Revelation for Alma

by Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we read about Alma and Amulek attempting to convert the hard-hearted people of Ammonihah. In the beginning, we observe Alma as he originally goes into the city to preach to the people. They spit on him and revile him, and he leaves the city with much sorrow. As he is journeying, an angel comes and uplifts him and shares this message.

Alma 8:16 And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them.

Alma takes this message and hurries right back to the city to try again.

Now why was this the order of things? Why did Alma leave and come back? The angel could have easily delivered his message before Alma left, comforting him and encouraging him to continue on his work. Is there a reason for it or is it simply a detail of how the story unfolded that doesn’t matter?

Maybe it didn’t really matter, and that’s totally fine. Maybe Amulek needed an extra day of heart-preparation before he was ready for the angel to come and talk to him and prepare him to receive Alma. Maybe Alma needed some time to grieve before the angel came in and encouraged him. And once again, maybe it didn’t really matter.

There isn’t really an answer, so why is it important? I believe it’s important because despite whether there’s a reason for this turn of events or not, it can teach us about the process of revelation in our own lives. It can help us have the faith we need to do two things: grow in the way the Lord would have us grow and trust that revelation will come as needed.

Understanding the purposes of the Lord

I believe that in order to understand why and how revelation comes to us, we have to understand the reasoning of the Lord. What is He truly trying to accomplish with us? I think sometimes it’s easy to believe that the Lord is just trying to keep us on a perfect path with as little interference as possible, and even if we don’t believe that consciously, we often act like that’s His entire purpose. Surely, He wants us to follow Him, but His true purpose isn’t avoiding missteps; His true purpose is our growth, and that is essential to understand (even in the context of revelation).

For example, we often become paralyzed as we’re trying to make decisions about what to do in our lives because we don’t want to misstep. We really, really, really want to do what the Lord would have us do and so we wait and wait and wait for an answer that may never come rather than acting. I don’t believe the desire to do what the Lord wants us to do is bad (obviously), but I do believe that the fear that sometimes accompanies missteps stems from incomplete understanding about the purposes of revelation.

So what is the Lord’s true purpose for us? To put it in incredibly simple terms, He wants us to be like Him. He wants us to make purposeful decisions based on wisdom like He does. He wants us to create the kind of life we desire. He wants us to create goodness without someone pulling us along to do so.

What does this mean for revelation? Everything. It explains why the Lord answers in specific ways.

For example, let’s look at a college student who is trying to choose a major. If you were in the Lord’s shoes, and you wanted this student to become brave and bold in their decisions, how would you respond to them? Would you simply give them the answer whenever they asked for it? Surely, they could potentially avoid some mistakes and anxiety, but what are you truly wanting for them?

There are appropriate times that the Lord gives us an answer directly and quickly. Sometimes He allows us to sink deeper into our faith so we’re prepared to receive more important answers. Sometimes, He is totally silent. Sometimes, He answers and turns us around after we’ve started acting. All of these responses are crafted carefully so that we can be given the tailor-made opportunities to step into His shoes and become like Him.

In the context of Alma

Let’s look at it in the context of Alma. Now one of the difficulties in the scriptures is the fact that they were abridged. We don’t necessarily have the entire story. We might be missing some details about how Alma decided to leave Ammonihah, but let’s just take the story at face value.

Alma was doing the Lord’s work, but we don’t see Alma on his knees for any length of time praying for an answer about whether he should leave Ammonihah and move on to another city that would be more prepared for the work. All we see is that Alma recognized that the people had hard hearts, and he made an extremely logical decision to go find someone who was prepared for the word of God. In missionary work, this is actually tremendously important. Dropping unprepared people in faith is critical because it shows the Lord that we believe in His ability to lead us to people who are prepared. Alma used the faculties of mind he had been blessed with and started to move on.

However, the Lord had more information than Alma. He knew that there were a couple people in the city who needed the missionaries, and He also knew that the people were preparing to destroy the liberty of the Nephites. Was the Lord angry that Alma had moved on without asking? No! He sent an angel to course correct. The Lord wasn’t angry at all. Observe Alma’s heart. Alma had enough love in his heart for these people that he was sad for them and their inability to accept the gospel. Alma also quickly course corrected and trusted the Lord immediately upon receiving an answer. Why would the Lord be angry?

But are we sometimes worried that the Lord will be angry with us if we choose wrong? Do we sometimes inadvertently believe that the Lord will abandon us to decisions made upon limited information? Do we subconsciously think that if we make the “wrong” decision that the Lord will wash His hands of us and we’re going to ruin our own lives? There are wrong decisions morally speaking, where you’re choosing to cause problems. And then there are wrong decisions where you didn’t choose the path the Lord had in mind, and He course-corrects. He doesn’t get mad over the second kind of “wrong.” He just fixes it. So if your heart is set on following Him, you’re going to be fine.

Perhaps we profess faith in the Lord, but do we feel enough faith that we make our own decisions with enthusiasm, believing that the Lord sees the whole picture and will course correct as necessary? Do we feel immense relief over the fact that we know He loves us and isn’t going to abandon us to our limited knowledge? Do we experience gratitude when we think about the fact that He’s given us the opportunity to create what we want our lives to look like while simultaneously promising to guide us along should it be needed? Do we have enough faith in Him to trust that He can give us answers in a way that we will understand?

When our desperate desire to avoid missteps overpowers our faith in Him, His purposes, and His abilities to guide us, we will find ourselves at a standstill. We dramatically limit ourselves from accomplishing so much good. We cripple our ability to grow to become like Him.

Look at this verse in Doctrine and Covenants.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

We’re damned if we don’t make decisions. We’re not damned because He’s cursing us. We are literally damned in our progression. We aren’t able to grow to become like Him because that’s exactly who He is. He does good of His own accord with His unlimited knowledge. When we stop ourselves from gaining this kind of growth and experience, we’re hurting our progression and damning ourselves.

A word of advice on revelation

If you really want to seize the opportunities you’ve been given here on earth, there are a couple of attitudes you can adopt to help you along. The test we’ve been given on earth is less of a multiple choice test and more of a final project where you are the product that’s turned in. So rather than focusing on trying to get an answer for every decision and following it perfectly, try focusing on cultivating certain attitudes that will allow the Lord to utilize you in tremendous ways.

Honestly, there is one overarching posture that you can cultivate that will enable you to receive everything you need to be successful. Seek a closeness with the Lord. Being close with the Lord will allow you to understand two things: His love and concern for you, and His wisdom.

Knowing that He loves you and wants the best for you will allow you to breathe freely. It will help you trust that He wants to watch you soar of your own free will and that your future happiness is very safe with Him. You have nothing to worry about. He will reach you as necessary so go create goodness as much as you can in the ways that you love.

Understanding His wisdom will cultivate a natural desire to turn Him and check in. Alma may not have been praying about whether he should leave Ammonihah, but he was turned to the Lord. This made it very easy for the Lord to speak to him, and it also made it very easy for Alma to course correct. When we know who God is, it becomes more difficult to ignore Him and very natural to seek Him out regularly as you would a loving, all-knowing Parent.

We have every reason to believe that the best is coming. Even when we know that we’ll be stepping into difficulty and peril throughout our lives, we can know that our ending is perfectly safe. There is no circumstance that can permanently destroy our happiness or take away our eternal reward. Your job is to love the Lord and trust Him, and that love will lead you towards Him and towards perfection.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.