The Book of Mormon

Mosiah 27:14

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~100 BC

1830 Edition

And again: The angel saith, Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant Alma, which is thy father: for he hath prayed with much faith concerning thee, that thou mightest 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.

Influences

2 Timothy 3:7 (KJV)
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Luke 20:20 (KJV)
And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

Changes

And again:, Tthe angel saith,d: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, whicho is thy father:; for he haths prayed with much faith concerning thee, that thou mightest 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.

Simple English

The angel also said: 'Look, the Lord has heard his people’s prayers. He has also heard your father Alma’s prayers. Your father prayed with great faith about you. He wanted you to know the truth. That’s why I came here. I came to show you God’s power. This way his servants’ prayers can be answered.'

Paraphrase

Then the angel said: 'The Lord has heard the prayers of his people—and especially the prayers of your father, Alma, his servant. He has prayed with deep faith for you, that you might come to know the truth. That’s why I’ve come: to show you the power and authority of God, so that his servants' prayers might be answered according to their faith.'

Notes

27:8-32

In Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon, Jerald and Sandra Tanner list at least 17 significant parallels between the Apostle Paul in the Bible and Alma in the Book of Mormon.

Both Alma and Paul were very wicked men before their conversation (Compare Mosiah 27:8 with 1 Timothy 1:12-13).

Both Alma and Paul were out on one of their missions of persecution on the day of their conversion (Compare Mosiah 27:10-11 with Acts 26:11-13).

In both cases of Alma and Paul's conversion, the people present fell to the earth. (Compare Mosiah 27:12 with Acts 26:14).

In the vision which followed, both Alma and Paul were asked why they fought against the work of the Lord (Compare Mosiah 27:13 with Acts 9:43).

Both Alma and Paul became helpless after the vision and had to be helped by their friends (Compare Mosiah 27:19 with Acts 9:8).

Both Alma and Paul went without food for a period of time (Compare Mosiah 27:23 with Acts 9:9).

Both Alma and Paul were converted to the Lord (Compare Mosiah 27:23-24 with Acts 9:18).

After their conversation, both Alma and Paul traveled about preaching the Word of God (Compare Mosiah 27:32 with Acts 9:20).

Other parallels between Paul and Alma can be found at: Alma 36:6, Alma 36:14, Alma 30:32, Alma 15:11, Alma 14:22, Alma 14:26, Alma 14:27, Alma 14:28