We are given only this brief hint of the aftermath of Alma’s blessing/admonition to his sons. What is striking is that “the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them.” The striking part is that we have just seen Corianton called to this effort, and we have no indication that he is to be excluded. We must conclude, therefore, that Corianton was truly repentant, and that he did follow his father’s admonitions, and did accept his call to the ministry.
In addition to learning that Alma’s sons begin to preach to the people, we find that Alma himself does. We do not learn the reason that Mormon specifically says that Alma “could not rest.” Of course the result of that inability was that Alma also went forth to preach. However, the fact that he has recently concluded his blessings/admonitions to his sons suggests that he had some cognizance that the end of his time was approaching. If there were physical signs that he was soon to leave the world, then resting would have been particularly appropriate. There is nothing in the character of Alma as we know him that suggests he would have retired to a life of luxury, and that would be the definition of his “rest.” It is much more probable that he was feeling the effects of his age.
Guessing Alma the Younger’s age must remain an approximation since we don’t know when he was born. We know that his father would have been approximately 83 when he died, and we might expect that Alma the Younger had been his first born son, with a logical birth date in his father’s early twenties if not late teens. If we use twenty years as a plausible age for Alma the Elder when Alma the Younger was born, we have Alma the Younger as approximately 77 years old at this point. Certainly a man of that age might well expect that he could use some “rest” from the rigors of one who traveled and preached to the people.