Alma told or referred to his experience of being born of God on several occasions (Figures 1, 2). The three main accounts of Alma’s conversion, found in Mosiah 27, Alma 36, and Alma 38, share several words or phrases, reminding us that Alma referred to this life-changing story often and in a distinctive manner. However, the varying contexts clearly influenced the rhetorical posture of each of these accounts.
Alma’s initial account of his conversion in Mosiah 27:7–37 is youthfully spontaneous and detailed. The event had just occurred and was still very vivid in his mind. On that occasion, he used direct, antithetical parallelism to emphasize that Christ’s Atonement had miraculously changed him from his former state into a contrastingly new person.
Alma’s account to his son Helaman in Alma 36 is told about twenty-five years later. It is the longest and most elaborate. Here Alma gives this reflective account in a blessing to his first son. Alma includes historical, theological, and institutional references that would be relevant to Helaman’s upcoming service as the high priest in Zarahemla. To emphasize the pivotal moment of his calling upon of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as his Savior, Alma expresses his testimony in the form of an extended chiasm, centered on that repentant turning point in his life.
Alma’s final account in Alma 38, given to his second son, Shiblon, is a shorter text. Given at the same time as Alma 36, it tracks the first half of the chiastic structure in Alma 36. Alma’s concluding words to Shiblon then comprise a more personally applicable set of exhortations focused on the mercy and truth of Christ, counseling Shiblon to learn wisdom, to be diligent and temperate, not to boast in his wisdom or strength, and to bridle his passions so that he may be filled with love.
Figure 1 John W. Welch and Greg Welch, "Three Accounts of Alma’s Conversion" in Charting the Book of Mormon, chart 106.
Figure 2 John W. Welch and Greg Welch, "Shared Words in the Three Accounts of Alma’s Conversion," in Charting the Book of Mormon, chart 107.
Though each of these accounts differs from the other two, all were appropriate for the contexts in which they were given. Moreover, the presence of shared words in his three main accounts is very interesting. Seven similar expressions or ideas are found in all three accounts. Eighteen are found in Mosiah 27 and Alma 36. Twelve overlap between Alma 36 and Alma 38. When compared in detail, this consistency offers circumstantial evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, since, in spite of the different settings of these accounts and the textual layers of compilation, abridgment, and translation, Alma’s unique, underlying personal voice can still be heard, identified, and appreciated.
Book of Mormon Central, "Why Are there Multiple Accounts of Joseph Smith’s and Alma’s Visions? (Alma 36:6–7)," KnoWhy 264 (January 20, 2017).
John A. Tvedtnes, "The Voice of an Angel," in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 311–321.
S. Kent Brown, "Alma’s Conversion: Reminiscences in His Sermons," in The Book of Mormon: Alma, The Testimony of the Word, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1993), 141–156.
John W. Welch, "Three Accounts of Alma’s Conversion," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992), 150–153.