Alma 36
It may be natural sometimes to romanticize a conversion event like Alma’s where three days of torment are followed by the light of Christ and a lifetime of dedication. I suspect there are aspects of that sudden turn that we minimize in doing so, such as the reaction of those from the previous life who would persecute with great energy because of this change of heart. At the same time we minimize the benefits of patiently plodding to salvation one step at a time, developing a testimony line upon line so that our heart, rather than being miraculously wrenched from a state of wickedness to a desire for no more wickedness, is saturated and cured in our testimony of Christ without the pain of great sin and without causing great pain to others by our sins.
Alma did not spend much time feeling that exquisite joy. He was wracked with torment and then got a glaring taste of the joy which could be found in Christ. The change in him was not instant righteousness but rather a change such that instead of dreading the thought of seeing his God he longed to return to live with Him. This longing was the motivation for his dedication for the remainder of his life, during which time he discovered that he could experience the joys of Christ while in service to God and not only in the presence of God.
Longing to see God would make a person unafraid to die.
Leave a Reply