Alma

Del coooooore, spirito d...wait. do over.

This is significant somehow. I was pondering how little things seem to light up at times whereas normally they do not. This happened to me when I stumbled upon these words:

But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days...

My instant thought was not at all profound. It was totally mundane. "What would one do for food if hidden for many days?"

But, then The Real treasures started unfolding, it came to quick, or maybe I was too busy thinking apologies for what I fail to do that I miss more that I could later apologize for...ha ha ha. This was a metaphor for something significant to me, I need to learn more and pay closer attention.

Ok, so I came home and watched cartoons of Alma, 2 of them actually, one specifically about Abinadi and the other about Alma the Younger. I did this so I could half pay attention while I washed the dishes, so that any free cognitive functioning could be immersed inconsidering what was going on here, although I hadn't the time to consider it right now.... oooooh, ooooh, ooooh! That reminds me of how I used to study for my history tests in high school in my dreams becsuse I did not have time when I was awake... anyhow, in the first cartoon, a thing Alma said struck me (mind you he did not actually say this, it was someone's interpretation of what likely transpired). "I have taught these people terrible things" This was a thought he had, no doubt, while hiding for his life in a cave for days, also, the quotes were probably unnecessary because it is an approximation made days later.

So, I watched Alma the Younger so many times. I needed to check which one I was watching because it seemed like a thought the son would have, not the father, so a thought was spurned.

I always thought of this Alma guy as being strong, firm, exact, you know, a reliable, dependable, strong guy who was able to exercise great fsith in behalf of his son, thereby helping him. But, these were his thoughts when stuck in a cave pondering seriously life meaning, etc.

Ah hah! I got it. I know what it is. This is a testimony that when faced with life and death, this man risked his livelihood even his existence for something he thought so significant which were taught by Abinadi. He was forced to seriously consider things and this was what he decided: to become the sort of man who lead and taught and was strong, like the apostle Paul. Not because he had been brainwashed, but because he recognized worth when compared to what he had.

Alma was not just enjoying a "worldly life" but, was a chosen priest of the King. When a crazy prophet came and told of different things. Things that were contrary to the supposed happiness of his way of life to the point that the majority of the priests put the crazy guy to death by fire for condeming their way of life and sought out Alma's life, too (for agreeing with Abinadi).

So, like father: like son, I never even noticed that before. In "Mormonspeak" I was thinking this was a "type and shadow" of Christ, himself  in a cave for three days then rebirth....I just saw a show on Netflix about the archetypes of hero stories defined by Joseph Campbell and thought, maybe that is the center or underlying truth of every hero story, they all are "types" of Jesus Christ. Afterall, even the law of Moses and sacrifice is understood clearly as such.