Paul and Alma the Younger

 This week in Come Follow Me we read about Alma the Younger's conversion.  Alma's son was going around secretly with the sons of Mosiah undermining the teaching of their fathers (Mosiah 27:8)  As they were doing this an Angel of God appeared to them and called them to repentance. Alma is struck down by this encounter, and remains in a coma for a total of three days. He is taken to his father who rejoices that the Lord has intervened in his son's life (v 20).  He assembles the priests and they fast and pray until Alma awakens. Alma awakens and proclaims that he has been redeemed of the Lord (v. 24).  He thereafter becomes a great missionary and leader of the church. 

This story probably sounds familiar to anyone who has read the New Testament.  It sounds very much like the conversion of Paul in Acts 9.  In his story Saul is going about threatening the church (v.1)  He also had an angel call him to repentance.  He was also knocked to the ground, but was not unconscious.  Instead he was made blind until Ananias came and gave him a blessing (v10). 

I thought I would go through the similarities and difference between these two encounters with the divine and then draw a few conclusions. 

• Both men were raised within a religious tradition: Alma was raised by his father, the religious leader of his community, and Saul was raised by a famous teacher to be a Pharisee. 
• Both men were actively fighting against the church.
• Both were accosted by an obscured being:  Alma's angel was in a cloud (Mosiah 27:11) and Saul's was in a "light from heaven" (Acts 9:3).  
• In both Saul and Alma fell to the earth (Mosiah 27:12, Acts 9:4). 
• Both angels asked Saul and Alma why they were persecuting the church (Mosiah 27:13, Acts 9:4). 
• Both men were incapacitated for three days: Paul was blind (Acts 9:9, Mosiah 27:23 note: here it said they fasted and prayed for him for two days, but later when he was telling the story to his son, he said he was unconscious for three days (Alma 36:10). 
• After both men where healed, but became great missionaries.  Both were involved with accepting into the church non-standard populations.  Paul became the missionary to the gentiles, and Alma's companions became missionaries to the Lamanites.  Alma became the religious leader of the Nephites, and also the first chief judge. He later abandoned the judgement seat and spent his time preaching. 

One topic of discussions on the podcasts I listened to this week is why did God send an angel to save Alma's son from wickedness, but so many other parents are praying for their own wayward children and no angel ever comes.  The angel even tells Alma that he had heard the "prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father."  

I think it goes back to an idea I have had for some time. The Lord only sends a vision or a visitation when he absolutely needs to. Whenever the Lord sends a vision, the receiver is under a huge obligation to God.  He no longer has faith, but instead has first hand knowledge of the divine. If that person would fall away after the vision, their final state would be dire. It would be unjust for the Lord to send a vision to someone who is not in a position to live up to the expectations the vision implied. 

He also sends visions when the receiver has something incredibly hard they need to do. The receiver almost invariably goes through years of hardship because of the task the Lord sets him. The Lord needed both Saul and Alma the Younger to perform specific tasks they were perfectly well suited to perform.  Saul was well suited to take the gospel to the gentiles because he was well educated, knew Greek and Latin, was a Roman citizen by birth, and was zealous. Alma was well suited to become a great missionary because he was raised by a father who was the founder of the church among the Nephites.  He was the natural heir in line to become the next High Priest. 

Some people wish they could have a vision of an angel or of God.  I do not wish it.  I know if I received a vision, it would mean that they Lord had a fearsome task for me to perform. I don't know if I am interested in that much responsibility. But, then, again, we presume that if God gives a vision or makes a visit, whatever they ask you to do, no matter how arduous, will be in your best interest in the end.