Alma 32

This is Alma's great sermon on faith, but in giving it, he really gives us a pattern for gaining knowledge. If a person wants to know how to gain a knowledge of truth, any truth, this is a fool proof pattern that is especially true for gaining a knowledge of spiritual. Alma commends the people who have to him because they are in a state of humility, which he says is the first thing necessary to gain a knowledge of spiritual truth. Since spiritual truth is given through the Spirit, humility is essential. I found a definition of humility and wrote it in the margin of in my scriptures. It says humility is the willingness to acknowledge one's sins and shortcomings and repent of them.

Alma compares the spiritual knowledge to a seed and gives the following steps:

1. Plant the seed - Be willing to listen and to learn. Desire often accompanies humility.
2. Observe the seed's growth - With spiritual truth, you will have a feeling of growth. Your mind will be stimulated and what you read or hear will make sense. It will feel right. Joseph Smith said the truth tastes good.
3. Accept the evidence of growth - If the seed is growing and you can feel the virtue of its nature, this is real evidence that should bolster your faith. Alma asks the question "O then, is not this real?"
4. Nourish the tree - Like any good plant, you have to nourish it continually or it withers and dies. It doesn't wither and die because it was a bad plant. It's because you failed to water and do what was necessary to foster its growth. Undoubtedly, the nourishing is one the most important keys to what Alma is saying and he says the way we nourish its growth is with faith, great diligence, and patience.
5. Be willing to wait - We must be willing to wait. You can't plant a seed and expect a flower the next day. If we patiently wait, he says that what we will experience will exceed not only our expectations, but will exceed everything else possible. Waiting requires faith.