You Can't Grow A Seed Without Getting Dirty

It may be helpful when studying Alma's sermon on faith in Alma 32 to consider the context. The Zoramites built synagogues with a tower in the middle they called the Rameumptom. On this tower they would thank God that they were His chosen people and everyone else who couldn't come up to their synagogues were condemned sinners. It is understandable then that the poor who were cast out were so upset because they could not only not worship their God, but were now also condemned sinners and no longer God's chosen people. But to what exactly does Alma compare faith for these poor people who have been cast out into the dirt? He tells them that faith is like a seed, a seed that one casts out into the dirt. He tells them that they are right where they need to be to truly worship God. You try to put faith, to put a seed, on top of a stony tower, and that seed is going to be snatched up by birds, or scorched by the sun, or choked by thorns, to reference another famous parable comparing faith and seeds. It may not at first seem as satisfying to be toiling in the dirt rather than standing up in front of everyone and thanking God how much better you are than everyone else, but if you stick to your seed in the dirt, and you water it, and weed it, and prune it, then you can eventually have a mighty tree of faith from which you can enjoy the fruits of your labors for years to come. I've always loved Alma's sermon on faith, but it becomes a little more special when we consider the context in which it was given.