And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah ^aconsulted with his priests.

 2 And it came to pass that king Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout the land round about that there should not any unbeliever ^apersecute any of those who belonged to the church of God.

 3 And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no ^apersecutions among them, that there should be an ^bequality among all men;

 4 That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their ^apeace; that every man should ^besteem his ^cneighbor as himself, ^dlaboring with their own hands for their support.

 5 Yea, and all their priests and teachers ^ashould ^blabor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the ^cgrace of God.

 6 And there began to be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land.

 7 And the Lord did ^avisit them and ^bprosper them, and they became a large and wealthy people.

 8 Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the ^aunbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an ^bidolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much ^cflattery to the people; therefore he ^dled many of the people to do after the manner of his ^einiquities.

 9 And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; ^astealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his ^bpower over them.

 10 And now it came to pass that while he was going about to ^adestroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king—

 11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about ^arebelling against God, behold, the ^bangel of the Lord ^cappeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a ^dcloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;

 12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.

 13 Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said: ^aThis is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall ^boverthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people.

 14 And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath ^aheard the prayers of his people, and also the ^bprayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has ^cprayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the ^dknowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to ^econvince thee of the power and authority of God, that the ^fprayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.

 15 And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also ^abehold me before you? And I am sent from God.

 16 Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of ^aHelam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in ^bbondage, and he has ^cdelivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of ^dthyself be ^ecast off.

 17 And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he departed.

 18 And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an ^aangel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which ^bshook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder.

 19 And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became ^adumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.

 20 And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God.

 21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.

 22 And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength—that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.

 23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of ^atwo days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:

 24 For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been ^aredeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.

 25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be ^aborn again; yea, ^bborn of God, ^cchanged from their carnal and ^dfallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his ^esons and daughters;