Textual: Spiritually, the immediacy of the need to repent lies in the coming of the Atoning Messiah. Alma is referring to the birth of the Savior, and does so in terms we are familiar with from the New Testament. This language echoes John’s similar declaration:
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Of course Alma 9:26 is not an exact copy of John 1:14. The original text was amplified, but when the meaning was clearly similar to the familiar phraseology of John 1:14, the form of the translation borrowed from the King James Version translation of John 1:14 for that particular portion.