Once again, he exhorts them to patience. Despite the crucial urgency of developing faith—there is not a moment to be lost—it is not an instantaneous process.
Culture: Amulek also suggests that they will need patience to “bear with all manner of afflictions.” Obviously, Alma and Amulek are urging them to accept a religious system that is distinctly different from and denounced by their rulers. Neither Alma nor Amulek is urging them to relocate; however, their new religious beliefs would not be popular with the dominant politico-religious party. While the Nephites had no laws against how a person believes (Alma 30:7), we cannot assume that it was universally observed. Indeed, the very fact that Mormon explained it suggests that it was contrary to the norm. Alma and Amulek are not just asking this people to believe in a religion but to alter their worldview and possibly their relationship to their rulers. That places them in a precarious position, and Amulek is simply acknowledging that possibility.