It is given unto many, Alma explained:
“To know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
“And therefore, he that will harden his heart the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries.”
Such persons, Alma observes, become captive to the devil because of their ignorance and hardness of heart; they are bound down by “the chains of hell.” (Alma 12:9-11; cf. D&C 50:24.)