The account of Alma’s initial preaching in Ammonihah is very brief. He began to preach "the word of God," but "Satan had gotten great hold" upon their hearts and they would not listen. But that was not all. In spite of Alma’s "mighty prayer" and some success, things went from bad to worse, as we are told in considerable detail in the next seven chapters.
Why do we hear so little of the righteous cities, such as Gideon, and so much about the wicked ones, like Ammonihah and Antionum? Ministering in the city of Gideon must have been a very joyous, wonderful occasion for Alma. He was among friends and faithful people, yet we only have a single short chapter of his ministry there. However, when he goes to Ammonihah, we learn a great deal about these awful people. I would like to have been told more about the people of Gideon. Why do you think the Book of Mormon sometimes preserves for us so much more of the bad material than the good? Is it a matter of human nature to remember more easily the mistakes that we have made, the problems that we have had, the difficult times, the final exams that we failed? Or do we remember enough our successes, the triumphs, the happiness? Which is more common in real life?
There is no question that the Book of Mormon has given us a history of these people, as the historians would say, remembering the warts and all. Mormon wants to be sure that his record is complete enough to be a solemn warning, and it is important to be honest with ourselves and to acknowledge our shortcomings. However, there is a difference between producing a history that simply leaves the warts as warts and writing a history that is all warts.
Sometimes we get caught up in self-pity or in reveling in all our past problems. Perhaps we believe that if we air all these weaknesses, that we can expunge them. Telling all of these stories can become a way of doing penance for some people, and in some cases there is a purpose for doing that, but doing penance is different than writing history. Repentance turns to Christ, may involve bishops, and requires confession of our sins and seeking solutions for our problems by placing them before God privately.
As we teach our children, we need to warn them about the problems that are out there. We need to be sure that they understand the realities of eternal judgment and the consequences of sin and transgression. However, let us be sure to also tell them the good side of things, as Alma also does in chapters 12 and 13. He let them know the great blessings and wonderful promises that could be theirs based on their righteousness. So, let us be sure to reinforce the good things along with the warnings.