Alma 34 verses 2-5

Amulek says that what the people wanted from Alma was what they should do because of their afflictions. Their afflictions were people being unkind to them, and not associating with them because of their poverty—and also not allowing them to worship in the way they thought they were supposed to. They really came with the questions about what to do about not being allowed in the synagogues. But it was the wrong question. Amulek says the answer Alma gave them was to exhort them to faith and patience, and specifically faith to plant the word in their hearts and experiment to see if it was good. In simpler terms, he told them to learn the gospel and live it, then have patience.

I think sometimes we want the answer to be more complicated when we have afflictions. We want some miraculous deliverance—but, as Amulek said, we already know where to look for miraculous deliverance. We look beyond the mark, which is always the Savior. If we have faith, live the gospel, and are patience, we know that the miracle is already ours. That is what He already did for us. The Savior is always the answer to our afflictions. He has already saved us.

It’s like my experience with the temple. For a long time I tried to look for complicated symbolism there. Trying to uncover some deep hidden doctrine that I didn't already know that was found only there. Then somewhere I read or heard to look for the Savior in the temple, and the experience was transformed for me. It wasn't anything new that I was learning, but I understood Him in deeper ways, and felt His love more clearly. I was looking beyond the mark, but the answer is always know Him, and love Him, and follow Him.

In verse 5 Amulek states the questions the people has is really whether or not Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior, he calls it whether the word be in the Son of God, or if there is no Christ. I think about this a lot when people are questioning their testimonies and leaving the church and becoming agnostic. I think it is often really easy for people to get caught in specific details, but forget that they are also giving up the simple beauty of His salvation. 

When someone I love was struggling, as we talked he was getting deeper and farther away from God because of his afflictions, and things he couldn't explain. As I prayed to know how to help him, I was inspired to ask him if that meant that he also didn't believe that Jesus had died for him and saved him. And that put a break on the downward spiral we had been in to that point. He couldn't just dismiss it, and it gave him something to hold onto.

Really, when I think about it, when we take the Sacrament what we promise is to always remember Him and keep His commandments. It isn't “always remember” anything else, just Him. Everything is focused on Him—and everything else falls away. If we can really keep that focus, with patient faith, all is really well.

Alma 34 verses 2-5