I Wish From the Inmost Part of my Heart

I recently saw a good friend from my youth and had the chance to catch up. When children were mentioned—mine own and those of our other mutual friends—he said jokingly something like this: “They are just a mass of cells walking around as far as I’m concerned!” In other words, he had no desire to learn anything about them or invest any effort in coming to know them. His comment perhaps captures what most of us feel towards complete strangers; we don’t know them, we have no desire to know them, and we aren’t interested in investing any emotional energy to connect with them. I thought about this today as I pondered the words and feelings of Alma (the Younger) in the Book of Mormon. Over and over again he expressed an intensity of feeling towards others—even those he did not know personally—that is a powerful example of love for all of God’s children. This was what led him to give up his judgment seat: “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 gave up the most powerful position in Nephite society because he felt great sorrow for the suffering and wickedness of the people of Nephi, most of whom he surely did not know personally. That led him to devote the rest of his life to teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as he could.

            We find several examples in the Book of Mormon of this sorrow and anguish Alma felt because of the wickedness of the people. His first efforts after giving up the judgment seat were devoted to the people of Zarahemla after which he went to Gideon He explained to them there, “And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I shall also have joy over you; nevertheless I do not desire that my joy over you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow which I have had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow” (Alma 7:5). He passed through afflictions and sorrow because of the wickedness of the people of Zarahemla. He then went to Ammonihah, and Mormon described Alma’s reaction to their great iniquity this way: “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…. And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow” (Alma 8:10, 14). After being rejected and mistreated by them, most of us would probably express a feeling akin to “good riddance, I hope they get what is coming to them!” But not Alma—he was so full of love that he was filled with anguish of soul. After returning, he said to them, “And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance” (Alma 13:27). His heart was drawn out with great feeling even towards those who mistreated him, and he wanted nothing more than for them to repent and come unto the Lord. He expressed this deep yearning for the salvation of others with these well-known 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!” And for those who did repent, his joy was full: “And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me…. Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy” (Alma 29:1, 10, 16). The intensity of Alma’s feelings underscores the incredible love he felt towards all of God’s children.    

            Perhaps the most poignant example of Alma’s depth of feeling towards others is seen in his prayer for the Zoramites. After he caught wind of their wickedness, “it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites” (Alma 31:2). After arriving in Antionum, he was astonished at the perverted way they worshiped the Lord. In contrast to the rote prayer of the Zoramites, he poured out his soul to God in their behalf: “O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul…. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ. Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee” (Alma 31:30, 34-35). His soul longed to bring these people back into the fold and prayed with all of his heart that this might be the case.

All of these examples highlight the incredible love that Alma had for his people. His earnest longing to see all of God’s children come unto the Lord and find joy is a powerful example of how we should feel towards the people around us. I wish I could have this kind of desire towards others that he expressed so powerfully: “Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth” (Alma 29:2).