5 And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the message which he had sent unto them; and they went in unto the house unto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low with a burning fever; and his mind also was exceedingly sore because of his iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched forth his hand, and besought them that they would heal him.
6 And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?
7 And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught.
8 And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.
9 And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.
10 And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ.
11 And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.
Alma 15:5-11 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) and Amulek went to Zeezrom. He asked them to heal him. Alma(2) went asked the key question. Do you believe in the power of Christ unto Salvation? Zeezrom said he believed all he had taught. Alma(2) reminded him that if he has faith in the redemption of Christ, he could be healed. Again, Zeezrom affirmed his belief in Alma(2)’s words.
Alma(2) the cried unto the Lord asking Him to heal Zeezrom according to his faith in Christ. Zeezrom was immediately healed. He jumped out of bed and began walking around. The people were astonished at the sudden healing. Word of the miracle spread throughout the land of Sidom.
Hugh Nibley observes:
“[Zeezrom] is sick to the point of death and destruction, but salvation is to be saved from any dire condition you are in. From any desperate end to which you might come the power of Christ will save you. Here he is right in the depths, and [Alma] is saying, do you believe in the power of Christ to save you? ‘And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught.’ This means if you believe it, you can come back, they say. Verse 8: ‘And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.’ Redemptio means ‘to buy back, to let you in again, to take you back home again; like the prodigal son. He [the Savior] will do it as long as you repent. As long as you are here, you can do it. It's redemption, he says, according to the faith. Is faith the power that does that, or is it Jesus Christ or what? Well, faith is the power that plugs us in; it's not the power [that heals]. It plugs us into the circuit, so to speak. The power is always there; we are surrounded by an enormous amount of power all the time. By applying faith we make it accessible to us; we make it useful for us. We are able to plug in, to use a vulgar expression, but that's the sort of thing you do. You open your mind to faith, and then you are able to do it, remembering this.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
12 And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people.
13 And Alma established a church in the land of Sidom, and consecrated priests and teachers in the land, to baptize unto the Lord whosoever were desirous to be baptized.
14 And it came to pass that they were many; for they did flock in from all the region round about Sidom, and were baptized.
Alma 15:12-14 (Emphasis mine)
Zeezrom was baptized and began preaching the gospel to the people. Many were baptized and Alma(2) established a church in Sidom.
15 But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah, they yet remained a hard–hearted and a stiffnecked people; and they repented not of their sins, ascribing all the power of Alma and Amulek to the devil; for they were of the profession of Nehor, and did not believe in the repentance of their sins.
16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;
17 Therefore, after Alma having established the church at Sidom, seeing a great check, yea, seeing that the people were checked as to the pride of their hearts, and began to humble themselves before God, and began to assemble themselves together at their sanctuaries to worship God before the altar, watching and praying continually, that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction—
18 Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.
19 And thus ended the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
Alma 15:15-19 (Emphasis mine)
Meanwhile, over in Ammonihah, the people refused to accept the word of the Lord. They refused to repent of their sins. The attributed Alma(2)’s and Amulek’s power to the devil. It seems the wicked always find a way to explain away the power of God. For them, it is much easier to explain away His power and keep living they way they do.
22 ¶ Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Matthew 12:22-28 (Emphasis mine)
The church was established and the people had humbled themselves. They served God and obeyed his commandments. All was going well.
In verse 18, Mormon lets us know what Amulek lost by serving God. He lost everything. He lost his family, his home, his wealth, his status, everything he had to serve God. But he never weakened and continued his service.
Alma(2) and Amulek left and returned to Zarahemla. Amulek moved in with Alma(2).
33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33 (Emphasis mine)
[1] Lecture 50: Alma 14-17, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed November 8, 2011.
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