Alma now compares this continuum of faith to something with which this particular group of people will be extremely familiar. We have already noted that the greatest probability is that these are farmers. They are completely familiar with seeds, and the comparison of the word to a seed should make this a very familiar and understandable analogy for them.
The first step is to plant the seed. What Alma is doing, however, is speaking of the process, and noting all that might go well, or might go wrong in the growth cycle of a seed, or of faith. He begins by planting the seed, but points out that not all plantings have the equal result. The seed might not be good, The seed might be rejected. These are things that could cause the seed not to grow.
When a seed is planted, however, if it is a good seed and the conditions are correct, it will begin to grow. It is this growth that all farmers notice, and by which they have the evidence of the goodness of the seed. The seeds may all look alike when they are planted, but the telltale of their value comes with the marker of growth. Only the good seed will grow, so if evidence of growth is seen, it must have been a good seed. This is the way that faith in the word may be understood. We may not know, when first we attempt to understand, when at first we give place to the words, whether or not they are true. What Alma promises is that only the truth will grow. Only the true word will swell within our breasts in ways that we may “feel these swelling motions.” As the farmer measures the value of the seed by the proof of its growth, so too the value of the preached word may be understood when it too begins to grow within us.
What does this growth feel like? Alma suggests that it feels like an enlightened understanding. We understand more; see more clearly. The agricultural imagery is continued when Alma tells us that it begins to be delicious. It is not only understandable, but pleasant, uplifting to our souls. We have increased clarity instead of darkness, increased joy instead of sorrow. By these things we may measure the growth of this particle of faith for which we have made place.