24 And now, my beloved
brethren, as ye have desired to know of me what ye shall do because ye are
afflicted and cast out—now I do not desire that ye should suppose that I mean
to judge you only according to that which is true—
25 For I do not mean
that ye all of you have been compelled to humble yourselves; for I verily
believe that there are some among you who would humble themselves, let them be
in whatsoever circumstances they might.
26 Now, as I said
concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my
words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than
faith is a perfect knowledge.
27 But behold, if ye
will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and
exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to
believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye
can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will
compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted
in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast
it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it
will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling
motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a
good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea,
it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious
to me.
29 Now behold, would
not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not
grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But behold, as the
seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say
that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to
grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will
strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for
behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow. (Alma 32:24-30)
The poor asked Alma what they should do since they had been
cast out of their synagogues. Alma tells they he does not intend to judge them “only
according to that which is true” (Alma 32:24).
He explained, while many humbled themselves because they
were forced to be humble, there are those who would be humble regardless of
their circumstances.
He reminds them faith is not a perfect knowledge. This
applies to his words. They cannot know the truthfulness of his words “any more
then faith is a prefect knowledge” (Alma 32:26).
He told them to “experiment upon my words and exercise a
particle of faith” (Alma 32:27). If they have a desire to believe, they should
let it work with them until they can begin to believe in his words. Solomon
wrote, “receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity” (Proverbs
1:3).
Alma compares the word of God to a seed. He tells them:
·
If it is a good seed, and they do not resist the
Lord’s Spirit, it will grow within their hearts.
·
Feeling this “growth,” they will know it is a
good seed.
·
The seed will grow in their soul.
o
“But that on the good ground are they, which in
an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit
with patience” (Luke 8:15).
·
It will enlighten their understanding.
o
“But he that doeth truth cometh to the light,
that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:21).
o
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise
endureth for ever” (Psalm 111:10).
o
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it
giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130).
o
“So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and
apply thine heart to understanding” (Proverbs 2:2).
o
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the
man that getteth understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).
·
It will begin “to be delicious to [them]” (Alma
32:28).
“Alma is comparing a seed to the word, not faith. This word,
like a seed, must be planted, but it must be planted in our hearts…
“[T]he image of a seed being planted in our hearts requires
that we abandon, right from the start, any conception of our ‘selves’ as
self-sufficient, whole, or independent. The image moves us to consider
ourselves as bearing, from the inside out, something more than and other than
ourselves. In our beating hearts, at that most intimate center of who we are,
we must give place for a word whose promise is that the necessity of our
insufficiency can bear the fruit of mercy and love.
“Further, we do not plant this seed. The seed is planted
(note the passive construction) and it swells and grows without our
intervention or control. Our task is to simply ‘give place’ to something other
than ourselves. We must overcome the temptation to reclaim our lives as our own
by resisting the word or casting it out.
“[H]aving had a seed planted in our hearts, this seed will
begin to swell and grow inside of us, filling us with a life and light that is
not our own … The result, Alma says, will be the enlargement of our souls…
“[O]ur understanding will be enlightened and we will see
that our humility is not a curse to be endured but the mark of our
interconnectedness with God and our openness to the world. Here, suddenly, what
we feared as most distasteful—the necessity of humility, the abandonment of our
‘autonomy’—will begin to be delicious to us.”[1]
This would increase their faith, but it has not grown to be
perfect knowledge.
The seed swells, sprouts, and begins to grow. This means the
seed is good. Alma asks, “will not this strengthen your faith?” (Alma 32:30).
It will because it is a good seed which is growing.
“Twice in [Alma 32:30] Alma stresses the importance of our
saying. When the seed begins to swell and grow, ‘then you must needs say that
the seed is good.’ Without this saying, faith cannot add to necessity the
supplement of possibility. We must give birth to the word that is swelling in
us by giving voice to the promise that it contains. Will not this saying
strengthen your faith, Alma asks? Yea, he answers, it will strengthen your
faith ‘for ye will say I know that this is a good seed.’ Why is our faith
strengthened? Because we gave voice to the word within us.”[2]
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