Mormon introduces us to Alma, one of the most influential figures in Nephite history. This verse tells us only that he is a descendant of Nephi, and was “one among them,” meaning that he was not only counted among Noah’s priests but that he was of a mind with them. The most perplexing comment is that “he was a young man.” According to the chronology worked out and discussed accompanying Mosiah 7:1, Alma would have been born in 159 B.C. and died at age eighty-two in 77 B.C. According to this same chronology, Mosiah1 left the city of Nephi in 148 B.C. and Zeniff left Zarahemla in approximately 143 B.C. Alma would have been eleven when Mosiah1 left the city of Nephi and would have returned with Zeniff when he was sixteen. Thus, he would have been thirty-six when Zeniff died and Noah took power. Abinadi’s mission could not reasonably have occurred much before five years later, and ten years seems more likely, considering the cultural changes that occurred, thus making Alma forty or forty-five. How could Mormon have called Alma “young”? Perhaps Mormon never bothered to work out the dates and his sources were incomplete. We may simply be seeing a mistaken assumption on Mormon’s part that only a comparatively young man could have achieved Alma’s great feats.
Mormon also seems to have access to information that could not have been in the texts concerning this immediate story, for example, that Alma was a descendant of Nephi. Did Mormon mean that Alma was of Nephi’s direct lineage, or does he simply mean that Alma was a Nephite? The first meaning requires a very specific genealogy, which Mormon never acknowledges but which probably was recorded in some document, most likely dating from the Zarahemla period. However, it is also possible that by “Nephite” Mormon meant that Alma was a lineal Nephite rather than a descendant of one of the people from Zarahemla or the “others” who would have entered into the Nephite culture before this time.
That Alma was “one among them”—one of the priests confronting Abinadi—is clear because he was present for Abinadi’s sermon. He therefore could not have been Zeniff’s priest, since Noah “put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead” (Mosiah 11:5). Rather, Alma must have been a follower of Noah’s reforms (or apostasy). Alma required conversion, and Abinadi’s discourse and the witness of the Spirit converted him. The message reached Alma even though it did not reach any other priest (as far as we know from the text). Perhaps Alma’s patience with his own son later in life had roots in his own conversion experience. He would clearly understand how one might be deceived—that adopting attractive cultural changes could lead to religious change. He would also clearly understand how one could be turned completely by an experience with Yahweh’s power. He would understand his son better than his son would know.
Abinadi comes to the city of Lehi-Nephi to preach, apparently with miniscule results, although we do not know what influence he may have had on those who eventually follow Alma out to the wilderness. Abinadi comes before the court of Noah, and preaches so powerfully that they are unable to lay a hand on him. Why is this message so important that it must be delivered? The message had no impact on Noah. The message had no impact on any known priest except Alma. Alma may have been in a state of apostasy at the time, but he would prove to be one of the most important figures in Nephite history. It appears that Abinadi was sent on a mission that spelled certain personal doom because Yahweh needed to touch one man: Alma. Is there any more powerful case for Yahweh’s concern with an individual?
As with Christ’s painful crucifixion, the glory of God’s purposes can meet with terrible human reactions. God sends the messenger to deliver the message. It is base humanity that kills the prophets.