And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.
To bear down is to apply a steady pressure in order to get something to move. Pure testimony is a witness born from the heart in all sincerity, untainted by rhetoric and swelling words and sophistry. It is plain truth, exactly what you know and nothing more. No embellishment, no mystery, no fluff. Alma's objective was to apply constant pressure on the people with his plain, simple testimony of what he knew to be true from personal experience in the hopes moving the people towards repentance. This is always the role of a prophet. How grateful I am for the prophets who have touched my life for nearly fifty years.
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