Alma, Chapter 29

What was Alma’s wish?

If I could be anyone and do anything, I think I would want to be a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so that I could sing about the Savior all over the world.  ”O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people (v. 1)!  Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth (v. 2).”  Alma wished that he could have been an angel to call the people to repentance all over the world.  The difference between being an angel crying repentance and a member of the choir is interesting. I think of singing as my way to share my testimony.  And I do believe that the members of this choir are acting as angels on the earth, because they help to bring the spirit into the hearts of people, who may not allow it in by words alone.  An angel would be a more direct way to have people change their hearts.

I am working on teaching children how to repent, but I can’t recall trying to encourage someone else to repent.  I tend to generalize to groups, rather than say things directly to people, usually because I do not want to offend anyone.  I think that since Alma had had the experience himself, he realized the effects that it had.  When we experience something amazing, we want to share that experience with others.  We want them to go through it so that they can feel the same feelings and have the same outcome.  I’m sure this is why he wanted to be an angel, because he knew the power that a heavenly messenger would have and how it could effect the wicked hearts of men.  He had also just witnessed a horrible battle for the people of his time.  Many thousands of lives were lost because of wickedness.  Alma knew that if more of the people were righteous, their would be joy instead of the mourning and sadness that the people had been experiencing.

“But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me (v. 3).”  We have all been given talents.  Alma is saying that he should be happy with the tools that the Lord has given him and with what has been expected of him.  Alma had been “allotted” to be a leader and a missionary to the people.  ”Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is full (v. 13).”  We know what we have been allotted to do through our callings in the church, from our patriarchal blessings, and through the covenants that we have made.  I guess the point here is do we find joy in what we have been called to do as well.  Are we happy with our callings, or do we “sin in [our] wish to do something else.  The Lord knows us best.  He knows what will be best for us and He knows how we can serve Him the best.  When we are not happy in the callings that he has given us, we would surely be offending the Lord’s decision to bless us with them.

I really like this quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “True spirituality helps us to achieve balance between being too content with our present self and the equally dangerous human tendency we might have of wishing for more enlarged and impactful roles.  Alma said, ‘But behold, . . . I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.’ . . . To develop that kind of justifiable contentment . . . is obviously one of our challenges. . . . We may feel underused, underwhelmed, and underappreciated even though we are ignoring unused opportunities for service all about us.”  There is more than enough work to do for the Lord.  We have been given talents to do marvelous things even in the little things we do.  We need to look closely at our lives and find where we can be of the most service.  Then we will be acting as angels on this earth, without even realizing it.

Do we really get what we want?

“I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction (v. 4).  Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience (v. 5).”  On one hand we have the desire for life, salvation, good and joy.  On the other hand we have the desire for death, destruction, evil and remorse.  I think most would much rather choose the side of life because that is the goal, to be happy and have the eternal blessings.  But what are we willing to do to obtain them?  We are given the opportunity to choose one side or the other, “… he granteth unto men according to their desire …”.

When we know that we can choose between these things, it can help us to live happier.  Instead of thinking that we are destined to live in an unhappy state, we know that we have the choice and we just need to find the things that will make us happy.  There are many out there who do not know that we have a choice.  If we want to choose life and salvation over death and destruction, we can show the Lord by acting accordingly.  We can find the joy in this life through service and other good works.  If we want to choose death and destruction, we show Him by bringing ourselves and others around us down.  This choice is the greatest gift that we have and knowing it is so important.  Our lives are not results of someone else’s choices, unless we allow them to be.

What brought Alma joy?

I have joy when I see that I have been able to teach my children what is right and they have remembered.  I find joy in watching them grow.  I had a moment of great joy on Sunday, when I heard how my daughter had been an instrument in the Lord’s hands for someone else and had “saved” them from going further into a bad place in their lives.  I was so full of joy that I couldn’t help but cry.  I hope I can remember that experience forever (I made sure to write it down in my journal).

“I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy (v. 9).  And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me (v. 10).  Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage (v. 11).  Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage (v. 12).  Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is full (v. 13).  But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi (v. 14).  Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward (v.15)!  Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy (v. 16).  And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise him forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen (v. 17).”

Alma’s joy is because he has been allowed to be a missionary and help others repent and find God, because he had so much success, and because the sons of Mosiah had so much success on their missions as well.  Alma found joy in these things, because he knew that he and the sons of Mosiah had helped many people find salvation in the eternities.

In D&C 18:10-16 we read, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God (v. 10); For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him (v. 11).  And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance (v. 12).  And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth (v. 13)!  Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people (v. 14).  And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father (v. 15)!  And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me (v. 16)!”  There is great joy in the salvation of souls.  It brought Alma joy, it brings the Savior joy, and it can bring us great joy.

I hope that through my example and service, I can bring this kind of joy to myself, my family and to my Savior.

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

Alma, Chapter 28

Fasting can help us deal with tragedy and pain

“And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness (v. 1).  And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad (v. 2).  Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were driven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land (v. 3).  And now this was a time that there was a great mourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi (v. 4)—Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain (v. 5).”

I cannot imagine witnessing tens of thousands of people being killed in battle.  I have not had to experience losing a loved one in a battle, but I am sure that it is a painful thing to go through.  I’m sure if I had been living then, I would have been praying a lot, for myself and for those around me, to deal with the loss.  ”And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer (v. 6).”  To ease their pain, the people turned to fasting and prayer.  This brings relief because it brings the spirit to our hearts and the spirit is the comforter.

Fasting is a wonderful tool that we can use to make the spirit stronger in our lives.  The spirit can do so much for us that we cannot do on our own.  It is a blessing that has been given to us as long as we our faithful.  I think that we can make fasting more meaningful, by always fasting with a purpose.  Praying earnestly, and keeping that prayer in our hearts throughout the entire time we fast, will bring strength, answers, and comfort.

Why do people view death differently?

I have not been to many funerals in my life.  Of the few I remember, all but one were funerals of members of the church.  That one funeral was so different because it seemed that people truly thought that this life was the end and so that person was truly gone to them forever.  The other funerals have all been joyous occasions that celebrated the wonderful qualities of life and the glorious work of the life after we die.  I have not had the experience of losing a loved one.  My family members who have died, did so before I was born.  I am not sure how I would feel because I have not experienced that, but I know the plan of salvation and I know there is so much more to our existence.

“And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed (v. 10).  And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo (v. 11).  While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness (v. 12).”

Some feared because those who had died, had not lived righteous lives.  Others rejoiced because they understood that since their loved ones lived righteously, they would be blessed for it.  How we live and keep our covenants with God, will determine if we end up in “a state of endless wo” or “a state of never-ending happiness”.  I pray that happiness is what I will continue know.

What lessons should we learn from the phrase “and thus we see”?

“And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men (v. 13).  And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life (v. 14).”

Mormon wants us to learn that satan tempts men into inequality, that the Lord wants good people to do the service of missionary work, and that death and destruction bring sorrow, but the light of Christ brings joy and rejoicing.

And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of aJershon, and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness.

2 And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad.

3 Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were adriven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land.

4 And now this was a time that there was a great amourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi—

5 Yea, the cry of awidows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.

Alma, Chapter 27

What is the bond between missionaries and converts?

The lamanites who, in the last chapter, had chased after the nephites to kill them were not able to find them, so they went home.  The amalekites did not like the outcome of the fighting so they began to stir up the lamanites against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.  The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi were still committed to leaving their weapons buried and not fighting, so more of them were killed by the lamanites who had not been converted (v. 1-3).  At this point, I am sure that the hearts of Ammon and his brothers were really sad for the attack on these innocent people who they had helped to convert to the gospel.  I am sure they wanted to find a way to be able to help them.  My husband talks about the people who he baptized while on his mission, with a great love for them.  I am sure that this is the way that most (if not all) missionaries feel about the converts because they have seen them work so hard to make changes and find the right path in life.  If a missionary has a great love for those he or she baptizes, I can imagine that a convert feels an even greater love, because the missionary helped to change their lives.

“Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so dearly beloved them—for they were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction—therefore, when Ammon and his brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion, and they said unto the king (v. 4):  Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites, and flee out of the hands of our enemies, that we be not destroyed (v. 5).  But the king said unto them: Behold, the Nephites will destroy us, because of the many murders and sins we have committed against them (v. 6).  And Ammon said: I will go and inquire of the Lord, and if he say unto us, go down unto our brethren, will ye go (v. 7)?  And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them (v. 8 ).  But Ammon said unto him: It is against the law of our brethren, which was established by my father, that there should be any slaves among them; therefore let us go down and rely upon the mercies of our brethren (v. 9).  But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land (v. 10).  And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said unto him (v. 11):  Get this people out of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation, for I will preserve them (v. 12).  And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told the king all the words which the Lord had said unto him (v. 13).  And they gathered together all their people, yea, all the people of the Lord, and did gather together all their flocks and herds, and departed out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla, and came over near the borders of the land (v. 14).”

Ammon and his brothers, not only brought the gospel to the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, which saved them spiritually, but they helped to bring them safely out of the land and saved them physically from the lamanites and amalekites.  The people trusted their missionaries and the Lord with their lives.  What an awesome bond they had.

What is the source of joy and happiness?

I think the time that I have felt the most joy was the moment my second daughter was born.  (Not that the first wasn’t a wonderful moment, but I had been given too many pain killers and such to really get what was going on at the time.)  When I saw this beautiful baby I just knew she was sent from heaven and I felt an immediate love and bond with her that I had never known before.  My joy was so full, I couldn’t help but cry.

I know the time that I have felt the most unhappy was when I had felt broken-hearted as a youth.  I felt confused and very upset at something that had happened and it made me extremely sad.  I cried and struggled for a while.  In my anger I got rid of things that brought memories of that person.  I became depressed, did not want to talk to people and just was a mess for several days.  (Finally I got down on my knees and prayed for help.  I was immediately comforted by the loving arms of the spirit and I knew I would be okay.)

Ammon went to talk to the Nephites.  ”And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting (v. 16).  Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth (v. 17).  Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness (v. 18 ).  Now the joy of Alma in meeting his brethren was truly great, and also the joy of Aaron, of Omner, and Himni; but behold their joy was not that to exceed their strength (v. 19).”

Their joy was because they were seeing their dear friend again, who they had been converted with.  Their joy was also because they realized that they were all safe and had had some wonderful experiences along the way.  And as we learned earlier, their joy was because they realized they were all still strong in the gospel.  On the other hand, the Amalekites felt angry and unhappy and wanted to bring others down with them.  The gospel brings the greatest joy to people, where sinning and evil brings people the greatest unhappiness.  To feel more like Alma and the sons of Mosiah, we need to be living the gospel- not just having the gospel in our lives, but truly living the principles of it in all we do.

How do covenants work for us?

“And now it came to pass that Alma conducted his brethren back to the land of Zarahemla; even to his own house. And they went and told the chief judge all the things that had happened unto them in the land of Nephi, among their brethren, the Lamanites (v. 20).  And it came to pass that the chief judge sent a proclamation throughout all the land, desiring the voice of the people concerning the admitting their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi (v. 21).  And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon, which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance (v. 22).  And behold, we will set our armies between the land Jershon and the land Nephi, that we may protect our brethren in the land Jershon; and this we do for our brethren, on account of their fear to take up arms against their brethren lest they should commit sin; and this their great fear came because of their sore repentance which they had, on account of their many murders and their awful wickedness (v. 23).  And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon; and we will guard them from their enemies with our armies, on condition that they will give us a portion of their substance to assist us that we may maintain our armies (v. 24).”

The Nephites promised land and protection to the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.  In return the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi would help to pay for the army that was protecting them.  I think that this was more than fair for them.  I think one of the things that the people should pay for is protection, which in this case was an army to stand against the Lamanites and Amalekites.  The example this gives us, is that when we have new converts to the gospel, we should do more than what is necessary to help them to keep their covenants.  We need to do all that we can to protect their testimonies from the temptations of Satan.

The covenants we make at baptism are in preparation for the covenants of the temple.  In the temple, we can find safety in gathering our families together to be sealed for eternity.  We need to work towards making these covenants and then work to help those converts to do the same.

What’s in a name?

At birth we are all given a name by our parents.  When we are baptized we take on the name of Christ.  This is saying that we become part of the family of Christ.  Why is this important?  Because it is a way to distinguish us from the rest of the world.  We take upon us His name to show others that we are members of His church and His family of the gospel.  Throughout the scriptures, people who are converted have changed their names to reflect their conversion.  For example, recently in the scriptures, the Lamanites who were converted by Ammon and his brothers, changed their name to the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

“Now, it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he returned to the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, and also Alma with him, into the wilderness, where they had pitched their tents, and made known unto them all these things. And Alma also related unto them his conversion, with Ammon and Aaron, and his brethren (v. 25).  And it came to pass that it did cause great joy among them. And they went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the land of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after (v. 26).  And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end (v. 27).  And they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with the greatest abhorrence; and they never could be prevailed upon to take up arms against their brethren; and they never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it (v. 28 ).  Therefore, they would suffer death in the most aggravating and distressing manner which could be inflicted by their brethren, before they would take the sword or cimeter to smite them (v. 29).  And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord (v. 30).”

The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi moved into Jershon and became part of the people of Nephi.  They were then known as the people of Ammon, and no longer the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.  They were very righteous and “highly favored” by the Lord, because they were faithful in keeping the covenant that they had made with God.  They must have understood that their was life after death, because they did not fear it.  They knew that they would be blessed in the life after if they died righteously in this life.  What a great example of holding true to our covenants no matter what.  This can sometimes be a difficult thing to do, when Satan is so desperately trying to pull people away from the gospel.  I hope that I can always remember that their are greater blessings than I can imagine that will come for being faithful in keeping all the covenants that I have made with God.

Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so dearly beloved them—for they were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction—therefore, when Ammon and his brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion, and they asaid unto the king:

5 Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites, and flee out of the hands of our enemies, that we be not destroyed.

6 But the king said unto them: Behold, the Nephites will destroy us, because of the many murders and sins we have committed against them.

7 And Ammon said: I will go and inquire of the Lord, and if he say unto us, go down unto our brethren, will ye go?

8 And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them.

9 But Ammon said unto him: It is against the law of our brethren, which was established by my father, that there should be any aslaves among them; therefore let us go down and rely upon the mercies of our brethren.

10 But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land.

11 And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said unto him:

12 Get this people aout of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation, for I will bpreserve them.

13 And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told the king all the words which the Lord had said unto him.

14 And they gathered together all their people, yea, all the people of the Lord, and did gather together all their flocks and herds, and departed out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla, and came over near the borders of the land.

Alma, Chapter 26

Ammon’s psalm of praise

A psalm is a “praise” that could be sung to music.  Some may consider this chapter the psalm of Ammon.

“And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings (v. 1)?  And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell (v. 2)?”

And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we astarted from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?

2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?

How can we help new converts?

“Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work (v. 3).  Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God (v. 4).”

Ammon was so grateful for being allowed to help in bringing many Lamanites to the gospel.  When he says he was an instrument in the hands of God, he means that God has a plan to bring people to the gospel, and that he and his brothers were the tool that he used to do it.

“Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted (v. 5).  Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them (v. 6).  But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day (v. 7).”

The sheaves represent converts to the church and the sickle is the missionary work of the saints.  They are gathered into the church to be kept safe from the temptations of Satan.  We as members of the church, need to try harder to keep converts safe by helping them to stay close to the gospel.  We do this by inviting them to participate in activities, by giving them callings in the church, and by continuing to share our testimonies with them.  These same things apply to those who have been members for a long time and begin to fall away into temptations of the world.  Most of all, we should be grateful to God, just as Ammon was, for all that we have been given and for the opportunities to help in His cause.

“I will not boast of myself, but . . . of my God”

The tools, or the instruments, we have to do things can be very useful.  However, they are of no use if there is no one to make them work.  The instrument becomes a waste if not used.  The person using the instrument is more important to the task being accomplished because they make it work.  Although the instrument is good for helping to accomplish it, the worker using it deserves the most praise.

“Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever (v. 8 ).”  God is the worker.

“For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been strangers to God (v. 9).”  Ammon and his brothers were the instruments used to convert the Lamanites.

“And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting (v. 10).  But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God (v. 11).  Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever (v. 12).  Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice (v. 13)?  Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell (v. 14).  Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work (v. 15).  Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel (v. 16).”

God gives us all that we have, and makes us all that we are.  He can also take all that we have away from us.  He will give us more than all people could give us, because he wants to show us he loves us.  No matter how much we do for Him, we will always been in His debt for all that He does for us.  There is no one or no thing that deserves our gratitude more than Him.  If Ammon had boasted in his own strength, it would have been a lie.  All that they did and accomplished as missionaries came from their use of the priesthood, which is the power of God, and from following the spirit.  When we take credit for the work of the Lord, we are not being humble and we are in effect lying to ourselves about it.  When we are blessed, in the little things or the big things of life, we should always thank God for what he has done for us.  We should be letting those around us know that we are grateful to Him for all that He does for us and those around us.

Why did he do it?

Justice is the fair application of law, or the fair consequences of actions.  It is getting what we deserve for what we do.  Mercy, on the other hand is being show compassion.  It is being given better than we deserve for what we do.

“Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state (v. 17)?  Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to destroy his church (v. 18 ).  Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea, why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal despair (v.19)?  Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls (v. 20).  And now behold, my brethren, what natural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is none that knoweth these things, save it be the penitent (v. 21).”

Ammon is talking about the horrible things that he, his brothers and Alma did before being converted to the gospel.  They were treated with mercy because they deserved to be greatly punished for the bad things they did to the church and to the righteous.  Instead, Heavenly Father had them blessed with a visit from and angel of God.  They were converted and then he blessed them with the opportunity to serve others.  Heavenly Father loves us, His children.  He wants to give us every opportunity to turn to Him.  I, like these men, have had my times where I have done things to hurt others.  I deserved to have awful punishments for what I did.  Instead, I have been guided back to what is right and given the chance to make things right.  I have been so blessed for this, that I cannot even describe it.  I am trying hard to make up for my mistakes, by doing what is right.  I am teaching my children to do what is right, and I think by helping them to stay on the right path I will show how grateful I am to my Father in Heaven.  If I can show others the way, I know He will see my gratitude for all that He has done for me.

A formula for greatness

“Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance (v. 22).”

The “formula” to help bring others to repentance is repentance, faith, good works, and prayer without ceasing.  In order to help others to repent, we must first repent ourselves, just as Alma and the sons of Mosiah.  We cannot hope to help others to stop sinning, if we are living with sin ourselves.  Then, we must have faith.  I have learned that faith requires action, or that it is an action word.  To have faith, is to trust in the Lord and do what he wants of us.  We cannot help others if we just sit back and do nothing.  Next, we have to be engaged in good works.  Others will see the love of God through our service to them.  Lastly, we must of course be constant in our prayers.  When we keep the line of communication open with God, He will guide us in what we can do to help others.  The power of prayer is amazing.  We should be praying constantly for ourselves already, but we need to take it the next step and pray for how we can help others as well.

As usual if we do our part, the promise is even greater than we can imagine.  With these things we can know the mysteries of God, which means we can more easily teach others the basic principals of the gospel.  And to have the promise to bring thousands of souls to repentance is amazing.  Sometimes our influence on just one soul can bring many more to the gospel.  Ammon and his brothers had this experience with king Lamoni’s father.  They helped him in his conversion and because of that and his great influence, thousands of lamanites were converted and repented of their sins.

How many converts did they expect?

When my brother was preparing to leave on his mission, he was excited to teach the people of Japan.  He knew that his job was to teach them, so that they would want to be baptized.  I’m not sure if he thought he would able to baptize many.  I am pretty sure now that he feels it would be worth it to bring even just one soul to the gospel through baptism.

“And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some (v. 30).”  They had only hoped to bring one soul to the gospel, and even for just one, they went through a lot of pain and suffering.  They knew what they needed to do, and now they understood that if they did what was expected of them, they could do amazing things (see v. 22 above).

In Alma 23:8-13 we read, “Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord (v. 8 ):  The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael (v. 9); And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Middoni (v. 10); And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi (v. 11); And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom (v. 12).  And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were converted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites (v. 13).”  They led thousands to the gospel through their missionary work.

Why were they given such great power from God?  Why were they allowed so much success?  In D&C 18:10, 15-16 we read, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God (v. 10) . . . And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father (v. 15)!  And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me (v. 16)!”  I think that the difference between a typical member of the church and someone like these Nephite missionaries is how hard they labored to teach people repentance.  If we worked even a fraction of how hard they did, we could also share in that same joy that they had.

“It’s my life!”

I’ve heard it said often, “It’s my life!”.  This is the way people say, they don’t want to do something that someone else may want them to do.  To explain why they live the way they do, usually living with sin, by expressing that they have agency to do whatever they want.

“Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land (v. 36).”  Ammon’s intent was very different.  Ammon had experience great joy through the conversion of thousands and he wanted to continue having this joy.  He wanted to continue to praise God and to serve Him for the rest of his life.  I think that if people were less selfish, more would feel just like Ammon.  His focus was on saving others, not on helping himself.  He wanted to praise God always.  This should be a pattern for us to live by.

Alma, Chapter 25

What effect can anger have on our behavior?

I can’t remember an exact instance when I have gotten angry over something that happened, but I know that when I have, I feel like blaming everything on the other person.  Anger makes reason leave my head.  I know when I take time to cool off, I realize that no one else can make me angry.  That is just how I choose to react to something.  Usually I realize that the situation was more of a misunderstanding, or that I could have done things different in the first place.

“And behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren; therefore they swore vengeance upon the Nephites; and they did no more attempt to slay the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi at that time (v. 1).  But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and destroyed them (v. 2).  And after that, they had many battles with the Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain (v. 3).”

The Lamanites were angry because they had killed their brothers, who had been converted (see most recent post).  They blamed the Nephites for their feelings, and so they turned their anger towards them.  They went to fight with the Nephites.  Instead of repenting of what they had done, these Lamanites responded with anger and committed more sins by killing Nephites.

Had they thought for a little longer, they would realize that their feelings of anger probably came from their own guilt, not from the Nephites.  If they had chosen to respond by making up for what they had done, things would have been very different for them, as well as the Nephites they turned against at this time.

A prophet’s word fulfilled

I would never rely on my own weather predictions when planning a family outing.  I like to trust the meteorologist because they are trained to know the signs of changes in the weather.  But even they cannot really predict what the weather would be like in a week, month or even a year.  An educated guess would be the only way to have an idea of what the weather may be like.

In Mosiah 17:15-19, Abinadi prophecied to the wicked priests of Noah.  As they burned him, he said, “Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God (v. 15).  And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities (v. 16).  Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts (v. 17).  And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire (v. 18 ).  Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that destroy his people. O God, receive my soul (v. 19).”  These priests were led by a man named Amulon.

“And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were slain by the hands of the Nephites (v. 4); And the remainder, having fled into the east wilderness, and having usurped the power and authority over the Lamanites, caused that many of the Lamanites should perish by fire because of their belief (v. 5)—For many of them, after having suffered much loss and so many afflictions, began to be stirred up in remembrance of the words which Aaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore they began to disbelieve the traditions of their fathers, and to believe in the Lord, and that he gave great power unto the Nephites; and thus there were many of them converted in the wilderness (v. 6).  And it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the children of Amulon caused that they should be put to death, yea, all those that believed in these things (v. 7).  Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness (v. 8 ).  And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire (v. 9).  For he said unto them: What ye shall do unto me shall be a type of things to come (v. 10).  And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because of his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many should suffer death by fire, according as he had suffered (v. 11).  And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they were hunted, and they were smitten (v. 12).”

Abinadi’s prophecy was fulfilled at this time.  In D&C 1:37-38 we read, “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled (v. 37).  What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”  All the prophecies from God or spoken by His prophets, will be fulfilled.  We’ll be having conference in a few weeks and I am going to pay special attention to any prophecies of things to come that are mentioned at that time.  These things can help me and my family to prepare, so it is important that we listen to the prophets.

What changes can the gospel make in a person’s life?

Many of the people we read about in the scriptures are those who were converted and made great changes in their lives because of the gospel.  One example is Alma the younger, who went from hurting people and the church, to bringing many to the gospel through his missionary work.  It was a complete change of who he was and how he lived.

“And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi (v. 13).  And they did also bury their weapons of war, according as their brethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and his statutes (v. 14).”  The Lamanites committed themselves to living righteously, which was a complete change from killing those who were righteous just for having faith.

“Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them (v. 15).  Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come (v. 16).”  The Lamanites began to have faith in Christ.  They were sincere in their conversion, and did all that they could to live righteously.

“And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular (v. 17).” The missionaries who had taught the Lamanites, were pretty happy about how the gospel had changed their lives.

I believe that the gospel can change our lives completely.  I have had the gospel in my life since I was born, and there have been times when I have chosen not to let it be an influence.  Those times have been the worst times for me.  I have been filled with depression and sadness.  Then when I remember the gospel, I change.  In the past 10 years I have changed greatly and this is because I have gained a stronger testimony of the gospel.  I have learned to rely more on my Savior and His atonement.  I have decided to make living the gospel a regular thing in my life and it has brought me a lot of joy.

And behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren; therefore they swore vengeance upon the Nephites; and they did ano more attempt to slay the people of bAnti-Nephi-Lehi at that time.

2 But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and adestroyed them.

3 And after that, they had amany battles with the Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain.

Alma, Chapter 24

What are the attributes of a person converted to the Lord?

Some reasons people join the church are the feeling they get when they hear the differences in our beliefs from other religions out there, they read the Book of Mormon and know that it is true, they have been challenged by the missionaries and have prayed and accepted it, and more.  If a person is truly converted of the Lord, they will want to change their lives to be a better person.  Their attitudes and behaviors will most like have changed as well.  They may seem happier.  Some will seem to think of others more.  When a conversion is not sincere, they may continue to say and act the same way they did before.  As members of the church we dress modestly, use good language, avoid those things that are against the word of wisdom, focus more on the family, and more things that make us somewhat peculiar to the rest of the world.

King Lamoni’s father passed away and then the Lamanites who had not been converted began to get ready to fight the people of Anti-Lehi-Nephi.  Ammon and all of his brothers came to help them decide how they should protect themselves (v. 4-5).  ”Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not (v. 6).  Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers (v. 7).  And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites (v. 8 ).  And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed (v. 9).  And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son (v. 10).”

The Anti-Nephi-Lehi converts showed their conversion was true by their not wanting to kill anymore, by being grateful in all these things to God, by recognizing their sins and not wanting to do them any longer, and by being grateful for the atonement.

“And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren (v. 1).  And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi (v. 2).”  Those that were not converted, wanted to hurt those that had been converted.

“And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land (v. 20).  Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword (v. 21).  And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God (v. 22).”  Many of the newly converted people, were killed for their beliefs.

They showed their true conversion by relying entirely on the Lord in their times of deepest trial.  In the face of loosing their lives to the unconverted Lamanites, they prayed to God.  If we were more willing to do these things (pray, avoid contention, be grateful, giving up our sins, etc.), we would also show others how much we love the Lord.

Burying weapons of war

To go into a battle against an army that was armed with just a sword, would be as scary as fighting is just to be there, because we have weapons that make it easier to fight those with swords.  To go into that battle with no weapons, would be truly a scary thing.

“And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain (v. 11)—Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren (v. 12).  Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins (v. 13).”

Before they were converted, these people had killed many with their swords.  In fact they had killed many innocent and righteous people who had done nothing wrong.  These sins made them feel sorrowful now for what they had done.  They were willing now to commit not to use these swords for fighting any more.  This is such an awesome example to us.  When we have overcome a great sin, through being converted and using the atonement in our lives, we need to avoid returning to that sin at all costs.  It makes me want to reflect on my life more and see if I am taking these kinds of steps to avoid my weaknesses.

“And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations (v. 14).  Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us ahide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby (v. 15).  And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved (v. 16).  And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth (v. 17).”

Burying their weapons, showed the Lord how committed they were to following His ways.  If they had just promised not to use them, they would have had that temptation to fight right there at hand.  In Matthew 5:29 we read, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”  Burying the swords, took away the temptation and so they were completely giving in to the will of the Lord.

“And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands (v. 18 ).”  They put the lives of others above their own and therefore showed just how much love they had for God and for their fellowman, even their enemies.

When we are converted, we see others as our brothers and sisters in the eternal sense.  It is then that we can truly feel a love for everyone, even those who offend or hurt us.  Those that were unconverted saw these righteous people and saw an opportunity to kill them easily.  1,005 of the already converted souls were lost that day.  What an awesome example of faith, courage and true conversion this is to me.

What is the moral of the story?

When I am telling my daughter something she should learn from, I will ask her a follow-up question to see if she understood what I said.  When I am going to say something important I want her to hear, I’ll say “are you listening?”  To get our attention at this point, Mormon (who is making a summary of the original writings for us) says, “And thus we see …”.  This is usually how Mormon tells us when the moral of the story is coming.

“And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace (v. 19) . . . And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people (v. 27) . . . And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things (v. 30).”

From these stories of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, Mormon would like us to learn that when converted, they wanted to do nothing but what was right.  Many righteous were killed, but because of their death, many wicked were converted.  The righteous who died would be saved and the Lord’s plan would go forward with the conversion of the wicked so that they would have the chance as well.  And finally, that is is better to go astray without a knowledge of the gospel, then to go astray when we have heard or witnessed the truth.

We have many trials in our lives.  I have seen some people suffer greatly.  These righteous people in the Book of Mormon, suffered death, but because of going through their trial in faith, they will be blessed greatly (v. 22).  The Lord did not have to let them suffer this way, but the Lord knows what is best for us.  In Alma 60:13 we read, “For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.”

“Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword (v. 23)—Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done (v. 24).  And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them (v. 25).  And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved (v. 26).”  At least 1,005 of the Lamanites who were killing these people, were converted when they realized that these people still prayed to God, even when they were facing death.

The trials in our lives will teach us valuable lessons, when we are willing to learn from them.  They are hard to go through, but we are blessed when we endure.  I think a lot of the time, when I’ve struggled with something, I find that my blessings will outweigh the trial so much.  I don’t always realize it right away, but eventually down the road I do.  Our trials can definitely make us stronger.  I have faith that with those hard times, even though I may not know the reason, something good will eventually come from what I go through.  This is because I believe that my Father in Heaven knows me.  He knows what I can handle on my own.  And I know that with his help, I can handle anything that this life throws my way.

Just a note:  The chapter goes on to let us know that of those who were converted at this time, none were Amalekites or Amulonites.  All of those who were converted, were descendants of Laman and Lemuel.  Even though there were more Amalekites and Amulonites who killed the righteous that day (v. 29).

Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.

7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the atraditions of our wicked fathers.

8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have aopened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our asins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath aforgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the bguilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

Alma, Chapter 23

The conversion of the Lamanites

“Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land (v. 1).  Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their sanctuaries (v. 2).  And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness (v. 3).”  What an amazing thing this was.  These missionaries had been through a lot of suffering since they had started this mission.  Now they were being given a free pass to preach to all the lamanites in the land that was under king Lamoni’s father, which was a lot of land.

“And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success (v. 4).  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 (v. 5).  And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—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 (v. 6).  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 (v. 7).”  These once wicked people, were converted and became righteous until the day they died.  So many souls were effected by the missionary efforts of the Sons of Mosiah and those they were with.  I’m sure the feelings of success greatly outweighed those feelings of hardship they had when they first started their missions.

What are the “weapons of [your] rebellion”?

We read in verse 7, that the Lamanites “did lay down the weapons of their rebellion”.  To fight the Nephites the Lamanites had used weapons of war, such as clubs, sling shots, and swords.  To “fight against God” they had used lying, cheating, stealing, murdering and more.  We use these same types of weapons to rebel against God today.  Anything type of sin that we commit is our rebellion against God, lying, cheating, selfishness, being vain or greedy, gossiping, denying others their freedoms, and many more.

“Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord (v. 8 ):  The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael (v. 9); And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Middoni (v.10); And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi (v. 11); And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom (v. 12).  And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were converted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites (v. 13).  And the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities (v. 14).  Therefore, we have named all the cities of the Lamanites in which they did repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, and were converted (v. 15).”  Many were converted to the Lord, but the Amalekites and Amulonites were not because they had hardened their hearts.

In Mosiah 25:22-24 we read, “And thus, notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church, yea, even the church of God; for there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God (v. 22).  And now there were seven churches in the land of Zarahemla. And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God (v.23); And they were called the people of God. And the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land (v. 24).”  The Lamanites had laid down their weapons of rebellion at this time because repentance and faith were being preached to them and they were free to choose if they would accept it and join the church.  Then they had the spirit with them.  These things are what cause us to lead a righteous life and lay down our weapons of rebellion as well, so that we may be known as “the people of God”

Who were the Anti-Nephi-Lehies?

Names are such an interesting thing for parents to choose.  Giving a name is an opportunity to choose something that would be with that person for their entire life.  I am currently going through names to pick one for my child who will come in a few months.  This a fun process, but it really is something that will effect my child in many ways all through life.

“And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished (v. 16).”  These Lamanites had a change of heart and wanted to be distinguished from other Lamanites.

“And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites (v. 19).  And they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them (v. 20).”  They chose to be called Anti-Nephi-Lehies and these people were industrious and friendly.  They were blessed and I’m sure were a happier people because they had allowed God to guide their lives and had given up their sins.

What a wonderful blessing it is to witness the change in someone’s life when they have accepted the gospel.  To see the burden of guilt and sin lifted off their shoulders and to see them happy to be serving and happy to learn more of the gospel.  There is such a fire that drives new converts, which I wish more of us had in our lives.  Then to witness the same person taking upon themselves more covenants in the temple, is awesome.  The process of learning and growing that can happen for them and for me as I watch them, is great.  I pray that I will notice this change in more hearts and that I can continue to learn and grow as well, so that I can continue to have the peace and joy that the gospel, my Savior, and my Heavenly Father bring to my life.

Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a aproclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land.

2 Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their asynagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their bsanctuaries.

3 And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and aall his bhousehold; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked ctraditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.

4 And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from acity to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating bpriests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success.

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

6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working amiracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were bconverted unto the Lord, cnever 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.

Alma, Chapter 22

What role does the Holy Ghost play in missionary work?

I think that on a scale of 1 to 10, the importance of the Spirit of the Lord in missionary work is a 10.  Missionaries only do so much, by sharing and introducing the gospel, but the spirit is what converts.  In D&C 42:13-14 we read, “And they shall observe the covenants and church articles to do them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the Spirit (v. 13).  And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach (v. 14).”  A missionary should not teach if it is not with the spirit.

“Now, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamoni continually, we will return to the account of Aaron and his brethren; for after he departed from the land of Middoni he was led by the Spirit to the land of Nephi, even to the house of the king which was over all the land save it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the father of Lamoni (v. 1).  And it came to pass that he went in unto him into the king’s palace, with his brethren, and bowed himself before the king, and said unto him: Behold, O king, we are the brethren of Ammon, whom thou hast delivered out of prison (v. 2).  And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives, we will be thy servants. And the king said unto them: Arise, for I will grant unto you your lives, and I will not suffer that ye shall be my servants; but I will insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been somewhat troubled in mind because of the generosity and the greatness of the words of thy brother Ammon; and I desire to know the cause why he has not come up out of Middoni with thee (v. 3).  And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone to the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of Lamoni (v. 4).  Now the king said unto them: What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is the thing which doth trouble me (v. 5).”  The spirit led these missionaries to where they should teach the gospel.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “… it is the Spirit that matters most.”  I truly believe this.  The spirit give us the promptings which will put us on the path the Lord wants us on.  With the spirit, we can be instruments in the Lord’s hands and do the things that we are really meant to be doing.

What tools did Aaron use to teach the king?

We use many tools in our lives.  Tools are the things that we use to accomplish a task.  The scriptures are also a tool.  The scriptures are used to teach all mankind of Jesus Christ and His gospel.  They are not only tools for those that teach, such as missionaries and teachers in church lessons, but they are tools for each individual to come unto Christ.  Missionaries use other tools at times, to teach the gospel, such as pamphlets, videos, and so on.  There was one missionary, when I was a child, who wanted to teach my siblings the ideas of blessings from the Lord.  He used m&m’s poured from above us, to show how the blessings that come from heaven are so great, we cannot catch them all.

Aaron used tools to help convert Lamoni’s father.  ”And also, what is this that Ammon said—If ye will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent, ye shall be cast off at the last day (v. 6)?  And Aaron answered him and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God? And the king said: I know that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together to worship him. And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe (v. 7).  And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God (v. 8 ).”  One tool he used was his testimony.  Our testimonies have a lot of power.  When we can make gospel principles personal to us by sharing what we believe about them, others become more trusting that we are not just blind sheep following our leaders without thought, but that we truly believe.

“And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem (v. 9)?  And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this (v. 10)?”  Asking thought provoking questions is a good missionary tool.  It is very helpful to know what someone already believes when teaching them gospel principles.  It is also good because it helps for those investigating the gospel to realize what they already know and believe in.  When we preach at people, the lessons are lost or can be lost on closed minds.  When we teach it is a give-and-take relationship.  As teachers, we should always be asking questions to find out what is understood.

“And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words (v. 11).  And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen (v. 12).  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 credemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name (v. 13).  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 (v. 14).”  Here he uses the scriptures to teach.  The scriptures are important to use because with them we can teach correct gospel principles.  Our interpretation of the scriptures and our testimony of them are not enough, we need to teach directly from them.  This is because the spirit will teach each person what they should get from the scriptures, better than we can.

“I will give away all of my sins to know thee”

Things that we buy have been given a value, based on how much people are willing to spend on them.  When people our willing to spend more money on something, it becomes more valuable.  How valuable is a testimony of the Savior?

What would we be willing to give to know Him better?  To know the Savior better and have a testimony of Him, we give up our sins.  Are there things that we hold onto that hold us back from making the Savior more valuable to us?

In Alma 20:23 we learned that king Lamoni’s father was willing to give half of his kingdom to save his life.  In chapter 22 we read, “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 (v. 15) . . . 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, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead (v. 18 ).”

For his salvation (eternal life), the king was willing to give up all that he owned and after Aaron taught him, he was willing to give up all of his sins.  The Lord may not every ask up to give up all that we own to be saved, but if our heart is willing to give up everything for the Lord, we will be saved.  Just being willing to give up what we own is not enough to know the Savior, we must be willing to give up our sins.  We cannot truly learn of Jesus Christ unless we use the atonement, which is has given to us.

What happened to king Lamoni’s Father?

This is another good story of conversion that deserves to be told straight from the scriptures.  After crying to the Lord that he would forsake his sins, he was struck as if dead (see v. 18 above).  ”And it came to pass that his servants ran and told the queen all that had happened unto the king. And she came in unto the king; and when she saw him lay as if he were dead, and also Aaron and his brethren standing as though they had been the cause of his fall, she was angry with them, and commanded that her servants, or the servants of the king, should take them and slay them (v. 19).  Now the servants had seen the cause of the king’s fall, therefore they durst not lay their hands on Aaron and his brethren; and they pled with the queen saying: Why commandest thou that we should slay these men, when behold one of them is mightier than us all? Therefore we shall fall before them (v. 20).  Now when the queen saw the fear of the servants she also began to fear exceedingly, lest there should some evil come upon her. And she commanded her servants that they should go and call the people, that they might slay Aaron and his brethren (v. 21).  Now when Aaron saw the determination of the queen, he, also knowing the hardness of the hearts of the people, feared lest that a multitude should assemble themselves together, and there should be a great contention and a disturbance among them; therefore he put forth his hand and raised the king from the earth, and said unto him: Stand. And he stood upon his feet, receiving his strength (v. 22).  Now this was done in the presence of the queen and many of the servants. And when they saw it they greatly marveled, and began to fear. And the king stood forth, and began to aminister unto them. And he did minister unto them, insomuch that his whole household were converted unto the Lord (v. 23).  Now there was a multitude gathered together because of the commandment of the queen, and there began to be great murmurings among them because of Aaron and his brethren (v. 24).  But the king stood forth among them and administered unto them. And they were pacified towards Aaron and those who were with him (v. 25).  And it came to pass that when the king saw that the people were pacified, he caused that Aaron and his brethren should stand forth in the midst of the multitude, and that they should preach the word unto them (v. 26).  And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land (v. 27) . . .”

He was king over a large part of the land, and now he had a righteous influence over many Lamanites.  This is another awesome story of conversion that came about because of the sons of Mosiah and their missionary work.  They are such an amazing example to me.

(Just as a note: The rest of this chapter explains the way the land was split between the Lamanites and the Nephites.)

And they shall aobserve the bcovenants and church articles to cdo them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be ddirected by the Spirit.

14 And the Spirit shall be given unto you aby the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the bSpirit ye shall not teach.

Alma, Chapter 21

What is the advantage of having a missionary companion?

In Alma 17:17 we read, “Therefore they separated themselves one from another, and went forth among them, every man alone, according to the word and power of God which was given unto him.”  The sons of Mosiah went one by one to serve their missions, but today our missionaries serve in companionships.  If I was asked to serve without a companion, I am sure that I would be too nervous to get some good missionary work done.  They also were serving their mortal enemies, which added the possibility that they may never return alive.

“Now when Ammon and his brethren separated themselves in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, behold Aaron took his journey towards the land which was called by the Lamanites, Jerusalem, calling it after the land of their fathers’ nativity; and it was away joining the borders of Mormon (v. 1).  Now the Lamanites and the Amalekites and the people of Amulon had built a great city, which was called Jerusalem (v. 2).  Now the Lamanites of themselves were sufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and the Amulonites were still harder; therefore they did cause the Lamanites that they should harden their hearts, that they should wax strong in wickedness and their abominations (v. 3).  And it came to pass that Aaron came to the city of Jerusalem, and first began to preach to the Amalekites. And he began to preach to them in their synagogues, for they had built synagogues after the order of the Nehors; for many of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors (v. 4).”

Aaron went to Jerusalem, where there were Lamanites, Amalekites and Amulonites.  The Amalekites were a group of Nephite apostates and the Amulonites were descendants and followers of Amulon and priests of Noah (according to the scripture index).  There hearts were probably harder than the Lamanites, because there more recent ancestors had been exposed the principals of the gospel, but chose to go against them still.  These people influenced the Lamanites to sin more.  We find that even today, those who have been members of the church and then apostatize are the ones who do the most damage to the church by their words and how they choose to lead others away.  If I was expected to serve among enemies of the church like this, I think I would be on my knees a lot more, asking for the Lord’s constant help and protection.  I’m sure my testimony would have to be the strongest it has been, without any question of basic principals, so that they could not convince me that I was wrong to believe it.

What gospel would an Amalekite teach?

“Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold care not this people as good as thy people (v. 5)?  Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men (v. 6).  Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins (v. 7)?  And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come (v. 8 ).”

Amalekites believed that all men would be saved by God, that there is no such thing as prophets who can know anything about the future, and that believing in Christ was a “foolish tradition”.  This Amalekite wanted to pick a fight with Aaron.  Aaron was wise to respond with questions of what they believed and not to fight back.

“Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood (v. 9).  And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him; and they would not hear the words which he spake (v. 10).”  Aaron tried to teach them, instead of fighting.  He used the scriptures to teach of the redemption being through Jesus Christ and His atonement.  The people became angry and would not listen to him.  We should follow Aaron’s example and choose to avoid contentions with others.  All that we can do is teach the gospel and the spirit does the rest.  If they choose not to allow the spirit to touch them, it is their own doing.  The way for us to prepare ourselves against false doctrines taught by others, is to live righteously so that we can discern for ourselves (with the help of the spirit).  When we know the gospel, we know better what is right or wrong.  So if we study the gospel, we will be prepared.

What do we learn about missionary work?

I know that missionaries are not always happy.  They are human and have weaknesses even while called to serve.  They struggle with temptations and they have to rely on the spirit often to help them.  A mission can be especially difficult because there are many hard hearts out there.  One can only take rejection so much on their own, without the help of the Lord.  A mission can be spiritually draining and requires a good deal of learning, patience, growth and self-awareness.

“Therefore, when he saw that they would not hear his words, he departed out of their synagogue, and came over to a village which was called Ani-Anti, and there he found Muloki preaching the word unto them; and also Ammah and his brethren. And they contended with many about the word (v. 11).  And it came to pass that they saw that the people would harden their hearts, therefore they departed and came over into the land of Middoni. And they did preach the word unto many, and few believed on the words which they taught (v. 12).”  Sometimes people are so set in their ways, that they do not want to hear beliefs of others.  They do not want someone to come and tell them that what they believe is wrong in any way.

“Nevertheless, Aaron and a certain number of his brethren were taken and cast into prison, and the remainder of them fled out of the land of Middoni unto the regions round about (v. 13).”  The people were so hard-hearted, that Aaron and his brothers were put in prison.

“And those who were cast into prison suffered many things, and they were delivered by the hand of Lamoni and Ammon, and they were fed and clothed (v. 14).  And they went forth again to declare the word, and thus they were delivered for the first time out of prison; and thus they had suffered (v. 15).”  Being good missionaries and trying to fulfill their calls, they returned to preaching the gospel as soon as they were able.

“And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted (v. 16).”  They let the Spirit guide them to where they should teach the people.

“And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct (v. 17).”  These missionaries were finally blessed to have some listen to them and see what they were doing wrong in their lives.

“And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni returned from the land of Middoni to the land of Ishmael, which was the land of their inheritance (v. 18 ).  And king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his servant (v. 19).  But he caused that there should be synagogues built in the land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or the people who were under his reign, should assemble themselves together (v. 20).  And he did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things. And he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were under him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from the oppressions of the king, his father; for that his father had granted unto him that he might reign over the people who were in the land of Ishmael, and in all the land round about (v. 21).  And he also declared unto them that they might have the liberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in, if it were in the land which was under the reign of king Lamoni (v. 22).”  When there are leaders who are willing to let missionaries teach people, and who do not get in the way, but allow the people to have freedom to choose to listen or not, more people are willing to hear the gospel.  When a leader is not like this, it is hard to find those who are willing.  Sometimes this is because the people are afraid to go against what their leaders say.  This applies today still.  I have known some missionaries who have been instructed not to go out and teach for a certain amount of time, because of what is happening with the leaders of the country they are serving in.

“And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and it came to pass that he did teach them all things concerning things pertaining to righteousness. And he did exhort them daily, with all diligence; and they gave heed unto his word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God (v. 23).”  Ammon was a diligent missionary and many people listened to him.

As missionaries we need to remember to try to follow the spirit always.  We need to rely on the comfort of the Savior’s atonement, if we have difficult times.  Even as member missionaries, if  we are diligent, others will be blessed by our testimonies and teaching.  Missionary work is the Lord’s work.  He truly wants all souls to hear the gospel, and he will be there to help us when we are struggling with it.

Now when Ammon and his brethren aseparated themselves in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, behold Aaron took his journey towards the land which was called by the Lamanites, bJerusalem, calling it after the land of their fathers’ nativity; and it was away joining the borders of Mormon.

2 Now the Lamanites and the Amalekites and the people of aAmulon had built a great city, which was called Jerusalem.

3 Now the Lamanites of themselves were sufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and the Amulonites were still harder; therefore they did cause the Lamanites that they should harden their hearts, that they should wax strong in wickedness and their abominations.

4 And it came to pass that Aaron came to the city of Jerusalem, and first began to preach to the Amalekites. And he began to preach to them in their asynagogues, for they had built synagogues after the border of the Nehors; for many of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors.

Alma, Chapter 20

How did Ammon know that his brethren were in prison?

“And it came to pass that when they had established a church in that land, that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father (v. 1).  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 Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison (v. 2).”  Lamoni wanted Ammon to go to meet his father in Nephi, but the Lord told Ammon to go to Middoni instead, to help his brothers.

“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 (v. 3).  Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the strength 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 prison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison (v. 4)?  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 (v. 5).  Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his horses and his chariots (v. 6).  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 (v. 7).”  Ammon knew they were in prison because of the Lord, but Lamoni believed Ammon and said he would go with him to help him save his brothers.  Hearing the actual voice of the Lord in one way that he can direct us in our lives.  We can also be blessed to feel the promptings of the spirit regularly in our lives if we are living righteously.  These promptings can come from reading the word of God in scriptures or other gospel materials, listening to the prophet and other church leaders, and in the simple everyday things in our lives.

How harmful is anger?

There are many reasons that people get angry.  When they feel hurt or betrayed by someone or something, when life is “unfair”, when someone or something we love is hurt, and I think most often it comes when we know we are not doing the right things and our faults are pointed out by others.  People often loose their tempers and do things they shouldn’t do.  Parents get mad at their children often, expecting them to be more mature than they are and will “fly off the handle”.  When people are not healthy because of being sick and tired, I think the temper can be lost in an instant.  We loose our tempers when we don’t take the time to stop and think before we react.

“And it came to pass that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, they met the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land (v. 8 ).  And behold, the father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did ye not come to the feast on that great day when I made a feast unto my sons, and unto my people (v.9)?  And he also said: Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar (v. 10)?  And it came to pass that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whither he was going, for he feared to offend him (v. 11).  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 (v. 12).  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 (v. 13).”  Lamoni’s father was angry with him for helping Ammon, who was a Nephite.

“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 Ishmael (v. 14).  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 (v. 15).  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 (v. 16).”  Lamoni’s father was so angry over what he felt was a betrayal by his own son, that he was ready to kill him.  Anger had driven him to that.  If he had not been angry, I’m sure he would have thought to discover why his son believed a Nephite was a holy prophet of the true God.

In 3 Nephi 11:29-30 we read, “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another (v. 29).  Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away (v. 30).”  The Lord does not put anger in the hearts of men.  Part of why we are hear on earth is to learn to control all of our passions.  Anger is a “natural man’s” response to a situation.  When we can learn to control our emotions, anger will not be the result.  Instead we will be able to find compassion and forgiveness for others even when they do things that could make us angry.

What brought about the change in Lamoni’s father?

“But Ammon stood forth and said unto him: Behold, thou shalt not slay thy son; nevertheless, it were better that he should fall than thee, for behold, he has repented of his sins; but if thou shouldst fall at this time, in thine anger, thy soul could not be saved (v. 17).  And again, it is expedient that thou shouldst forbear; for if thou shouldst slay 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 soul (v. 18 ).  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 (v. 19).  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 (v. 20).  Now when the king saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare his life (v. 21).  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 cast out of prison (v. 22).  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 (v. 23).”  The king, who had wanted his son to kill Ammon, was now willing to give Ammon half of his kingdom, to save his own life.

“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 whatsoever thing he thinketh, then will I spare thee; otherwise I will smite thee to the earth (v. 24).”  Ammon asked that his brothers be realeased, and that Lamoni would be left to rule his kingdom how he wanted, without interference.

“Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life (v. 25).  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 (v. 26)—”  Lamoni’s father could see that Ammon cared for his son, and this astonished him.  He said that he would let Lamoni rule without ruling over him.

“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 (v. 27).”  Not only would Ammon’s brothers be released from prison, but they would be allowed to share the gospel with the king, because now he was interested in hearing more.

King Lamoni had been raised, in the Lamanite traditions, to believe that the Nephites were bad people who wanted to take what was rightfully theirs.  They believed that the Nephites were evil.  Here, the king was overpowered by Ammon in a fight and Ammon could have asked for anything, but instead Ammon showed his love for Lamoni.  Ammon wanted Lamoni to be free to rule as he saw fit.  Ammon did not want any power over the Lamanites.  This example of great power and love in a Nephite is what brought about the change in the king.

Lamoni’s father had been quick to anger and could have killed his own son because of it.  His anger would not have changed anything for the better in his own life, but would have sentenced him in the eternities for killing an innocent man.  Ammon’s love (when he too could have responded with anger), had the power to change someone’s else’s attitude and to save lives and eventually souls.  Love is more powerful than anger because Love is a God-like characteristic, but anger is a characteristic of satan.

What may be our lot?

Many challenges face the missionaries serving all over the world today.  Some have the challenge that comes from no one being willing to hear the word.  Some are threatened with violence.  Some have personal challenges that they must overcome as well.  I’m sure that some areas are easier to serve in than others.  I think that missionaries go out from the MTC with an expectation to reach many souls and baptize many of those souls.  It must be difficult to devote 2 years of your life to something and then feel like nothing is coming of it, because people will not listen.  While in some areas of the world, the people are very ready to hear the word and many are being baptized.  This is probably why missionaries are called to serve in specific areas and not given a choice of where to serve.  I’m sure most would choose to serve where the work seems to be more successful.

“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 (v. 28).  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 suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings (v. 29).  And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked 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 strong cords, and kept in prison for many days, and were delivered by Lamoni and Ammon (v. 30).”  Ammon’s brothers had not been have the success that Ammon had.  Not that it had been easy for Ammon, but they had had it pretty bad.  However, they “were patient in all their sufferings.”  They had not given up the work, but continued on, trying to share the gospel with people who would not hear them.  We need to remember this.  When we are trying to share the gospel, we need to remember to be patient in our sufferings as well.  We may loose friends or be ridiculed, but blessings will come to both those we try to teach and us, if we see it through.

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.