Should we be surprised at the strength of Alma's testimony? Certainly, he paid the price to obtain such a strong witness, for he had fasted and prayed for many days. Oftentimes, we have a tendency to whine saying, "why did the Lord tell him what to do but not me?" Or, "why was this prophet or that privileged to see what he saw, and I have never even seen a miracle?" The attitude is reminiscent of the following story. After a concert in which a virtuoso pianist had displayed his great talent, a member of the audience approached him saying, "I would give half my life to play the piano like you do." The pianist responded, "That's precisely what I did." Our tendency is to want the reward without paying the price.
The same principle applies to the things of the Spirit. Enos would never have received his remission of sins without first wrestling before God (Enos 1:2). Alma would never have had such a strong testimony without fasting and praying for many days. And the sons of Mosiah would never have been so strong in the knowledge of the truth if they had not searched the scriptures diligently (Alma 17:2).