Being Filled with the Spirit

Being overcome by the spirit has a pretty remarkable effect.

This is the account of Lamoni and his peoples' reaction to learning about the Gospel. In the previous chapter (Alma 18), Lamoni is filled with the spirit and falls to the earth as if he were dead.

Lamoni's wife brings Ammon to see if he was dead, and he explained that he wasn't dead, but that he "sleepeth in God". In other words, he was being worked on by the spirit to become a changed man.

"Ammon...knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—" (Alma 19:6)

When Lamoni woke up, he immediately said to his wife: 

"12 ...Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.

 13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name." (Alma 19:12-13)

And he was overcome by the spirit again, and sunk down, and his wife, the queen, felt the power of those words, so much so that she also was overpowered by the spirit and sunk down too. This had almost like a domino effect. Ammon was next, then all the servants of the king, except Abish, a woman who had already had a knowledge of the gospel.

The first to wake up again was the queen. When she woke up, she immediately said "O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!"

Then she woke up Lamoni, and he immediately began to "teach [the people] the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord.

 33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

 34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of God, and of his righteousness."

I think it's pretty interesting that every time someone was clearly under the influence of the spirit, as soon as they could, they basically shared their testimonies. They would minister to those around them, and they would praise God. I think this is really the reaction that I have when I feel overcome by the spirit. I've never "sunk down" under the influence of the spirit, but I have had many spiritual experiences in my life.

And I love the reaction: that they had no more desire to do evil. I have experienced that same feeling. Unfortunately, temptation still comes, and I fall, but I know what it's like to not WANT to sin, and to have a moment when sin isn't even a temptation.

"...and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name." (Alma 19:36)

Teaching the Gospel

After protecting King Lamoni's servants and sheep, Ammon ended up going in to talk to Lamoni about what had happened. Ammon perceived by the Spirit that Lamoni had some questions, and he convinced the king to let him explain how he was able to do the things he had done in defending the sheep. Lamoni said he would listen to and believe all the words Ammon spoke to him, so Ammon proceeded to teach him the very basics of the Gospel.

The first thing you have to do when teaching someone the Gospel is to find what common ground you are starting from, so that you can understand each other. I remember on my mission, the very first discussion was about God, and how He is our Father in Heaven, and He created the earth.

Here is how Ammon started to teach Lamoni:

"24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?

 25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.

 26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?

 27 And he said, Yea.

 28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?

 29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.

 30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.

 31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?

 32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.

 33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken." (Alma 18:24-32)

First, he starts off by asking if Lamoni believes in God. Lamoni was unfamiliar with that term, but Ammon already knew that Lamoni believed in the Great Spirit, because Lamoni had asked if he was the Great Spirit earlier in the conversation. So Ammon took Lamoni's understanding, and established a definition/translation for him, so they would have a common ground as they discussed more of the Gospel.

As a Mormon, or more correctly, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I know that there is a lot of verbiage and points of basic understanding that is used that might be confusing or alienating to others who aren't familiar with the LDS Church, its teachings, or its doctrine. I want to share the sweet feelings of the Spirit that I feel when I am close to the Lord, and in order to share it in a non-threatening way, a way that causes trust and understanding rather than confusion and distrust, I need to find common ground with anyone I wish to share it with. Often times, it's a simple matter of using more understandable lingo, or giving definitions. It's also helpful to listen to others to understand where they are coming from.

Ammon is a great example of how to create a relationship of trust and then teach the gospel in a clear and simple way for those learning to understand. Ultimately, Lamoni was converted, and this eventually led to the conversion of a lot of people. And it all started with Ammon's service, faithfulness, and then clear teaching.

I want to be like Ammon.