At the conclusion of his discourse, Alma leaves a blessing on the people. In the modern church, this might be termed an apostolic blessing. Alma is moved by the Spirit to provide this blessing. Rather than read it as a casual polite ending, it is best seen as a formal declaration. Notice the contrast between this conclusion and the conclusion of Alma’s sermon in Zarahemla:
Alma 5:61-62
61 And now I, Alma, do command you in the language of him who hath commanded me, that ye observe to do the words which I have spoken unto you.
62 I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.
In Zarahemla there is no blessing, on the very firm call to repentance. We may suppose that it is not Alma’s habit to idly bless when there is no call for the blessing. In Gideon, Alma has proclaimed their faithfulness from the beginning, and now closes his address with an appropriate blessing for that faithfulness.
The blessing is for the “peace of God.” With the events that will transpire in the next several years, it is clear that the “peace of God” is not going to equal political peace. Wars are coming, trials are coming. Nevertheless, for the people of Gideon, as well as for all of the righteous, the peace of God is internal and transcendent, it will overarch the conflicts of the world and tap into the nature of heaven, bringing a taste of that eternal realm into one’s heart, and into the heart of the family. When Alma blesses Gideon, he does not bless a city, he blesses families, the head of the house (“upon your house” should be seen as directed to the head of the house, not the physical building) and the family, and the lands and flocks required to support that family.
Textual: This ends a chapter in the 1830 edition, following the standard process Mormon has used of breaking chapters at the end of inserted cited sermons.