Alma 32

Alma and his missionaries went into the synagogues, homes, and the streets to preach the word of God. They had great success among the poorer classes, because the wealthier people looked down upon the poor with disdain, and denied them access to their synagogues.

One day while Alma spoke on a hillside to a group of poor people, one of them asked, “What should we do? We are despised because of our poverty, especially by the priests. They have thrown us out of their synagogues that we worked to build with our own hands. We have no place to worship God. What should we do?”

Alma was pleased by this question because it showed that they had been humbled by their suffering, and were ready to receive the word of God. He held out his hand to the repentant people, and said, “I see that your hearts have been brought low, but you are blessed. You ask what you should do to worship God if you are denied entrance to the synagogues. What makes you think that God can only be worshipped in synagogues? What makes you think you can only worship God once a week? It is good that you have been denied entry to the synagogues because in so doing you have been humbled, and may learn wisdom. It is because of your poverty, your despised status, and having been cast out that you have been humbled. When men are humbled they are able to seek repentance. Those who repent will find mercy and be saved. Those who truly humble themselves to repent their sins though, will be more blessed than those who are merely humbled by their poverty.”

“Blessed are those who humble themselves without being compelled to do so. Blessed are those who believe in the word of God, who are baptized without coercion or need to know before they believe. Many people say, ‘Show us a sign from heaven and we will then surely believe.’ Is this faith? I say no. If a man knows something, he cannot hold his belief separately. If a man knows the will of God and doesn’t heed it, is he more cursed than a man who believes and falls astray? Each are the same, and each man will be judged by his actions.”

“Faith is not about having perfect knowledge of things. Faith means that you hope for things which have not been seen but are known to be true anyhow. God is merciful to all of those who believe in his name. He wants you to believe his word. He sends his word to us through angels. He gives words to men, women, and children who sometimes receive information that astounds the well educated.”

“So you ask what to do because you have been thrown out and afflicted with poverty. Awaken and have faith. Believe in my words. If we compare God’s word to a seed, I want you to implant that seed in your heart. If it is a good seed and you do not cast it out in unbelief, it will grow within you. It will enlarge your soul, enlighten your mind, and be delicious. As the seed sprouts and grows this will strengthen your faith, and you will know it is a good seed.”

“How can you tell if it is a good seed or bad? Good seeds grow. Bad seeds don’t. If you understand what I say, but don’t act on it your knowledge is sound, but your faith is dormant. But as the seed grows your knowledge will become enlightened and your mind will expand.”

“Can this be real? Yes, because it is light, and light is good. Is this the light of perfect knowledge? No. Until you have laid your faith aside you have only tested the experiment to see if the seed was good. But as the tree grows and is taken care of it may come to bear fruit. If you neglect the tree, and fail to nourish it, the tree will perish in the heat of the sun because its roots have withered. Now this is not because the seed was bad, but because it was planted in barren ground and never nourished. If you do not nourish God’s word as his tree begins to grow inside of you, the fruit that will never come. But if you nourish God’s word with faith, diligence, and patience the tree will take root and the fruit with its most precious taste will be your reward. This fruit of which I speak is sweet above anything else, whiter than anything else, and more pure than anything else will be a feast that relieves hunger and thirst forever. This fruit waiting to come to you is the reward for your faith, diligence, and patience.” [74 BC]