Alma in Helam

We know relatively little about the family of Alma (the Elder), but there are details we can piece together from the text.  When we are first introduced to him we are told that he was “a descendant of Nephi,” which means that he was a descendant of the Nephites and not from the Mulekites (Mosiah 17:3).  He was a “young man” at this time that he was a priest of King Noah, and so it is possible that his father came over with Zeniff to inherit the land of Nephi.  We find no mention of a wife or children of Alma at the time he was preaching at the waters of Mormon, and since he was a young man he may not have been not married yet or had any children at the time.  In fact, we know his approximate age: he died at the age of 82 around 91 BC, so that means he was born around 173 BC.  When they fled with the believers and settled in the land of Helam it was about 145 BC, so that means Alma was about 28 at the time (and about 25 at the time Abinadi was killed).  That he was able to amass such a large following as such a young man shows the power of his teachings and the faith the people placed in him. 

               I believe that Alma the Younger was born while his father and people were in the land of Helam.  They arrived there in 145 BC, and it wasn’t until about 121 BC when Amulon and the Lamanites came and took over.  They escaped about 120 BC and headed back to Zarahemla, which means they were in Helam about 25 years.  So, Alma’s most likely child bearing years were certainly while he was in Helam (from about age 28 to 53).  Alma the Younger also seemed to indicate that he was born there in Helam.  When teaching the people of Zarahemla, he said this after describing his father’s escape from King Noah: “They were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.  And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also” (Alma 5:5).  He said “they” were delivered out of the hands of King Noah but that “we” were brought into the land of Zarahemla, indicating I believe that he was not with him when they arrived at Helam but was with them 25 years later when the escaped.  If this is correct and he spent some of his time growing up there, then I have to wonder if the experience of being in bondage to the Lamanites was part of the root cause of his own rebellion.  Perhaps the difficulties of their trial embittered him and led him to lose faith for a time.  When he persecuted the church for a time he may have in some way been mimicking the treatment Amulon had given them.  At any rate, what’s most important was that they were indeed delivered by the hand of God from bondage, and we should remember their deliverance and “sufficiently retain in remembrance [God’s] mercy and long-suffering,” for He will likewise deliver us today if we put our faith in Him (Alma 5:6).