Alma 8

After Alma had restored the church in Gideon, as he had in Zarahemla, he returned home to rest. In the tenth year of elected judges, Alma traveled to the land of Melek to preach and restore the church. Again, people came to him and were baptized.

After he finished his work in Melek, he traveled to the land of Ammonihah to preach the word of God. But Satan had taken hold of the people there, and they refused to listen to him. Alma prayed mightily to God that the people would repent and be baptized. Still they rejected him, saying, “We know you are the high priest of the church in other places, but here we do not believe such foolish traditions. Because we aren’t part of your church, you have no power over us. You are no longer chief judge over us, either. Go away.”

The people of Ammonihah rebuked Alma, threw him out, and spat upon him. He left Ammonihah discouraged, and continued his mission, traveling next toward the city of Aaron. He was traveling in sorrow and anguish because of the horrible treatment he’d received from the unrepentant and wicked people of Ammonihah, when an angel of God appeared to him. “You are blessed,” the angel said, “so lift up your head and rejoice. You have been faithful in keeping the commandments of God ever since you first received God’s message. I know this, because I am the same angel who delivered that message to you, long ago. God has sent me now to command that you return to Ammonihah and deliver his word to those people. Tell them that unless they repent, God will destroy them. They threaten to destroy the freedom of your people by violating the laws and commandments God has given to his people.”

With the angel’s words to spur him on, Alma wasted no time returning. When he reached Ammonihah he was hungry, so he identified himself as a servant of God to a man whom he met, and asked for something to eat. “I am a Nephite,” the man answered, “and I know you are a holy prophet of God. An angel came to me in a vision and told me that you would be coming. I would be honored if you would come and eat with me at my home.” The man’s name was Amulek.

After a good meal, Alma blessed Amulek and his house, and gave thanks to God. He told Amulek of his mission, his previous reception by the people of Ammonihah, and God’s command that he return to testify against their sinfulness. Having fasted while he’d traveled, Alma spent many days resting with Amulek before he began his preaching.

Alma received a revelation that Amulek should help him preach to the people of Ammonihah. They were told to relate the prophecy given by the angel: that the people had better repent, or God would demonstrate his fierce anger with them. To show his power, God would make it impossible for him, or Amulek, to be imprisoned or killed by their enemies. As they preached and prophesied, they were filled with the spirit and power of God that had been given to them. [82 BC]