We learn very little of what role Shiblon and Corianton played in the missionary effort among the Zoramites, but what we do learn suggests that this experience was a test for them. It was a test of their characters. When Alma gives his final blessings to his sons, the experience among the Zoramites is specifically mentioned for both Siblon and Corianton.
Of Shiblon, Alma notes:
Alma 38:3-4
3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.
4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.
The text that we will see for the effort among the Zoramites centers on Alma’s preaching. These events of imprisonment and stoning are not mentioned, so we may suppose that the group did not stay together, but split up to cover more people. This is similar to the actions taken by the sons of Mosiah among the Lamanites.
To Corianton, Alma says:
Alma 39:2
2 For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy brother, among the people of the Zoramites. Now this is what I have against thee; thou didst go on unto boasting in thy strength and thy wisdom.
Clearly the experiences of Shiblon and Corianton were very different. They had the same father, who had the same desires and hopes for them. They had the same opportunity to prove themselves among the Zoramites. They chose different paths. Even in the modern missionary work, there are some missionaries whose characters are polished through their work, and there are others who go through the motions and leave their field of mission with the same problem as Corianton, a self-pride, a boasting in their own strength and wisdom rather than that of the Lord. As with Alma, it is not the parentage nor the faith of the parents that makes all of the difference. The individual’s agency is the ultimate determiner of their ability to follow the Lord. There have been many a righteous parent who, like Alma, had to watch a child fail a test of faith or character.