Alma 33

After Alma spoke these words, they asked him questions. They wanted to know if they should believe in one God so they could get this fruit he talked about. They also wanted to know how they should plant the seed or word that he said must be planted in their hearts. They wanted to know how to start to have faith.

Alma Teaches About Worship

Alma said to them: You have said that you can’t worship your God because you were thrown out of your churches. But I say to you: If you think you can’t worship God, you are very wrong. You need to read the Scriptures. If you think the Scriptures taught you this, you don’t understand them.

Do you remember reading what Zenos, an old prophet, said about prayer and worship?

Zenos on Prayer

He said: You are kind, God, because you heard my prayer even when I was in the desert. You were kind when I prayed about my enemies. You turned them toward me. God, you were kind to me when I cried out to you in my field. When I prayed to you, you heard me. Again, God, when I went to my house you heard me when I prayed. And when I went to my room, Lord, and prayed to you, you heard me. You are kind to your children when they cry out to you. They want you to hear them, not other people. And you will hear them. God, you have been kind to me. You heard me when I prayed with the groups of people who believed. You also heard me when I was thrown out and hated by my enemies. You heard me cry. You were angry with my enemies. You punished them quickly in your anger. You heard me because of my hard times and because I was honest. It is because of your Son that you have been so kind to me. So I will cry out to you in all my hard times. You are my joy. You have turned your punishment away from me because of your Son.

The Prophets Testified of Christ

Alma said to them: Do you believe these Scriptures that people long ago wrote? If you do, you must believe what Zenos says. He said: You have turned away your punishment because of your Son.

My brothers, I would ask: Have you read the Scriptures? If you have, how can you not believe in the Son of God? Zenos wasn’t the only one who talked about these things. Zenock also talked about them. He said: You are angry, Lord, with these people. They won’t understand the kindness you have shown them because of your Son.

My brothers, you see that a second old prophet told about the Son of God. Because the people wouldn’t understand his words, they threw stones at him until he died.

But this is not all. These aren’t the only ones who spoke about the Son of God.

The Symbol in the Desert

Moses spoke about him. A symbol was raised up in the desert. Anyone who looked at it could live. Many people looked and lived. But few people understood what these things meant. This was because their hearts were hard. Many were so stubborn that they wouldn’t look. So they died. They wouldn’t look because they didn’t believe it would heal them.

My brothers, if you could be healed by just looking around, would you not look quickly? Or would you make your hearts hard and not believe? Would you be lazy and not look around? Would you let yourself die? If so, terrible things will come to you. But if not, then look around. Start to believe in the Son of God. He will come to save his people. He will suffer and die to pay for their sins. He will rise again from the dead. This will make everyone rise again. All people will stand before him. They will be judged on the last day based on their actions.

My brothers, I want you to plant this word in your hearts. As it starts to grow, feed it with your faith. It will become a tree that grows in you forever. Then may God help you so your troubles may be light. This will happen through the joy of his Son. All this you can do if you choose to. Amen.