Alma 42:1-5
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 42
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Contents |
Questions
Verse 2
- What is a cherubim?
- Why does this verse apparently quote from Gen 3:23, which says "the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken," but change the noun from Adam to "our first parents" and the pronoun from "him" to "they"?
- Why does this verse apparently quote from Gen 3:24, which says "he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life," but change "drew" to "drove," eliminate "end" from "east end," make "cherubims" singular, and add "the way of"?
Verse 3
- Why does this verse apparently quote from Gen 3:22, which says "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever," but change the order of the quotations in Genesis 3 and eliminate the word "should"?
Verse 5
- Why would partaking of the tree of life have meant that Adam could not have had a space for repentance? What is the connection between mortality and an ability to repent?
Lexical notes
- Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes
Exegesis
Verses 1-6
Alma just finished explaining to Corianton how restoration implies that good will be restored for good and evil for evil. Now Alma responds to a concern Alma perceives that Corianton has about the justice of God in consigning the sinner to a state of misery.
To begin Alma turns to Adam and Eve. He explains that a time was given to them to repent by preventing them from eating of the tree of life. The flaming sword and cherubim were put to guard the tree of life so that Adam and Eve wouldn't take the fruit and live forever. In verses 4-5 Alma tells his son that had Adam and Eve eaten the fruit of the tree of life, they couldn't have repented; they wouldn't have had a chance to be saved from their sins. Because Adam and Eve weren't allowed to eat of the tree of life, they had to die (verse 6). We can read verse 6 as a definition of what it means to be fallen. Man was fallen because he had to die.
Plan of Salvation
In Alma 42, Alma speaks of four "plans" and he gives each a name. Although these plans are treated synonymously by most of Mormon literature, they are indeed specific to each portion of God's ultimate plan for his children. The first of these plans is mentioned in verse 5.
In the garden, two trees were mentioned by name: the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Gen 2:16, God invited Adam and Eve to "freely eat" of every tree except that which was forbidden, meaning they had unfettered access to the Tree of Life. In the garden, Adam and Eve lived immortal lives, the same state promised to all God's children by the Plan of Salvation. Because of disobedience, Adam was to be punished according to the laws of Justice, and reaching forth his hand at that time to partake of the fruit would have caused him to face eternal punishment. To protect Adam, and indeed the Plan of Salvation itself, God chose to guard the tree with a "flaming sword."
Adam and Eve were sentenced to death after a probationary period. This period is integral to the Plan of Happiness mentioned in verse 8.
Related links
- The Plan of Salvation, Gerald N. Lund follows the chronology of God's plan for his children from the Premortal Existence through the Three Degrees of Glory.
- Alma 42:8 - Plan of Happiness
- Alma 42:13 - Plan of Redemption
- Alma 42:15 - Plan of Mercy
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