Try the experiment! (Alma 31-34)

Episode 35: Try the experiment!

Alma 31-34

The wisdom of Zenos

31 ¹ After the death of Korihor, Alma heard that the Zoramites were perverting the ways of the Lord. And that Zoram was leading the people to bow down to dumb idols. ⁴ Alma worried that they might unite with the Lamanites and attack his people. ⁶ So he, Ammon, Omner, Himni, Shiblon, and Corianton went to preach to them.

⁸ The Zoramites were believers, but they perverted the ways of the Lord in many ways. ¹² For example, they built synagogues that were almost like pyramids, where only one person could pray at once. ¹⁴ He would climb to the top of the synagogue, stretch his hands toward the sky, and recite this prayer in a loud voice: ¹⁵ “Oh God, we believe you are a spirit and will be a spirit forever. ¹⁶ We don’t believe in the childish traditions of our fathers. And we thank you for telling us that there will be no Christ. ¹⁷ We know that we will be saved, while everyone else will go to hell.”

^19-20 Each week every Zoramite man climbed to the top of the synagogue’s tower and said the same prayer. When Alma and his companions heard these prayers they were astonished beyond all measure. ²¹ The place where this prayer was said is called Rameumptom, which means, after being interpreted, “the holy stand.”

^22-23 After each Zoramite man said the prayer, everyone went home, never mentioning God again until next week when every man repeated the same prayer again at the holy stand.

²⁴ While observing them, Alma also happened to notice that the Zoramites were wicked, greedy, perverse people who bragged all the time. ^25-35 Then he made a little prayer.

³⁶ When Alma finished his prayer, everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit. ³⁷ Then they left on their mission, not thinking about what to wear, drink, or eat. ³⁸ And there was no reason to worry, since God made it so they didn’t need to drink water or eat food during their mission. They were all swallowed up in the joy of Christ.

The most precious, sweet, white, pure fruit

32 ^1-2 Alma and his brethren preached to the Zoramites in their houses, synagogues, and streets. They had some success with poor people, but they weren't allowed in the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel.

⁵ So Alma preached to the poor, saying, ²⁰ “If you know a thing is true, you don’t need to believe in it, because you already know it’s true. ²⁸ But when you feel these swelling motions, you know it’s a good seed, because it enlarges your soul and is delicious. ³⁶ Try belief as an experiment. Plant belief as a seed and see if it grows. ⁴² Then you’ll feast on the most precious, sweet, white, pure fruit.”

The Wisdom of Zenos

33 ¹ After Alma was done talking to the Zoramites about the fruit of the faith tree, they were pretty excited to start worshiping correctly. They asked Alma whether they should believe in one god or many, where they could find the fruit that he talked so much about, how they should plant seeds, etc. ^3-11 Alma started with the basics. He quoted the prophet Zenos's teachings on prayer and worship. ¹² Then he said to them: “Do you believe in the scriptures? ¹³ If so, you must believe what Zenos said. ^14-15 And you must believe in the Son of God, because Zenock spoke about him. ¹⁹ Moses also spoke about the Son of God when he made the brass serpent to save people from the fiery serpents that God sent to bite them in the wilderness. ²³ So plant the seed. It will begin to swell in your hearts and become a tree.”