In Mosiah 27:23 we read the following account of Alma's condition after encountering the angel:
And it came to pass after they had
fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma
received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding
them to be of good comfort
In Alma 36:16, we read that Alma was
. . . for three days and for three
nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
Some have claimed that this is a contradiction in the Book of
Mormon. Of course, the discrepancy between the people fasting for 2 days while
Alma languished in such a condition for 3 days can be explained by it taking a
day for the people to be assembled and for a fast to be commanded. As we read
in Mosiah 27:19-22:
And now the astonishment of Alma
was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he
became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by
those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before
his father. And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them;
and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God. And he caused
that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the
Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him. And he caused
that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast,
and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he
might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength-- that the
eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of
God.
Be that as it may, it is interesting to note that George Reynolds
and Janne M. Sjodahl were not only open to the possibility that this is a contradiction,
they even sided with such a position in their commentary on the Book of Mormon,
showing they did not hold to the inerrancy of the Book of Mormon (notwithstanding
being pretty conservative):
When the angel departed, Alma was
overcome and dismayed; soul stricken, he sank to the ground. When his companions
gathered around him, they found he could not move, neither could he speak.
Outwardly, he was dead to the world. The torments of the damned had taken hold
of his soul, and, in the most bitter pain and mental anguish, he lay racked
with the remembrance of all his past sins. The thought of standing before the Bar
of God to be judged for his iniquities overwhelmed him with dread. He
desired to become extinct, both body and spirit, so that he could not be brought
before his Creator. Thus for three days and three nights be suffered the pains
of hell. (See Alma 36:16. According to the author of the Book of Mosiah
it was for a period of two days and two nights.) We prefer to
accept the former as being correct because it is Alma’s own statement.
Whichever it may have been, in his racked conscience, it must have seemed an
eternity. (George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of
Mormon, 7 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1976], 2:275)
