Alma's Conversion

Alma 36: 17-20
"And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

Now as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!"

I love the story of Alma the younger's conversion. It shows that no matter how far off the path we have gone, we can always return. Alma's father was the prophet and yet he went about seeking to destroy the church. Most of us have never been that far off the path. He remembered words spoken by his father and chose to experiment on them. He chose to believe in Jesus Christ. It was through his faith and his repentant heart that he was able to be forgiven. I love this passage because you can take so much out of it. He says that his mind caught hold of the thought and cried in his heart. I believe that one of the ways we can know if something is true and if it comes from God is if it makes sense in both our mind and our heart. Heavenly Father is not a god of conflict but of peace and happiness. Alma compares his pain to his joy after he has repented. This is a testimony to how happy our lives can be if we choose to follow Jesus Christ and put our faith in Him and how miserable we will be if we choose to follow Satan. Sorry, this week's entry is a little rushed. I hope you enjoy.