Alma, Corianton, and the Example of Shiblon

When Alma addressed his son Corianton, he began with these words, “And now, my son, I have somewhat more to say unto thee than what I said unto thy brother; for behold, have ye not observed the steadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence in keeping the commandments of God? Behold, has he not set a good example for thee? For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy brother, among the people of the Zoramites” (Alma 39:1-2). I once read a commentary from a popular Latter-day Saint writer and he suggested that he did not like the fact here that Alma was comparing one son to another. He thought it was not the best approach to parenting to tell one child who is struggling to look at the good example of a sibling who is perhaps making much better choices. Yesterday my wife pointed out another popular Latter-day Saint commentator who went even further to say that he hated this first verse of Alma 39 for much the same reason. I can certainly appreciate their perspective, and undoubtedly it is not always good practice as a parent to try to get one child to improve by pointing out the righteousness of another. But are we sure Alma was in the wrong to do so in this instance?

I don’t believe that we are justified in criticizing Alma’s parenting here in these words to Corianton. We have little understanding of the personality of his children or what motivated them or the relationship between these two brothers. Isn’t it possible that this is indeed something that would have properly encouraged Corianton? Perhaps he did really look up to his brother Shiblon and maybe what he needed was a reminder to look to the brother he loved. Three different times when speaking to Corianton later, Alma said “I perceive” about what Corianton was feeling or thinking before he went on to explain a principle to his son. Alma clearly understood his son and knew what he needed to be taught. Surely then we can give Alma the benefit of the doubt that perhaps he also perceived that Corianton needed a reminder about his brother’s good choices. We should also consider, I think, what had just happened. The experience of both of his sons must have been heart-wrenching for Alma: here he had one son (Shiblon) who had just been stoned for his faithful efforts in preaching to the Zoramites and another (Corianton) who had forsaken his ministry and gone off after a harlot. It is even possible that Corianton’s actions had contributed to the animosity that led to the stoning of Shiblon, for Alma did remind Corianton, “O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words” (Alma 39:11). Perhaps Alma felt that Corianton, as part of his repentance, needed to see the stark contrast between his selfish behaviors and Shiblon’s great sacrifice for the cause. When Alma told Corianton to observe his brother, perhaps he literally wanted him to see the marks of the wounds left by those stones and feel some small responsibility for them. Perhaps the most important point is simply that Alma’s words to Corianton did indeed have their desired effect: Corianton clearly repented for soon thereafter he was back preaching the gospel to the people as recorded in Alma 49:30. Maybe what we learn from Alma 39:1-2 is not that we should in every case compare our children; rather, we need to understand them and perceive exactly what each needs individually on his or her path to repentance.