The Cry of The Trumpet

When Righteous People Want Change: Why Alma the Younger Shows Us the Better Way Every generation of disciples faces the same tension: How do we respond when the world feels unfair? How do we lift the vulnerable, relieve suffering, and push back against systems that seem indifferent to the poor, the sick, and the struggling? Many Saints today feel drawn toward political movements—including groups like Indivisible—because they see real pain around them and want to help. Their compassion is sincere. Their desire for justice is genuine. Their involvement can even be good , especially when they bring a calming, moderating, peacemaking influence into heated spaces. But as President Dallin H. Oaks has taught, the gospel invites us to consider not only what is good , but what is better and best 13 . And when we look to scripture for the pattern of best , one figure stands out with startling clarity: Alma the You...

Agency, Compulsion, and the Spiritual Cost of Forced Goodness We live in a world where unfairness is real, visible, and often heartbreaking. It’s natural to want to correct it—especially when we see people suffering because of the choices of others. Recently, I’ve been talking with people who feel deeply that the world’s inequalities must be fixed by forcing people to be more charitable, more giving, more socially responsible. The intention is noble. The method is not. Because spiritually—and doctrinally— compulsory goodness is not goodness at all . The Plan That Promised Perfect Fairness Latter-day Saint doctrine teaches that in the premortal world, agency was the central issue. God declared, “I gave unto him his agency” ( Moses 7:32 ), and modern revelation affirms that “every man may act… according to the moral agency which I have given unto him” ( D&C 101:78 ). But there was another proposal. A plan that promised perfect fairness. A plan that guarant...