"The transition from the world to the kingdom of God was a painful process for Alma and the four sons of king Mosiah," wrote Dennis L. Largey in a paper prepared for the Fifth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU. (The paper, along with others presented at the symposium, has been published by BYU's Religious Studies Center in a book, The Book of Mormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only Through Christ.)

"Despite the pain involved, the conversion stories in Mosiah chapter 27 send a message of hope to those today who have deeply sinned and desire to repent. The scriptures describe Alma the Younger as a wicked and an idolatrous man (Mosiah 27:8) and the sons of Mosiah as `the very vilest of sinners.' (Mosiah 28:4.) Church members today who despair because they perceive their sinful past as a barrier to positive growth or opportunities to serve in the Church can receive assurance from the experience of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah that the repentant can become great in the sight of God."Brother Largey explained that one precept discussed in Mosiah 27 is that the prayers of faithful parents can help bring about the repentance of their rebellious children. "Parents today often pray with great faith for their rebellious sons and daughters, yet they do not always receive the same results. Alma the Elder's gospel is the same gospel that we have today; why then are there not more angels and more thunderous and transforming experiences? Mortal parents who make their own best effort to reach their children can invoke divine assistance through prayer, for all scriptures unite in testifying that God answers prayers. Perhaps the Lord does send angels, but angels of a different sort. Inspired teachers, friends, bishops, home teachers, Scout leaders, and others can serve the same function as angels from above. These embodied angels, inspired by the Holy Ghost, are sent by the Lord to assist and to love.

"Evidently there were factors in Alma the Younger's circumstance that necessitated his peculiar experience. President Wilford Woodruff taught: `The Lord never did nor ever will send an angel to anyone merely to gratify the desire of the individual to see an angel. If the Lord sends an angel to anyone, He sends him to perform a work that cannot be performed only by the administration of an angel.'

"Although Alma's transformation was initiated by an angel, Alma still needed to exercise his agency and choose for himself. Later verses about his life reveal steps that all who achieve conversion must follow. In a sermon to the people of Zarahemla, Alma the Younger said:

" `Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit.' (Alma 5:45-46.)"

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Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study.

Information compiled by Gerry Avant

Sources: The Book of Mormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only Through Christ, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Carl D. Tate Jr.; The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball; and A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, by Daniel H. Ludlow.