To avert the awful consequences of sin into which they had fallen, the Lord in His magnanimity, sent an angel to many of his servants here below to go forth and cry: "Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." The warning voices of God's inspired teachers and evangelists have sounded this call to every generation of His children, and so it was with the Ammonihahites. Their iniquities had brought them near unto destruction. In the hardness of their hearts they refused to listen to the urgent message Alma delivered. But Alma, now unmoved by their denial of truth, and the derision heaped upon him, steadfastly proclaimed the commission whereunto the angel had appointed and authorized him. Their Salvation, not their destruction, was Alma's goal. He sought to save the people of Ammonihah from an end so completely fatal to them that to bring to naught their wickedness, their destruction was inevitable. Their fair city, and all that they possessed, came under this dictum.
Alma's cry, "Repent ye, repent," was instantly important; mightily and with a loud voice, he called on the Ammonihahites for immediate attention to God's command. "Not many days hence," he cried, "the Son of God shall come in His glory." (See Alma 7:7) We understand His glory to mean His Body; the body which was begotten by God, himself. His body filled with such Divine qualities as grace, equity, and truth; overflowing with patience, mercy, and long-suffering, He would hear the "cries of His people," and would not scorn to answer their prayers, nor think them unworthy. (See Indices I-II, The Sacred Name, and Who is Jehovah? Dictionary of the Book of Mormon, Edition of 1954)
Many other things which had been told Alma by an angel concerning the Son of God were by him transmitted to the Ammonihahites. Each one carried a lesson and a command which was not to be ignored. "He cometh to Redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on His Name." That is a straightforward and complete answer to some who declare that repentance and baptism are separate and distinct from each other; and also that forgiveness of sin is not conditioned upon repentance. It is! The Redemption brought about by Christ was Alma's great theme. Prepare the Way of the Lord, and make ready His Paths, was the message he proclaimed. (See, Comments Alma Chapter 7, This COMMENTARY)