Alma makes the message very direct and immediate. Just as you have faith yet not a perfect knowledge, so it will be with what Alma teaches. They will not be able to know them perfectly, or believe them completely, at first. At first, they do not believe, and that is logical. Alma will explain that faith is not a single thing, but rather a process, a continuum.
What he now does is deepen the meaning of faith by explaining that it is not a simple result, but a process that has many different stages. What he will explain is that faith can increase in quality and depth with our experiences. This is an important concept, for it is altogether too easy for us to forget that faith is applied to a full continuum of experiences. We are somewhat familiar with the way a single term may apply to a full range if we compare it to some more common expressions.
For instance, we understand what it means to “play tennis.” We fully understand that when we are first starting we may take lessons to “play tennis.” After some lessons we may actually plan some games with our friends, and we are “playing tennis.” We also understand that at Wimbledon they “play tennis.” We clearly understand that what is meant by “play tennis” may cover everything from the beginner to the top ranked professional. So it is with faith. Faith may describe a young child, an questioning teenager, and even the prophet. All may have faith, though it is certain that we also understand that the quality of their faith differs in the same way that beginners and professions differ in the ways that they “play tennis.”