"19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them." (Alma 4: 19)
"5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." (Alma 31: 5)
"15 And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people." (Alma 39: 15)
"30 Yea, and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word of God, which was declared unto them by Helaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his brethren, yea, and by all those who had been ordained by the holy order of God, being baptized unto repentance, and sent forth to preach among the people." (Alma 49: 30)
"29 And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance." (Alma 42: 29)
And here's the introduction commentary to this week's reading assignment, August 5–11: “The Great Plan of Happiness” Alma 39–42 :
"When someone we love has made a serious mistake, it can be hard to know how to respond. Part of what makes Alma 39–42 so valuable is that it reveals how Alma—a disciple of Christ who once had his own grievous sins to repent of—handled such a situation. Alma’s son Corianton had committed sexual sin, and Alma, as he had learned to do in his ministry, trusted the power of true doctrine to give his son an eternal perspective and encourage repentance (see Alma 4:19; 31:5). In these chapters, we observe Alma’s boldness in condemning sin and his tenderness and love for Corianton. And ultimately, we sense Alma’s confidence that the Savior “shall come to take away the sins of the world [and] declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people” (Alma 39:15). The fact that Corianton repented and eventually returned to the work of the ministry (see Alma 49:30) can give us hope for forgiveness and redemption when we are troubled about our own sins or the sins of someone we love (see Alma 42:29).
See also “Alma Counsels His Sons” (video), Gospel Library."
We are all sinners and despite this fact, the Lord still loves each of us. He shines His sun on all of us every day of our lives. He's blessing all of us in this earthly life no matter what. He is no respecter of persons. He's giving all of us enough time to prepare to meet Him. He's giving us the opportunity to repent of our sins because "He loves the sinner and hates the sin". He sacrificed for us and overcame the effects of sin and death because He wants us to have true joy and happiness. It's difficult to find true joy and happiness when we keep sinning. From the Book of Mormon, we learn that "wickedness never was happiness." We are able to find true joy and happiness only when we allow what the Savior did to take effect in our lives and we are cleansed from our sins.
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