You Too Must Be Still

A couple things stood out to me this morning as I read the account of the conversion of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah in Mosiah 27. First, it appears that there were more people with Alma when the angel came than just the sons of Mosiah. Mormon referenced “those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them” and said that “four of them were the sons of Mosiah” (v32, 34). This implies that the group was larger than just the five of them, and it highlights the fact that Alma indeed had a large following and was very influential. Perhaps two of them were the missionary companions of the sons of Mosiah later referenced (Muloki and Ammah as mentioned in Alma 22:11). Despite this large group with Alma, the visit of the angel forced him to suddenly become totally alone in his mind without even the ability to talk to others. What I noticed this time is that the text never says that Alma was asleep during that period of three days (Alma 36:16) when Alma could not speak. I think that’s how I have always imagined it. But the text says, “He became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father” (v19). He clearly couldn’t speak and had trouble even moving, but the account never suggests that he was asleep or in some kind of coma the whole time. When he came to himself it doesn’t say that he woke up; rather “the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them” (v23). To me this is significant because he declared, “I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit” (v24). That repentance didn’t happen magically while he slept; rather it was an intense labor of the spirit, with “the most bitter pain and anguish of soul,” for him to finally “receive a remission of [his] sins” (Alma 38:8).

                In the Priesthood Session of this most recent general conference President Nelson said this, “The voice of the Lord is not ‘a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but … it [is] a still voice of perfect mildness, [like] a whisper, and it [pierces] even to the very soul.’ In order to hear this still voice, you too must be still!... peace. Quiet time is sacred time—time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace. Discipline yourself to have time alone and with your loved ones. Open your heart to God in prayer.” Perhaps this is what the Lord was forcing Alma to do—to have only quiet time for three days so he could seek the Lord, understand the true gravity of his sins, and seek repentance. Mosiah 27 tells us that Alma could not speak; his words later to Helaman suggest that perhaps he couldn’t hear as well: “When I heard the words—If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God—I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more” (Alma 36:11). It may be that he could not speak, hear, or move while at the same time being awake. This would have forced Alma to focus all his attention in his mind on his sins and repentance and coming unto the Lord. Perhaps this is symbolic of what we need to do—we must turn off the noise of the world and focus our minds and hearts on hearing the voice of the Lord while we are still as President Nelson invited. Only with that kind of quiet seeking, becoming "still" like Alma, can we come to “behold the marvelous light of God” and, like Alma, be “redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daugthers” (v25, 29).