Alma does not want to accept the simple rejection that he has just been given. Korihor has just denied God, but once again Alma perceives that there is something dishonest in Korihor’s answer. To make sure that Korihor continues to condemn himself, Alma not only restates the question about belief in God, but presents it in a form that makes the denial more certain.
Alma first asks if Korihor will again deny God. This gives Korihor a chance to change his answer, an opportunity he will not take. Alma then gives his own testimony that there is a God, and that there will be a Christ. Verse 40 is an interesting development of Alma’s argument.
In verse 40 Alma takes his statement that there is a God and contrasts it to the statement that Korihor has been making. What Alma has done is suggest that there are now two statements, Alma’s that there is a God, and Korihor’s that there is not. What Alma implies, however, is that the two statements are not equal. He notes that Korihor has his word only. By implication, Alma has more. What more does Alma have? Alma has his very dramatic experience with the angel and all of his subsequent experience with the Spirit. It is unlikely that those who would be listening to Alma, save perhaps Korihor, would b e unfamiliar with the reasons for Alma’s assertion that he had something more than just his word.
This is a parallel of certain conversations that may occur in our own times. The difference for most of us is that it is we who are put on the defensive with the suggestion that it is only our word. Those who might deny God now have a much larger arsenal of presumed backing data. The essential proof of God is no different today than it was for Alma, but the acceptance of that evidence is much diminished. There is still tremendous proof of God, but it remains Spiritual, not scientific. That evidence is as powerful as it ever was, but continues to be incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the workings of the Spirit.