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.