I’ve often wondered how many Mormons are familiar with the conversion story of the Apostle Paul. I wonder if they know he authored thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament (some credit him w/ Hebrews making it fourteen).
I wonder if they’re aware of who he was as Saul of Tarsus and who he became as Paul the Christian missionary. I know that as a Mormon I’d never heard of him. I hadn’t spent the time to discover Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, nor did I know he was beheaded in Rome for declaring the gospel.
All this brings me to this place in the Book of Mormon and the unproven story of Alma. If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Alma you can read about his conversion story in the twenty-seventh chapter of Mosiah.
Like Saul of Tarsus, Alma made his living by persecuting the body of Christ. The problem with Alma’s conversion story is timing. He lived circa 100 BC.
After reading this story a number of times over the years I can’t go without pointing out a few of the remarkable “coincidences”. Take a look and ask yourself;
What are the odds of this happening twice?
What are the odds of this happening 130+ years before Jesus’ birth?
How many years had Alma persecuted the Christians in 100 BC?
How many Christians were persecuted?
How many Christians converted to Christianity after Alma’s remarkable conversion story?
Before Alma’s conversion, just what did he do in life? Was he a farmer, a banker, a teacher?
| Paul |
Alma |
|
|
Year |
c. 31-36 AD |
c. 100 BC |
|
Persecuted Christians |
Acts 9:1-2 |
Mosiah 27:10 |
|
Confrontation By Jesus/Angel |
Acts 9:3 |
Mosiah 27:11 |
|
Fell to Earth |
Acts 9:4 |
Mosiah 27:12, 18 |
|
Asked why |
Acts 9:4-6 |
Mosiah 27:13 |
|
Struck blind Struck dumb |
Acts 9:7-9 |
Mosiah 27:19 |
|
Fasted |
Acts 9:12 |
Mosiah 27:23 |
|
Became missionary |
Acts 9:16 |
Mosiah 27:25 |
|
Preached Gospel |
Acts 9:20 |
Mosiah 27:31 |
For more than 30 years the LDS Church has had a 4 year cycle of studying the scriptures. Where were you, that you didn’t study Acts? And I know that Paul wasn’t just a Christian missionary but The Missionary to the Gentiles, hence the change of his name from Saul to Paul, So if you weren’t studying the scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants, along with the rest of the Church, what were you doing? The admonition to study the scriptures has been part of the Church since the beginning and is reiterated often in both scripture as well as the numerous conferences that are held by the Church.
Now lets note some of the differences that you failed to bring up.
1. Alma was visited by an angel. Saul was visited by Jesus Christ.
2. Alma was the son of the leader of the Church. Was Saul? No.
3. Alma was named after his father. Was Saul? Unknown.
4. Alma’s father Alma became the top leader in the Church when he escaped enslavement by the Lamanites through miraculous means and was given this position by King Mosiah, who held the leadership position at that time. Saul? No, he was just a leader, and not the top leader, in one of the sects of Judaism.
5. Alma’s father Alma was converted when he listen to the preaching of a prophet of God. We don’t know that much about Saul’s father.
6. Alma did not make a living of persecuting the Church of God. Alma did not put the Christians of his day in prison nor did he have authority to do so. Saul did have the authority of his leaders to persecute the Christians of his day and to put them in prison. And that is what he intended to do in Damascus.
7. Alma was unconscious for three days after his visit by the angel. Paul was just blind.
8. Alma tells about his conversion to Jesus Christ when he remembered the preaching of his father about Jesus Christ who should come. His conversion and unspeakable joy comes about when he asks Christ for forgiveness. Saul? He has to take a time out to be taught about the Gospel and Jesus Christ.
9. While Alma is unconscious, he is cared by his father who is happy that God has visited his son and caused this problem. Saul was cared for by strangers who were the people he was persecuting.
These are just the differences I can think of off the top of my head. When you consider these differences along with your list of similarities, the stories are not so similar. We all have to have our road to Damascus even if we don’t get the manifested visit by a heavenly being.
Marvin
Other than the Mormon scriptures on what proof do you base Alma’s existence?