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 21
Alma 20
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My Thoughts
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1 And it came to pass that when they had established a church in that aland, that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father.
2 And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon, saying: Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi, for behold, the king will seek thy life; but thou shalt go to the land of aMiddoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.
3 Now it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni: Behold, my brother and brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I go that I may deliver them.
4 Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the astrength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of bprison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison?
5 And Ammon said unto him: No one hath told me, save it be God; and he said unto me—Go and deliver thy brethren, for they are in prison in the land of Middoni.
6 Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his ahorses and his chariots.
7 And he said unto Ammon: Come, I will go with thee down to the land of Middoni, and there I will plead with the king that he will cast thy brethren out of prison.
8 And it came to pass that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, they met the father of Lamoni, who was kingaover all the land.
9 And behold, the father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did yeanot come to the bfeast on that great day when I made a feast unto my sons, and unto my people?
10 And he also said: Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a aliar?
11 And it came to pass that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whither he was going, for he feared to offend him.
12 And he also told him all the cause of his tarrying in his own kingdom, that he did not go unto his father to the feast which he had prepared.
13 And now when Lamoni had rehearsed unto him all these things, behold, to his astonishment, his father was angry with him, and said: Lamoni, thou art going to deliver these Nephites, who are sons of a liar. Behold, he robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come amongst us that they may, by their cunning and their lyings, deceive us, that they again may rob us of our property.
14 Now the father of Lamoni commanded him that he should slay Ammon with the sword. And he also commanded him that he should not go to the land of Middoni, but that he should return with him to the land of aIshmael.
15 But Lamoni said unto him: I will not slay Ammon, neither will I return to the land of Ishmael, but I go to the land of Middoni that I may release the brethren of Ammon, for I know that they are just men and holy prophets of the true God.
16 Now when his father had heard these words, he was angry with him, and he drew his sword that he might smite him to the earth.
17 But Ammon stood forth and said unto him: Behold, thou shalt not slay thy son; nevertheless, it were abetter that he should fall than thee, for behold, he has brepented of his sins; but if thou shouldst fall at this time, in thine anger, thy soul could not be saved.
18 And again, it is expedient that thou shouldst forbear; for if thou shouldst aslay thy son, he being an innocent man, his blood would cry from the ground to the Lord his God, for vengeance to come upon thee; and perhaps thou wouldst lose thy bsoul.
19 Now when Ammon had said these words unto him, he answered him, saying: I know that if I should slay my son, that I should shed innocent blood; for it is thou that hast sought to destroy him.
20 And he stretched forth his hand to slay Ammon. But Ammon withstood his blows, and also smote his arm that he could not use it.
21 Now when the king saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare his life.
22 But Ammon raised his sword, and said unto him: Behold, I will smite thee except thou wilt grant unto me that my brethren may be acast out of prison.
23 Now the king, fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half of the kingdom.
24 Now when Ammon saw that he had wrought upon the old king according to his desire, he said unto him: If thou wilt grant that my brethren may be cast out of prison, and also that Lamoni may retain his kingdom, and that ye be not displeased with him, but grant that he may do according to his own desires in awhatsoeverthing he thinketh, then will I spare thee; otherwise I will smite thee to the earth.
26 And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great alove he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that I would brelease thy brethren, and suffer that my son Lamoni should retain his kingdom, behold, I will grant unto you that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no more—
27 And I will also grant unto thee that thy brethren may be cast out of prison, and thou and thy brethren may come unto me, in my kingdom; for I shall greatly desire to see thee. For the king was greatly astonished at the words which he had spoken, and also at the words which had been spoken by his son Lamoni, therefore he was adesirous to learn them.
28 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni proceeded on their journey towards the land of Middoni. And Lamoni found favor in the eyes of the king of the land; therefore the brethren of Ammon were brought forth out of prison.
29 And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had asuffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were bpatient in all their sufferings.
30 And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more astiffnecked people; therefore they would not hearken unto their words, and they had cast them out, and had smitten them, and had driven them from house to house, and from place to place, even until they had arrived in the land of Middoni; and there they were taken and cast into prison, and bound with bstrong cords, and kept in prison for many days, and were delivered by Lamoni and Ammon.
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Lamoni wants to share the joy he has found with his parents. (Only natural)
This is often how the Lord works. We go about His work and if we are going down a path that is not good (especially if it is dangerous) He will tell us distinctly not to do it. So the Lord gives them an alternate plan in order to go deliver his brothers. I'm sure that Ammon doesn't want to disappoint the King but he knows that it is better to follow the Lord's counsel. Even though Lamoni may be disappointed, he wants to help Ammon deliver his brethren and knows it is a more urgent task. This is a testament to the King's true conversion. He is not willing to let a servant of God go alone if he can be of help to him. Ammon has received revelation of God as is His privilege as an ordained servant of God. And this is a testament of Lamoni's great faith in Ammon as a prophet and servant of God. He didn't need to know anything else but that it was God's desire and word to Ammon. Lamoni not only believes Ammon but also backs up that belief with his own resources and time. He is going with Ammon to deliver his brothers. So King Lamoni also receives his desire...to introduce Ammon to his father but in God's way.
When we obey God, He blesses us with all that we stand in need of!
At least the King is trying to understand his son's disobedience....instead of just blowing up.
However, he obviously doesn't like Nephites.
Even though he is his father, Lamoni is afraid to offend him. So this is apparently where Lamoni learned his 'heavy-handed' governing techniques. So instead of being glad for Lamoni's new 'enlightment', the King sees it as some sort of subversive take over of the government. This is the moment of decision for Lamoni. Is he going to stay true to his new beliefs or fall back into his old life? Will he obey his father or be true to what he knows is right now?
I am sure it was an uncomfortable moment for him.
The Lord's promise to protect Ammon is again at work.
Lamoni knows that it is suicide to go against Ammon but he also knows that what he has been taught is true. So he chooses the right. He stands up for what he believes in even though it may incur the wrath of his powerful father. He apparently is no longer afraid to make him mad. This man cared more for his power and authority than he did for his son's life. Lamoni defended Ammon and Ammon now defends Lamoni.
Lamoni has repented!
Better that the righteous should fall than the wicked? Does the Lord sometimes base his decision to intervene or not on this principle? His righteous sons and daughters are prepared to come to Him but the wicked ones are not. Give them a bit more time to see if they can be saved. So from this we find that King Lamoni has been forgiven for his sins. He must have been baptized.
Apparently it is possible to commit grievous sin without being fully aware that we are doing so. we all have the light of Christ and if we do not heed it's promptings then we are still guilty. although, it is up to God to decide our level of guilt.
The wicked and cunning will turn wrong to right and right into wrong. we see this happening in our day.
The King values his life more than his power. Ammon more than likely doesn't want to slay the king but if he is not willing to repent and see reason, I believe that Ammon would have done so. Ammon would have known the hardness of his heart by such acts.
Once again, Ammon get what he most desires from a King. A promise to do what he needs them to do anyway.
Ammon is definitely being led by the spirit to do the things he needs to do.
So Ammon delineates his requirements in order to spare the king's life. Apparently, he is traveling alone or Ammon would have had guards to contend with.
Ammon doesn't ask anything for himself. He could have asked for earthly possessions, wealth, power but he only asked for 2 simple things.
Apparently, this impresses the old king. He must not get to meet many selfless men.
He sees that Ammon is not some gold digger using his son but rather that he loves him.
Through his selflessness, Ammon has gained the means for Lamoni's people to worship and believe as they please.
How many times do people serve in order to 'gain' from it? It is only when we serve selflessly that we can accomplish miracles.
So now the king wants to hear what Ammon has been teaching his son. We accomplish more by selfless acts of love than all the other acts that we generate our entire lives. So Ammon and Lamoni proceed to deliver Ammon's brethren from prison. They had been sorely abused by the people in that land nevertheless, they too had been preserved from death. The Lord had never promised that it would be easy. Only that it would be worth it. They suffered for their beliefs. However, their suffering was not for nothing. |
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