Alma 7 contains the teachings of Alma to the people who lived in the city of Gideon, which was located in the valley of Gideon, “being called after the man who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword” (Alma 6:7). Gideon was a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ who had been an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage. He withstood the doctrine of Nehor with the word of God unto death. (See Mosiah 22:3–9; Alma 1:7–9.) The people who dwelt in the land that bore the name of this faithful man were also faithful (see Alma 7:17–20, 26). Alma was able to speak to them words of holiness with joy, knowing that they believed and had chosen to worship the true and living God (see Alma 7:6, 17). Their faithfulness may have prepared them to receive Alma’s powerful lesson on the Atonement—that Jesus Christ would “take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people,” that He would “succor his people according to their infirmities,” and that He would “take upon him the sins of his people” (Alma 7:11–13).
“There is no conflict or contradiction in the Book of Mormon with any truth recorded in the Bible. A careful reading of what Alma said will show that he had no intention of declaring that Jesus would be born in Jerusalem. Alma knew better. So did Joseph Smith and those who were associated with him in the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon. Had Alma said, ‘born in Jerusalem, the city of our fathers,’ it would have made all the difference in the world. Then we would have said he made an error. Alma made no mistake, and what he said is true.
“Dr. Hugh Nibley, in his course of study for the priesthood for 1957, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, in Lesson 8, page 85, has this to say on this point:
“‘… One of the favorite points of attack on the Book of Mormon has been the statement in Alma 7:10 that the Savior would be born “at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers.” Here Jerusalem is not the city “in the land of our forefathers,” it is the land. Christ was born in a village some six miles from the city of Jerusalem; it was not in the city, but it was in what we now know the ancients themselves designated as “the land of Jerusalem”’” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. [1957], 1:174).
“Are you battling a demon of addiction—tobacco or drugs or gambling, or the pernicious contemporary plague of pornography? … Are you confused with gender identity or searching for self-esteem? Do you—or someone you love—face disease or depression or death? Whatever other steps you may need to take to resolve these concerns, come firstto the gospel of Jesus Christ. Trust in heaven’s promises. …
“This reliance upon the merciful nature of God is at the very center of the gospel Christ taught. I testify that the Savior’s Atonement lifts from us not only the burden of our sins but also the burden of our disappointments and sorrows, our heartaches and our despair. [See Alma 7:11–12.]” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Broken Things to Mend,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 70–71).
“It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. The Book of Mormon gives us the certain assurance of His power to comfort. And faith in that power will give us patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience” (Henry B. Eyring, “Adversity,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 24).
“Many carry heavy burdens. Some have lost a loved one to death or care for one who is disabled. Some have been wounded by divorce. Others yearn for an eternal marriage. Some are caught in the grip of addictive substances or practices like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or pornography. Others have crippling physical or mental impairments. Some are challenged by same-gender attraction. Some have terrible feelings of depression or inadequacy. …
“The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them …—is available for every affliction in mortality” (Dallin H. Oaks, “He Heals the Heavy Laden,”Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 6, 8).
“Christ walked the path every mortal is called to walk so that he would know how to succor and strengthen us in our most difficult times. He knows the deepest and most personal burdens we carry. He knows the most public and poignant pains we bear. He descended below all such grief in order that he might lift us above it. There is no anguish or sorrow or sadness in life that he has not suffered in our behalf and borne away upon his own valiant and compassionate shoulders” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 223–24).