Zeezrom - An Unlikely Hero

On Sunday we were introduced to Zeezrom as Alma and Amulek were preaching in Ammonihah (Lesson 23, Alma 8-12) and we get to continue his story in next week's lesson (#24, Alma 13-16). Sure, his story didn't start out on the right foot. He was "the foremost to accuse Amulek and Alma" as they taught (Alma 10:31) and seems to be a 'big shot' among the city's lawyers. He was also an "...expert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which was good..." (Alma 11:21).

I'm not going to go through the story of his conversion experience, you can look it up in Alma 11-15. The short & sweet of it is that he was converted and stayed faithful.

I think one of the key points in this story is the power of the Atonement to change lives. Not just the lives of the "good" people, but any life. Here is a man who was actively engaged in fighting against the prophet Alma. In that respect, he's no different than those who came before him - such as Nehor. What made him different, however, was the fact that somehow he found the humility to listen to the prophet and change his life. It's not easy for any of us to admit we're wrong, and here is Zeezrom sincerely asking Alma to teach him.

I never made the connection before, but these two men were very similar in their backgrounds. Both had been actively engaged in trying to break down the church of God and after their conversions spent all their efforts in teaching others. Who better to reach out to Zeezrom than Alma? In both cases, it was their new-found faith in Christ that saved them. I'd like to imagine Alma giving Zeezrom a pep talk. Imagine the genuine love and empathy in his voice as he says, "Z, I know what you're going through, trust me. Remember what we told you about Christ and the atonement." (don't bother looking for that in the scriptures, I made that part up). This part is true though:

"And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed." (Alma 15:8).

What a powerful statement! Christ can heal us! He has already carried our pains, sicknesses, and sins (Alma 7:11-12) and knows perfectly how to heal our wounded souls and hearts. I think we know He can heal us, but we often don't believe it.

To me, Zeezrom is a great example of the atonement in action. If it can make such a dramatic change in his life, I have to believe it can work in my life too.