Born of God

After three days of not being able to speak or use his limbs, Alma (the Younger) regained his faculties and was a changed man. His first words were these: “For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit. And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God” (Mosiah 27:24-26). He had been born again or in other words, through the power of Jesus Christ he had become a new person who no longer wanted to sin. This then became his mission for the rest of his life, to help others likewise be born again and become redeemed of God. He spoke of this when he preached to the people of Zarahemla. He asked them, “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” He described his own purpose to them this way: “And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again” (Alma 5:14, 49). His whole mission was to help people be born again, to put off their old ways of sin and repent and follow Jesus Christ.

Alma helped others to be born again as he taught them in Zarahemla, Gideon, Melek, Ammonihah, and Antionum—in addition to his own sons—and invited them to repent and be changed by Jesus Christ. He summarized his life’s work this way: “For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God” (Alma 36:26). His greatest desire was that others could be changed and find joy in Jesus Christ as He had. To the people of Gideon he declared: “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 7:14). In Ammonihah, Zeezrom was a powerful example of one who was indeed born again and became a new man through faith in Jesus Christ. When Alma taught his son Helaman, he again referred to his experience of being born again: “Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things;… Behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God” (Alma 36:5, 23). He likewise told Shiblon, “Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things” (Alma 38:6). Through repentance, Alma had been changed by faith in Jesus Christ, and that turning point in his life set the course for everything he would do after. He declared, “Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Alma 36:24). His mission was to help others be born of God, and his life and ministry recorded in the Book of Mormon invites us to continually ask the question of ourselves, “Have ye spiritually been born of God?”