In reading Elder Ballard's Pure Testimony from Oct 04, I realized that it shouldn't be any surprise that Alma the younger believed that "bearing down in pure testimony" (Alma 4:19) would have a "more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which happened unto them..." (Alma 31:5). Alma came from a father who was only saved by pure testimony. Alma, the priest of King Noah, heard the testimony of Abinadi, as he stood valiantly in defiance of King Noah's wickedness. That was what changed him. Should we be surprised that, even after his son rebels, he eventually learns from his father that testimony and the word of God is what ultimately causes people to change and not the sword?

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