Alma — Chapter 32
1 They began to teach God’s word to the Zoramites, going in their churches and their houses. They even taught God’s word in their streets.
2 After they began their work, they began to have success among the poor people, who were thrown out of their churches because of their poor clothes.
3 The others treated them like dirt because they were poor, and would not let them go into the church to worship God. So just as they were poor in worldly things, they were also poor in heart.
4 While Alma was teaching and talking to the people on the hill Onidah, a big group of people came to him who were poor in heart because they were poor in worldly things.
5 They came to Alma, and one of their leaders said: “What can my brothers and sisters do? The others hate us for being poor. Yes, our priests hate us even more, and they have thrown us out of the churches we worked hard to build with our own hands. They threw us out because we are so very poor. Now we have no place to worship God, so what can we do?”
6 When Alma heard this, he turned around to look at him right away with great joy, because he saw that their troubles had made the poor people humble and ready to hear the gospel.
7 Alma did not say anything more to the other group, but said to those he saw were truly repentant:
8 I see that your hearts are humble. If that is true, then you are blessed.
9 Your brother has said: “What can we do, because we have been thrown out of our churches, so we cannot worship our God.”
10 I ask you, do you think you can worship God only in your churches?
11 And I ask you, do you think you should worship God only one day a week?
12 I tell you, it is a good thing you were thrown out of your churches, so you can be humble and learn to be wise. You are humble because you have been thrown out, and because your brothers and sisters hate you for being very poor. This has made you humble.
13 You are blessed by being made to be humble, because people sometimes repent when they are made to be humble. Whoever repents will find mercy, and those who find mercy and endure to the end will be saved.
14 I told you that you are blessed because you have been made to be humble. Don’t you think that those who are humble because of the gospel are even more blessed?
15 “Yes, those who truly humble themselves, and repent of their sins, and endure to the end will be more blessed than those who are made to be humble because they are very poor.
16 So blessed are those who humble themselves without being made to be humble. Or in other words, blessed are those who believe in God’s word, and are not stubborn in their hearts, and are baptized without being made to know the gospel before they believe it.
17 Yes, there are many who say: ‘Show us a sign from heaven, and then we will know for sure and believe.’
18 Now, I ask you, is this faith? I tell you, No, because if people know something, they do not need to believe it, because they know it.
19 How much more cursed are people who know what God wants them to do, and don’t do it, than those who only believe, or think they believe, and still sin!
20 You need to judge this for yourselves. It is the same on the one hand as on the other. All people will be rewarded for what they do.
21 As I said, faith does not mean to have a perfect knowledge of things. Faith is hoping for things you cannot see which are true.
22 Now I want you to remember that God has mercy on all who believe in him. So first he wants you to believe in him and in his gospel.
23 He gives people his gospel by sending angels to men and women. Even little children are sometimes given words which amaze wise and educated people.
24 Now, my dear brothers and sisters, you want to know what I think you should do because you have had trouble and been thrown out. I do not want you to think I will judge you except by what is true —
25 Because I do not mean that all of you were made to be humble. I believe there are some among you who would be humble whether they were rich or poor.
26 Just as I said that faith is not a perfect knowledge, it is the same with my words. You cannot know perfectly that they are true at first, any more than faith can be a perfect knowledge.
27 But if you will wake up and use your minds, you can test my words and use just a little bit of faith. Yes, even if you can only want to believe, let this work in you until you can believe some of my words.
28 Now, the gospel is like a seed. If you make room in your heart for a seed to be planted, and if you do not throw it away by not believing or by fighting against the Spirit of the Lord, it will begin to grow, if it is a good or true seed. And when you feel it begin to grow in your heart, you will say to yourself, “This must be a good seed,” or “This gospel is good, because it is beginning to make my soul grow. Yes, it is beginning to help me understand, and it feels good to me.”
29 Wouldn’t that make your faith grow? I tell you, Yes. But it still has not become a perfect knowledge.
30 But as the good seed gets bigger and sprouts and grows, then you must say the seed is good, because it is getting bigger, and it is sprouting and growing. Won’t this make your faith stronger? Yes, it will make your faith stronger, because you will say, “I know this is a good seed, because it has sprouted and begun to grow.”
31 Then are you sure it is a good seed? I tell you, Yes, because every seed grows into whatever living thing it came from.
32 So if a seed grows, it is good. But if it does not grow, it is not good, and it is thrown away.
33 You have begun the test, and planted the seed, and it has gotten bigger and sprouted and begun to grow, so you know the seed is good.
34 Now is your knowledge perfect? Yes, you have a perfect knowledge [that the seed is good]. Your faith is asleep because you know the gospel has made your souls bigger, and helped you understand, and helped your mind to grow.
35 O, isn’t this true? I tell you, Yes, because it is light. Whatever is light is good, because you can see by it, and that means you know it is good. Now, after you have seen this light, is your knowledge perfect?
36 I tell you, No. You must not get rid of your faith, because you have used your faith only to plant the seed to test it and see if it was good.
37 Then as the tree begins to grow, you must say: ‘Let us feed it carefully so its roots will get strong, so it will grow and give us fruit.’ If you feed it carefully, its roots will get strong, and it will grow and give you fruit.
38 But if you don’t pay attention to the tree, and don’t think to feed it, its roots will not get strong. Then when the hot sun comes out and burns it, it will dry up, and you will pull it up and throw it away.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was bad, or that the fruit would not be good, but it is because your ground is dead and you did not feed the tree. That is why you cannot have the fruit from it.
40 So if you will not live the gospel, looking forward with faith to having its fruits, you can never eat the fruit of the tree of life.
41 But if you live the gospel just as you would feed the tree when it begins to grow, its roots will get strong because of your faith and hard work and patience. Then it will grow into a tree of eternal life.
42 And because of your hard work and faith and patience with the gospel, so it can have strong roots in you, the time will come when you will pick its fruit, which is more sweet and white and pure than any other thing. You will eat it until you are full, and you will never be hungry or thirsty again.
43 Then, my brothers and sisters, you will have the reward for your faith and hard work and patience in waiting for the tree to grow fruit for you.
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