July 29–August 4: “Look to God and Live”
Alma 36–38
When Alma saw wickedness around him, he felt deep “sorrow,” “tribulation,” and “anguish of soul” (Alma 8:14). “Wickedness among this people,” he said of the Zoramites, “doth pain my soul” (Alma 31:30). He felt something similar after returning from his mission to the Zoramites—he observed that the hearts of many of the Nephites “began to wax hard, and that they began to be offended because of the strictness of the word,” and this made his heart “exceedingly sorrowful” (Alma 35:15). What did Alma do about what he saw and felt? He didn’t simply become discouraged or cynical about the state of the world. Instead, “he caused that his sons should be gathered together” and taught them “things pertaining unto righteousness” (Alma 35:16). He taught them that “there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. … Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness” (Alma 38:9).