The Book of Mormon: Chapter Thirty-One: Alma 36:11-16
11And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did not hear them; for when I heard the words—If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God—I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
12But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
Alma, a young man written about in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ, underwent a transformation of soul. For anyone who feels beyond the pale of help, or knows their resources to be finite and ended, this story may bring hope. It is a second witness to like accounts in the Bible, but took place on this continent, many years ago. A prophet in our day describes Alma’s wrestle and ultimate submission to God:
Young Alma was so deep in his sin that it was most difficult for him to humble himself toward repentance, but when his experiences broke down his resistance, softened his rebellion and overcame his stubbornness, he began to see himself in his true light and appraise his situation as it really was. His hard heart was softened. His repentance was being born. Listen to his words of confession. Though these words of Alma are used in this book in connection with other phases of the gospel, they are repeated here as an indication of conviction of guilt: [Alma 36:12–16.] Conviction brought ‘sorrow to repentance’ (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 157–58).
Alma’s life was forever changed. His despair turned to joy, “as exceeding as was [his] pain,” the account reads. He spent the remainder of his life in valiant service to the Lord.
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