinadi courageously stood for truth in front of King Noah and his priests. Indeed, this was the crucial moment in Alma the Elder’s life, as he chose then and there to defend Abinadi in King Noah’s presence and risk his own death in doing so.
Lest we gloss over what this truth means to us, it can help to pause and really consider what it says. We have someone who knows and cares about us enough that he wants us to be able to cast out any feeling of pain or anguish—physical, mental, emotional—and he is willing and able to take it upon Himself. How grateful are we for someone who gives a dollar to the cashier when we discover we are just short? How grateful are we for someone who helps carry a box or a suitcase that we realize is more burdensome than we expected? Without downplaying the gratitude we should feel in these situations, do we appreciate the degree to which what Jesus does for us goes beyond these other instances? “Wow” is a word that comes to mind, but it doesn’t really even begin to get at the scope of what His willing acceptance of our difficulties means.
Alma shares some important, specific points about what Jesus’ efforts entail and how He accomplishes them. First, He lifts death from us (verse 12). It’s hard to imagine. Through His own suffering and death, He gained power from His and our Father in Heaven to become immortal through Resurrection. While the Resurrection demonstrated His power, it was not just intended as an awesome miracle to astonish those of Roman Jerusalem. It accomplished the purpose of God’s plan to give all people a chance to reunite with their bodies after their spirits leave mortality—and importantly, once reunited in this way with a body that is perfect in form and function, we are never to experience death again.
Then Alma explains that Jesus takes our infirmities, or weaknesses and sufferings, upon Him for two specific reasons. First, that He may be filled with mercy, or a desire to make our suffering go away. Next, that through his experience with these infirmities of ours, He may learn how to “succor his people” (verse 12). The word “succor” certainly means to bring relief, but one of our Church’s apostles, Jeffrey R. Holland, explains that in its word origins “succor” quite literally means “to run to.” I love the image in my mind of Jesus my Savior running to me to help take away whatever it is that is causing me pain! At the same time, I recognize that He wants me to think about whose pain I might be able to help lift. If I honestly search myself and my desire and willingness to give so that others might find relief, I recognize I have a very long way to go, but I am also inspired to keep trying and learning about how I can help.
Finally, Alma tells us (along with the people of Gideon) that the Son of God (Jesus) suffers in the flesh in order to take our sins upon Him and blot out our transgressions (verse 13). He has this unique power to erase our wrongdoing so that its effects no longer separate us from union with God or prevent us from feeling peace and joy. To have access to this cleansing, Alma reminds us that we must be born again through faith in the Lamb of God, repentance (or true change), and baptism by someone with authority from God. By taking these actions, we “enter into a covenant with [God] to keep his commandments” (verses 14-15).
What Alma describes helps us understand the different ways that Jesus saves us. As mentioned, our spirits and bodies reunite because of His Resurrection. This is a free gift to everyone. We all will have an immortal existence with a spirit and a perfected body, regardless of our actions. What kind of immortal existence we have, however, is a different question. The fullest way in which Jesus saves or redeems us is that He has suffered for our sins. If we embrace Him by following the pathway He outlines for us, His suffering takes ours away. It’s as simple as that. If we exercise faith by acting consistent with Jesus’ teachings, we can spend our eternal existence in the company of God, because if we are cleansed and sanctified we are like Him. Conversely, as the Bible teaches, God cannot dwell with us if we are “unholy temples.”
Alma points out a very important connection between keeping the Lord’s commandments and remembering His promises of eternal life. Our remembrance is strengthened as we follow God’s teachings. And vice versa, as we remember better, our desire and capacity to keep those commandments expands (verse 16).
Alma has some special discernment from the Holy Ghost that allows him to perceive how the people of Gideon are receiving his message. On the whole, he senses that they believe him and are on the path leading to the kingdom of God (verses 17-20). He then provides some of the best advice in recorded scripture to the people on how to stay on the right path:
“And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works” (verses 23-24).
Finally, Alma leaves a generous blessing on the people of Gideon (verses 25-27). It is important to have a chapter like this, where we can witness that the prophets are called not only to turn the wayward back to the path of righteousness, but also to encourage those who are already on that path to continue. It’s also clear that this experience is essential in strengthening Alma in between his other interactions with more troubled peoples. We grow and learn by having to explain our deepest beliefs when they are questioned and challenged, but there is also an important need for those beliefs to be validated and reinforced occasionally by others who share them—especially when they are also open to revelation from the right source—God. How to strike the right balance between standing for truth and having it reinforced probably depends on each person’s situation.
Here is a short, four-minute clip
dramatizing this chapter.
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