Freedom of Religion

I read this particular verse about what Lamoni did after he and Ammon returned back to Ishmael (Lamoni's kingdom):

"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." (Alma 21:22)

He had built up synagogues, and taught people and had Ammon teach people, because sure, he wanted them to have what he had, just like any good missionary.

However, the thing that jumped out to me was that this freedom of religion is super important. I don't always appreciate what I have, growing up in the United States. This right to worship is something that is worth fighting for. Really, it is just an earthly expression of what Heavenly Father wants for us -- our agency. We need the ability to choose for ourselves.

Anyway, not a long post, but I just thought I'd share that I had a feeling of gratitude as I read this verse, that I live where I live and have the freedoms that I have. I love that I can just worship the way I choose, without any governmental entity telling me what I can and can't do in that regard.

I am blessed to be here in this place and alive in this time.

Trust in Revelation

Ammon was asked by King Lamoni to accompany him to go visit with Lamoni's father, the king over all the land.

"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." (Alma 20:2)

Ammon, having heard about his brothers, tells Lamoni that he can't go with him, because he had to free his brethren. Lamoni just trusts Ammon, but offers to help. Then, almost as an afterthought, Lamoni said "Who told thee that they brethren were in prison?" Ammon replied, "No one hath told me, save it be God;".

Both Lamoni and Ammon prepare immediately and head out toward Middoni. At least in the record, neither of them even hesitated. They just went trying to do what the Lord had told them to do.

Interestingly, they meet up with King Lamoni's father along the way, and an exchange happens between them that I will discuss more in detail later, but they get an opportunity to get sign-off from Lamoni's father to free Ammon's brethren.

I think it's one thing to act on a prompting, maybe to call a friend, or to do something nice for someone. It's really a different thing to pack up and begin to travel to a place where clearly there is danger (or else why would Ammon's brethren have been imprisoned in the first place?), and they just go, no questions asked.

I hope I can recognize the voice of the Lord in my own life and have that much trust and faith in the promptings I receive, every day. It's definitely something I need to improve on.

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.

Perhaps Until the Day I Die

We have been following Alma the Younger's experiences for a while, and now we get to hear about the experiences of the sons of Mosiah during the same time frame. These men were with Alma when he was visited by the angel, and he had his life-altering experience. They too saw and heard the angel speak, and were similarly changed.

They all went to preach the Gospel to the Lamanites.  Their desire was to share their testimonies and help them come to a knowledge of their Redeemer.

First we get to hear about Ammon's experience. We hear about how he approached the land of Ishmael, where Lamoni was king. Ammon was captured and brought before Lamoni.

I think it is Lamoni's intention to figure out what a Nephite would be doing coming into his land, so he asks him "if were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people.

Ammon's response tells a lot about his commitment to his purpose of sharing his knowledge of the Redeemer with these people:

"And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die." (Alma 17:23)

The reality is, Ammon didn't know how it was going to end up. Maybe the Lamanites were bloodthirsty enough that they would kill him. Maybe he would spend the rest of his entire life just trying to teach, but being rejected.  It didn't really matter to him how it ended up, though, because he was committed to his cause. 

I think Lamoni probably sensed something good in Ammon, as he offered to let Ammon marry one of his daughters. Ammon refused and just said "I will be thy servant".

We can learn a lot from Ammon about how to share the gospel. He didn't come in saying "I'm here to teach you the gospel". He just wanted to serve. Opportunities to share the gospel will come naturally as you serve and learn to love the people you serve and will eventually teach. This is just as true in life as a non-full-time missionary. We serve people, and give them respect and kindness, and perhaps at some point, we have the opportunity to share the gospel with them.

I think one thing that amazes me about Ammon is his level of commitment to the cause. He didn't just show up on Lamoni's door saying "I'm here for 18 months to 2 years to share the gospel with as many people as possible." He just went among the people to teach and without some deadline, he was just willing to serve those people and maybe, just maybe, at some point, share the gospel and the knowledge of the Savior with them. That's commitment.

Know Where to Go For the Best Strategy

It had been pretty peaceful for a little while, but the Lamanites came into the land, and first of all, destroyed the city of Ammonihah, just as Alma and Amulek told them. They had believed their city couldn't be destroyed, but it was.

The Lamanites also took some prisoners, but the Nephites, specifically Zoram (the chief captain) didn't know where to go to catch up to them and rescue their people.

"Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites." (Alma 16:5)

I think this says a lot about the character of Zoram. He went straight to Alma, who was the high priest. Zoram wanted to know from the Lord where they should go. He was humble enough to turn to Alma, and have him pray and ask the Lord.

An answer came to Alma, which he relayed to Zoram, and they were successful in getting their people back--all of them.

It's always important to remember where to turn for direction. The Lord knows all. He can direct us.

Take Time out to Administer Those Who Might Not Think They Need It.

Alma and Amulek had been through a lot. They watched as people were stoned and burned alive. They were imprisoned, and along with that came the pretty consistent smiting and spitting on them. They had food and water withheld so they went hungry and thirsty. They were forced to sit in prison naked.

They escaped by the power of God. He destroyed those people who were treating them the worst, and broke them out of prison. They left town and went to a nearby town, Sidom. They were pleased to find that those believers who had been cast out of Ammonihah and stoned all made it to this town. This included Zeezrom, who had originally been one of their harshest critics. He now was very sick, and he took the blame of the wickedness of the people of Ammonihah upon himself. He even was assuming that Alma and Amulek, who he knew to be righteous men, had been killed. Zeezrom demonstrated his faith by being healed when he received the healing blessing from Alma and Amulek. In fact, as soon as they blessed him, "Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people;"

Zeezrom was baptized. Alma established the church in that part of the land. It was good there. Then, when all this was done, something I think is very subtle but very cool happened.

"Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord." (Alma 15:18)

Amulek was a strong, righteous individual. I think it would have been easy for Alma to just take Amulek to the next city that needed to hear the Gospel and continue to preach, but instead he took him to his home and administered to him.

I think sometimes it is easy to forget those people who are strong, and actively doing what they're supposed to do. We always focus on the weak, poor, and/or needy. These kinds of people are often easier to spot, and identify as needing our help.

Too often, though, it might be easy to overlook those faithful people who on the outside are doing great. They are very dedicated, and they a good people. They fulfill their church assignments and do what they are supposed to be doing.

 I think this  is a powerful message of home and visiting teaching. Even the people who seem the strongest can use some help sometimes, and this is one way the Lord takes care of those people too. I definitely need to keep this in mind as I try to take care of those people I home teach.