14 And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:
15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.
16 And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them.
(Alma 8:14-16)
After attempting to preach in the city of Ammonihah and being “reviled,” “spit upon,” and “cast out,” Alma began traveling to the city of Aaron (Alma 8:13). But while he was traveling, an angel appeared to him, commanding him to return to Ammonihah. What prompted this appearance by the angel?
Earlier this month, I wrote about the importance of pondering as a preparation for receiving revelation. Nephi saw a vision as he sat pondering on his father’s teachings. Could it be that Alma’s sorrow served the same purpose that Nephi’s pondering did: preparing his mind and his heart to receive revelation from God? I think it did.
Twice in the passage above, Mormon tells us that Alma was “weighed down with sorrow.” He also says that Alma was “wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul.” Alma had already left the city. The inhabitants were no longer persecuting him. He was experiencing tribulation because he loved those people and was deeply concerned about their welfare.
Just as his father was promised eternal life after praying on behalf of sinners, Alma received this visit from an angel as he mourned for the inhabitants of Ammonihah, who had refused to listen to him. When we feel genuine love for other people, their unrighteous behavior causes us pain because we know it will cause unhappiness. Those feelings of sorrow on their behalf bring us closer to God, who also feels sorrow when He sees His children doing wrong. (See Moses 7:28-41.)
Today, I will love the people around me. Even when that love leads to sorrow for their unrighteous decisions, I will open my heart to those feelings. I will recognize that feelings of sorrow on behalf of other people can bring me closer to God.
Thank you for your thoughtful post, Brother Anderson. Though I know and have a testimony of the divine purposes in sorrow, there is something disconcerting to me about God’s sorrow over us. Though I am filled with gratitude that His sorrow shows He cares about us, I wonder how His joy can be full when so many of His children choose eternal suffering by leaving Him. If our goal is to be as God is, does this also mean we will suffer sorrow forever over our loved ones who choose to leave? It is a contrary that is difficult to reconcile: a god who has perfect joy who weeps with sorrow. However, I trust in the knowledge that this is indeed a plan of happiness and that there is an answer that illuminates this seeming contrary. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Is it possible to experience joy and sorrow simultaneously?
It’s easy to define happiness in the negative, as the absence of sorrow. Laman and Lemuel apparently thought of it that way: “Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy” (1 Nephi 17:21). Take away the pain and the suffering, and what’s left is called happiness.
But Father Lehi thought of it differently: happiness is the opposite of sorrow, not its absence. A person who can’t feel misery also can’t feel joy (2 Nephi 2:11). If Adam and Eve had remained in the garden, they wouldn’t have been unhappy; they would have been “in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery, doing no good, for they knew no sin” (2 Nephi 2:23).
President Russell M. Nelson taught, “The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life” (“Doors of Death,” General Conference, April 1992). He also taught, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives” (“Joy and Spiritual Survival,” General Conference, October 2016).
So maybe joy and sorrow can coexist. There are several passages in the Book of Mormon where we read that sorrow can be “swallowed up” (Mosiah 16:8, Alma 22:14, Alma 27:28, Mormon 7:5). Maybe the sorrow doesn’t disappear, but it becomes manageable when surrounded by a fulness of joy.
I can’t say I fully understand what that is like, but I do believe that opening our hearts enables us to feel both sorrow and joy, which is far preferable to feeling nothing.
I hope those thoughts are helpful. Thank you for your comment!
Paul