In Alma 21-24, Alma speaks of the dual nature of garments "stained with blood" and garments "cleansed from all stain through the blood":
And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you? . . . Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white? . . . yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
According to Hugh Nibley, we have two kinds of conditions associated with blood and related to garments in Alma 5:21-24, the one condition results from the blood and filthiness that stains your own garment. Alma says the blood will testify against you. We are guilty of what we assent to. We may not have shed very much blood, but we are all guilty of what we assent to. We all pay the same half shekel. It's a very interesting thing that everybody must pay a sin tax, a tax for sin, on the Day of Atonement. But the interesting point is you don't know how to valuate sin. Who is more guilty than the other? There's no way of knowing that, how guilty a person really is. So everybody must pay, whether it's a woman, child, rich, poor; it makes no difference. Everyone must pay exactly the same amount, because only God knows who the real sinners are. So everybody pays the half shekel. . . .
The second condition results when blood washes a garment white. But how can blood wash garments white? If you have ever attended a kosher slaughter, you know that the priest has to wear his priestly robes, the rabbi, though he does not have authority . . . still puts on the robes, and when he cuts the throat of the beast he becomes completely spattered with blood. . . . After Aaron and his sons performed this rite and had slain the pascal lamb, they appeared before the people with their garments splattered with blood, which showed that the atonement had been made. The blood had been shed, after the similitude. That means that the people's own [blood-stained garments] had been washed white (see Leviticus and Deuteronomy). . . . It was here on the Day of Atonement that the priest entered the tent, that the people's garments were all made white by the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb. [Hugh W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2, pp. 274, 285]
There Can Be No Man Be Saved Except His Garments Are Washed White
Donna Nielsen writes that a knowledge of scriptural marriage imagery can greatly enrich our understanding of how God relates to us through covenants. In the Bible we find that Jesus taught the people using examples of weddings and feasts, and of Himself as the Bridegroom. It was meaningful to the Jews in a way that it is not to us because we lack understanding of their culture.
When Israel was betrothed to God at Sinai, she was commanded to cleanse herself with a mikvah. This is symbolically represented in Exodus 19:10: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothes."
Not only their bodies, but their clothing-their garments-were washed. Brides in ancient times went to a mikvah before marriage. A mikvah was a ritual immersion in "living water." It symbolized many things. Besides representing a preparation for holiness, it also represented a separation from an old life to a new life--from life as a single woman to life as a married woman. It also symbolized a change in status and authority; a woman came out from under the authority of her father to the authority of her husband (Lash 18).
Water immersion was a type for the more complete cleansing that came from the Holy One of Israel. A rabbi from the first century taught:
Who cleanses you from your transgressions? Your Father in Heaven. . . . It also says Mikvah-Israel [which can be translated either "the hope of Israel" or "the ritual immersion of Israel" (Jeremiah 17:13]. Just as a ritual bath cleanses the unclean, so does the Holy One, blessed be he, cleanse Israel.
Our bodies and our clothing both need to be washed and kept clean to make us fit covenant companions. Jesus Christ is our "hope"-our "Mikvah-Israel"-and he can sanctify and cleanse us in every needful way:
. . . for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins. (Alma 5:21)
There are Bible scriptures which are helpful in understanding the wedding clothing and their metaphorical extension to righteous behavior. In Ecclesiastes 9:8 it says, "Let thy garments be always white and let thy head lack no ointment." The Hebrew translations of this verse gives white garments the connotations of purity and cleanliness; and the ointment mentioned wa a synonym for anointing oil. Originally, kings were anointed with oil (primarily made from pressed olives) before receiving their crown. The anointing symbolized joy, honor, favor, and long life.
The white clothing had both religious and royal associations. Kings in the Old Testament wore fine white linen-similar in texture to modern damask with a silky feel. The best of these materials came from Egypt. The robes from this material were also called "garments of splendor and beauty."
Priests who served in the temple also wore garments of fine white linen during their ministrations. These garments came from the weaver seamless, bound at the waist with a girdle decorated by needlework. The priest's robe nearly covered the feet and was skillfully woven (like damask) in a diamond or chessboard pattern. This special clothing was worn to distinguish between the sacred and the everyday, and it was a reminder to assist them in their task to become holy. It was thought that donning a white garment symbolized man's vesting himself with good moral qualities.
Therefore, the groom's wedding clothing was very helpful in reminding him of his role and responsibilities as a new husband and father-to-be. His main article of clothing was a kittel, which was a white coat or tunic girded with a white sash. (The word "coat" in Hebrew is "kethoneth," meaning "to cover" or "to hide." It is the same word used in Genesis 3:21.) This coat was associated with purity, forgiveness of sins, and solemn joy. The white color and simple design were thought to eliminate distinctions between the rich and the poor. The white sash was a symbol of service, since sashes were used to gird loins, and girded loins denoted alertness, strength, and readiness for action. The groom also wore a miter or linen cap on his head, a headdress similar to that worn by the priests in the temple.
Isaiah 61:10 describes some of these customs:
I delight greatly in my Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest and a bride adorns herself with her jewels (NIV).
It was thought that this white cap was a symbol of being crowned with holiness and righteousness. Since the head denotes authority, wisdom, and experience, the white miter also represented the wisdom that comes with age.
Two scriptures that reflect this understanding are Proverbs 16:31 and Daniel 7:9. In Proverbs it says: "The hoary (white) head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." Daniel continues the metaphor: "I beheld until the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like the pure wool [white]."
The word for this special cap is derived from a word which means "to elevate" or "to lift up" signifying the honor due to this new head of the household in Israel.
One Jewish commentator, Benno Jacob taught that this special clothing represented a restoration of the garment of light that was lost in the Garden of Eden. By the act of clothing Adam and Eve, God was consecrating them to be parents. There is much in Jewish thought connecting the new bridal pair to the very first married couple in the Garden of Eden. [Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom: Finding Christ in Ancient Jewish Marriage and Family Customs, pp. 2, 53-55, 125-126]