Alma's Call to Diligence

One of the themes in the words of Alma to his sons is the need for diligence in living and teaching the gospel. For example, he said to Helaman, “Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written.” He taught his son about their forefathers who in the wilderness had not been as diligent as they should have been and thus did not go in a straight course to the promised land: “They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey.” He used this to encourage Helaman to not be lazy in matters of faith: “O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us” (Alma 37:20, 41, 46). If we want to progress in our journey, we must be diligent in keeping the commandments, in looking to the Lord that we might live.

               Alma also emphasized diligence in gospel living to Shiblon and Corianton. To the former Alma commended his diligence he had shown already in his missionary labors: “I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.” Shiblon had worked with great diligence in teaching the gospel among the Zoramites despite the intense persecution he faced. Alma told his son to continue to display that kind of diligence in teaching the word to the people: “And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things” (Alma 38:3,10). To Corianton, Alma also commended this diligence of Shiblon: “Behold, have ye not observed the steadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence in keeping the commandments of God?” (Alma 39:1) He also explained how he, Alma, had prayed to the Lord with great diligence: “But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know…. Now, concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know” (Alma 40:3, 9). He wanted Corianton to know that it took diligent effort to seek answers from the Lord. And just as he taught Helaman to be diligent in prayer—to “cry unto God,” to “counsel with the Lord in all thy doings,” to “let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever”—he also showed that this was exactly what he did (Alma 37:36-37). In fact, what makes Alma’s invitations to his sons so powerful is because he showed such incredible diligence in his own life. We see that most clearly in the way he traveled among the Nephites for a decade preaching the word of God to them. Perhaps the single description of Alma that is the most telling of him is what happened after he taught his sons, when he was almost at the end of his life. Mormon recorded after describing how the sons of Alma went forth to preach the word: “Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth” (Alma 43:1). His was a life of diligence in preaching the word of God to his people—it was simply not in him to stop testifying of the Savior and His redeeming power for all who will diligently seek Him.