Scripture Study
I love this section of the Book of Mormon! These wonderful stories about the sons of Mosiah are very captivating, entertaining, and thought provoking.
The Book of Alma the Son of Alma
Chapter 19
Alma 18
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My Thoughts
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1 And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his abody and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose of burying their dead.
2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.
3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.
4 And she said unto him: The aservants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a bprophet of a holy God, and that thou hast cpower to do many mighty works in his name;
5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he astinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.
6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark aveilof bunbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the clightwhich did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had dovercome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—
7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.
8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.
9 And Ammon said unto her: aBelievest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I bbelieve that it shall be according as thou hast said.
10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the aNephites.
11 And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise.
12 And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.
13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have aseen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be bborn of a cwoman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit.
14 Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his aprayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God because of their iniquities and their btraditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with cjoy; and thus they all three had dsunkto the earth.
15 Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was athey who had stood before the king and testified unto him concerning the great power of Ammon.
16 And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord, in their might, even until they had all fallen to the earth, save it were one of the Lamanitish awomen, whose name was Abish, she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father—
17 Thus, having been converted to the Lord, and never having made it aknown, therefore, when she saw that all the servants of Lamoni had bfallen to the earth, and also her mistress, the queen, and the king, and Ammon lay cprostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power of God; and supposing that this opportunity, by making known unto the people what had happened among them, that by beholding this scene it would dcause them to believe in the power of God, therefore she ran forth from house to house, making it known unto the people.
18 And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the king. And there came a multitude, and to their astonishment, they beheld the king, and the queen, and their servants prostrate upon the earth, and they all lay there as though they were dead; and they also saw Ammon, and behold, he was a Nephite.
19 And now the people began to murmur among themselves; some saying that it was a great evil that had come upon them, or upon the king and his house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should aremain in the land.
20 But others rebuked them, saying: The king hath brought this evil upon his house, because he slew his servants who had had their flocks scattered at the awaters of Sebus.
21 And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of Sebus and ascattered the flocks which belonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of their brethren at the waters of Sebus, while defending the flocks of the king.
22 Now, one of them, whose brother had been aslain with the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry with Ammon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword to smite him, behold, he fell dead.
23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the aLord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—therefore, Mosiah btrusted him unto the Lord.
24 And it came to pass that when the multitude beheld that the man had fallen dead, who lifted the sword to slay Ammon, afearcame upon them all, and they durst not put forth their hands to touch him or any of those who had fallen; and they began to marvel again among themselves what could be the cause of this great power, or what all these things could mean.
25 And it came to pass that there were many among them who said that Ammon was the aGreat Spirit, and others said he was sent by the Great Spirit;
26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a amonster, who had been sent from the Nephites to torment them.
27 And there were some who said that Ammon was sent by the Great Spirit to afflict them because of their iniquities; and that it was the Great Spirit that had always attended the Nephites, who had ever delivered them out of their hands; and they said that it was this Great Spirit who had destroyed so many of their brethren, the Lamanites.
28 And thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them. And while they were thus contending, the awoman servant who had caused the multitude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the contention which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears.
29 And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by theahand, that perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice, saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an bawful hell! O blessed God, have cmercy on this people!
30 And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled with joy, speaking many words which were not understood; and when she had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he arose and stood upon his feet.
31 And he, immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went forth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them theawords which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord.
33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been achanged; that they had no more desire to do bevil.
34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen aangels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of God, and of his righteousness.
35 And it came to pass that there were many that did abelieve in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.
| So the King's miraculous conversion is taking a little bit longer than Alma the Younger's did? Perhaps that is because Alma the Younger already knew the gospel principles because he was taught them as a youth. So Ammon's exploits have been noised around the kingdom. She desires to ask his advice. Ammon went as he was requested. So she knows him as a prophet. Apparently, she has some understanding of what this means if she is asking him for help in the matter of her husband. So is she asking for a miracle, a priesthood blessing, or just for Ammon's opinion regarding her husband's condition? I believe it's the latter (but she is probably 'hoping' for more.) If she knows what a prophet can do, then she would know that he can consult God regarding what her husband's condition is and how to treat it. So Ammon 'wanted' to be consulted in this matter but he waited to be asked...as is the case of giving Priesthood blessings. Ammon had seen this before with Alma the younger....his friend. Perhaps he had even prayed for this to happen since he knew it's effectiveness in changing the hearts of men. I would not be surprised. Ammon is sure that he knows what is happening with the King and goes in to him to make certain. Alma consoles the queen and explains to her what is happening and gives her the instructions that she is seeking from him. It is important to note here that he also 'prophesies' by telling her that he will rise the next day. So it is important for him to establish her level of belief in what he is saying. Does he need to teach her more? I believe that this is what Ammon is trying to find out. She is willing to believe him. After all, she only has to wait about another 24 hours to find out. She probably also has interaction with the servant that already believes the gospel and knows who/what Ammon is. By Ammon's comments, we can discern the caliber of this woman. She apparently has a strong faith in God already...even though she hasn't had anyone 'officially' teach the gospel to her yet. She didn't leave her husband's side. She must have a great deal of love and concern for him. Ammon is established as a true prophet. What he has prophesied has come to pass exactly as he prophesied. While he was being taught, the king apparently has been taught also about the caliber of woman that he has for a wife. Perhaps, he was shown also her faith in God. The King has seen the Savior and it is apparent that he has also been taught who He is and what His purpose is....he uses the word 'redeem'. Interesting....I had never considered that individuals who are not used to the spirit's influence might be so overcome by it. With the power of the spirit that I have experienced several times, I can see how that might be. This is what Ammon has been praying for. When we pray for help to know who to serve, teach, etc., do we remember to pray for the spirit to influence them as well? If not then we are denying ourselves AND THEM great blessings. Remember, the fervent prayer of a righteous man (woman) availeth much. This means so much to Ammon not just because he wants to save souls but also he wants to bring about a change among the Lamanites that will save his own people and family from pain and suffering. Ammon sees the realization of that desire beginning to come to pass and he prays in gratitude. The spirit is there to such a degree that even HE is overcome by it. So, at first glance, it seems that these servants are afraid. Really, I think they are just overjoyed that they had brought something so wonderful into their king's life. In the past, he has been a man that they have had to fear for their lives from but now he is becoming something different thanks to their bringing Ammon to him. They know that this will change their entire kingdom for the better. They kneel in joy and gratitude to God and are so overcome with joy and the spirit that they too 'swoon'. Probably carried away in the spirit....they are being converted by their own individual encounters with the 'heavens'. Abish is already there. More than likely, her father's vision occurred so that she could be ready for this day...to be an instrument in saving almost an entire nation. So Abish was a convert but not well endowed with spiritual gifts. Had she been conferred with God...she may have been warned not to go bring the people in to see this. So the people see this and immediately assume that Ammon is responsible for this and that what has happened is bad. No understanding at all and apparently they are not listening to Abish. Hmmm....seems that there is a 'tradition' among the Lamanites that it is 'bad luck' to allow Nephites among them. Others don't believe this. Probably say it is a silly 'superstition' and that rather the king was being punished by God for his own evil deeds. Even they do not understand exactly what is happening even though it appears that they understand the concept of consequence for actions. The 'rustlers' that he had contended with also don't believe it but they have ulterior motives. They want revenge on Ammon. One of them tries to kill Ammon but drops dead in the attempt. I am sure that this scared everyone enough to prevent them from trying again ..... or even touching those that are there. The Lord keeps His promises and He had promised Mosiah that He would look after his sons if they were allowed to go to the Lamanites on their missionary journeys. For Mosiah, that was all he needed to hear and trusted them to Him. So the wicked man's death served more than one purpose. 1. it protected Ammon. 2. Fulfilled god's promises to Mosiah. 3. Punished the wickedness of that man. 4. And made the people begin to consider the deeper meaning of what was happening. The debate again. The people too misunderstand Ammon's role and purpose among them. So is he:
It is interesting to note that even with all of these considered possibilities, no one gets it exactly right except Abish and nobody will listen to her.
At least some of them have the understanding to realize that the Nephites have been favored of God.
Abish had not wanted to stir up contention but to make her fellow citizens aware of the great blessings that had come among them.
Abish must have a personal relationship with the queen to be so personal with her. Perhaps she is the queens personal maid servant. This is likely as it could also be how the queen learned what she knows about God and the gospel. So now the queen has learned for herself through Heavenly ministration about the gospel and the Savior. Now that she has gained salvation, her heart and thoughts turn towards her people. The queen is filled with joy. Either she is speaking with tongues or saying things that few understand...advanced principles. I believe it is probably the latter. The gift of tongues is usually only manifest when there are individuals that need to hear the gospel in their own language. So the king begins to teach the gospel to the people to disperse the contention. Some listen, are converted and turn to the Lord. Others refuse to listen and hear the gospel. many would not listen to Ammon When an individual experiences the joy that is conversion, they immediately want to share it with others. Why? As for me, I know that I couldn't stand the idea that anyone I cared about would be subject to Satan and his consequences in their lives. I also wanted them to experience the joy that I felt. The people testify of their conversion and the things that they have witnessed. Once we have been warned it becometh us to warn our neighbors. The believers are baptized and make covenants with God. As a result, the people become a righteous people and a church is established among them. How missionary work began among the Lamanites. The Lord pours His spirit upon the Lamanites as He has the righteous Nephites. God is no respecter of persons. Any who will heed his word can benefit by it and receive His blessings. |
