LeGrand L. Baker

Alma 37:6-7, LeGrand Baker, by small means

6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

One of those “small means” is the impact weather has had on human history. Here are some examples:

A drought caused Abraham to go into Egypt.

Another drought caused Jacob, Joseph and their families to go into Egypt where they could increase in numbers until they were ready to conquer the Promised Land.

A prolonged drought (since no one knows the dates for sure, we can’t know how prolonged) in central Asia and east of the Mediterranean resulted in the destruction of ancient Troy, and the crippling of the Babylonian and Egyptian empires. It left a political and economic power vacuum in Palestine so that Moses could bring Israel there to settle in relative security.

One of the major reasons for the severity of the Black plague in the late 1300 and early 1400’s throughout Europe was that the weather was very cold and dry. That caused the plague carrying rats and mice to come into the cities and villages where they could find food. It is estimated to have cut Europe’s population about in half. It wiped out great landowning families and did not spare the clergy. It disrupted political and ecclesiastical power throughout Europe and showed that the Catholic church did not have the power to stop it. Thereby it was ultimately one of the major “causes” of the Protestant Reformation.

A severe wind storm in 1588 destroyed the Spanish Armada, enabling Protestant England rather than Catholic Spain to become the world’s great sea power. It enabled much of the world to have access to English participatory government and the King James Bible.

In America, at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, Pennsylvania was the most critical state. It literally cut the nation in two and a single nation under the Constitution would probably have meant little if she had not ratified. Many believed Pennsylvania would not ratify. In the back country where most of the population resided, the people were mostly Anti Federalists who feared a powerful federal government. The people in the east around Philadelphia were Federalists who supported the Constitution. On the day of the ratification vote a severe snow storm prevented the people in back country Pennsylvania from getting to their voting places. Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution, but without the snow the election probably would have gone the other way and the United States probably never would have happened.

After ratification, the new government under the new Constitution was to begin when a quorum of both Houses met in New York. Their first act would be to count the Electoral College vote and announce who the new president would be. That was planned for mid or late March. However, snowy spring prevented the new Congress from forming a Quorum until 6 April 1789 when the United States officially began as a new government.

In World War II, the Germans were aided in the Battle of the Bbulge by clouds that prevented the Allies from using their aircraft against the German tanks. The German’s needed to capture allied oil and gas supplies for their tanks because they had only enough gas to get the tanks as far as those supplies. When they were well over half way toward their goal (didn’t have enough gas to go back) the clouds moved and the allied air force had its way. That marked the turning point of the war.

Those are just a few. I’m sure you can think of lots more. The weather is just one example to show the truth of Alma’s promise that “by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”

Another example, one that is so common that we actually expect it to happen, is when a Latter-day Saint (maybe a missionary, maybe not) “just happens” to be in the right place at the right time to meet someone who is seriously looking for the gospel. That and other similar “small means” happen daily as the Lord directs the affairs of the Kingdom of God.

Alma 37:3-4, LeGrand Baker, The Brass Plates

3 And these plates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the genealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—
4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.
5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.

The truth of Alma’s prophecy is substantiated by the testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Three Witnesses. Of the four who saw the plates (Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris) three, Joseph, Martin, and David, each left detailed accounts of what they saw and heard that morning. The accounts are dissimilar enough to enable one to see the event from their different perspectives, but near enough alike that they confirm each other’s testimonies. (These are taken from my book Joseph and Moroni.)

Joseph Smith’s account reads as follows:

Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfilment of the promises given in the above revelation—that they should have a view of the plates. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer’s house, to which we retired, and having knelt down, we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of these promises.

According to previous arrangement, I commenced prayer to our Heavenly Father, and was followed by each of the others in succession. We did not at the first trial, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of divine favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with the same result as before.

Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for. He accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness; and behold, an angel stood before us. In his hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to have a view of. He turned over the leaves one by one, so that we could see them, and discern the engravings thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, “David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps His commandments;” when, immediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying, “These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.”

I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for before we had yet finished, the same vision was opened to our view, at least it was again opened to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same things; whilst at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in an ecstasy of joy, “‘Tis enough; ‘tis enough; mine eyes have beheld; mine eyes have beheld;” and jumping up, he shouted, “Hosanna,” blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 1:54-55.)

Even though David Whitmer was an old man when he was interviewed by Orson Pratt, he described his experience with vivid memory.

It was in June, 1829, the latter part of the month, and the Eight Witnesses saw them, I think, the next day or the day after (i.e. one or two days after). Joseph showed them the plates himself, but the angel showed us (the Three Witnesses) the plates, as I suppose to fulfill the words of the book itself. Martin Harris was not with us at this time; he obtained a view of them afterwards (the same day). Joseph, Oliver and myself were together when I saw them. We not only saw the plates of the Book of Mormon, but also the brass plates, the plates of the Book of Ether, the plates containing the records of the wickedness and secret combinations of the people of the world down to the time of their being engraved, and many other plates. The fact is, it was just as though Joseph, Oliver and I were sitting just here on a log, when we were overshadowed by a light. It was not like the light of the sun, nor like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful. It extended away round us, I cannot tell how far, but in the midst of this light about as far off as he sits (pointing to John C. Whitmer, sitting a few feet from him), there appeared, as it were, a table with many records or plates upon it, besides the plates of the Book of Mormon, also the sword of Laban, the directors (i.e., the ball which Lehi had) and the interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed (striking the bed beside him with his hand), and I heard the voice of the Lord, as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life, declaring that the records of the plates of the Book of Mormon were translated by the gift and power of God.

Pratt: Did you see the angel at this time?

Whitmer: “Yes; he stood before us. Our testimony as recorded in the Book of Mormon is strictly and absolutely true, just as it is there written. (Cannon in Nibley, LDS Stories, 96; Jensen, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:266, 270; also D&C 17:1.)

Martin Harris was not present when David and Oliver saw Moroni and the plates, but his account, also given in an interview, was essentially the same as David’s.

Brother Harris said that the angel stood on the opposite side of the table on which were the plates, the interpreters, etc., and took the plates in his hand and turned them over. To more fully illustrate this to them, Brother Martin took up a book and turned the leaves over one by one. The angel declared that the Book of Mormon was correctly translated by the power of God and not of man, and that it contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Nephites, who were a branch of the lost sheep of the House of Israel, and had come from the land of Jerusalem to America. The witnesses were required to bear their testimony of these things, and of this open vision to all people, and he (Harris) testified, not only to those present, but to all the world, that these things were true, and before God whom he expected to meet in the day of Judgment he lied not. (Jensen, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:275.)

Alma 36:24-26, LeGrand Baker, “filled with the Holy Ghost”

Alma 36:24-26
24 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.
25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;
26 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 36:23-26).

In this beautiful testimony Alma equates three magnificent phrases that seem to have a much greater meaning than the ideas with which we sometimes casually associate them. The phrases are:

(1) taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; (2) that they might also be born of God, (3) and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Then he invites us to seek to understand what those words mean:

26 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).

Of those ideas, the one I would like to focus on today is the one that Alma uses here, “filled with the Holy Ghost.”

That phrase is used very sparingly in the scriptures. The key to its meaning is in the Beatitudes as they are recorded in the Book of Mormon. In the Bible they a just some nice sayings that many scholars believe were not spoken by Jesus, but were put in Matthew there by an early editor. That mistake could not be made by reading the Book of Mormon. There, the Beatitudes they are not just a series, but a single sentence with each one beginning with a conjunction, usually “and.” They read this way:

In 3 Nephi 12:2 are the first principles, including being “visited by the Holy Ghost”; v. 3 is the endowment for the living; v. 4 is the endowment for the dead; v. 5 is about keeping eternal covenants. Verse 6 reads: “And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” Verse 7 is how to function as a priestly king; 8 is Zion shall see God; 9, peacemakers are “called” children of God; 10-12 is persecution; 13 is missionary work; 14-16 is the charge to be a light (Menorah) to temple worshiping Saints. [If those are new ideas to you, you will find a full explanation in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, pages 925-97.]

The point is that for most of us there is a great deal of time, experience, and faithfulness between being “visited by the Holy Ghost” and being “filled with the Holy Ghost.” During that time and experience it is the Holy Ghost who teaches us how to make that transition.

There are instances of persons who did not require a great deal of time in this world because they were fully proven in the previous one. Though the phrase is not used here, an example is the 12 whom Jesus chose when he came to America. The first Nephi describes them this way: [Also see below: 3 Nephi 19:10-14.]

10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood (1 Nephi 12:10).

“Forever” is a very long time in both directions!

Another example is John the Baptist. The account of his premortal call is given in Isaiah 40:3-8, and is quoted in each of the four gospels. When the angel told Zacharias he would have a son, the angel said, “he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). That statement was later confirmed by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph: “John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb (D&C 84:27).

In the New Testament, that blessing was given to many on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-6). The result was a group of distinguished missionaries, armed with power, to return to their own countries and teach the gospel.

“Being filled with the Holy Ghost” is usually described as a blessing to just one or two persons.

For example, when Moses expelled Satan from his presence, “Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son (Moses 1:24) .

When the blind Saul (soon to be called Paul) was blessed by Ananias he promised the future apostle, “that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 9:17).

The prophets Alma and Amulek are two more:

30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
31 And they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them (Alma 8:30-31).

When the Twelve (whom we mentioned earlier) where chosen by the Savior and were baptized:

11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized.
12 And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.
13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them (3 Nephi 19:11-14).

Joseph and Oliver Cowdery had a similar experience when they were baptized:

73 …. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation (JS-History:73).

It seems to me that there are two important points tha t should be gleaned from these scriptures. The first point is this. Those are some of the very few places in the scriptures where one finds the phrase “filled with the Holy Ghost.” (The only other two are Acts 4:8 and Acts 13:9.) It seems to me that when the scriptures use words and phrases like that so very carefully and with such precision of meaning, we would do well to use them with that same care.

The second point is the one in the Beatitudes: for the great majority of us, being filled with the Holy Ghost is a process with an end goal that can be achieved. That promise is also given elsewhere in 3 Nephi: Mormon reports:

17 And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written (3 Nephi 26:17-18).

Mormon concludes Third Nephi with this promise:

1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying:
2…. come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel (3 Nephi 30:1-2).

Alma 36:22 — LeGrand Baker — Alma and Lehi saw God

Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

Moroni concluded his introduction to the Book of Mormon with these words:

And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.

Our quick and easy way of reading that is: OK, so sometimes the authors of the Book of Mormon made some mistakes! But that may not be anything like what Moroni had in mind. He did not separate the content of the Book of Mormon into “the mistakes” of the authors and “the things of God.” It is not the authors, but it is the readers who are apt to make the mistakes. And it is the readers who ought to be very careful about judging their opinion to be more accurate than the words in the book. Today’s verse, which is about the testimonies of Alma and Lehi is an excellent example of how easy it is to read the scriptures to say the very opposite of what they really say.

The following is from an upcoming commentary on First Nephi that Stephen Ricks and I are preparing together:

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1 Nephi 1:8, Lehi “Thought” He Saw God

8. And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

To people in our modern culture it seems strange that Nephi would report that his father only “thought he saw God sitting upon his throne.” When we use that phrase, it means that we were not sure what we saw. However, Nephi came from a different culture, one that reflected the Greek influence that was being felt all through the Mediterranean world. The Greeks had established city-states along the southern coast of Italy and the island of Sicily. Archaeologists also fine evidence of Greek influence on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near Palestine.

In the ancient world, most apparently in Greece, the highest human activity was to think. Our own western culture is based largely upon that same belief. The Deists of George Washington’s time picked up on that and asserted that the surest evidence that there is a God is that man can think and feel emotion. The Deists’ reasoning went this way: Man exists, therefore, we must have been created. If we were created, then there must have been a creator. If man can think and feel emotions, then his creator must have been able to think and feel even better than his creation. If that creator could think and feel as well as create, then he must be God. If those things are true, then it follows that God’s most important desire is to bring about good for the people he has created. That was their rationale for believing God had helped them in the American Revolution and had been instrumental in creating the Constitution.

The ancient Israelites believed that same sort of thing. To the ancients, the seat of both human thought and emotion was the heart. So they understood that the place where one thinks and the place where one feels emotion was the same. For example, in the Psalms, one can not “ascend to the hill of the Lord” or “stand in his holy place” unless he has “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24).

In that ancient world, to think was the most significant of all human activities. In Nephi’s culture, to think was the supreme act of the human “heart.” The past tense of “to think” is “thought.” Thus, Nephi’s use of the word “thought” is simply the past tense of “to think.” That is the way he explains his father’s reaction to his vision. Nephi was not expressing his father’s uncertainty about what he saw, but he was saying—in the strongest language he could use—that Lehi not only saw God but that he understood what he saw.

There is another example of a similar vision’s being introduced the same way. Enoch begins the Book of Enoch by saying,

Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, that the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw. *

So when Nephi says his father “thought” he saw God, he asserts that he not only saw with his eyes, but understood with his heart. That is a far stronger testimony than his only saying that Lehi “saw” God.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

In our verse, Alma seeks to add additional credence to his own testimony by saying that he saw the same things and in the same way that Lehi saw: He saw “God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.” And he understood as he saw.

Neither does he say that he saw God in a distant vision and wished he could get over to where God was. Of the four parts of a classic sode experience ** he mentions only two. The four are that the prophet returns to the Council in Heaven to reaffirm the covenants he made there. He mentions the other members of the Council. He sees Elohim sitting on the throne and presiding at the Council. Jehovah conducts the affairs of the Council and makes the assignments.

Nephi, whose purpose was to show that his father was a true prophet, mentions all four. Alma, whose purpose is to teach his son the reality of his experience, mentions only “God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels.” The next part of the vision (had he explained that to his son) was for Jehovah to teach Alma about his premortal covenants. That, no doubt happened, but it was beyond the scope of what Alma wished to emphasize to Helaman just then.

Alma’s statement, “my soul did long to be there. But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet” (Alma 36:22-23), is typical of many who have been beyond the veil and are reluctant to leave and come back to this dreary world again.

– – – – – – – – –

*Enoch 1:1, R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Oxford, 1964, 1:188.

** For a discussion of a sode experience see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, 95-107.

Alma 36:5, LeGrand Baker, ‘Born of God’

After a long time doing other things in the Book of Mormon Project, we are now returned to Alma 36.

The attachment is an attempt to expand Alma’s statement in 36: 5 that says, “if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things.” We Latter-day Saints tend to overlook the importance of the concept of being “born of God,” or “born again.” The words have been taken over by the Protestants, so we don’t use them. Yet, the concept is one of the most important in the plan of salvation. The attachment is mostly a series of scriptures with very little commentary from me. The sequence of the scriptures tells a most extraordinary story. If you have time to read it carefully, I think it will be of some value to you.
Lots of love
LeGrand

Alma 36:5, LeGrand Baker, ‘Born of God’

5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself;

————————————-

To be “born of God” is about ordinances and covenants—some performed by humans in this world, some not. In both cases its meaning is very different from the Protestant use of the phrase “born again.”

The phrase, “born again” Is found in only two places in the New Testament. the first is in the Nicodemus story (John 3:3-7) which is usually understood to be talking about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The other is 1 Peter 1:21-23, which is in the context of faith, hope, and charity. Peter wrote:

21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

This concept seems to be more in line with what Alma said than the usual interpretation of John 3.

For Paul, the idea of sonship had a legal connotation. That is, we are adopted and are therefore legal heirs. He wrote:

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Romans 8:14-17).

To the Ephesians, Paul wrote that the adoption he spoke of was part of our foreordination “before the foundation of the world.” Therefore it was a part of the covenant we made that would enable us to return to our Father after we have completed what we came to this world to do. He wrote:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 [the Father] Having predestinated [foreordained] us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

The Savior explained that principle to the brother of Jared:

11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?
12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.
13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:11-14).

That adoption, to be a child of Jehovah, was the crowning ceremony of the ancient Israelite temple service. At the king was anointed, he spoke these words:

7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Psalms 2:7).

The king’s anointing was a two-part ceremony. He was anointed king and adopted as son. In this case “son” of God is the royal new name (For a discussion of Psalm 2 and the new name see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, 499-516.)

The Savior explained this principle even further. In the Beatitudes he said:

9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called [new covenant name] the children of God (3 Nephi 12:9).

John, the Beloved Apostle, taught the early Saints that same principle. He wrote:

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2).

In that same letter John tied adopted sonship to charity, as they are each necessary to the other:

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.(1 John 4:7-9)

That same doctrine was taught by Mormon in his great sermon. While most of the Beatitudes are short synopsis of sections of Isaiah or the Psalms, verse 9, which concludes with “they shall be called the children of God” seems not to be. However, we can find a complete discussion of its meaning in Moroni 7.

25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.
26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. …
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.(Moroni 7:25-26, 46-48.)

The conclusion of all this is that becoming—actually becoming—a child of God is a gift from the Father through his Only Begotten Son. But like all gifts, it is one for which we must be fully worthy. The Savior explained:

8 I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life (D&C 45:8).

The Lord himself put the capstone on this principle when he described those who will inherit the Celestial Kingdom. I have italicized some of the words that are very important.

50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just—
51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—
52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
53 And who overcome by faith [pistis], and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—
56 They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.
58 Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God—
59 Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
60 And they shall overcome all things.
61 Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.
62 These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.
63 These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people.
64 These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.
65 These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just.
66 These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.
67 These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.
68 These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all.
69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.
70 These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical (D&C 76:50-70).

So, when Alma declared, “ if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things,” he was telling us more than he used words to say.