Labored Much in the Spirit

One of the things that impresses me about Alma is the amount of mental anguish and physical affliction that he suffered for the sake of the gospel. That of course started with himself as he repented of his sins. He described to his son: “Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds. And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul. And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.” This was not a causal experience for him but something that was felt in the depths of his soul. He cried out, “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death” (Alma 36:15-18). Alma experienced this repentance and coming unto the Savior with the deepest of feelings.

After receiving a remission of his own sins, he seemed have felt just as deeply about the need for others to repent and come unto their Savior. This is what led him to leave the judgment seat to go preach: “And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him” (Alma 4:15). He was so filled with sorrow because of the iniquity of the people that he turned to preaching full time. He first went to Zarahemla, where they had turned to unrighteous ways, and he described later how he experienced “so much afflictions and sorrow… for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow” (Alma 7:5). Alma was not a passive preacher but rather he engaged his whole heart in the work and longed for the people to truly repent. Mormon described what happened in Ammonihah: “Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.” He didn’t offer a few casual prayers for the people there but poured his whole heart out to God for them and even “fasted many days” (Alma 8:10, 26). He and Amulek suffered many things there, and he cried out in his physical and mental suffering in prison: “How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance” (Alma 14:26). He later expressed his earnest desires for others to come unto the Savior with these powerful words: “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!” (Alma 29:1) His greatest desire was to bring people to repentance, and that caused him to experience deep pain when wickedness prevailed. And when he reached out to the Lord he poured out his whole soul for the people. After arriving at the land of Antionum and seeing the wickedness of the Zoramites, “He lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men?... 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” (Alma 31:26, 32).

Alma’s difficult experiences and suffering for his own and the people’s salvation remind me of these powerful words of Elder Holland: “I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.” Like Alma, we can expect to have afflictions and challenges in the work of the Lord, and we must pour our hearts out to Him in all that we do and give our whole soul to the work. As we do, we can also hope to feel as Alma did when he reflected on his missionary labors: “My joy is full” (Alma 29:13).