A Brief Theological Introduction 6: Alma 1-29 (The Book of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions 6)

". . . that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."
\nAlma is an idolatrous man until an angel s rebuke leads to repentance and two decades of righteous service in realms both political and religious. But Alma s past haunts him. He abdicates political power in order to focus more fully on his ministry. When war against Nephite dissenters shatters the community, he laments.
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\nIn this brief theological introduction to the first twenty-nine chapters of the book of Alma, literary scholar Kylie Nielson Turley considers how Alma s profound transformation from anti-Christ to high priest of the church of God can deepen our understanding of Christ s mercy. What if God forgives and forgets but humans do not? Does following God ensure a less painful life? Is it faithless to mourn, question, or cry out when beset by sin, violence, or death?
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\nTurley foregrounds Alma as a man who sinned grievously and who was grievously sinned against, a man who found hope and healing in the darkest abyss, a man whose words offer hope and healing to a burdened world.