There lived in Zarahemla about 120 B.C. a very wicked and idolatrous man who had power over many people to entice them to sin and who went about actively destroying everything his father had painstakingly worked for. This son was the very vilest of sinners, who prepared the way for the enemy of God to steal many souls and who sought to destroy the church of God. This man was the son of the prophet Alma, the only convert of the martyred Abinadi, who defied the wicked king Noah and converted and baptised many people in the waters of Mormon. Imagine the grief and sorrow to have your own son working to discredit your life's work. This was Alma the Younger. Because he was a son and called The Younger, many readers of the Book of Mormon have presumed that Alma the Younger was a youth when rebelling against his father and against God. Mormon however, identifies him as 'a man' (Alma 27:8,9), a well seasoned sinner, well practiced in his ability to create trouble, an apostate who made it his life's work to discredit the Church. It is very unlikely that Alma the Younger was a reckless hot headed youth when he was wreaking havoc. A hot headed youth is more concerned with pursuing his own self interests and rebellion than being involved in apostasy. Shortly after Alma the Younger is visited by an angel, his father Alma dies at the age of 82 (Mosiah 29:45). It would have been unlikely that Alma at this age had a son in his twenties. This would suggest that Alma was more likely to have been in his 40s at the height of his wickedness and ensuing repentance.
The question of Alma's age offers more insight into the severity of his sinful life. His sins were not trivial, but heinous and destructive, not only to himself but to others. His sins and the persecutions which he heaped upon the saints no doubt went on for years. These were not trivial sins easily washed away. One might wonder why the Lord waited so long to send an angel to Alma the Younger to turn him away from his destructive course. In Alma's story, however, we see that God has a purpose for each of us for Alma's conversion became the most powerful lesson about the effectiveness of the Atonement in all the works of scripture. Alma's conversion shows us that no matter how big the sin, the Atonement is bigger still. Not only was Alma exceedingly sinful, his ability to draw people to him and his power to convince them to follow his course would have filled him with enormous pride which would have hardened his heart to be in direct opposition to God, making repentance extremely difficult without God's intervention (expressed by Elder L. Tom Perry, source unknown). Alma was surely in Satan's clutches in every way. For such a vile sinner, there had to be a spectacular conversion. A conversion that would show what the Lord can make of us even when we seem to be beyond the point of no return, a conversion that would highlight not only the Saviour's mercy but the scope of His care and incomprehensible love. The extent and seriousness of Alma's sins can be seen in the recounting of his experience where he says he waded 'through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death', being 'in the darkest abyss', his soul being 'racked with eternal torment' (Mosiah 27:28,29). Amidst all that anguish of soul, Alma describes his deliverance with an interesting word. He says he was snatched from eternal torment and everlasting burning. Imagine the Saviour's willingness to go to the fires of hell to deliver one of the vilest of sinners. Imagine the power to snatch someone from excruciating pain before they are consumed. What more powerful lesson can we learn from Alma's conversion than this?
"I remember reading about a fire fighter in the eastern United States who ran into a burning house to rescue several children from an arson-induced fire. While his colleagues battled the blaze to keep it from spreading to other structures in the neighborhood, this man dashed into the building again and again, each time emerging with a child in his arms. After rescuing a fifth child, he started into the inferno once more. Neighbors shouted that there were no more children in the family. But he insisted that he had seen a baby in a cradle, and he dove into the intensifying heat.
Moments after he disappeared into the fire and smoke, a horrifying explosion shook the building and the entire structure collapsed. It was several hours before fire fighters were able to locate their colleague's body. They found him in the nursery near the crib, huddled protectively over a life-sized - and practically unscratched - doll.
I'm overwhelmed by that story. I'm touched by the fire fighter's courageous and selfless devotion to duty, and I'm thankful that there are men and women in the world who are willing to put their lives on the line for the sake of others.
As I think about such heroism, however, I'm reminded that the most heroic act of all time ever was performed in behalf of all mankind by the Son of God. In a very real sense, all of humanity - past, present, and future - was trapped behind a wall of flame that was fueled and fanned by our own faithlessness. Sin separated mortals from God (see Romans 6:23), and would do so forever unless a way was found to put out the fires of sin and rescue us from ourselves" (Elder M. Russell Ballard, Our Search for Happiness, p 11)
"Can a woman forget her sucking child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;
thy walls are continually before me."
Isaiah 49:15,16
(I wish to acknowledge two sources of insights for this blog, namely: Maurine Proctor of Meridian Magazine who raised the question of Alma's age and Ted Gibbons for highlighting the word 'snatch', in their informative articles on The Book of Mormon Lesson #20, My Soul Is Pained No More)
