Alma 22-23

Alma 22

While Ammon is building up the church is the land of Ishmael with King Lamoni, Aaron and his other brothers go to teach the king of all the land (Lamoni’s father—remember him from last time?), who has been curious and perplexed ever since Ammon spared his life. This King has had a drastic change of heart—the man who once tried to kill his own son because he was angry that he was helping a Nephite is now ready and willing to believe anything that Aaron and his brothers teach him.

These two verses just breeze over a summary of the things Aaron teaches to the King, but after you read them I want to point out a few really important points that are buried in here:

 13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.

 14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.

First point—Aaron taught the King from the scriptures, even though he probably knew the scriptures like the back of his hand and could have just told the stories himself. There is power in reading the scriptures word-for-word. I believe that. So high-five to you if you have been reading the actual Book of Mormon verses from each chapter and not just my second-rate summary of them. 

Second point—the Plan of Redemption through Jesus Christ—which is God’s plan for helping his children through this earth life and enabling us to return to Him after we die—was planned out a LONG time ago, “from the foundation of the world.” God knew He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, as the key element of his plan before Adam and Eve were ever placed in the Garden of Eden.

Third point—The sufferings and death of Jesus Christ allowed Him to conquer 2 things, (1) death and (2) sin. His gift of resurrection, or overcoming death, will be a free gift for everyone someday. But to overcome sin we have to do our part by having faith in Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Verse 14 just says “through faith and repentance and so forth” assuming that his audience knows the full list. This is a topic worth spending more time on later!

The King is deeply touched by these things that Aaron teaches him. Do you remember when Ammon almost killed the King, and he offered in desperation to give Ammon ½ of his kingdom if he would spare his life? Well check out what the King is willing to give now in order to have joy and eternal life:

 15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.

He is willing to give up everything to know God. What a great example he is! The Lord doesn't actually ask the King to forsake his Kingdom - but He does ask for something else. Aaron tells him to repent and pray to God with faith to ask for the hope and joy he desires.

 17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:

 18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee.

I love that he is willing to “give away all his sins” to know God—because that is what God really wants from us. Are you willing to give away all your sins to know God?

The King is so overcome by the Spirit of God that he collapses to the ground like he is dead (sound familiar)? But Aaron is able to awaken him because the Queen is panicking and trying to convince the guards to kill Aaron and his brethren (but they know better because they’ve been watching everything that happened).

Once the King is awake he preaches to the whole palace, as well as many people in the town. The wide-spread conversion which first started with Ammon and King Lamoni’s people is continuing to spread throughout the Lamanites!

Alma 23

With the King of all the Lamanites converting to the Lord, this opens the door wide to all his people because he sends forth a proclamation to all the Lamanites forbidding them to harass, abuse, stone, or cast-out the Nephite missionaries when they are trying to teach.

And as a result, the missionaries begin to see incredible success. These Lamanite converts become my favorite people in the Book of Mormon, and you’ll see how heroic they are soon. But for now we are told that all the Lamanites who convert are faithful to the end of their lives—that is the remarkable part to me! You probably know lots of people who have a change of heart at some point in their lives, but how many of them remain changed, and how many go back to their old ways when things get hard?

 5 And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites; and they were taught the records and prophecies which were handed down even to the present time.

 6 ... yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.

 7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.

These converted Lamanites take on a new name—they become the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

I think it's very interesting that none of the Amalekites or Amulonites were converted (they are the Nephite-deserters), and that none of the Lamanites who lived in the same cities as Amalekites or Amulonites were converted either. Our society, and especially our friends and family, can have an enormous effect on our perspective and our beliefs. Even in modern times, you can see different cultures and regions that are more disposed to faith and others who are more ambivalent or even hostile toward God. It is important for each of us to be able to recognize the kinds of people we surround ourselves with each day and the kind of influence they may have on us.

Alma 20-21

Alma 20

Ammon is told by the Lord that his brethren have been thrown in prison in the Lamanite land of Middoni. Lamoni offers to go with Ammon to get them out of prison because the king of Middoni is a friend. So they go, and on the way to Middoni, they cross paths with Lamoni’s father, who is king over all the Lamanites. Lamoni's father is angry that Lamoni missed a great feast earlier that week, and he's even more furious that Lamoni is with a Nephite and helping to free other Nephites from prison.

Lamoni’s father is so furious that he draws his sword to kill his own son, but Ammon steps up to protect him and overpowers the king quickly (if you haven't noticed, Ammon is really strong!). In desperation the king offers half of his kingdom if Ammon will spare his life. Ammon agrees to spare the king’s life if he will let his brethren out of prison in Middoni, and if he will not be angry with Lamoni and leave him free to govern his own land however he wants without being under the direction of his father.

 25 Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life.

 26 And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great love he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that I would release 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 desirous to learn them.

Lamoni and Ammon make it to Middoni and free Ammon’s brethren from prison. They are naked and starving and suffering greatly. They were less fortunate than Ammon and had gone to a more hard-hearted group of Lamanites.

Alma 21

We rewind in vs.1-14 to when Ammon and his brethren originally split up to teach the Lamanites, and this time we follow Ammon’s brother, Aaron, and a few more who went with him. It was Aaron’s luck to go to a harder group of Lamanites who lived among the Amalekites and Amulonites (dissenting Nephites) who are the hardest of all, and so Aaron and his few companions travel uselessly from city to city trying to preach until they are thrown in jail in Middoni, and then saved by Ammon and King Lamoni.

These guys are so brave—they go out to try preaching AGAIN, even after all this harassment and abuse, but this time the Lord begins to bless them with success! Also, Ammon and King Lamoni return to the land of Ishmael and begin to build up the church of God among his people and teach them that they are free to worship and believe however they desire now. I love King Lamoni's people because, “they gave heed unto [the] word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God (v23).” I want to be zealous for keeping the commandments of God! What a great word. 

Alma 17-19

Alma 17

Allow me to introduce you to Ammon—a childhood favorite! But before we launch into his story in the second half of this chapter, there is a happy reunion at the beginning I should mention. Remember all the preaching throughout the land that Alma and Amulek have been doing? Well, in the meantime, Alma’s old buddies—the sons of King Mosiah—have been risking their lives to preach to the Lamanites. 

If you recall, Alma and the Sons of Mosiah used to be partners in crime together until they were all converted when an angel appeared to them and rebuked them so strongly that Alma was unconscious for many days (remember this from Mosiah 27?). Well, apparently they have been apart for 14 years while the sons of Mosiah were preaching to the Lamanites, and at the beginning of Alma 17 there is a joyful reunion—and most joyful because they discover they are all still strong in the faith.

1 And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla.

 2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

 3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.

 4 And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth.

After this reunion, without any warning the writer jumps back 14 years to tell the story of the Sons of Mosiah leaving to preach to the Lamanites. There are four sons—Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni, and they also bring a few other men with them. They travel in the wilderness toward the Lamanites for many days, and you can tell they are nervous about the plight they are about to undertake, but the Lord gives them strength (see vs. 9-12). Then they do a crazy-brave thing, and they all split off individually to go to different Lamanite towns and cities.

And now we follow Ammon into the land of Ishmael! (cue adventure music)

Ammon is immediately captured, tied up, and taken before the King to determine if he will die or rot in prison. The king—named King Lamoni—likes Ammon, who offers to be a servant to the king, and so Ammon is given a position defending the king’s flocks from the rebel-rouser Lamanites.

I don’t want to tell the whole story, because I would love for you to read this one for yourself—it’s easy to understand and very thrilling. I will just say that Ammon gets to show off his power by cutting off the arms of a gang of attackers! Read it for yourself, and the next chapters tell the after-math of this wild event.

Alma 18

The servants of the king who were with Ammon when he cut off the attackers’ arms to defend the flocks report to King Lamoni all that they saw. All of them, including the king, are astonished and wonder if Ammon is the Great Spirit (the Lamanites’ name for God) or some other immortal, because it is clear he cannot be killed. The king desperately wants to talk with Ammon, but he is terrified. The servants even call for him to come in to the king, but when Ammon enters the king is tongue-tied for over an hour!

The king asks Ammon if he is the Great Spirit, and by what power he defended his flocks, and Ammon agrees to tell him everything if the king is willing to listen and believe (this missionary is thrilled!). Ammon then proceeds to teach King Lamoni (and his guards & servants) many basic and important principles:

Verse	Principle	Excerpt
v24-32	There is a God, and He created all things in the heavens and the earth	32: “Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.”
v32-35	Ammon is just a man, but has been called of God	35: “And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.”
v36	The scriptures help us understand God and the purpose of life	36: “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 rehearsed and laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people… even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem.”
v37-38	Knowing the truth about recent history and family history can also help us to understand God better	38: “he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time.”
v39	The coming of Christ is central to God’s plan	39: “he expounded unto them the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ”

King Lamoni believes all that Ammon has taught him, and he is so over-come by the Spirit of God that he falls to the earth as if he is dead, and remains that way for two days and two nights!... stay tuned!

Alma 19

After 3 days of laying as though he were dead, King Lamoni rises, just as Ammon told the queen he would. Lamoni begins to tell the queen about the remarkable things he has seen while sleeping, including “I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name (v13).” And then he promptly passes out from joy again, and this time the queen passes out from joy along with him!

This starts a domino chain—it fills Ammon with such joy to see the Lord working these miracles that he too passes out from joy. And then all the king’s servants in the room pass out—all, that is, except for Abish, a woman who had “been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father (v16).” Abish knew this was the power of God, and she saw this as a great opportunity to show and tell all the people in town to help convert them to the Lord, so she ran from house to house telling the people to come and see.

Unfortunately, the scene of the king, queen, and their servants all sprawled on the floor as though they are dead, with a Nephite in the middle of them, causes a stir and contention throughout the crowd as they argue about what it means and who is to blame. One Lamanite whose brother was killed by Ammon tried to take advantage of the moment to slay Ammon with his sword, but he falls dead in the act.

 23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.

This freaks out the crowd even more and speculation about Ammon continues to fly. Meanwhile, Abish returns from gathering the community, and she is distraught to see what a frenzy the people are in.

 29 And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by the hand, 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 awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy 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 the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord.

This is the beginning of a wide-spread and incredibly deep & sincere conversion among the Lamanites. This group becomes my favorite people in the Book of Mormon.

 36 And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name.

Merry Christmas!

In honor of Christmas, I’d like to break from the flow and quote some verses about the birth and life of Jesus Christ. We read these verses back in 1 Nephi 11, and learned that Nephi saw a vision of the birth of Christ which would happen 600 years after his time. But Nephi wasn’t the only one—as Peter taught in the New Testament, “All the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days (Acts 3:24).” The coming of Christ was the most important news mankind could look forward to, or back on—that of a Savior coming to Redeemer all mankind who would come unto Him. I know He lives and has all power, all wisdom, and more love for us than we can imagine. May He bless you and yours this Christmas season!

Nephi’s Vision in 1 Nephi 11:

13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!...

24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.

28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.

31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

Alma 16

Alma 16

The vengeance of God comes upon the wicked people of Ammonihah, who had tortured Alma and Amulek in jail, kicked out the men believers, and burned the women and children believers. The Lamanites launched a surprise attack against the Nephites—after years of peace and calm—and the first Nephite city they attacked was Ammonihah! The Nephites were able to gather together an army to drive the Lamanites away… but not until the entire city of Ammonihah had already been destroyed.

9 And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness.

I don’t know if God actually seeks vengeance on the wicked. In cases as extreme as burning women and children, I think He just might. But I also believe that in most cases He just removes His protective power from the wicked, and allows them to destroy each other (in this case, the wicked Lamanites chose to wipe out the wicked Ammonihahites). The Lord has great protective power for those who follow Him, and those who reject or mock that protective power can be humbled very quickly.

But peace is restored to the land, and the church grows in numbers and in strength. The priests of the church teach primarily about the coming of Jesus Christ (the date is about 80 B.C. right now). These passages give you a little foreshadowing that Jesus Christ will visit the Nephites on the American continent after he finishes his mortal ministry in the Middle East. This was prophesied to the Nephites many years before it ever happened. (Stay tuned and we will read all about it in the book of 3^rd Nephi.)

18 Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not so to be—

 19 Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.

 20 And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.

Alma 14-15

Alma 14

Alma and Amulek’s preaching creates great waves in Ammonihah! There are many people who believe and begin to repent, and believe it or not, the lawyer Zeezrom who originally led the interrogation of Alma and Amulek, is greatly impacted by their words.

Unfortunately, the majority of the people are angered by Alma and Amulek, and bring them tied and bound to the Chief Judge of their land, who is an awful guy. When the believers, including converted-Zeezrom, try to stick up for Alma and Amulek in their unfair trial, they are chased out of the land by the unbelievers. And most horribly, the wives and children of the believers are gathered together and thrown into a pit of fire to be burned along with their scriptures. Alma and Amulek are forced to watch this awful scene. 

Why don’t Alma and Amulek call upon God to save these innocent people? Why does God allow terrible things to happen to good people? We probably won't understand all the answers in this life; but in this case, Alma tells Amulek just one reason why God sometimes allows bad people to do bad things to good people:

10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.

 11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.

 12 Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also.

 13 And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not.

After witnessing this awful scene, Alma and Amulek are thrown into prison for days where they are stripped, starved, and beaten, and every day the Chief Judge and his entourage come to question them, mock them, and beat them more. Alma and Amulek refuse to speak.

After many days of this routine, Alma and Amulek finally cry to God for deliverance while their crowd of oppressors are in the prison, and the entire prison crashes to the ground. Every person in the prison is killed except for Alma and Amulek, who walk out free.

Alma 15

The Lord commands Alma and Amulek to leave the city of Ammonihah, where the people remain hard-hearted and attribute Alma and Amulek’s power to the devil.

They go to the neighboring town of Sidom where they find all the men who had believed Alma and Amulek and fled from Ammonihaha. Alma and Amulek tell them the tragic news of what happened to their wives and children, and also what happened to them in prison.

A miracle of healing occurs in vs. 3-12 for Zeezrom—remember, the bad lawyer turned good? I’ll let you read it yourself.

Alma and Amulek establish the church in the land of Sidom, and then they are able to rest and rejuvenate from their labors for a time. Even the prophets have to re-coop sometimes!