“He that findeth mercy shall be saved” (Alma 32:13). How is one supposed to find mercy? We may feel lost. We may feel that God has abandoned us or has left us bereft in some way. Certainly, the poor Zoramites felt that way. Alma promised them and us that we can find mercy through faith and repentance. Repentance is a process, and through that process we will figure out what it would take to find mercy.
Are we surprised when we find mercy? C. S. Lewis’ book Surprised by Joy is a classic example of being surprised by an overwhelming feeling, in his case, of the joy that accompanies mercy. When we are feeling down, feeling low, suddenly joy may wash over us. It comes unexpectedly from somewhere, and when we stop and notice it, we actually find mercy. Mercy was there. It is not just that we receive mercy, or that God gives it to us, but we have to find it. It is there to be discovered and found. But it can also be overlooked. God will force no person to heaven. He also will not compel anyone to find and to enjoy joy.
C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1955).