I have lived the past few weeks in a transitory state—no stable home to use as a retreat against the chaos of conflict,
difficulty, and disappointment that has defined the month of February.
In Mosiah 17, Alma, the sole member of Abinadi’s courtly
audience to listen to the powerful testimony of the Holy Spirit, pleads with and
then flees the outraged, murderous reaction of King Noah. He undoubtedly had much on his mind.
After making good in his getaway, “he being concealed for
many days did write all the words which Abinadi had spoken” (v. 4).
There is significant power in solitude, and that power
increases when channeled through writing. This is not a new revelation. How
many students of English have read Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” and
been swayed to her argument by the instinctive yearning for a quiet place with
plenty of pens and paper to swallow the ceaseless murmurings of their souls?
Someday soon, I look forward to retiring to my concealed place—a
smallish apartment with my wife and daughter—where I can briefly conceal myself
from the world and reflect on this month’s events. Until then, I can only
marvel at the greatness born of Alma’s days of concealed writing. Using
whatever writing implement he had at hand, Alma digested, memorized, reconstituted,
and made Abinadi’s words sing, giving them life through his spiritual birth as a living disciple of Christ. Alma emerged from his concealment transformed
from a flunky in a court of lies into a patient and far-seeing prophet.
I look forward to seeing what transformation in outlook and opinion my future days of concealment bring.
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