Alma — Chapter 33
1 After Alma said these words, the people asked him if they should believe in one God, so they could get the fruit he talked about, or how they should plant the seed he talked about, or how they should use their faith.
2 So Alma said to them: You said you cannot worship God because you have been thrown out of your churches. But if you think you cannot worship God, you are wrong, and you should study the scriptures. If you think the scriptures teach this, you do not understand them.
3 Do you remember reading what Zenos, the prophet of long ago, said about prayer?
4 He said: “You had mercy, O God, because you heard my prayer even when I was in the desert. Yes, you had mercy when I prayed about my enemies, and you made them my friends.
5 “Yes, O God, you had mercy on me when I prayed to you in my field. You heard me when I prayed to you.
6 “Again, O God, you heard my prayer when I went back to my house.
7 “And you heard me when I went into my secret place, O Lord, and prayed to you.
8 “You have mercy on your children when they pray to you. You listen to them when they pray for you to hear them, and not so other people will hear them.
9 “Yes, O God, you have had mercy on me and heard my prayers when I have been with your people in church.
10 “Yes, you have also heard me when I have been thrown out and when my enemies have hated me. You heard my prayers and were angry with my enemies, and you destroyed them in your anger.
11 “You heard me because of my troubles, and because I was sincere. You have had so much mercy on me because of your Son, so I will pray to you in all my troubles, because I have joy in you. You will not judge nor punish me because of your Son.”
12 Then Alma said to them: Do you believe the scriptures the prophets wrote long ago?
13 If you do, then you must believe what Zenos said, that “You will not judge nor punish me, thanks to your Son.”
14 I ask you, brothers and sisters, have you read the scriptures? If you have, how can you not believe in the Son of God?
15 15 Zenos is not the only one who talked about these things. Zenock did, too.
16 Zenock said: “O Lord, you are angry with this people because they will not understand the mercy you have on them, thanks to your Son.”
17 Now, brothers and sisters, you see that a second prophet of long ago talked about the Son of God. The people stoned him because they refused to understand his words.
18 These two are not the only ones who talked about the Son of God.
19 Moses talked about him. Yes, a symbol was put up in the desert, and whoever looked at it lived. Many looked at it and lived.
20 But many did not understand what those things meant because their hearts were hard. There were others whose hearts were so hard that they would not even look at the symbol, so they died. They would not look because they did not believe it would heal them.
21 O my brothers and sisters, if you could be healed just by looking at something, wouldn’t you want to look at it right away? Or would you make your hearts hard and not believe, and be lazy, and not look at it, and die?
22 If so, woe will come to you. But if not, look to the Son of God and believe in him–that he will come to save his people; that he will suffer and die to take away their sins; that he will rise from the dead. This means all people will live again and be judged by what they have done at the last and judgment day.
23 And now, my brothers and sisters, I want you to plant this gospel in your hearts, and as it begins to grow, feed it with your faith. If you do, it will become a tree growing in you until you have eternal life. May God make your troubles easy through the happiness his Son brings. You can do all this if you want to. Amen.
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