31 O Lord, my heart is
exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou
grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these
afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.
32 O Lord, wilt thou
comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are
with me—yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, and also
my two sons—yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort
their souls in Christ.
33 Wilt thou grant
unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions
which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people.
34 O Lord, wilt thou
grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in
Christ.
35 Behold, O Lord, their
souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us,
O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto
thee.
36 Now it came to pass
that when Alma had said these words, that he clapped his hands upon all them
who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them, they were
filled with the Holy Spirit.
37 And after that they
did separate themselves one from another, taking no thought for themselves what
they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on.
38 And the Lord
provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea,
and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of
afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was
according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith. (Alma
31:31-38)
Alma’s prayer continues.
Alma asked the Lord to comfort his soul in Christ. He has
promised comfort to those who serve him.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew
5:4).
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as
the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid” (John 14:27).
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world” (John 16:33).
He asked for strength so he may suffer his afflictions with
patience.
“Many are the
afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm
34:19).
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast
caused me to hope.
“This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath
quickened me” (Psalm 119:49-50).
He suffers these afflictions because of the sins of the
Zoramites.
“Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault.
Unexpected events, contradicting or disappointing circumstances, interrupting
illness, and even death surround us and penetrate our mortal experience.
Additionally, we may suffer afflictions because of the actions of others.3 Lehi
noted that Jacob had ‘suffered … much sorrow, because of the rudeness of [his]
brethren.’ Opposition is part of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. We all
encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father’s love and of our
need for the Savior’s help.”[1]
After asking for comfort for himself, he prayed for success
for himself and his “fellow laborers.” He asked for their souls to be comforted
in Christ.
He also asked for them to be strengthened to bear their
afflictions which they would be faced with the sins of the people.
“We then that are strong ought to bear [GR removed, endure,
bear with] the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans
15:1).
He prayed the will have success to bring them again to Christ.
“For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth
that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be
plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and
partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and
white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all
are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile” (2 Nephi 26:33).
He knows all souls are precious to Him. “I say unto you,
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth” (Luke 15:10).
“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C
18:10).
He asked the Lord to grant them power and wisdom so they “may
bring these, our brethren, again unto thee” (Alma 31:35)
“True undershepherds help others to partake of the bread of
life and the living water through selfless service. They know that service
solves the seeming paradox of the scriptures: one has to lose his or her life
to find it. Service, wise undershepherds understand, is the golden key which
unlocks the doors to celestial halls. For many, Christ is found through serving
Him. With King Benjamin, inspired undershepherds proclaim, ‘When ye are in the
service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.’ (Mosiah
2:17.) Armed with that understanding, they are ‘willing to mourn with those
that mourn … and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and … stand as
witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places’ (Mosiah
18:9).”[2]
We see another example where the writers are referring to
people who were here when Lehi’s party arrived. “There are statements in the
Nephite record that positively inform us that ‘others’ were on the scene and
further passages that hint at the same thing. One of these statements occurs
during the visit by Alma and his seven companions to the Zoramites. ‘Now the
Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites’ (Alma 31:8). As Alma prayed about
this group, he said, ‘O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are
our brethren" (Alma 31:35). We may wonder about those whom they considered
not their "brethren.’ Apparently he was speaking of those who were neither
Nephites, Lamanites, nor ‘Mulekites.’ People in all those three categories are
referred to in the text by Nephites as ‘brethren’ (see, for example, Mosiah 1:5
and 7:2, 13 and Alma 24:7–8).”[3]
Having said these words, Alma clapped his hands on all who
were with him. As he did this, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
They went their separate ways. They took “no thought for
themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should
put on” (Alma 31:37).
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought [GR anxious concern]
for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your
body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than
raiment…
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow
shall take thought for the things of itself” (Matthew 6:25, 34).
The Lord provided for their needs. They did not experience
any afflictions.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake [GR on
account of me].
“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew
5:10-12).
As they served, they “were swallowed up in the of Christ. .
Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in
faith” (Alma 31:37-38).
“Life may get hard, confusing, painful, and discouraging. I
bear you my witness that through the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the light
of the gospel of Jesus Christ will cut through the confusion, the pain, and the
darkness. Whether it comes in a remarkable burst or in a gentle flow, that
glorious spiritual power will infuse healing love and comfort into the
repentant, wounded soul; dispel darkness with the light of truth; and cast out
discouragement with hope in Christ. We will see these blessings come, and we
will know by the witness of the Spirit that it is the Lord Jesus Christ working
in our lives. Our burdens truly will be ‘swallowed up in the joy of [our
Redeemer].’”[4]
[2] Nourish
the Flock of Christ, Elder Alexander B. Morrison, April 1992 General
Conference.
[3] When
Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There?, John L.
Sorenson, Maxwell Institute website.
[4] Eyes
to See and Ears to Hear, Elder Kim B. Clark, October 2015 General Conference.
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