This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Alma 8-12, which includes Alma’s missionary efforts in Ammonihah and Amulek’s conversion.
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about these chapters.
Alma 8
“The scriptures provide many examples of those who willingly sacrificed and were then empowered by God. …
“Alma the Younger sacrificed his seat as chief judge to dedicate himself to the holier calling of high priest (see Alma 4:11-20). He then established ‘the order of the church’ (Alma 6:4), worked with Amulek to teach many souls, and escaped from prison through the power of the Lord (see Alma 8-16).
“Alma’s sacrifice of one position to focus on another reminds me of my own experience when I was called as an Area Seventy. Soon after I was called, the company I worked for wanted me to accept a four-year assignment in Europe. The assignment would mean relocating, so I declined. To those who were surprised by my decision, I explained that the Lord would not have called me to serve in the Africa West Area in April only to have me quit and go to Europe in May. … I knew the Lord had called me, and I wasn’t going to abandon my calling.”
— Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran of the Seventy in the February 2022 Liahona article “Sacrifice, a Fruit of Righteousness”
“It is my testimony that this is the dispensation of the fullness of the gospel. We can enjoy the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. We have the scriptures widely available to us. We are led by prophets who teach us the will of the Lord for the difficult times we live in. In addition, we have direct access to our own revelation so the Lord can comfort and guide us personally. As the angel said to Alma, we have ‘great cause to rejoice’ (Alma 8:15).”
— Brother Milton Camargo, outgoing first counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, October 2020 general conference, “Ask, Seek and Knock”
“With great happiness and joy Alma departed and traveled to Ammonihah, a city to the north of Melek. There he continued his teaching, but without success. Satan had gained a great stronghold among the people of the city. Despite the prayers and labors of Alma, the people of Ammonihah hardened their hearts and would not believe anything he taught them. They even reviled him, spit upon him and cast him out of their city. …
“While Alma was in this state of woe, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him … he was to return to the city of Ammonihah and to preach unto the people again, telling them that except they repent the Lord God would destroy them. ...
“Alma’s reaction to this command is most interesting. The scriptures say this: ‘Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah’ (Alma 8:18).
“Isn’t that interesting, brothers and sisters? It says, ‘He returned speedily.’ Maybe his earlier experience with the angel caused him not to tarry or question but to react immediately. But I believe he was motivated by love for the Lord and his desire to be obedient. Alma’s reaction and attitude to this request has been of great strength to me as I strive to serve the Lord.”
— Elder Robert B. Harbertson of the Seventy, October 1984 general conference, “He Returned Speedily”
Alma 9
“We often try to solve the problem of guilt by telling one another and telling ourselves that it does not matter. But somehow, deep inside, we do not believe this. Nor do we believe ourselves if we say it. We know better. It does matter!
“Prophets have always taught repentance. Alma said, ‘Behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name’ (Alma 9:27).”
— President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the April 2015 Liahona article “The Savior’s Selfless and Sacred Sacrifice”
“Angels and ministers of grace to defend us? They are all about us, and their holy sovereign, the Father of us all, is divinely anxious to bless us this very moment. …
“Alma taught that truth to his son, Helaman, entreating him to put his trust in God. He said that God was ‘quick to hear the cries of his people, and [quick] to answer their prayers.’ Out of very personal experience, Alma testified, ‘I have been supported [in] trials and troubles [and afflictions] of every kind, … God has delivered me. … I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me’ (Alma 9:26; Alma 36:27).
“My witness this morning is that He will deliver all the rest of us, too, that He will deliver the entire human family.”
— Then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 1993 general conference, “Look to God and Live”
“True repentance, followed by baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, brings forgiveness. Such repentance is impossible without faith in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“This great truth is clearly and beautifully taught in the Book of Mormon. Alma, crying unto his people pursuant to the directions of an angel, said:
“’Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
“’And not many days hence the Son of God … cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name’ (Alma 9:25-27).
“Alma did not say that Jesus would redeem everybody. The promise was restricted to those who, because of their faith in Christ, would repent and be baptized.”
— President Marion G. Romney, second counselor in the First Presidency, October 1980 general conference, “Repentance”
Alma 10
“While some of us should be looking for an Amulek, for others the question might be ‘How am I like Amulek?’
“Perhaps you have, over the years, become less committed in your discipleship. Perhaps the fire of your testimony has dimmed. Perhaps you have distanced yourself from the body of Christ. Perhaps you have become disillusioned or even angry. …
“Perhaps, like Amulek, you know in your heart that the Lord has ‘called [you] many times,’ but you ‘would not hear’ (Alma 10:6).
“Nevertheless, the Lord sees in you what He saw in Amulek — the potential of a valiant servant with an important work to do and with a testimony to share. There is service that no one else can give in quite the same way. The Lord has trusted you with His holy priesthood, which holds the divine potential to bless and lift others. Listen with your heart and follow the promptings of the Spirit. …
“It is my hope that those who have strayed from the path of discipleship — even by only a few degrees — will contemplate the goodness and grace of God, see with their hearts, learn from Alma and Amulek, and hear the life-changing words of the Savior: ‘Come, follow me.’”
— Then-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, October 2016 general conference, “Learn from Alma and Amulek”
“Pray even if you are young and wayward like the prophet Alma or have a closed mind like Amulek, who ‘knew concerning these things, yet … would not know’ (Alma 10:6).
“Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil.”
— President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2009 general conference, “Prayer and Promptings”
“Miraculous things happen when members join with missionaries and share pure testimony with those who are not members of the Church. For example, while many people were touched by Alma’s testimony in the land of Ammonihah, when Amulek stood and added his testimony to Alma’s, ‘the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified’ (Alma 10:12). The same thing can happen with us today. As we stand together the Lord will help us find many more of His sheep who will know His voice as we unitedly share our testimonies with them.”
— Then-Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2004 general conference, “Pure Testimony”
Alma 11
“Repentance is a lot like soap. As a young chemical engineer, I worked in a soap factory in the Philippines. I learned how to make soap and the process of how it works. When you mix oils with an alkali base and add antibacterial agents, it creates a powerful substance that can eliminate bacteria and viruses. Like soap, repentance is a cleaning agent. It allows us the opportunity to get rid of our impurities and our old debris so we are worthy to be with God, as ‘no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of [God]’ (Alma 11:37).”
— Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr. of the Seventy, October 2021 general conference, “Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”
“The Savior, through His infinite Atonement, revokes the finality of death and gives us the joyful assurance that all of us will be resurrected. The Book of Mormon teaches, ‘This restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame’ (Alma 11:44).
“We celebrate the reality of the Resurrection in this Easter season. This gives us the perspective and strength to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and those we love, such things as the physical, mental or emotional deficiencies we acquire at birth or experience during our mortal lives. Because of the Resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies are only temporary!”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, April 2020 general conference, “The Great Plan”
“[Jesus Christ’s] sacrifice and His glory assure that ‘the spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time’ (Alma 11:43).
“Gratefully and positively, I affirm that there is life after life, first in the spirit world and then in the Resurrection, for each and every one of us. I know that God lives and that Jesus the Christ is His Son. … He lives. He is my Master. I am His servant.”
— Then-Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 1987 general conference, “Life after Life”
Alma 12
“We live in a day in which misinformation about our beliefs abounds. In times such as these, a failure to protect and deepen our spiritual roots is an invitation to have them gnawed at by those who seek to destroy our faith in Christ and our belief in His restored Church. In Book of Mormon times, it was Zeezrom who sought to destroy the faith of the believers.
“His actions and words were ‘a snare of the adversary, which he … laid to catch [the] people, that he might bring [them] into subjection unto him, that he might encircle [them] about with his chains’ (Alma 12:6). Those same snares exist today, and unless we are spiritually vigilant and build a sure foundation on our Redeemer (see Helaman 5:12), we may find ourselves bound with Satan’s chains and being led carefully down the forbidden paths spoken of in the Book of Mormon (see 1 Nephi 8:28).”
— Elder Ian S. Ardern of the Seventy, October 2017 general conference, “Seek Ye Out of the Best Books”
“Don’t harden your heart. Seek to know. In other words, have an intense, consuming desire to know. Give place for a seed to be planted in your heart. And if you do this, do you know what the promise is? Alma tells us, ‘He that will not harden his heart, to him is given … to know the mysteries of God’ (Alma 12:10).”
— Elder Angel Abrea, then of the Seventy, April 2000 general conference, “Your Own Personal Testimony”
“Central to everything that Christ would have us understand and receive is the great power that comes to us when we draw close to Him through our acts, our compassion, and our personal change in becoming like Him. Our passage here on this earth is a proving ground, a period of growth and choice, and a time ‘to prepare to meet God’ (Alma 12:24). He has given us His Spirit to guide us and His truth and His Church to influence us to recognize these powers and use them.”
— Elder James M. Paramore, then of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, April 1988 general conference, “Seek the Blessings of the Church”
