26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

In this chapter, Alma asks many inspired and piercing questions, but this one stands out to me more than any other.

 It is sad to me to see many whom I know have felt that song of redeeming love and burnt with powerful testimony falling away and forgetting what they felt. At times, they drift away not even fully realizing how their faith and commitment has wavered.

Alma’s question required constant self-examination. For we all have days and weeks in our life when we feel like singing the song of redeeming love and other days and weeks when the melody just doesn’t come to us. Not everyday will provide a spiritual high. Some days we will just be getting enough to get by. But if we do not remember what we have felt and strive to maintain that feeling, these down days can lead to disillusionment and despair.
 And so in those down days or weeks, we must be even more cautious. We must cast back our minds on the change of heart that we experienced and the redeeming love that was extended to us. And we must long with all of our hearts to replicate that feeling again.

I love what President Henry B. Eyring noted in the April 2016 Conference:

“Those who are saddened by the loss of the joy they once had are the blessed ones. Some do not see the withering of faith within themselves. Satan is clever. He tells those he wishes to be miserable that the joy they once felt was childish self-delusion.”

It is only by asking ourselves the question that Alma asked that we can recognize the loss of faith and regain what we have lost.