Ammon Encounters King Lamoni

Event 86

Reference: Alma 17:13-39; 18:1-43; 19:1-36

And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders ofthe land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselvesand departed one from another, trusting in the Lord thatthey should meet again at the close of their harvest; for theysupposed that great was the work which they hadundertaken. 14 And assuredly it was great, for they hadundertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and ahardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted inmurdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them;and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold andsilver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain thesethings by murdering and plundering, that they might notlabor for them with their own hands. 15 Thus they were avery indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, andthe curse of God had fallen upon them because of thetraditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises ofthe Lord were extended unto them on the conditions ofrepentance. 16 Therefore, this was the cause for which thesons of Mosiah had undertaken the work, that perhaps theymight bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they mightbring them to know of the plan of redemption. 17 Thereforethey separated themselves one from another, and went forthamong them, every man alone, according to the word andpower of God which was given unto him.MormonBorders of land ofNephi91 to 77 B.C.18 Now Ammon being the chief among them, or rather hedid administer unto them, and he departed from them, afterhaving blessed them according to their several stations,having imparted the word of God unto them, oradministered unto them before his departure; and thus theytook their several journeys throughout the land. 19 AndAmmon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being calledafter the sons of Ishmael, who also became Lamanites.Land of Ishmael20 And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, theLamanites took him and bound him, as was their custom tobind all the Nephites who fell into their hands, and carrythem before the king; and thus it was left to the pleasure ofthe king to slay them, or to retain them in captivity, or tocast them into prison, or to cast them out of his land,according to his will and pleasure. 21 And thus Ammon wascarried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni; and he was a descendant ofIshmael. 22 And the king inquired of Ammon if it were hisdesire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or amonghis people. 23 And Ammon said unto him:MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, andperhaps until the day I die.Ammon24 And it came to pass that king Lamoni was much pleasedwith Ammon, and caused that his bands should be loosed;and he would that Ammon should take one of his daughtersto wife. 25 But Ammon said unto him:MormonNay, but I will be thy servant.AmmonTherefore Ammon became a servant to king Lamoni.MormonAnd it came to pass that he was set among other servants towatch the flocks of Lamoni, according to the custom of theLamanites. 26 And after he had been in the service of theking three days, as he was with the Lamanitish servantsgoing forth with their flocks to the place of water, whichwas called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drivetheir flocks hither, that they may have water— 27 Therefore,as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving forththeir flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain numberof the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water,stood and scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants ofthe king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fledmany ways. 28 Now the servants of the king began tomurmur, saying:Waters of SebusNow the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because theirflocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men.King’s ServantsAnd they began to weep exceedingly, saying:MormonBehold, our flocks are scattered already.King’s Servants29 Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Nowwhen Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within himwith joy; for, said he,MormonI will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or thepower which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that Imay win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may leadthem to believe in my words.Ammon30 And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when hesaw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be hisbrethren.Mormon 31 And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words,saying:MormonWaters of Sebus91 to 77 B.C.My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks,and we will gather them together and bring them back unto theplace of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the kingand he will not slay us.Ammon32 And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks,and they did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth withmuch swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and didgather them together again to the place of water. 33 Andthose men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammonsaid unto his brethren:MormonEncircle the flocks round about that they flee not; and I go andcontend with these men who do scatter our flocks.Ammon34 Therefore, they did as Ammon commanded them, and hewent forth and stood to contend with those who stood bythe waters of Sebus; and they were in number not a few. 35Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed thatone of their men could slay him according to their pleasure,for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah thathe would deliver his sons out of their hands; neither didthey know anything concerning the Lord; therefore theydelighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for thiscause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.Mormon36 But Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at themwith his sling; yea, with mighty power he did sling stonesamongst them; and thus he slew a certain number of theminsomuch that they began to be astonished at his power;nevertheless they were angry because of the slain of theirbrethren, and they were determined that he should fall;therefore, seeing that they could not hit him with theirstones, they came forth with clubs to slay him. 37 Butbehold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, hesmote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstandtheir blows by smiting their arms with the edge of hissword, insomuch that they began to be astonished, andbegan to flee before him; yea, and they were not few innumber; and he caused them to flee by the strength of hisarm. 38 Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he slewnone save it were their leader with his sword; and he smoteoff as many of their arms as were lifted against him, andthey were not a few. 39 And when he had driven them afar off, he returned andthey watered their flocks and returned them to the pasture ofthe king, and then went in unto the king, bearing the armswhich had been smitten off by the sword of Ammon, ofthose who sought to slay him; and they were carried in untothe king for a testimony of the things which they had done.MormonKing’s pasture inland of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.1 AND it came to pass that king Lamoni caused that hisservants should stand forth and testify to all the thingswhich they had seen concerning the matter. 2 And whenthey had all testified to the things which they had seen, andhe had learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in preservinghis flocks, and also of his great power in contending againstthose who sought to slay him, he was astonishedexceedingly, and said:Land of IshmaelSurely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spiritwho doth send such great punishments upon this people, becauseof their murders?King Lamoni3 And they answered the king, and said:MormonWhether he be the Great Spirit or a man, we know not; but thismuch we do know, that he cannot be slain by the enemies of theking; neither can they scatter the king’s flocks when he is with us,because of his expertness and great strength; therefore, we knowthat he is a friend to the king. And now, O king, we do not believethat a man has such great power, for we know he cannot be slain.King’s Servants4 And now, when the king heard these words, he said untothem:MormonNow I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down atthis time to preserve your lives, that I might not slay you as I didyour brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathershave spoken.King Lamoni5 Now this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he hadreceived from his father, that there was a Great Spirit.Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit, theysupposed that whatsoever they did was right; nevertheless,Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he haddone wrong in slaying his servants; 6 For he had slain manyof them because their brethren had scattered their flocks atthe place of water; and thus, because they had had theirflocks scattered they were slain. 7 Now it was the practice ofthese Lamanites to stand by the waters of Sebus to scatterthe flocks of the people, that thereby they might drive awaymany that were scattered unto their own land, it being apractice of plunder among them.Mormon 8 And it came to pass that king Lamoni inquired of hisservants, saying:MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.Where is this man that has such great power?King Lamoni9 And they said unto him:MormonBehold, he is feeding thy horses.King’s ServantsNow the king had commanded his servants, previous to thetime of the watering of their flocks, that they should preparehis horses and chariots, and conduct him forth to the land ofNephi; for there had been a great feast appointed at the landof Nephi, by the father of Lamoni, who was king over allthe land. 10 Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon waspreparing his horses and his chariots he was moreastonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying:MormonSurely there has not been any servant among all my servants thathas been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all mycommandments to execute them. 11 Now I surely know that this isthe Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me,but I durst not.King Lamoni12 And it came to pass that when Ammon had made readythe horses and the chariots for the king and his servants, hewent in unto the king, and he saw that the countenance ofthe king was changed; therefore he was about to return outof his presence. 13 And one of the king’s servants said untohim,MormonRabbanah,King’s Servantswhich is, being interpreted, powerful or great king,considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he saidunto him:MormonRabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay.King’s Servants14 Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and saidunto him:MormonWhat wilt thou that I should do for thee, O king?AmmonAnd the king answered him not for the space of an hour,according to their time, for he knew not what he should sayunto him.Mormon15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto him again:What desirest thou of me?AmmonBut the king answered him not.Mormon 16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with theSpirit of God, therefore he perceived the thoughts of theking. And he said unto him:MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thyflocks, and slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with thesword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thyflocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thymarvelings? 17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings areso great? Behold, I am a man, and am thy servant; therefore,whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do.Ammon18 Now when the king had heard these words, he marveledagain, for he beheld that Ammon could discern histhoughts; but notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did openhis mouth, and said unto him:MormonWho art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit, who knows all things?King Lamoni19 Ammon answered and said unto him:MormonI am not.Ammon20 And the king said:MormonHow knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speakboldly, and tell me concerning these things; and also tell me bywhat power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren thatscattered my flocks— 21 And now, if thou wilt tell me concerningthese things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and ifit were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I knowthat thou art more powerful than all they; nevertheless, whatsoeverthou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee.King Lamoni22 Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said untoLamoni:MormonWilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I dothese things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee.Ammon23 And the king answered him, and said:MormonYea, I will believe all thy words.King LamoniAnd thus he was caught with guile. 24 And Ammon beganto speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him:MormonBelievest thou that there is a God?Ammon25 And he answered, and said unto him:MormonI do not know what that meaneth.King Lamoni26 And then Ammon said:MormonBelievest thou that there is a Great Spirit?Ammon 27 And he said,MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.Yea.King Lamoni28 And Ammon said:MormonThis is God.AmmonAnd Ammon said unto him again:MormonBelievest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all thingswhich are in heaven and in the earth?Ammon29 And he said:MormonYea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but Ido not know the heavens.King Lamoni30 And Ammon said unto him:MormonThe heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.Ammon31 And king Lamoni said:MormonIs it above the earth?King Lamoni32 And Ammon said:MormonYea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and heknows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his handwere they all created from the beginning.Ammon33 And king Lamoni said:MormonI believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sentfrom God?King Lamoni34 Ammon said unto him:MormonI am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the imageof God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these thingsunto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of thatwhich is just and true; 35 And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth inme, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to myfaith and desires which are in God.Ammon36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at thecreation of the world, and also the creation of Adam, andtold him all the things concerning the fall of man, andrehearsed and laid before him the records and the holyscriptures of the people, which had been spoken by theprophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, leftJerusalem. 37 And he also rehearsed unto them (for it wasunto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings oftheir fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings withhunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth. 38 And heMormon also rehearsed unto them concerning the rebellions ofLaman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all theirrebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded untothem all the records and scriptures from the time that Lehileft Jerusalem down to the present time. 39 But this is notall; for he expounded unto them the plan of redemption,which was prepared from the foundation of the world; andhe also made known unto them concerning the coming ofChrist, and all the works of the Lord did he make knownunto them.MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things,and expounded them to the king, that the king believed allhis words. 41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying:O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thouhast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.King Lamoni42 And now, when he had said this, he fell unto the earth, asif he were dead.Mormon43 And it came to pass that his servants took him and carriedhim in unto his wife, and laid him upon a bed; and he lay asif he were dead for the space of two days and two nights;and his wife, and his sons, and his daughters mourned overhim, after the manner of the Lamanites, greatly lamentinghis loss.1 AND it came to pass that after two days and two nightsthey were about to take his body 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 untoher.3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he wascommanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired toknow what she would that he should do. 4 And she saidunto him:The servants of my husband have made it known unto me thatthou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to domany mighty works in his name; 5 Therefore, if this is the case, Iwould that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has beenlaid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; andsome say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and thathe stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but asfor myself, to me he doth not stink.The Queen 6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that kingLamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the darkveil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and thelight which did light up his mind, which was the light of theglory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, thecloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the lightof everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew thatthis had overcome his natural frame, and he was carriedaway in God— 7 Therefore, what the queen desired of himwas his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the kingaccording as the queen had desired him; and he saw theking, and he knew that he was not dead. 8 And he said untothe queen:MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shallrise again; therefore bury him not.Ammon9 And Ammon said unto her:MormonBelievest thou this?AmmonAnd she said unto him:MormonI have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants;nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.The Queen10 And Ammon said unto her:MormonBlessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee,woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people ofthe Nephites.Ammon11 And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of herhusband, from that time even until that time on the morrowwhich Ammon had appointed that he should rise.Mormon12 And it came to pass that he arose, according to the wordsof Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand untothe woman, and said:Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou. 13 For as sure asthou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall comeforth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankindwho believe on his name.King LamoniNow, when he had said these words, his heart was swollenwithin him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen alsosunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit. 14 NowAmmon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out accordingto his prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who hadMormon been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites,or among all the people of God because of their iniquitiesand their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began topour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God forwhat he had done for his brethren; and he was alsooverpowered with joy; and thus they all three had sunk tothe earth. 15 Now, when the servants of the king had seenthat they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for thefear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was theywho had stood before the king and testified unto himconcerning the great power of Ammon.MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.16 And it came to pass that they did call on the name of theLord, in their might, even until they had all fallen to theearth, save it were one of the Lamanitish women, whosename was Abish, she having been converted unto the Lordfor many years, on account of a remarkable vision of herfather— 17 Thus, having been converted to the Lord, andnever having made it known, therefore, when she saw thatall the servants of Lamoni had fallen to the earth, and alsoher mistress, the queen, and the king, and Ammon layprostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power ofGod; and supposing that this opportunity, by making knownunto the people what had happened among them, that bybeholding this scene it would cause them to believe in thepower 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 thehouse of the king. And there came a multitude, and to theirastonishment, they beheld the king, and the queen, and theirservants prostrate upon the earth, and they all lay there asthough they were dead; and they also saw Ammon, andbehold, he was a Nephite. 19 And now the people began tomurmur among themselves; some saying that it was a greatevil that had come upon them, or upon the king and hishouse, because he had suffered that the Nephite shouldremain in the land. 20 But others rebuked them, saying:The king hath brought this evil upon his house, because he slewhis servants who had had their flocks scattered at the waters ofSebus.People21 And they were also rebuked by those men who had stoodat the waters of Sebus and scattered the flocks whichbelonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammonbecause of the number which he had slain of their brethrenMormon at the waters of Sebus, while defending the flocks of theking. 22 Now, one of them, whose brother had been slainwith the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry withAmmon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let itfall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword tosmite him, behold, he fell dead. 23 Now we see that Ammoncould not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, hisfather:MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—The Lordtherefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.Mormon24 And it came to pass that when the multitude beheld thatthe man had fallen dead, who lifted the sword to slayAmmon, fear came upon them all, and they durst not putforth their hands to touch him or any of those who hadfallen; and they began to marvel again among themselveswhat could be the cause of this great power, or what allthese things could mean.25 And it came to pass that there were many among themwho said that Ammon was the Great Spirit, and others saidhe was sent by the Great Spirit; 26 But others rebuked themall, saying that he was a monster, who had been sent fromthe Nephites to torment them. 27 And there were some whosaid that Ammon was sent by the Great Spirit to afflict thembecause of their iniquities; and that it was the Great Spiritthat had always attended the Nephites, who had everdelivered them out of their hands; and they said that it wasthis Great Spirit who had destroyed so many of theirbrethren, the Lamanites. 28 And thus the contention beganto be exceedingly sharp among them. And while they werethus contending, the woman servant who had caused themultitude to be gathered together came, and when she sawthe contention which was among the multitude she wasexceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears.29 And it came to pass that she went and took the queen bythe hand, that perhaps she might raise her from the ground;and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stoodupon her feet, and cried with a loud voice, saying:O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessedGod, have mercy on this people!The Queen30 And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, beingfilled with joy, speaking many words which were notMormon understood; and when she had done this, she took the king,Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he arose and stood uponhis feet. 31 And he, immediately, seeing the contentionamong his people, went forth and began to rebuke them,and to teach them the words which he had heard from themouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his wordsbelieved, and were converted unto the Lord. 32 But therewere many among them who would not hear his words;therefore they went their way.MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he alsoadministered unto them, and also did all the servants ofLamoni; and they did all declare unto the people theselfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; thatthey had no more desire to do evil. 34 And behold, many diddeclare unto the people that they had seen angels and hadconversed with them; and thus they had told them things ofGod, and of his righteousness.35 And it came to pass that there were many that did believein their words; and as many as did believe were baptized;and they became a righteous people, and they did establisha church among them. 36 And thus the work of the Lord didcommence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin topour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm isextended to all people who will repent and believe on hisname.