Alma 32

Alma 32 

 28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief... behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed... for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

This chapter is all about FAITH, and is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon! Alma finds that the poor Zoramites are willing to listen to him, and these are some of the powerful lessons he teaches them:

Humility and Willingness to Believe:

Alma teaches the poor Zoramites it is good their poverty has led them to be humble… but even better is if people CHOOSE to be humble, rather than being forced to be humble by their circumstances. What does it mean to you to be humble?

 13 And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.

 14 And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?

16 Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.

Faith:

Alma 32 is famous for its teachings on faith. I could read (and have read) this part of the chapter over and over again. Now that I think of it, my husband and I used excerpts from this chapter in our wedding, because it went beautifully with our decor theme of fruit, and we saw great application to marriage from the teachings about experimenting and nurturing to grow something good together.

What is it?

Alma teaches us that “faith” does not mean knowing something for certain. It means you hope for something you can’t see, that is true (meaning it isn’t technically faith if you’re hoping for something that isn’t true).

21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

How do you begin to develop faith?

I love this analogy! If you want to develop faith, start small with a desire! Then experiment and see what feelings or other recognizable results develop to help you identify if the “seed” is good or not. (emphasis added below to key phrases)

 26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first…

 27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

 28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

 33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

Should you expect your faith to be perfect when it first starts to grow?

Faith is developed one step, one issue, one day at a time. And it can backslide, too, if you neglect it, so it requires a steady effort to continue to develop.

 35… and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?

 36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.

 37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us.

What can cause faith to die?

Sometimes it isn’t the seed’s fault when it dies… it’s yours!

38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.

 39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

What are the rewards of cultivating faith?

What do you think the fruit analogy represents? When you patiently cultivate faith, what is the fruit you receive in the end?... or even along the way? I'll say this much... the rewards of hope, peace-of-mind, healing, and big-picture-perspective that I've received from my seed of faith (and it is still growing!) are my greatest possessions. They are worth every effort and sacrifice.

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

 42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

 43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

Alma 31

Alma 31

Alma gathers a team of missionaries to preach to the Zoramites—a group of Nephites who have broken away from the church (these are the same people who trampled and killed Korihor at the end of the last chapter). 

When Alma and team arrive in the land, they find the Zoramites gathered in their synagogues to worship, but they are shocked at what they see inside. They have built a tall stand/tower—called a Rameumptom—that is just big enough for one person at a time. The person on top of the Rameumptom prays out loud, and this is the gist of the prayer:

16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ… and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell;

This is shocking and concerning to Alma and his brethren—both because the people are openly denying the coming of Jesus Christ, but also because of the pride and arrogance of their ridiculous belief that they are better than other people in the eyes of God. Then to top off the irony, after the worship services the people “returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, to offer up thanks after their manner.” (v23) These people exhibit hypocrisy at its finest. 

Alma is very upset by what he sees, and he prays a long and dramatic prayer to the Lord. When we are frustrated or exhausted by the decisions or behavior of other people, we can also pray for help and strength to know how to handle the situation:

31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.