REMARKABLE CONVERSIONS AND MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE.
After the Nephites had become reunited in Zarahemla, King Mosiah placed Alma at the head of the Church. Alma was a faithful servant of the Lord. He spent his time traveling through the land, teaching the Nephites the ways of the Lord and establishing branches of the Church among them.
For a number of years there was peace, happiness and prosperity in Zarahemla. Then a division took place among the people. Many of them ceased serving the Lord, left the Church, and began to persecute those who believed in and remained true to the faith of their fathers.
Among the unbelievers and persecutors were the four sons of King Mosiah, and a young man named Alma, the son of Alma who presided over the Church. The hearts of the parents of these young men were sorely grieved at the conduct of their sons. They did all in their power to turn them from their wicked course, but they utterly failed.
They refused, however, to give them up. They knew that where they had failed the Lord could succeed. So every day they knelt in prayer and pleaded with the Lord in behalf of their wayward and rebellious sons.
Let me tell you now what the prayers of these righteous parents accomplished. One day Alma the younger and the four sons of Mosiah decided to go to a certain place and make trouble for the Church there. They thought they were great fellows, and that they knew much more than did the people who belonged to the Church of God. But the Lord showed them that day how weak and ignorant they were, and how foolish it was for them to try to destroy the work which He had established.
What did the Lord do? He sent an angel from heaven to turn these young men from their wicked course and to save them from destruction. Standing before Alma and the sons of Mosiah, the heavenly messenger spoke with a voice which caused the ground to tremble beneath their feet and Alma and his companions fell to the earth.
"The Lord has sent me to you," said the angel, "to tell you that you are doing a very wicked thing in persecuting His people and trying to destroy His Church. The Lord has great respect for your parents, for they are good people. He has heard their prayers in your behalf, and that is why He sent me to you. Now, you must repent of all the evil you have done, and turn to the Lord and serve Him faithfully all the days of your life."
After having delivered his message, the angel left them. Alma was so weak that he could not stand upon his feet, so the sons of Mosiah carried him to his father and told the elder Alma all that had happened.
On hearing the news, Alma's father rejoiced, and gave thanks to God for the great mercy which He had shown to his sons and also to the sons of Mosiah. He called a large number of people together and they fasted and prayed two days and two nights for Alma's recovery. At the end of that time his strength returned. He stood upon his feet and told the people all that the Lord had done for him.
From that time Alma and the sons of Mosiah became faithful workers in the Church, and were the means of turning many people to the Lord.
You will be interested, I know, in hearing of some remarkable things which took place while Alma was laboring as a missionary among certain of the Nephites who had departed from the true faith. What I am about to tell took place in one of the cities of the Nephites, called Ammonihah.
Alma had gone there alone to preach to the people. His mission was a hard one, for the people were very wicked. Day after day he stood up and preached to them, pleading with them to repent of their sins, that the judgments of God might not come upon them. But they had become so wicked that the preaching of Alma had no effect upon them except to make them exceedingly angry and to cause them to treat the prophet in a shameful manner. They spat in his face, slapped him on the cheeks, and finally drove him out of the city.
We can imagine the feelings of the poor missionary as, with bowed head and sorrowful heart, he traveled along the road leading from Ammonihah to the city of Aaron. He believed when he first entered Ammonihah that he would find a few people at least who would give heed to what he said, and turn from their wicked ways; but, alas! he had not found one who was willing to do so. "Yes," thought he, "my mission has been a complete failure."
Just at that moment an angel of God descended from heaven and stood before him. He told Alma that he was the same heavenly messenger who had appeared to him and the sons of Mosiah some years before, and had converted them. The angel told Alma that the Lord was well pleased with him, because he had kept His commandments. He said also that the Lord wanted Alma to return to the city of Ammonihah and preach again to the people there.
The words of the heavenly visitor caused new joy and hope to spring up in Alma's heart. As soon as the angel had delivered his message, Alma turned and walked back towards the city from which he had been banished a short time before.
He was very weak and hungry, for he had fasted many days. As he was about to enter the city he met a man whom he stopped, and asked, "Will you give an humble servant of God something to eat?"
The man gazed on Alma with astonishment. Then he said, "Why, you are the man an angel told me about last night in a vision. I am very glad I have met you, for I know you are a true prophet of God."
The man's name was Amulek. He took Alma to his home, gave him food and drink, and made him rest several days. Then Alma and Amulek went out among the people and began to preach to them. They were filled with the spirit and power of God. To their great joy, many believed their message, repented of their sins, and began to live righteous lives.
But the greater part of the people would not believe the preaching of Alma and Amulek. They not only mocked the missionaries, but beat them and abused them in other shameful ways. Finally they seized Alma and Amulek and cast them into prison. They stripped them of all their clothing, bound them with strong cords, and kept them there for several days without either food or drink.
Each day a number of wicked men went to the prison and made mock of Alma and his companion. But that was not all: they also spat in their faces and slapped their cheeks.
The missionaries bore all these things with such patience that they astonished their enemies.
You might say, "Why did not the Lord come to the aid of His servants and deliver them out of the hands of those wicked men?"
Well, my children, that is just what He did do, as you will now hear.
One day a number of very bad men went to the prison in which the servants of the Lord were bound. They treated them in the same cruel manner as before. Suddenly the power of God rested mightily upon Alma and Amulek, and they sprang to their feet. "How long, Lord," cried Alma, "shall we suffer these great afflictions? O, Lord, give us strength, according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto our deliverance!" At that moment they broke the cords which bound them and stood free before their persecutors.
On seeing that, every one of the ungodly crowd began to tremble with fright. They tried to run out of the prison, but they could not. They were so overcome with fear that they fell on the prison floors. Then the Lord caused a terrible earthquake to shake the prison to its foundation, and a few moments later it was in a heap of ruins. Alma and Amulek walked out of the prison unharmed, but every one of the wicked men inside perished.
What a serious thing it is for people to persecute the servants of the living God.