King Noah is thundering with rage. The former high priest Alma has vanished from the city of Nephi, and every night more of his believers manage to escape. The king blames Amulon and threatens certain punishment unless Amulon recaptures Alma—a seemingly impossible task. But Amulon has a plan. An equally valuable prisoner is at his fingertips: Noah’s wife, Maia, whose newfound faith means bitter humiliation for the king and an opportunity for Amulon to seize power. Amulon’s disavowed daughter, Raquel, has plans of her own. Despite her grief, she is determined to begin a new life in the colony Alma and his followers are building. When Lamanites plunder and burn her settlement, Raquel and her young son are forced to flee to the Waters of Mormon. Drama and danger escalate as Alma the Elder organizes the Lord’s Church and baptizes its members, bringing an outpouring of divine grace and power. But even as they rejoice, the believers have profound and perilous trials to face, from the outward threat of Amulon’s treachery to the inward threat of pride and disobedience. With poignant emotion, gripping suspense, and rich inspiration, this new epic story from H.B. Moore vividly brings the Book of Mormon to life.

1. Alma and Amulon are both high priests in King Noah’s court. Both hear the same message about the Savior from Abinadi. What is it about human nature that allows two people to hear the exact same message, but their reactions are completely different?
2. It’s quite ironic that Alma flees the city of Nephi in order to preserve his religious freedom, then years later, Amulon catches up with him and rules over the people of Alma in the land of Helam. When in your life have you found yourself unable to escape a trial, no matter how far you “run”?
3. Alma’s story takes place at a compelling intersection in the Book of Mormon. He lives in King Noah’s court where women are treated as harlots. Yet, when the Lamanite enemy takes over the city of Nephi, we learn that the Lamanites treat their women with more respect than the Nephites. Even though the Nephites have corrupted their religion, they still have the truth. Yet, the Lamanites, who don’t have the truth, are better citizens in general. Do you know people who may not be strong in the Church, yet they live exemplary lives—ones that we, with all of our knowledge, can learn from?
4. Second chances are a major theme of this book. Alma earns a second chance as he repents and follows the will of the Lord, even when it becomes life threatening. Two of the women characters, Raquel and Maia, have lost loved ones, yet they rely on the Lord’s gospel to maintain peace and hope. When have the teachings of the gospel filled the emptiness that you’ve felt when faced with losing something you treasured on earth?
5. Throughout the Book of Mormon, there are extraordinary personality contrasts, many times in a single generation such as between parent and child. For example, King Zeniff ruled the city of Nephi in righteousness, then his son Noah lived all manner of wickedness. But when Noah’s son, Limhi, took over the throne, he ruled in righteousness. What accounts for these extreme differences, and how can these examples guide us in our own parenting?

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon, cooked and diced
½ cup chopped onion
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
2 10 oz. pkg. frozen whole kernel corn, broken apart
1 16 oz. can of creamed corn
1 Tblsp sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
1 tsp seasoned salt
Dash of pepper

Directions:
Fry bacon until crisp, remove and reserve. Add onion and potatoes to bacon drippings, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Drain well. Combine all ingredients in crock pot, stir well. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 7 hours.

1. What caused you to begin writing this book?
I’ve been thinking of writing a series about Abinadi, Alma, and Alma the Younger for several years. My first task was to complete the Out of Jerusalem series that follows Nephi’s life. So I was looking for another spot in the Book of Mormon that could conceivably be formed into a three-or four-book series. In 2007, I wrote Abinadi (which came out in 2008), and in the fall of 2008, I wrote Alma, a continuation of Abinadi’s story. In Abinadi, Alma is the secondary character so that the book could end with the hope of continued success, and not end on a sad note with Abinadi’s death. This new book, Alma, continues the story of hope and the quest to find religious freedom.

2. What makes this book unique?
Each of my books contains a customized map. I’ve had to research several different maps, both from historians and LDS scholars to find the most likely, or the most popular view of a specific location. In this book, the map is the same as the one found in Abinadi, and it gives the reader a good idea of where the geographical locations were of each city. Since the characters do quite a bit of traveling (from the city of Nephi, the Waters of Mormon, Shemlon, the city of Helam, the city of Amulon, and the valley of Alma), the map is an extra resource.
I also document a portion of my research in the form of chapter notes at the end of the book. This gives the reader additional insight into the customs, religious practices, and cultural norms of the Nephites and Lamanites who lived in Mesoamerica.

3. Briefly describe your usual writing process.
Before I start the official process of writing a book, I map out a schedule. I set daily and weekly word count goals; weekly—since sometimes life gets in the way. I try to make the word count goals as realistic as possible, so I still have time for researching and editing. My daily goal is 1,000 words a day, which can theoretically be accomplished in about 1.5 hours. Some days, I write a lot more, others I’m nearly forcing myself to get to 998, 999, 1000. I also set an overall goal of the first draft to cap out around 80,000 words. By the time I go through the second draft, about 5,000-10,000 might be added as I flesh out characters, finalize description, insert any new research, and solidify character motivations and plot arcs.

4. What kind of research did you do for this book, and how long did it take?
For me, research is ongoing, and it’s really not finished until the book has gone through the editing process. Over the past six months I’ve had discussions with friends, family, and other writers about what their viewpoint of Alma the Younger is (my next book). I start to compile a picture of his character in my mind months before I put anything on paper.
I start researching well before I do any writing, and this consists of reading the scriptural text in the Book of Mormon, as well as books or articles written on that particular prophet and the time period. As I write, I’ll often leave highlighted questions so that I don’t get stuck in the scene. Then I can return to the question later when I’ve discovered the answer. Once in a while it might change the direction of the scene or what I had in mind for the next chain of events. It takes me about 5 months to write a book, from drafting to final editing. During this time I’m continually researching, but I’ve also found it important to not regurgitate what has already been written. My job is to create a story that is set in a rich time period, following the lives and events of these remarkable figures, not to become another scholar. I owe a debt of gratitude to those who have dedicated their lives to studying the Book of Mormon era and enabling me to glean from their expertise to create a fictional story.


Trivia Questions:
1. The leadership and example of one very wicked King Noah led to the rise of another equally wicked man. Who was he?
2. When King Noah saw the Lamanites breach the borders of his land, he had no time to gather an army. What did he tell his men to leave behind?
3. We don’t know who Helam was exactly, but we know he was important to Alma since Helam was one of the first baptized and eventually a city was named after Helam. Who is he is in this book?
4. What is Maia’s greatest talent that she’s well known for?
5. What type of classes does Raquel teach to the young women of the community?

Trivia Answers:
1. Amulon.
2. Their wives and children.
3. Helam is the older brother of Abinadi.
4. Singing.
5. Weaving.