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 18
Alma 18
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My Thoughts
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1 And it came to pass that king Lamoni caused that his aservantsshould stand forth and testify to all the things which they had seen concerning the matter.
2 And when they had all testified to the things which they had seen, and he had learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in preserving his flocks, and also of his agreat power in contending against those who sought to slay him, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Surely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth send such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders?
3 And they answered the king, and said: Whether he be the Great Spirit or a man, we know not; but this much we do know, that heacannot be slain by the enemies of the king; neither can theybscatter the king’s flocks when he is with us, because of his expertness and cgreat strength; therefore, we know that he is a friend to the king. And now, O king, we do not believe that a man has such great power, for we know he cannot be slain.
4 And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down at this time to preserve your lives, that I might not aslay you as I did your brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.
5 Now this was the atradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a bGreat Spirit. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit, they supposed that cwhatsoever they did was right; nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants;
6 For he had slain many of them because their brethren had scattered their flocks at the place of water; and thus, because they had had their flocks scattered they were slain.
7 Now it was the practice of these Lamanites to stand by theawaters of Sebus to scatter the flocks of the people, that thereby they might drive away many that were scattered unto their own land, it being a practice of plunder among them.
8 And it came to pass that king Lamoni inquired of his servants, saying: Where is this man that has such great power?
9 And they said unto him: Behold, he is feeding thy ahorses. Now the king had commanded his servants, previous to the time of the watering of their flocks, that they should prepare his horses and chariots, and conduct him forth to the land of Nephi; for there had been a bgreat cfeast appointed at the land of Nephi, by the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land.
10 Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his achariots he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them.
11 Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me, but I durst not.
12 And it came to pass that when Ammon had made ready the horses and the chariots for the king and his servants, he went in unto the king, and he saw that the acountenance of the king was changed; therefore he was about to return out of his presence.
13 And one of the king’s servants said unto him, aRabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay.
14 Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and said unto him: What wilt thou that I should do for thee, O king? And the king answered him not for the space of an ahour, according to their time, for he knew not what he should say unto him.
15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto him again: What desirest thou of me? But the king answered him not.
16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the aSpirit of God, therefore he perceived the bthoughts of the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew cseven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings?
17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a aman, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do.
18 Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he beheld that Ammon could adiscern his thoughts; but notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit, who bknows all things?
20 And the king said: How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things; and also tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks—
21 And now, aif thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they; nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee.
22 Now Ammon being awise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee.
23 And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I awill believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with bguile.
24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with aboldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he aknows all the thoughts and bintents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou asent from God?
34 Ammon said unto him: I am a aman; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his bHoly Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;
35 And a portion of that aSpirit dwelleth in me, which giveth mebknowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.
36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of the world, and also the creation of Adam, and told him all the things concerning the fall of man, and arehearsed and laid before him the brecords and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the cprophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem.
37 And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth.
38 And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the arebellions of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all their rebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the brecords and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time.
39 But this is not all; for he aexpounded unto them the bplan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known unto them.
40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king abelieved all his words.
41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant amercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.
43 And it came to pass that his aservants took him and carried him in unto his wife, and laid him upon a bed; and he lay as if he were dead for the space of two days and two nights; and his wife, and his sons, and his daughters mourned over him, after the manner of the Lamanites, greatly lamenting his loss.
| So Ammon has peaked the kings interest and gotten his attention. Ammon's faithfulness and power impress the king exceedingly. He felt that no mortal man could possess such powers of mind and body. The king is sure that Ammon has come to punish them. Perhaps, he is also thinking about the fact that he knowingly let this man be assigned to a job that usually carried a death sentence. So the king understands the concept of Heavenly justice and accountability. It won't be such a reach for him to understand and believe the gospel. The servants don't know where Ammon got his power so they tell the king what they do know....Ammon cannot be slain or defeated. And they reason that because he did these things FOR the king's benefit, that he must be friendly to the king rather than an enemy. Imagine thinking that you had a God among you. Imagine how you would feel if Jesus walked into your door right this instant....then you can probably sense how they felt. The king is sure that Ammon is god because he has the powers that he has been taught a god would have. They don't have or understand the priesthood. The king begins to worry that his actions are being judged by this....the gods take the time to counter his actions and judgements. That would have to be a very sobering concept to think that all this time you had been in the wrong and the things you had been taught and thought you knew were also wrong. So they believe in a Great spirit but don't believe that He judges their actions as wrong or right (?).....Just a creator maybe. It seems that Lamoni had never thought to consider his actions as wrong. Now, however, since the 'Gods' have deigned to come and stop him in this he begins to fear that maybe he had been wrong. And if he was wrong, then he had done it many times. He has to be really starting to fear for his eternal welfare now....but probably more his physical welfare. Any man that could stop all that come against him, could also slay the king if he wanted to despite having soldiers there to protect him. So it was a well-known practice of these men to scatter flocks....not just the kings flocks. Thieves--Rustlers. My question is...did he want to know so that he would know if he was coming after him or ? I think at this point the king starts to see or at least hope that Ammon is not there to do him harm. He is doing what he has been told that he should do as part of his job as servant to the king. So Ammon is working for the king's benefit. Ammon, through his example and integrity, has impressed upon the king his value and worth. The king now sees him as more than just a servant....more even than a God that may have been sent down to judge him. He now sees Ammon as a being of integrity and good that is serving good causes and striking down thieves and liars....wickedness. The very essence of what most believe a God would be. No wonder he believes Ammon to be a god considering his limited understanding of what god is. So the King now desires to talk with him....he knows he could learn from him but he's still afraid that Ammon has come to punish him. Ammon sees that there is something different about the king in his behavior towards him. Maybe he thinks that the king is angry at him for slaying subjects of his kingdom. So he wisely, decides to leave the kings presence. One of the servants tells him that the king WANTS him to stay. I'll bet it was the woman that already had an understanding of the gospel. I'm sure that she sees and understands what is happening. Ammon is still doing his job and fulfilling his responsibilities towards his 'boss'. The king is non-plussed. He can't think of anything to say to Ammon. Probably afraid to say the 'wrong' thing too. Guess Ammon got tired of waiting! Wow! Ammon's got to be wondering by now what he should do....I bet he is praying mightily for help to understand the situation and what his course of action should be. Ammon is/has the gift of discernment. Through it he knows the kings thoughts. So Ammon brings up the 'red herring'...what the king is afraid to mention. Ammon begins to teach the King by first dispelling his misunderstandings about the situation. He then reassures him that he will not harm him....he is still his servant. Funny! This part made me laugh! Ammon's words just reinforced the kings amazement at him.....because he thinks Ammon can read his mind now ....However, he is now willing to speak. He must believe that Ammon means him no harm. So now that he doesn't fear Ammon, he is ready to learn from him and begins to ask the questions that he has. Ammon is honest....a wicked man would have taken advantage of the situation. Ok....if you're not a God, how do you know my thoughts? This is exactly what Ammon wanted to hear. This is his opening to begin to teach the gospel to the king. Even better....a king's word is his bond in this culture. So now when Ammon asks him to accept the gospel and be baptized, the king has already given his word that he will do it. :) Ammon just wants to make sure that the king will actually do what he has promised. He tells him what he wants from the king. The king commits to the gospel and baptism before he even knows it.....HA! Some synonyms for guile: calculation, care, design; savvy, sharpness, shrewdness;cleverness, ingeniousness, ingenuity, inventiveness; ease,facility, finesse; So guile isn't always a BAD THING. Ammon has a commitment so now he just needs to make certain that the king understands the gospel. Good teaching/teachers always find out where there students are before they start teaching. So Ammon knows that the King doesn't know what 'God' means. But he does know what a Great Spirit might be. This gives Ammon a starting point to begin to build upon the Kings knowledge and help him make connections with what he already knows. Teaching: First: establish student's prior knowledge Second: clear up any misuderstandings, or misconceptions. Third: Establish foundational beliefs. Fourth: begin teaching concepts using student's prior knowledge as a foundation (to make connections) So the king believes that god created earth but has no concept of heaven or what it might be. Ammon begins building on that. The king sounds sincere in his desire to learn. He asks questions to help him understand. Ammon takes this opportunity to explain that God knows the thoughts and intents of men so that he can explain that this is how he knew what the king was thinking. The King asks a question that leads right into what Ammon wants to teach next. So Ammon explains his role and his authority to teach the king and his people. A king (who rules by authority) would very well understand and appreciate the role that authority plays in this. If Ammon has been sent by God, then the king is obligated to listen and allow Ammon to teach his people as well. Here Ammon explains in 'baby steps' about spiritual gifts and their role in his work so that the king may understand how Ammon has the powers that he does. So the stage has been set and now Ammon begins to teach the gospel basics.... 1. Plan of salvation 2. Fall of man 3. God's plan to restore man to His grace. 4. The scriptures which witness these facts and expound the principles of God. Ammon teaches the prophets from the scriptures. He also teaches what their forefathers went through to get there.....the sacrifices made by them for their benefit. Ammon probably told them of the rebellions of their fathers so that they could understand why there was a rift between the Lamanites and Nephites.....and that they were all family. He taught them the plan of redemption and the mission of the Savior and His atonement. The king believes Ammon. The king begins to pray for himself and his people and their salvation. A 'light switch' conversion....this is necessary to perform what the Lord intends with this people. They love their king. Apparently, he was a good king even despite his treatment of his shepherds. His people think he is dead and they lament his loss. |
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