Reference: This verse alludes to Matthew 3:10: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” In the context of Alma’s sermon, the images of the fruit and the tree of life develop naturally to the next step, in which the individual becomes the tree (v. 35) who may be hewn down as unfruitful. Alma’s emphasis has always been on the individual. Here, he again warns church members who stray. They have tasted the fruit (become the tree) but have not produced the fruit that would signal they had undergone the mighty change.
The image in verse 36 is similar to Matthew’s concept rather than Lehi’s. This imagery does not depend upon eating (or accepting) the fruit (the gospel) but rather upon one’s actions after the fruit has been eaten. In this case, Alma expects the gospel to create a transformation—a “mighty change” (v. 12)—resulting in good “fruit” (righteous actions). If our actions have not changed, then the “mighty change” has not occurred and we will be condemned (hewn down and cast into the fire).