I noted from a lesson on 5/22/2016 that I should find this talk. Since that was the entirety of the note I will include my notes from this Ensign article here as well (even though that review didn’t happen on that date).
I love the text in the heading of this article making clear to the reader that the story of Alma reminds us that nobody is beyond the Savior’s reach and that this fact is the central point in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reason for and effect of His atonement.
The sons of strong fathers provide many of the messages given in the Book of Mormon: Nephi and Jacob, sons of Lehi, recorded almost all of the material given on the small plates of Nephi. Moroni, son of Mormon, concluded his father’s work and some 1,400 years later delivered it to the young prophet Joseph Smith. Other sons who learned great lessons from their parents provide commentary throughout this sacred scripture.
Perhaps no son, however, captures our imagination like the younger Alma. More pages are devoted to the span of his life and ministry than to any other person in the Book of Mormon, and the book that bears his name is nearly 2 1/2 times longer than any other in the record. He strides with prophetic power onto the great center stage of the Book of Mormon, appearing near the precise chronological midpoint of the record—500 years after Lehi leaves Jerusalem, 500 years before Moroni seals up the record.
I have known that the Book of Alma was the longest by far and at the textual center of the Book of Mormon but I never before considered how it is in the historical middle of the history of the Nephites.
The life of the younger Alma portrays the gospel’s beauty and reach and power perhaps more than any other in holy scripture. Such dramatic redemption and movement away from wickedness and toward the permanent joy of exaltation may not be outlined with more compelling force anywhere else. In him is symbolized the task of the whole human family, which must, as Paul commands, “leave your former way of life, … lay aside that old human nature which, deluded by its lusts, is sinking towards death. You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on the new nature. …”
Interesting that he should cite Paul because the life of Paul is in many ways a mirror of the life of the younger Alma. The biggest difference being how detailed of a record we have of Paul vs Alma.
We learn that there is majestic; undeniable power in the love and prayer of a parent. The angel who appeared to Alma and the sons of Mosiah did not come in response to any righteousness on their part, though their souls were still precious in the sight of God. He came in response to the prayers of a faithful parent.
As I see more of my children faltering in their faith (and who could blame them with the examples they have seen and the trials they continue to endure) I take comfort in the fact that regardless of the state of their faith I can pray for them and be heard by Heavenly Father even if I am not always heard by them.
Here is a majestic example of Christlike love. No one in this group seems delighted that devastating recompense has finally come. No one here seems pleased to imagine the torment of this young spirit. Yet this is the young man who has despised their faith, harmed their lives, attempted to destroy the very church of God which they hold dearer than life itself. But their response is the response of the Master: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44.) These saints are wise enough to know that they and every other human soul are wholly dependent on the merciful gift of God’s forgiveness, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23.) What we all need we cannot in good conscience or integrity deny another. So they prayed for him who had despitefully used them.
Good people don’t delight even in the deserved suffering of others although otherwise good people might do so from time to time thinking it a salve to their own wounds.
We learn that when repentance is complete we are born again and leave behind forever the self we once were. To me, none of the many approaches to teaching repentance falls more short than the well-intentioned suggestion that “although a nail may be removed from a wooden post, there will forever be a hole in that post.”
We know that repentance (the removal of that nail, if you will) can be a very long and painful and difficult task. Unfortunately, some will never have the incentive to undertake it. We even know that there are a very few sins for which no repentance is possible.
But where repentance is possible and its requirements are faithfully pursued and completed, there is no “hole left in the post” for the bold reason that it is no longer the same post. It is a new post. We can start again, utterly clean, with a new will and a new way of life.
The concept that there is still a hole in the post is meant to scare us away from sinning in the first place. That would seem to be a doomed proposition – one more likely to prevent repentance than to prevent sin.
If Alma’s may be the central human story in the Book of Mormon, surely Christ’s is the central name to the story within the story. It is in exactly this way that the Book of Mormon testifies that Jesus is the Christ—not only in terms of theology and doctrine and precept, which are important, but also in the very power of his name, the reality of his life, and the reach of his priesthood, which are even more important.
Our doctrine must always come back to Christ if it is to have any power.
We may have avoided Church attendance, the sacrament, the bishop, our parents, our worthy companions—avoided anyone we had sinned against, including God himself—but now that repentant heart longs to be with them. That is part of the joy and light of the atonement—the “at-one-ment”—which not only binds us back to God but also brings us back to a special unity with our best natural self and our most beloved human associates.
The desire to once again associate with the church and other good influences in our lives may be one of the most hopeful signs we can see in a repentant person.
We learn last of all that the ultimate proof of our repentance is in its permanence. Its blessings should be in our memories constantly, compelling us to continue in the cause of truth and to lend our best efforts to the work of God. Alma’s testimony is that from the very hour of his conversion “until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.” (Alma 36:24.)
Repentance that doesn’t manifest permanently isn’t necessarily false repentance but it certainly isn’t sufficient repentance.
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