Who are your scripture heroes?

I have a lot of heroes in the scriptures, for sure, but lately as I've been studying in Alma (in the Book of Mormon) I have really fallen in love with the story of Amulek.  Now THERE is a man who had trials!  There he was, minding his own business--doing well, financially, and having lots of family and friends, being respected by his people...not sinning greatly but not really turning his heart to God, either.  He felt promptings occasionally, but ignored them--which I relate to far better than those that openly rebelled against the Church--until, one day, an angel came and told him to receive the prophet Alma into his house.  His obedience to this set a whole COURSE of events in motion.  He went from being comfortable to leaving his home for a time and preaching the gospel.  That alone must have been kinda scary, especially dealing with the feelings of unworthiness or fear of rejection.  But THEN, he saw the heart-heartedness of his people, who for the most part turned on him--tried to trap him and bore false witness that he had spoken against their laws, burned all those that believed on his and Alma's testimony, imprisoned him and denied him food, water, and clothing...and even when the Lord delivered them, his people were destroyed, the few righteous that escaped now refugees.  It was deserved, but that doesn't mean it was easy for him.  Amulek forsook his gold and silver and precious things and, on faith, followed Alma to Zarahemla.  I love the part in Alma 18:15 where it says, "Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord."  I think he must have needed A LOT of strengthening and comfort after all of that.

I just think that is a LOT for a relatively new convert to experience.  I was thinking about what it would be like to have joined with Alma, hoping to share the message of redemption--which you had just experienced--with all the people you love most in the whole world, and to have them turn on you like that.  To see the few that believed your words consumed by fire and wanting to exercise the power of God against the wicked and spare the righteous, but having the prophet next to you say that he felt constrained not to do it.  To then be imprisoned--naked, hungry, spit upon--for two weeks and to wonder if maybe you'd been better off to never have followed the angel's advice in the first place.  Even with all that I know and all I believe, I have NO IDEA how I'd react in a similar situation. But good ol' Amulek was faithful--sure, he needed strengthening afterwards, but he never once doubted his path, no matter what trials came upon him. 

I guess I had just never really given him much thought in my many readings of the Book of Mormon, other than as a missionary companion to Alma, but this time around I was really impressed by his faith and example, all by himself.  We always think of people like Job, Joseph Smith, or Christ as the ultimate examples of faith through adversity, but I think Amulek is right up there with them for me.  The truth is that it is often when we are on the RIGHT path that our hardest trials come...sometimes as a result of our own choices or living in an imperfect world, sometimes because of the devil's temptations to try and keep us from joining forces with great works and movements of the righteous, and sometimes as tests or chastening or humbling experiences from the Lord.  But no matter what we go through, we can always turn to the Lord and his disciples for strength to carry on in the right path.  I just love that.  :) I love knowing that my trials aren't all punishments and that, in my suffering, I'm in good company.  For some reason I wanted to share it here.

Who are YOUR scripture heroes lately?