Alma the Younger (Mosiah 27; Alma 36)

Evangelicals used Paul’s vision on the road to Damascus as a type of the conversion of rebels and persecutors. Paul, en route to prosecute Christians in Damascus, is halted by a brilliant light and the voice of Christ asking, “Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me? And he said, Who are thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus who thou persecutes; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” Paul and his companions fall to the ground. When they recover, Paul’s companions lead him, temporarily blind, into the city, where three days later Ananias heals him (Acts 9:1-18, 22:1-16, 26:1-8).

This story is the narrative basis for the conversion of Alma the Younger who, with his companions, the sons of Mosiah, is trying to destroy the church of God. An angel appears to them. They fall to the ground at both the beginning and end of this visitation. The first fall dramatizes the angel’s threat to Alma that he will be destroyed. The angel’s speech echoes that of Christ in Paul’s narrative: “Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecuteth thou the church of God?” Alma is struck dumb as a result of the vision (for two days, according to Mosiah 27:19-23, three, according to Alma 36:16). His companions bring him to his father, whose prayers result in his restoration to physical and spiritual health. Patterning Alma’s conversion after Paul’s, as we have persecutors.

But the differences between the conversions of Paul and Alma are as instructive as the similarities. Paul received his sight through a blessing from Ananias. Alma was healed by the fasting and prayer of his father and the church. In fact, the angel appeared in the first place because Alma the elder “hath prayed with much faith concerning thee, that thou mightiest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith” (Mosiah 27:14).

This narrative stresses the importance of the prayer of faith as the heart of Book of Mormon conversion experiences, assuring the faithful that God will certainly answer their prayer. The concept that God would inevitably answer “the prayer of faith” was one of several controversial “new measures” introduced in New York revivals in the 1820s.

In Alma’s narrative, the power of God shakes the earth, causes Alma and his companions to fall, and makes Alma lose his speech. According to Mosiah 27:14, “there was nothing save the power of God, that could shake the earth and cause to tremble.” This statement suggests that all shaking of the earth is caused by divine power. In the early nineteenth century, some people believed earthquakes to be purely natural events while others considered them divine manifestations. The Book of Mormon shows that Alma, even as an “unbeliever” and a wicked man, is convinced of God’s existence and his own sinfulness by these physical manifestations of heavenly power.

Alma’s conversion narrative can be divided into four main sections: (1) the wickedness of Alma and his companions (vv. 8-10); (2) the angelic visit to convict these sinners of God’s power (vv. 11-17); (3) Alma’s conviction of sinfulness and conversion to Christ, which the narrator stresses, was caused by the power of God (vv. 1823); and (4) Alma’s sermon interpreting conversion as essential for all (vv. 24-31). In this section are numerous biblical parallels. Alma is compared to Simon the sorcerer, and he alludes to John 3:7 where Jesus mentions the necessity of being born of the water and spirit (Mosiah 27:29//Acts 8:23//Mosiah 27:25//John 3:7).