Alma’s teaching of his conversion to Shiblon follows the same pattern as the conversion story given to Helaman in Alma 36, but Shiblon was given only the first half of it. Each line of both narratives led directly to the main central point. However, the story given to Shiblon ends at the center and does not continue working its way out and back to the beginning.
[Note: The line numbers in the discussion below refer to the element numbers in the chiastic structure of this account given to Helaman in Alma 36 above.]
Alma begins in Alma 38:1 with the words, “My son, give ear to my words.”
This matches line 1 in the beginning of the blessing given to Helaman.
Next, still in 38:1, Alma says, “For I say unto you even as I said to Helaman [expressly recognizing these repetitions], that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.”
These words match words in line 2 in Alma 36.
At the end of 38:4, Alma recognized that Shiblon had faced many trials and bore them with patience “and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.”
Those words are found in line 5 in Alma 36.
In 38:5, Alma said, “Now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God [see line 7] … ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day” see line 8.”
Then in 38:6 he says, “Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself.” That matches line 9. “But it is the spirit of God which is in me.” In other words, Alma knew this by the Holy Ghost, which is line 11.
Continuing in 38:6, Alma says to Shiblon, “For if I had not been
That is in line 10 in the Alma 36 telling.
Alma then states in verse 7: “But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel.”
This has reference to the angel in line 13.
This is followed in verse 7 with other words from lines 12 and 13, as Alma continues in 38:7, “to declare unto me that I must stop the work of destruction among his people.”
In 38:7, Alma added a bit of important information that was not mentioned when he spoke to Helaman, “Yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me and his voice was as thunder.”
Then, after that addition, Alma resumes with line 13 in the Helaman version, “and it shook the whole earth.”
Verse 8 states, “And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul.”
These details about the “three days and three nights” and “pains” were mentioned in line 14.
Alma continues in 38:8, “Never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins.” And with that, we have reached the words in the turning point of Alma 36, line 15’.
And finally, to Shiblon, Alma said in 38:8, “But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul” and “a remission of my sins.”
In 36:19, Alma had similarly told Helaman, “I could remember my pains no more” and was “harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more” lines 16’ and 15’.
Shiblon’s blessing ends at the center of Helaman’s blessing. While the climax of Alma’s conversion story is reached essentially at the same point in both speeches, for Shiblon Alma gave just half the account he had given in his blessing to Helaman.
And then, as Alma continues, he gave Shiblon a short section of wise practical advice in the rest of Alma 38, whereas he had given Helaman a long set of administrative instructions in Alma 37.
Thus, in effect and on two counts, Helaman got a double blessing, and Shiblon got the single blessing, all of which is consistent with the normal rule that the oldest son was entitled to the double blessing.