After the miraculous conversion of Alma and the sons of Mosiah, they all wanted to go out and do missionary work. The sons of Mosiah preached among the Nephites for a while, but then went off to preach to the Lamanites. They were with the Lamanites for 14 years.
Alma, however, didn't get the chance to go with them. Instead, when Mosiah did away with the monarchy and established judges, Alma was elected as the first Chief Judge. He was already the high priest of the church, and for seven years he served in both positions. During that time there was a war, in which he fought against the king of the Nephite rebels and slew him. He had to deal with the aftermath of the war, figuring out how to care for all the widows and orphans, and how to recover economically from the devastation caused to the workforce and the crops by the war. Finally, after seven years he gave up the judgement seat. He was concerned with the spiritual state of the people and decided to devote himself exclusively to preaching the gospel. In later chapters we see him preaching in many cities. He is sometimes successful and sometimes rejected. At one point he is thrown in prison and forced to watch the believers be martyred for their beliefs.
Those familiar with the Book of Mormon know what happened to the sons of Mosiah during the same time period. They went to the lands of the Lamanites. They were initially thrown into prison, but eventually they were released and had great success among some of the Lamanite people. Other Lamanites rose up against them, and they, too, watched their followers get slaughtered because they would not break their covenant with the Lord. Eventually they bring their remaining converts back to Zarahemla and establish a safe haven for them.
Often when I was growing up I thought the sons of Mosiah were the "cool" missionaries. The whole story of the conversion of King Lamoni is so dramatic, and they ended up with so many converts. But beginning this story again this year, I am realizing that by staying back, Alma the Young had the tougher job. He faced many of the same missionary challenges as the Sons of Mosiah, but also had to shoulder all the political and military burdens as well. The outcome of his missionary labors wasn't as showy, but that doesn't mean he didn't work and suffer as much. He did, perhaps suffer more.
I think life is like that. Some people do a ton of work, and don't see much benefit in this life. Others do a ton of work and are blessed to see the benefit of their labors. These two parallel stories show that it doesn't matter as much what kind of statistics we rack up in life. Did we raise 10 kids or two. Did we serve as a Stake President or just as an Elder's Quorum Secretary. Did we baptize dozens of people on our mission or none. The Lord knows the degree of difficulty in our lives. He blesses us for our consecration and our dedication. The outcome of our efforts is not as important as our willingness to make the effort.
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