Scripture: Alma’s conversion experience was well known in the community. Nevertheless, he learned these particular things through the Holy Spirit after fasting and prayer—not from his conversion experience. Alma’s dramatic conversion may have come after his father’s fasting and prayer, but not his own.
Clearly, in spite of his miraculous conversion, Alma needed to seek continued revelation by prayer and fasting. More specifically, he apparently fasted and prayed to know what to say in this particular sermon. Given the social turmoil that prompted this sermon, Alma’s declaration that he has “knowledge” of certain things may have struck his audience in two ways. Those who were following gospel principles would hear it as an affirmation of repentance and redemption through Yahweh-Messiah. Those who were following the devil might hear Alma saying that he knew their sins by revelation. They would have assumed that Alma was not speaking in generalities, but directly to their individual actions.