“Filled with the Holy Ghost, these servants of God went forth and valiantly delivered their terrible message. They were strengthened and preserved by power from on High. So greatly were they guarded by heavenly care, that by the grace of God ‘they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them.’ In spite of the extreme sufferings they endured, and the gentleness of their ways—they having sensibilities most keen and feelings most poignant—they shunned using their powers until, as a demonstration of God’s fearsome strength, [they] burst the bands that when in prison held them tight [Alma 14:10–11, 17–29]” (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 3:152).
The superscription to Alma 9 was part of the ancient record translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith and dictated by him to his scribe (see also, for example, 2 Nephi, Mosiah 9, and Alma 21).
“The [superscription to Alma 9] is included in the printer’s manuscript and the 1830 edition. The original manuscript is not extant for this chapter. There is no line break between this introduction and what we have as the first verse. … The separation of the introduction from the text was done as part of the typesetting for the 1830 edition” (Gardner, Second Witness, 4:151).
The italicized words “Comprising chapters 9 through 14” were not part of the ancient record but were added later to printed editions of the Book of Mormon.
Why was this account written in the first person? (9:1) “Mormon seems to be quoting here from Alma’s own account of his encounter with the people of Ammonihah, an account which presumably was written some time after the preaching” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary, 3:64).