1  MY son, [ Shiblon, his middle son. ] give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said unto Helaman, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. [ Prosper means to have God's presence with them. Exact same words that he told Helaman in the previous chapter. Who does the cutting off here? We do when we remove ourself away from God. God never wants to cut us off, but it is a by product of us using our agency - remember that God wants to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man. If the consequence for not keeping the commandments is that you will be close to God, then what does it mean to prosper? Feeling his spirit, having the peace that surrounds him in your life, it does not mean that you will be free from trial. ]

2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, [ What does the great joy that he will have in his son come from? The knowledge that he will be doing those things which will allow them to be together in the eternities, and that he will be doing the Lord's work here saving others and bringing joy to his father as he serves. ] because of your steadiness [ Because you have been consistent. ] and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end.

3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence , and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.

4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; [ There is nothing like this mentioned in Alma 31-34 which describes the details of their missions. The people were cast from the synagogs and not allowed to worship - but there was nothing about bondage and stoning of them while they were on their missions. ] yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, [ Remember in the previous verse it was the Lord that delivered you. Or just because you are good and have been good - stay humble, trust in God not upon your own arm. What does he not say here? He does not say that you will not have any trials, but rather that you will be made strong enough to get through them. ] and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

6 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.

7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of destruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth. [ so what is Alma trying to do here? He is trying to make sure that Shiblon understands the conversion that his father had under the direction from the angel. Second I suppose he is trying to put Shiblon in a position to know these things for himself as well. ]

8 And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; [ Does this teach us anything of Godly sorrow? see Mos 27:24 Which during that time he could neither move nor talk; he spent that period repenting and going through and intense repentance process. The repentance process can bring about change over a period of time, or in a short period of time but then the process is much more intense. Hence, the repentance process is different for each individual. ] and never, until [ Nothing happened until he took the first step. How hard of a step do you suppose that was for Alma? How hard is it for us? ] I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, [ What do you suppose that prayer from Alma sounded like? Remember he is in a state where he cannot move nor talk - near unto death. How much pleading would have he done? Where would the source of the pleading have come from? how does that apply to us? How much different was this pray than a casual prayer? ] did I receive a remission of my sins. [ What does this tell us about true repentance? That there is no real bound to time. The repentance process can be very swift - but it does not come swiftly without some real sacrifice. ] But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, [ Wisdom is application of knowledge - how to apply it, so Alma's council to Shiblon then is to learn from the experience of his father, apply the knowledge taught him by his father. ] that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life [ How is Christ the life of the world? He created the earth and gave it life in the first place, he overcame death and provided a way for all man to be resurrected, he provided the atonement as a way for us to have eternal life in the presence of God if we will repent. ] and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

10 And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things. [ Tempered by the spirit. Or I know you Shiblon you are faithful and you are bold in how you kepp the commandments and in your instruction of the gospel. So the council from his father knowing who Shiblon is was that he needs to be patient, give others the time to come to faith on their own, you cannot force the gospel on them even if you know for sure that it is the best thing for them. Let them learn, be a nurturer to them. ]

11 See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; [ Make sure that you give God the credit for the things which you do in his name; be grateful. ] yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, [ Do not mistake revelation with wisdom. If it comes from God as revelation acknowledge it as such and as a result it is not from your own doing. ] nor of your much strength. [ Even if you have strength it is a blessing that you have; it is from God; as real strength and power comes from God. ]

12 Use boldness, [ Be firm and steadfast in your conviction. Have confidence in your yourself when you are moved by the spirit. Why does the Lord want us to be bold? ] but not overbearance; [ But do it with kindness; be gentle, and meek, bridle your enthusiasm. Do not usurp unrighteous dominion. ] and also see that ye bridle all your passions, [ If you were to ask the question who was the son of Almas who was told to bridle his passions? Most would just answer Corianton. Set your thoughts and actions to be within the Lords bounds; not yours. What is the important of bridling your passions? We learn obedience. Don't try to run all over everyone who is not doing what you are doing, don't have too much zeal, but channel it. Love the people that do not see the gospel the way that you do. You cannot shame a person into the gospel and have it last. Disparagement is never a way to convert. ] that ye may be filled with love; [ The kind of love that God has; such love that you exercise no unrighteous dominion. ] see that ye refrain from idleness. [ What is wrong with being idle? Anthony can conquer Anthony, idleness accounts for some of the worst failures - idleness and bordom usually lead to doing things that are not good spiritually. ]

13 Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.

14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; [ Holier than thou; why would you think that if you were humble and submissive to the Lord? ] but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times. [ Why? because it is hard to be proud and humble at the same time. ]

15 And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be sober. [ Same advice as he gave Helaman in the previous chapter(Alma 37:47). In Greek, it means - free from illusion, free from the intoxicating influences of sin. It means to have one's wits about them and be rational. Websters 1828 dictionary:"Regular; calm; not under the influence of passion; as sober judgment; a man in his sober senses." ] My son, farewell.