Transcript for:
Lecture Notes: Scripture Gems Episode

hey you found us welcome everybody this is scripture gems hello and welcome to the show my name is John Fullmer and this is my brother Jay how's it going John we are two brothers who just can't get enough of the scriptures we love them so much we do this episode we are going over the come follow me lesson for June 22nd through 28th 2020 this is covering Alma chapter 17 through 22 and now let's bring out the star of the show the scriptures oh this is so wonderful I can't wait to read you any lesson that we need the scriptures this is a great one yeah so now let's consult the schematic 6000 to find out how long it will take to read this Brutes reading 55 minutes 2 seconds wow so bigoted that's a big one see now I look at that and I say that that's twice as much as say a previous week's reading and then you say but if you break it up to a daily assignment it's only 7 minutes and 52 seconds yeah that's nothing that's a YouTube video that is it is your average YouTube video it's just little under 8 minutes you can do that but you have to do it every day and boy it'll be easy with these chapters it's an exciting story oh my goodness we're back to narratives now yeah alright and just a note because we know this is going to be a longer episode here are our time codes and remember the time codes are linked in the description below the video if you don't know where those are if you're on a mobile device hit the down triangle and it will open that up you can click on those go directly to individual chapters good deal and now in the 1985 words of Huey Lewis we got to get back in time yeah we're doing a little flashback again yeah now we've got it laid out here though you can see that the chapters that we talked about that brought us up through chapter 16 that was happening in the north now we're gonna be jumping back in just a minute to starting in chapter 17 verse 6 - what has been going on in the meanwhile so everything we're gonna be talking about up through chapter 27 is something that has been happening while we've been studying what's been happening in chapter 16 and will help you to make some connections between those two events the ones in the north and the ones in the south so let's start with chapter 17 now where we left off last lesson we had finished the whole saga of a maneja and the rejection of the Word of God their eventual destruction by the Lamanites Alma and Amalek preaching the word throughout the land and now they're headed southward and this is where this chapter picks up now before the chapter we have a little statement that says an account of the sons of Mosiah who rejected their rights to the kingdom for the word of God and went up to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites their sufferings and deliverance according to the record of Alma this is from the plates so the plates themselves have kind of distinguished this as they okay now we're talking about something else and the very nature of that is a flashback we're talking about the sons of Mosiah story as they left so let's jump into it verse 1 and now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward away to the land of Manti behold to his astonishment he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying toward the land of Zarahemla now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren and what added more to his joy they were still his brethren in the Lord yay and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the Scriptures diligently that they might know the Word of God but this is not all they had given themselves to much prayer and fasting therefore they had the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation and when they taught they taught with power and authority of God and they had been teaching the Word of God for the space of 14 years among the laymen having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth yeah by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of God to call on his name and confess their sins before him so now we have the convergence of the two stories we haven't gone back in time quite yet but we recognize that at the end of Mosiah the sons of Mosiah had left to go to the land of Nephi to teach the Lamanites and we hadn't heard anything from them for a while we've been following Alma's story but now the two stories merged uh-huh and so the sons of Mosiah the next few verses it tells us that the sons of Mosiah and those they had chosen so it's more than just those four people there's more that have gone with them left for a Nephi they brought weapons with them like swords and spears bows and arrows and slings but they distinguish that they brought those weapons with them town for food it wasn't that they were attempting to defend themselves yeah which is so so cool I mean this we mentioned this last time but in Alma 26 when Ammon is reflecting back on their opinion their fellow brother and we're like no go down there and destroy them well we're bringing weapons but they will be used to hunt for food so that they can teach the gospel I love that yep it mentions that they left in the first year of the reign of the judges and at the end of Alma chapter 16 from our last lesson we had finished the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges so just as those first few verses described they had obviously been gone for 14 years very long mission yeah and one of the other significant things that I was thinking about is we were talking about this is Messiah the second their father had passed away when they were gone we learned from the end of Mosiah that Messiah the second died when he was 63 years old which is kind of young and perhaps it was unexpected perhaps the sons of Mosiah expected that their father would be alive when they returned after all Alma died when he was 82 yeah well regardless I have a feeling that they wouldn't have come back anyway I think they considered their mission too honor exactly what their father stood for well that seems to be a common tale even in our modern age yeah so moving on verse 9 so notice in verse 9 that even though they didn't use weapons to arm themselves look at how they did arm themselves for the particular battle that they would be undertaking in verse 9 it says they fasted much and prayed much so that the result they were looking for is that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his spirit to go with them and abide with them and that they might be an instrument in the hands of God and bringing if it were possible any of their brethren and I love how they refer to the enemy of their people as their brethren this is a wonderful perspective this isn't a group identity perspective this is a we are children of God and therefore you are my brothers and sisters regardless of what your culture is or political position or ideology or whatever your traditions are what a wonderful way to see one another and so this is how they arm themselves in preparation to go into the battle and what was the result of their preparation in verse 10 and it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his spirit and said unto them be comforted and they were comforted and the Lord said unto them also go forth among the Lamanites thy brethren and established my word yet ye shall be patient in long suffering and afflictions that she may show forth good examples unto them in me and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls and look at what the result of that was you know here the Lord gives them a commandment both in 10 and he says be comforted that's a feels like a commandment and then he tells them what to do the result in verse 12 is they took courage now were they lacking courage we don't see it right here necessarily but you look ahead to Alma 26 and the reason we're looking ahead is that in Alma 26 the sons of Mosiah are reflecting back on their missionary experience and one of the things that we learn is how they were feeling at this time it says in Alma 26 26 but behold my beloved brethren we came into the wilderness now they're not in labor night lands yet into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls which i think is already amazing that they'd be happy with just anybody remember there's been no success up till now now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back that's the state they were in when 10:00 and 11:00 happens if we go back to the chapter we were just in and it recounts that in 27 but they were depressed and about to turn back they haven't even gotten to the Lamanite lands I'm not sure what sufferings caused them to turn around and be depressed but it was during that time that they turned to the Lord that they called upon him and fasted and prayed much and this was the result they took courage and went forward so here's my thought for us to reflect on why is it easier to have courage when we know that we're doing what the Lord wants us to do rather than serving on our own sometimes maybe we take on a calling or a responsibility and we just do it ourselves and yet if the Lord called us to it aren't we entitled to his help are we entitled to his power that we could take courage have you ever been called to a calling you felt overwhelmed for or overwhelmed about and you turn to the Lord and he gave you the strength because you recognized you were serving him not about all the particulars that were going to go on and how your life would need to change and that kind of stuff so I just think that's a really important element if you know the Lord is calling you then it's much easier to take courage then if you try to do it on your own you know it was late in life admittedly that I realized the great miracle of the church think about all of the callings that you've had and then ask yourself did I receive any kind of formal training before I was called to this position and the answer to that for most of us would be no we received nothing we were called to the position we jumped in we did the best we could and while that seems insane from a worldly pragmatic perspective I think it's the most beautiful part of the gospel in serving in the church it's one of the things that it forces us to do is to depend on our Heavenly Father look Heavenly Father I haven't done this calling before I don't know how to do any of this I need your help yeah it's a wonderful thing it is and I offer one more thought along those lines and that is we think we have to do something big or great and all God is asking us to do is to give what we have yeah reminds us of the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in John's account he tells us where they got the bread and the fishes it was from a little lad this little lad happened to have five barley loaves well okay he had five loaves but they were barley loaves no offense to those of you who love barley but yuck I mean they were poor man's bread and he had fishes but they were too and they were small so what he had to offer was not great by anybody standard but he gave all that he had and what God did with it was amazing that's what we need to do we give him what we can offer all that we have and it may not be much but we do it we put it on the altar and then the Lord can do miracles with it and then we get back so much more than what we gave agreed and there's a great quote to that effect in the come follow me manual this is President Thomas s Monson this is a video called on the Lord's errand of the life of Thomas s Monson and I encourage you to watch the video it's on Church of Jesus Christ org but there's a quote in it that says quote I always want the Lord to know that if he needs an errand to run Tom Monson will run that errand for him and quote just love that attitude yeah and this is what embodies the sons of Mosiah yeah they are exceptional examples of people who did a complete 180 from going out to destroy the church to just giving everything yeah to spread the gospel back in the verses that we just read verse 11 there's a unique phrase that you may show forth good examples unto them in me from the Institute manual there's a quote from elder M russell Ballard this is from General Conference October 2001 where he talks about three important things that we can do to be better neighbors to those who are not of our faith he says quote first get to know your neighbors learn about their families their work their views get together with them if they are willing and do so without being pushy and without any ulterior motives friendship should never be offered as a means to an end it can and should be an end unto itself let us cultivate meaningful relationships of mutual trust and understanding with people from different backgrounds and beliefs second I believe it would be good if we eliminated a couple of phrases from our vocabulary non-member and non Mormon such phrases can be demeaning and even belittling personally I don't consider myself to be a non-catholic or a non-jew I am a Christian I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints that is how I prefer to be identified for who and what I am as opposed to being identified for what I am NOT let us extend that same courtesy to those who live among us if a collective description is needed then neighbors seems to work well in most cases and third if neighbors become testy or frustrated because of some disagreement with the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints or with some law we support for moral reasons please don't suggest to them even in a humorous way that they consider moving someplace else I cannot comprehend how any member of our church can even think of such a thing our pioneer ancestors were driven from place to place by uninformed and intolerant neighbors they experienced extraordinary hardships and persecution because they thought acted and believed differently from others if our history teaches us nothing else it should teach us to respect the rights of all people to peacefully coexist with one another and amen it's great advice yeah I hope that we can live up to it so let's move on here in verse 18 Ammon being the chief among them which I'm not sure what that means we talked about whether or not Ammon was the oldest or Aaron was the oldest in the past lesson and it's unclear but he was evidently the chief among them according to verse 18 he blessed them according to their several stations having imparted the Word of God unto them or administered to them before his departure and thus they took their several journeys throughout the land so they split up and each went to their own direction Ammon went to the land of Ishmael Ishmael being called after the sons of Ishmael who became Lamanites this is way back to the beginning of the book Mormon and as Ammon entered into the land of Ishmael the Lamanites took him and bound him now I have to believe that Ammon would have expected this uh-huh the Lamanites don't like the Nephites that is clear so I wonder if he expected this probably and I think he must have felt maybe some level of safety in that plenty of Nephites had dissented to the Lamanites and maybe you know they'll give him a chance to say something before they dispatch him which they did yep verse 21 and thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael and his name was Lamoni and he was a descendant of Ishmael and the King inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites or among his people and Ammon said unto Him yay I desire to dwell among this people for a time yeah and perhaps until the day I die and it came to pass that King Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon and caused that his bands should be loosed and he would that Ammon should take one of his daughters to wife but Ammon said unto Him nay but I will be thy servant therefore Eman became a servant to King Lamoni and it came to pass that he was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni according to the custom of the Lamanites so a very interesting example of humility yet he doesn't want to be in the royal family again he was already he was a prince he turned that down marrying the daughter of the King Lamoni even though he's a Regent King would have made him a prince again he wants to be a shepherd and that's exactly the opportunity that Lamoni gives him which is so cool I don't know what Lamoni his intentions were but I can just imagine a man being like oh this is Shepherd is exactly what I wanted to be so he's a servant of the King for three days he and the other servants take the King's flocks to a place called Seba and apparently everybody waters their flocks at this watering hole and group Lamanites came and scattered the flocks which is I guess tradition and the servants became very afraid that the king would kill them this is something that had been done in the past right in verse 28 and they began to weep exceedingly saying behold our flocks are scattered already yea were they waiting like were they hoping that they could last like till the afternoon until they were worthy phrase they're already scattered they took the job understanding that at some point their flocks had lost they just weren't expecting it this soon they were hoping for the first paycheck or something I don't know now look at what's happening going forward look for how Ammon is a type of Christ imagine the kind of parable vision that we get of things like the Shepherd and the flock and just watch for that verse 29 now they wept because of the fear of being slain now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy now isn't that kind of a strange image though their flocks are scattered they're worried they're gonna get killed they're weeping and ammon's like this is awesome I love this my heart is swell with what happens when our heart is swollen within us what does it lead us to do it leads us to action and that's what he does for said he I will show forth my power unto these my fellow servants or the power which is in me in restoring these flocks unto the king that I may win the hearts of these my fellow servants that I may lead them to believe in my words yeah are we this excited about opportunities to serve to win hearts well it kind of makes you wonder whether Ammon had done any kind of shepherding before he left he seems to be very confident about being able to gather this flock oh you mean literally shepherding yes yes I see we know of course that Mosiah and his sons certainly would've assumed would have been laboring for their own support you know to minimize taxes yeah that's true that's real that he has some experience shepherding yeah I was curious though if he didn't if maybe he you know did other jobs if part of his you well I know but maybe that's the naivete of it you know just go gather the flocks meanwhile the Shepards like that's like impossible yet he didn't know he didn't know not to ask right no and so all of a sudden they did it and they're all wow this is amazing I don't know but it's interesting sometimes that happens with us we don't know enough that we do something that others would have said no that's not possible right and now these were the thoughts of ammon when he saw the afflictions of those who he termed to be his brethren and it came to pass that he flattered them by his word saying my brethren be of good cheer let us go in search of the flocks and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the King and he will not slay us that sound advice yeah as we take a look in 32 watch for how they not only act on what Ammon said but look how Ammon Shepherds the sheep and teaches the servants to Shepherd the Sheep these servants who he's teaching these christ-centered shepherding techniques they will become shepherds of men you know like Peter he was given that example in fishing something he knew how to do in the Lord he gave him that understanding that now he would be a Fisher of men well Emmons teaching these servants to become shepherds of men which they will coming up here in a few days but for now he's going to teach them to be shepherds and what that means verse 32 and it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks there step 1 go in search and they did follow Ammon who's he he's their spiritual leader they followed him they followed his example they rushed forth with much swiftness there's no time to lose get out there and let the Lord work through you and did the flocks of the king now that's an interesting phrase the idea of heading the flocks of the Kings means to turn them in another direction stop them from going in the destructive direction that they are going and did gather them together again we need to be together this is not a church of doing things on your own we need to be together to the place of water whose our living water of course it's Jesus Christ to a place of water and then those men stood again to scatter the flocks but Ammon said to his brethren and circle the flocks a good spiritual Shepherd and circles the flocks roundabout so that they won't flee at a sign of danger they won't flee when they're being persecuted when they're frightened and then he will go and contend and will let a man go and contend with his brother and how did that work out very interesting verse 35 this is the reaction of the men who came to scattered the flocks they did not fear Ammon for they suppose that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure for they knew not that the Lord had promised Messiah that he would deliver his sons out of their hands neither did they know anything concerning the Lord therefore they delighted in the destruction of their brethren now notice that the result of them not knowing anything about the Lord was they delighted in destruction of their brethren yeah it was more about them being able to manifest their own power it was about their own letting out for themselves yeah if we if God is not a part of the equation then it's about the natural man verse 36 but Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling yay with mighty power he did sling stones amongst them and thus he slew a certain number of them in so much that they began to be astonished at his power nevertheless they were angry because of the slain of their brethren and they were determined that he should fall therefore seeing that they could not hit him with their stones they came forth with clubs to slay him but behold every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon he smote off their arms with his sword for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword in so much that they began to be astonished and began to flee before them yay and they were not few in number and he caused them to flee by the strength of his arm what a powerful phrase by the strength of his arm this moment it's important to remember we can look to Ammon and his skill and and his power and his prowess but John by the way made a really great connection and I want to make sure that we shared I wrote it in my scriptures many years ago and I'm excited to share it with you here he connected this to dr. new covenants 35 13 and 14 when we look at that phrase he caused them to flee by the strength of his arm the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says this wherefore I call upon the weak things of the world those who are unlearned and despised to Thresh the nation's by the power of my spirit and their arm shall be my arm and I will be their shield and their buckler and I will gird up their loins and they shall fight manfully for me and their enemies shall be under their feet and I will let fall the sword in their behalf and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them this I think captures us maybe even better than it does Ammon but when we are in the Lord's service we are entitled to his power and as it's described in these verses it's ultimately his arm that is being used in his service verse 38 now six of them had fallen by the sling but he slew none save it were their leader with his sword and he smote off as many of their arms as were lifted against him and they were not a few and when he had driven them afar off he returned and they watered their flocks and returned them to the pasture of the king and then went in unto the king bearing the arms which had been smitten off by the sword of Ammon of those who sought to slay him and they were carried in unto the king for a testimony of the things which they had done so that brings us to chapter 18 and the King commands his servants except Ammon who was not there that they should testify of the events and they tell him what happened and showed them the arms evidently and Lamoni responds in verse 2 surely this is more than a man behold is not this the Great Spirit who descend such great punishments upon this people because of their murders now what's interesting about this is that they feel free to murder each other or you know it seems clear that there was a history of Lamoni slaughtering his servants because the flocks were scattered but this is an insight to the notion of the light of Christ that everyone has somewhere in Lamoni psyche he knows that killing someone else is wrong and he's feeling guilty about it well and that notion the fact that he's feeling it is pretty remarkable considering that it's outside of what he's been taught as we see going on in verse 3 the servants respond whether he be the Great Spirit or a man we know not but this much we do know that he cannot be slain by the enemies of the King neither can they scatter the Kings flocks when he is with us because of his expert nests and great strength therefore we know that he is a friend to the king and now O king we do not believe that a man has such great power for we know he cannot be slain now notice that this is the first missionary work by the servants these Shepherds they have testified of Amman to the king and you know it's interesting Mormon kind of brushes over this in the story but it seems clear that Amman was protected he could not be slain and it must have been miraculous enough that the servants recognized look this guy can't be killed there were a huge group of people that were throwing stones at him and attacking him with clubs and he just can't be killed that's very Samuel the Lamanite yeah it is kind of but they didn't know what to attribute it to right they hadn't seen that kind of power before yeah so and now when the King heard these words he said unto them now I know that it is the Great Spirit and he has come down at this time to preserve your lives that I might not slay you as I did your brethren now notice this at verse 5 it tells us what his religious upbringing was now this was the tradition of Lamoni which he had received from his father that there was a Great Spirit not withstanding they believed in a Great Spirit they supposed that whatsoever thing they did was right what an upbringing there is a God but he doesn't have any expectations of you whatever you do is the right thing which is one reason why Lamoni may not have batted an eye at his behavior toward his other servants but notice this nevertheless Lamoni began to fear exceedingly with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants why there was no gospel that was thought he might be saying you don't want a man taught me this about you know Christ and and I should repent he doesn't a man hasn't preached a single word to him at least not verbally not using words and yet his righteous example has had such a powerful impact on him that he's already feel beginning to feel a change of heart don't underestimate how powerful an example can be absolutely and here again to me this is a real example his own light of Christ coming through and it suggests to me that Lamoni has always had some misgivings about murdering people that there's always been something in the back of his mind that has said ah this is wrong we shouldn't do this but it's coming to surface now verse 8 and it came to pass that King Lamoni inquired of his servants saying where is this man that has such great power and they said unto Him behold he is feeding thy horses and now the king had commanded his servants previous to the time of the watering of their flocks that they should prepare his horses and chariots and conduct him forth to the land of Nephi for there had been a great feast appointed at the land of Nephi by the father of Lamoni who was king over all the land now when King Lamoni had heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his chariots he was more astonished because of the faithfulness of Ammon saying surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man for even he doesn't remember all my Commandments to execute them now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit and I would desire him that he'd come in unto me but I Durst not now I don't know what this says about his other servants normally I have to tell my servants over now over all right used to people actually following my instructions I don't know what to do now well I mean if the servants perhaps have been brought up with the same ideologies King Lamoni you know they believe in a Great Spirit but they believe anything that they do yeah you know talk to the Union I don't know right who knows there is a quote that I pulled out of the Institute manual about the importance of temporal service this is President Henry be hiring from an ensign article in February 2004 called the Book of Mormon will change your life he says quote when the other servants brought the evidence of what Ammon had done King Lamoni said where is he they said oh he's in the stables he's doing every little thing to serve you isn't that odd he was called to teach the doctrines of salvation but he was in the stables don't you think he should have been praying and fasting and polishing his teaching plan no he was in the stables King Lamoni had been brought up with a belief that there was a god but that whatever the king did was right he had been specifically taught false doctrine that might have made him impervious to feelings of guilt do you remember that when he heard where Ammon was a feeling of guilt of fear that he had done wrong in the killing of his servants came over him I have always focused before on how mixed up Lamoni was in his doctrine without seeing the miracle the miracle was that a spiritual need was created in a man that he might be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ his heart was broken he felt guilt and it came from the temporal things that a man had done never never underestimate the spiritual value of doing temporal things well for those whom you serve be their servants and you will love them and they will feel your love and more important they will feel God's love and quote wonderful so a man comes in to the king he is made ready the horses and chariots verse 12 he saw that the countenance of the king was changed therefore he was about to return out of his presence and one of the Kings servants said unto him Ravana the king desire thee to stay now quick aside here the was too stunned to speak but the king's servants had obviously been impacted enough that they realized that the King really wanted to talk to him but just couldn't say anything well it calls him Great King yes Ravana first of all Ravana should for any Hebrew scholar should seem interesting because that's a very Hebrew ish word is very related to rabbi and rabboni Ravana yeah so Great King our King desires you to stay and Ammon says what wilt thou that I should do for the O king and the King answered him not for the space of an hour according to their time so I don't know what that means I don't either an hour was shorter according to their time than in two hours I go well longer what is the one thing I would take away from Mormons insert according to their time is that maybe I don't take that literally that it was an hour yeah I think it seems clear that it was a long period of time how long don't know right for he knew not what he should say unto Him this is Lamoni he didn't know what to say and a man said unto him again what desires though of me but the king answered him not and it came to pass that Ammon being filled with the Spirit of God therefore he perceived the thoughts of the king now we've seen this before with Alma in the north and a me like when they were preaching against the lawyers the Spirit helped them to perceive their thoughts so we're seeing this happening again here for Ammon young and he said unto Him is it because thou has heard that I defended by thy servants and thy flocks and slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword and smote off the arms of the others in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants behold is it this that caused a thigh marveling 'he's now what's interesting about this is that this is actually an additional witness you know now not only has the King seen the arms not only as he heard the testimony of the servants but just in case the servants made the whole thing up to protect their own lives this is the testimony from a man himself for 17 I say unto you what is it that thy marvellous are so great behold I am a man and am thy servant therefore whatsoever thou desirest which is right that will I do again establishing his relationship with the king hey I'm your servant you asked me to do these things I did them why is that surprising to you again doesn't speak well for his former servants I don't know no it does it but whatever this is in verse 18 the King marvels again because of this discerning of thoughts and then we enter into this conversation between the two of them who are thou art thou that great spirit who knows all things I am NOT how knowest the thoughts of my heart thou may speak boldly and tell me concerning these things and also tell me by what power he slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks and now if thou wilt tell me concerning these things whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee and if it were needed I would guard thee with my armies but I know that thou art more powerful than all they nevertheless whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee wilt thou hearken unto my words if I tell thee by what power I do these things and this is the thing that I desire of thee yay I will believe all thy words believe us thou that there is a God I do not know what that meaneth believe it's not that there is a Great Spirit yeah this is God believe it's thou that this Great Spirit who is God created all things which are in heaven and in the earth yeah I believe he created all things which are in the earth but I do not know the heavens the heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels is it above the earth yay 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 I believe all these things which thou has spoken art thou sent from God I am a man and man in the beginning was created after the image of God and I am called by His Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true and a portion of that spirit dwelleth in me which giveth me knowledge and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God now there's an interesting phrase that he says right off the bat when he asks him if he is the Great Spirit who knows all things in verse 19 he says I am NOT and one thing I love about that phrase and I hope I'm not reading too much into it but Jesus Christ refers to himself as the I am and so when Ammon is being asked if he is divine he's essentially saying Christ I am NOT the I am I am NOT and I love that there's kind of a duality in the way he pulls himself away from any kind of sense of being more than just a man a brother to Lamoni right again establishing the concept of we are all children of God yeah and so everyone is a brother or sister to us it's a good insight we talked before about the notion that Jehovah is typically literally translated as I am or I am I was I am to be so that's an interesting thought you know also in verse 33 it's interesting that King Lamoni almost seems to be receiving spiritual promptings of what to ask next are now sent from God he gets it he understands what's going on it's exciting really it isn't it it seems to have everything to do with the fact that King Lamoni desires so much to understand what this is and that plays a big part even for us as members of the restored gospel where is our desire to really understand the Lord's purposes good point so in the next few verses Ammon talks about the history of all people starting with Adam and Eve and continuing to Lehi and his departure including the rebellions of laman and lemuel and the sons of Ishmael which is kind of bold seeing as we know that Lamoni is a descendant of Ishmael right yeah and you know if you're gonna teach someone that their traditions are wrong best to start with a big perspective you know the eternal perspective I think that's the that's the Payne way it's gonna make any kind of sense and not just be overtly offensive offensive or exactly verse 39 he teaches the plan of salvation including the coming of Christ from the Institute manual there is a quote in response to the concept of speaking boldly so King Lamoni gave him and the opportunity to speak boldly about his explanation and elder M russell Ballard gave some really good counsel about starting gospel conversations with our friends and this is from April 2006 General Conference he says quote creating a gospel sharing home does not mean that we are going to have to dedicate large amounts of time to meeting and cultivating friends with whom to share the gospel these friends will come naturally into our lives and if we are open about our membership in the church from the very beginning we can easily bring gospel discussions into the relationship with very little risk of being misunderstood friends and acquaintances will accept that this is part of who we are and they will feel free to ask questions a sister in France was asked about the secret of her success she said I simply share my joy I treat everyone as if they were already a member of the church if I'm standing by someone in line and strike up a conversation I share with them how much I enjoyed my church meetings on Sunday when co-workers asked what did you do this weekend I do not skip from Saturday night to Monday morning I share with them that I went to church what was said and my experiences with the Saints I talk about how I live think and feel and quote there's another quote from the Institute manual this one I actually have a string of quotes but this one is from elder Loren C done of 70 at the time and this is about the importance of building on common ground or common belief this is something that a man of course did very clearly because while Lamoni didn't understand the concept of a god of a single God he did understand the Great Spirit which was a teaching similar enough so that he could build on that quote today we live in times of conflict dissent differences of opinion charges counter charges disagreements there is a need for us perhaps more than ever before to reach within ourselves and allow the quality of mutual respect mingled with charity and forgiveness to influence our actions with one another to be able to disagree without becoming disagreeable to lower our voices and build on common ground with the realization that once the storm has passed we still have to live with one another and quote that's from April 1991 General Conference by the way and so the concept of living in times of conflict dissent differences of opinion yeah that's gotten 29 years worse you know what's really great though and I honestly I just noticed it this time Amman understood how to relate to Lamoni his beliefs because he listened to his beliefs I don't know how much Amman knew about limonite religious beliefs before his mission maybe he knew it already but in the story that we just read first he asks Amman if he's the Great Spirit who knows all things and then when he finally asked the question do you believe in God and he said I don't know what that means he went back to his beliefs that he had listened to previously so if we're gonna teach people maybe we need to do a better job of understanding what their beliefs are in a really sincere way not in a you know isn't this funny sort of way but really try to understand our well argumented a or even persecuted you know the the people that that pursue an anti Mormon perspective are reading books that describe the church through the lens of wanting to persecute it and if we learn about other people's faiths that way then we won't be able to have these kinds of conversations well think about how you might feel towards someone who is presenting anti-mormon arguments do you respect them and respect that they have made any attempt to understand what you believe ya know you don't ya and Ammon did that perfectly he really understood and I think the King felt that he did and so he was really willing to listen because Ammon was talking to him on his terms it was beautiful it's really cool there's another quote that I pulled out of the Institute manual that I wanted to include and this is a very famous one from President Gordon B Hinckley in October 2002 General Conference in that attitude of understanding another person's beliefs he says quote we say in a spirit of love bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source and come and let us see if we may add to it this invitation I extend to men and women everywhere and quote yeah and let's that needs to be our attitude absolutely it also testifies that there's lots of truth out there and we embrace all of it what we have is not a we don't corner the market on truth the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints makes no professions to being the only place and the only source for truth what we profess is to have the fullness of the gospel which is why the vast majority of people that convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints are those from other Christian traditions who recognize that they do have a relationship with Christ they are Christians of course they are but now they want more a fullness of that Christianity and that's what they look for and that's what the gospel offers to all of us it's true and as much as has been revealed every member of this church must recognize there's still more to come oh yes there's a lot that we still don't know and we're looking forward to it we believe that God will reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God hey I got to write that down mmm sounds like it should be an important thing to remember an article of faith perhaps oh I thought it was just a primary song it could be both actually I think it is so when a man teaches King Lamoni we mentioned that he starts with Adam and Eve and the creation but why why does that seem to be the central point we're gonna see that again here later with Aaron just start at the very beginning a very good place to start as we're told another quote that I found in the Institute manual from then elder Russell I'm Nelson this is from General Conference April 2000 quote the plan required the creation and that in turn required both fall and the atonement these are the three fundamental components of the plan the creation of a para disciple planet came from God mortality and death came into the world through the fall of Adam immortality and the possibility of eternal life were provided by the atonement of Jesus Christ the creation the fall and the atonement were planned long before the actual work of the creation began and quote so why Adam and Eve that's part of the plan Amman is teaching the foundational elements of the plan of salvation yep so what happens yeah let's go on verse 40 and it came to pass that after he had said all these things and expounded them to the king that the King believed all his words and he began to cry unto the Lord saying oh lord have mercy according to thy abundant mercy which thou has had upon the people of Nephi have upon me and my people and now when he had said this he fell into the earth as if he were dead and it came to pass that his servants took him and carried him in unto his wife and laid him upon a bed and he lay as if he were dead for the space of two days and two nights and his wife and his sons and his daughters mourned over him after the manner of the Lamanites greatly lamenting his loss now I think to the average person this might have been shocking even from a man's perspective but a man's seen this before he has go back to the end of Mosiah you remember when his friend Alma visited by an angel and then fallen as if he were dead ya knows what's going to happen yep yeah or at least he's certainly seen this before coming up in this next chapter is one of the great love stories in my opinion of Scripture I think the relationship between Lamoni and his wife is just fantastic and I don't always imagine that you know throughout history arranged marriages were the most common and so my assumption is this was an arranged marriage and yet they loved each other so much and there's so much of tenderness and intimacy in these coming verses watch for it as we examine this next story but we should start with this last verse look his wife and his kids are mourning over him greatly lamenting his loss he's loved by his family so in the next chapter were introduced now to his wife she takes on a starring role and after two days and two nights of this I don't know what Hammond is doing during this time and you know if Ammon was a different sort of person he might stroll in and go I got this covered everybody just watched me I'll show you you know he doesn't put himself in the starring role he goes back I assume to being the servant so much so that in order for him to participate in what's happening here in verse two she has to send for him and she does he doesn't insert himself I was going to suggest that he probably went back to the stables he may have to be done but notice that she sent for him because she desired something from him and that desire as we're taught time and time again is the beginning of conversion and she doesn't even know at this point maybe what to be converted to but she knows there's something about Ammon she's been told this by her servants so she sends for him and he comes and I'm sure gladly so she testifies what her servants have testified about him again missionary work from the servants awesome and recognizes that he a servant of a holy God in verse five she wants him to go in and not it doesn't say go in and heal my husband even it says go in and just see him will you just go in and see him he's been laid on his bed for two days and two nights some say he is not dead but there's a conflict because there's others who say that he is dead that he stinketh and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre and then we get the phrase that always gets a chuckle from everybody but as for myself to me he does not stink and can we spend just a moment on this we use it lightly I have as well but that's not the intent Mormon didn't add this into the story for us to find it humorous and if not humorous then what are we supposed to understand from it my undergraduate degree is in neurobiology and I have a passion for a lot of things related to biology one thing that many people don't know is that women have a superior sense of smell to men why is that important and I apologize that we're gonna get just sciency for just a moment so let me put on my sciency hat the research on this is it's so prolific it's easy to find one possible reason why women have a superior sense of smell is that they have 50 times more neurons in their olfactory system than men do it's better developed and there's good reasons why it could be but the point that I want to bring out here is that smell is one of the most profound senses for memory unlike other senses that you know you have a receptor and then it goes down neurons to the brain don't shut off here people just go to cover this quickly that's not true for olfactory the olfactory receptors are here at the top of the nasal cavity and they plug directly into the olfactory Center have you ever had the experience of smelling something and memories come flooding back if you haven't you will it's incredibly powerful for memory one of the things that women have one of the tests that they do for smell is blindfolding them in mark babies under their nose and in some tests women a hundred percent of the time can choose their baby by smell alone there's many women that I know anecdotally but this is also in the literature that when a husband passes away or when he's gone for a period of time they'll sleep on his pillow because his scent is on the pillow they'll wear his shirt because his scent is on the shirt smell is very important we don't talk about it in our culture as a matter of fact you may feel weird with us talking about it now but smells incredibly important to us as human beings and even more so to women so for her I imagine her in this Walter rain image here this is a Walter rain painting of her laying on her husband being with her husband she knows her husband's smell and she knows that he's not dead this is a very intimate detail that's something that again we wouldn't talk about today and yet it's really powerful so she says to me he does not think in other words I know the smell of my husband and he's not dead and a man understands that she's absolutely right he goes in he sees him he explains to her what's going on that he's being in a sense born again and asks if she believes and of course she testifies that with no other witness and maybe even surprises herself that she believes that it will be according as he has said Ammon is overwhelmed in verse 10 blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith I say unto the woman there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites it's a huge compliment I don't know if it's hyperbole because of course his dad you know and an alum and others but what he sees in her is remarkable now this next part is the other really great romantic moment for me intimate moment it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband from that time why isn't she the queen couldn't she assign that to somebody but she doesn't because she's not a queen right now she's a wife who is worried about her family worried about her love and so she stays with him from that time until the time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise now look at this moment I did a painting of this moment because again it's the single most romantic moment for me in all of Scripture look at the detail that Mormon gives us and thank you Mormon for including these tidbits it came to pass verse 12 that he arose according to the words of Ammon and as he arose he stretched forth his hand unto the woman can you see that moment in your mind's eye can you see him reaching for his beloved wife and at that moment he says blessed be the name of God and blessed art thou now why would he say this we could understand why he would say blessed be the name of God we know from Alma's experience he's just had his hard heart softened and his old life taken away he's reborn in God and to have a vision of that or whatever that makes complete sense but why does he praise her in the same breath as he did with God I would propose that the answer comes in the next verse for as sure as thou liveth 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 not only did he have a vision of the Redeemer and what that means in the plan of salvation but of woman's place in the plan of salvation now she's a mother of his children he knows motherhood is great but he's looking at her now and that's what I hope to capture in this painting he's looking at her now with new eyes he's seeing her in a divine way her role not just as his beloved wife but as the divine role of women in the salvation to bring about the redemption of all mankind and that moment is so magical between the two of them that he is overwhelmed again and so is she and this time they jointly fall into whatever this is that they fall into when they fall to the earth but I love that at this moment they are together now in the next few verses Ammon is overwhelmed the servants are overwhelmed the Lord is pouring out his spirit and it's just incredible that every one of them is falling into whatever this is except one person is one person in verse 16 and it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord in their might even until they had all fallen to the earth save it were one of the laminitis women whose name was a bish she having been converted unto the Lord for many years on account of a remarkable vision of her father thus having been converted to the Lord and never having made it known therefore when she saw that all the servants of Lamoni had fallen to the earth and also her mistress the Queen and the king and Ammon lay prostrate upon the earth she knew that it was the power of God and supposing that this opportunity by making known unto the people what had happened among them that by beholding this scene it would cause them to believe in the power of God therefore she ran forth from house to house making it known unto the people now what's interesting about this is that there are only three Book of Mormon character women that are actually named in the Book of Mormon and a bish is one of them she had been converted to the gospel due to a remarkable vision that her father had and we don't know the name of her father or anything else about this vision unfortunately but she had been secretly converted to the Lord but had kept it to herself now she saw it manifest and it excited her obviously I wonder though going back to the story of Zenith is this part of the goodness that Zenith saw in the Lamanites notice the willingness of the servants and the king and the queen to embrace the gospel yeah that may be I love the fact that there's this whole the Lord is working with these people regardless of what the Nephites are doing that's a great lesson for us too the Lord's work is not just in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints or in other Christian denominations his work extends to everybody and we see that witnessed here in the Book of Mormon I have just a quick note on names of women in the Book of Mormon in the sense that some people wonder how come we only have a few women that are named and we don't know the answer but there is a great article in the encyclopedia of Mormonism that you can link to I'll put it in the description women in the Book of Mormon written by Donna Bowen and Camilla Williams and they do share some ideas as an overview to the Book of Mormon but some ideas that are suggested there are modern Middle Eastern cultures in which referring to a woman by her first name when you're not related or intimately connected to her is disrespectful in fact it's better and safer in an environment maybe in the ancient world where you didn't have police forces like we think of them today that to say somebody like or to say something like instead of Sariah to say lee hi's wife is to say this woman is connected and protected with all of these resources that are embodied under Lehi and maybe in a Bish's situation as a servant who perhaps doesn't have a family there wasn't another way to refer to her I suppose they could have referred to her as the servant of somebody but regardless I'm sure that there are legitimate cultural reasons why certain people are named and others are not but I don't think we know what they are but this article might be interesting an interesting read it is a good point that they named a bish but they don't name the Queen yeah it's odd anyway so a breeze goes and gathers all kinds of people together crowd forms okay and in verse 18 to their astonishment they beheld the king and the Queen and their servants prostrate upon the earth and they all lay there as though they were dead and they also saw Ammon and behold he was an II fight and now the people began to murmur among themselves some of them saying that it was a great evil that had come upon them or upon the king and his house because they had suffered that the Nephites should remain in the land but others rebuked them saying the king hath brought this evil upon his house because he slew his servants who had had their flocks scattered at the waters of Seabus now it's interesting there again is this notion of guilt for murder there is the sense that they understand that murder is wrong even though supposedly according to their religion it doesn't matter what they do and something else at the end of 18 where it says behold he was an II fight that might be an interesting thing as well if you hold to the idea that Nephites and Lamanites look different ethnically which I don't but if you do then that's an easy sell but even if at this point there have been so many dissenters we know we're gonna find out that there's a Mueller Knights & Amla sites and others nee fight groups that have joined the Lamanites so what's the big deal how would you distinguish I think the only way they could distinguish that he was in a fight is he didn't cut his hair like they cut their hair he didn't put red on his forehead like they do he didn't maybe have the jewelry that they did or the clothes that they had and say that's an easy sell for me is that how many people today do you distinguish merely because of how they dress you know he obviously dressed differently than they did most likely well in my point in saying that is that he was serving among the Lamanites but he didn't become a laminate he still was doing the things and observing the things and dressing and whatever that marked him as well as a Christian honestly and so even though he served them he could still serve them and not become one of them and if we go further into the controversy here this is actually kind of funny because we had the rebuke of some people saying that the King brought this evil upon himself because he slew his servants that had had their flocks scattered at the waters of Sheba's and they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of seevis and scattered the flocks belonga the king for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of their brethren at the waters of Seba swing no no it's to me that's hilarious but the the Marauder yeah that's a no-no that's not the reason now one of them whose brother had been slain with the sword of Ammon so this is one of the criminals being exceedingly angry with Ammon drew his sword and went forth that he might let it fall upon a man to slay him and as he lifted the sword to smite him behold he fell dead now we see that Ammon could not be slain for the Lord had said unto messiah his father I will spare him and it shall be unto him according to thy faith therefore Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord so I guess the servants were right Ammon could not be slain indeed and you know what's significant about this it's possible that Mosiah had already passed away at this point oh yeah well yeah that's true that could be I mean this is all happening yet mark promise is still there yeah the promise is still with him yeah and so anyway there's all this back and forth verse 25 and it came to pass there were many among them who said that Ammon was the great spirit and others said he was sent by the Great Spirit yea but others rebuked them all saying that he was a monster now I have to say if you've ever watched the living scriptures cartoon version of this story do you remember this yeah no he's a monster there's some guy in the background of the crowd so the crowds all rumbling he's a Great Spirit no he's not the Great Spirit and some guy popped and his voice pops out above everybody else now oh he's a monster although John you did it better it's so hilarious so I can now not read that without always hearing that in my mind if the voice artist who did that phrase is out there please reach out we'd love to have you on the show - hey repeat the performance we would I just want you to know you may be difference in our lives that's hilarious and there were some who said that Ammon was sent by the Great Spirit to afflict them because of their iniquities again that sense of guilt and that it was the Great Spirit that had always attended the Nephites who had ever delivered them out of their hands and they said that it was the Great Spirit who had destroyed so many of their brethren the Lamanites this is also interesting there's the sense that while the Great Spirit protects these guys protects the Nephites there's just this shell of an understanding yeah that's really interesting yeah and thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them so that when Ava SH finally comes and sees the contention which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful even unto tears she's waited so long to share the gospel it seems and now the opportunity is there she's like oh I could be a missionary and she goes out there and she's just she does her best she goes from house to house and it's wonderful and then it just all falls apart everybody's arguing there's all this contention and she just starts crying you just your heart just breaks for her yeah hey you know something else that you were just pointing out as I was thinking about it this idea that if we understand this right that their religious tradition teaches that there is a Great Spirit who doesn't care what they do but he seems to like the Nephites what a great message can you imagine why this message would be maybe so they would love this message well we're sieved is to say no no the Great Spirit loves you too you are his John can be favored by the gas spirit as well and we could show you what he wants for you and I mean Cal that's just so uplifting yeah agreed so in verse 29 and it came to pass that she this is a bush went and took the Queen by the hand that perhaps she might raise her from the ground and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet and cried with a loud voice saying O blessed Jesus who has saved me from an awful hell all blessed God have mercy on this people and when she had said this she clasped her hands being filled with joy speaking many words which were not understood and when she had done this she took the King Lamoni by the hand and behold he arose and stood upon his feet and he immediately seeing the contention among his people went forth and began to rebuke them and to teach them the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon and as many as heard his words believed and were converted unto the Lord but there were many among them who would not hear his words therefore they went their way I don't know what that means when it says that the Queen spoke many words they could not be understood maybe they were gospel things that the people didn't understand her or is it possible that she was speaking in tongues speaking in tongues sure and I also think it's neat that abus reached out for her it makes me wonder if maybe she was specifically the Queen's servant best describes her as her mistress yeah so so there does seem to be a relationship there so that's cool and that she just I love this couple so much and that they get to be a missionary couple together is amazing just well and consider this even if you take the gospel out of context these people were evidently remarkable rulers anyway what is her first thought have mercy on this peep my oh yeah yeah I'm concerned about them and the King Hey stop arguing you people here's what we you know here's something that we have to talk about and that you will benefit from and I want to share with you well here's something interesting Lamoni would probably be the teacher because Lamoni his wife wasn't there when Ammon laid out the whole gospel plan in her vision she definitely got something that she recognizes the centrality of Christ which Lamoni testified to her before they passed out but she testifies for what she knows and Lamoni is teaching this and now they're his words you know they're not even a man's words anymore he has the confirmation from the Lord they're now his words just I just love this well and here's something else to ponder we often depict the Lamanites as these one-dimensional savages but consider verse 32 that there were people who would not hear the words of the gospel what did they do did they argue did they cause a riot they just left yeah they just went their way what an odd concept if someone is talking about something that you don't agree with maybe just go on your way something to think about yeah so the next few verses many Lamanites are converted and Ammon establishes a church among them verse 36 this is how the chapter closes out and thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites thus the Lord did begin to pour out his spirit upon them and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name that gets back to the concept that we were just talking about is you know you see that the Great Spirit favors the Nephites he can favor you - yeah and here's how that can happen so we go on to chapter 20 now since we're gonna do the timecodes I would just like to welcome everybody to chapter 20 if you've clicked on the time code and it's brought to you right here hey welcome it's nice to have you here at chapter 20 verse 1 and it came to pass that when they had established a church in that land that King Lamoni desired that a man should go with him to the land of Nephi that he might show him unto his father I'm sure that'll go well what's interesting is how much Ammon has he met his father you know how does he think this is gonna go I don't know yeah I don't know but in the next few verses it talks about that Ammon learns from the spirit that Aaron molokai and Emma are in prison in madona and King Lamoni mentions that hey in madona the king there is named aunt Ayano and Lamoni is a friend of his and so Lamoni offers to go with him to help it's so cool when you read those verses they just seem like friends they do Lamoni in amman they're good buddies now yep verse 8 and it came to pass that as Amman and Lamoni were journeying thither they met the father of Lamoni who was king over all the land interesting and behold the father of Lamoni said unto him why did she not come to the feast on that great day when I made a feast unto my sons and unto my people a quick aside here do you remember that when Ammon was going to prepare the horses and chariots that's what the king was supposed to go to was this a great feast day yeah and he unfortunately had the missionary opportunity right and so there you go and actually coming up his dad is gonna have a missionary opportunity with Ammon as well let's yes but in a very different flavor yeah verse 10 and he also said whither art thou going with this indie fight who is one of the children of a liar and it came to pass that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whether he was going for he feared to offend him 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 paired okay well so he explains his situation verse 13 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 lying's deceive us that they again may rob us of our property 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 madona but that he should return with him to the land of Ishmael 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 madona that I may release the brethren of Ammon for I know that they are just men and holy prophets of the true God what a great testimony but how come he doesn't fear to offend him now before he feared to offend him and isn't it interesting that he is astonished that his dad is so angry about this well think about it he's just had a wonderful experience and it's similar to a bish a bish sees the spiritual outpouring and thinks well everybody will just come in a little feel the spirit and it'll be wonderful only they don't yeah they get together and argue yeah you know he doesn't realize his dad is not ready yet right so we should help him get ready yep let's go on verse 16 now when his father had heard these words he was angry with him this is angry with Lamoni and he drew his sword that he might smite him to the earth 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 should as fall at this time in thine anger thy soul could not be saved and again it is expedient that thou should forbear for if thou should 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 so it's interesting that Ammon is concerned really more about the Kings soul isn't that interest then about Lamoni dying yeah 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 has sought to destroy him 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 see this has got to be some kind of a move that Ammon was taught at some point because no he knows to go for the arm go for the arm and everybody it seems to work all the time you know this time it doesn't appear to have been smitten off just hurt in such a way that he could not use it now when the King saw that Ammon could slay him he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare his life but Ammon raised his sword and said unto Him behold I will smite thee except that will grant unto me that my brethren may be cast out of prison now the king fearing he should lose his life said if that will spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask even to half the kingdom 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 now when Amanat said these words the King began to rejoice because of his life 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 has 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 this is a really important thing that happens here this notion of Lamoni no longer being under the king of all the Lamanites but in essence having his own kingdom independent of that because in a few years this very King and I don't know where he's going in his development but he pulls together a innumerable army to eventually join with amal si to destroy the Nephites troops would have been pulled out of all the other region kingdoms but not Lamoni if they didn't establish this Lamoni would have had to have given him troops to go and destroy the very people that they now love and affiliate with yeah let's remember when Alma the chief priests and evidently head of the army is grappling with a Masai and the army of the Lamanites that Amla Sai joins with when Alma is fighting face-to-face with the king of the Lamanites that's this guy yeah who obviously it has his arm you know his wound is recovered at that point but Alma gives him another this is his first missionary opportunity Alma gives him another missionary opportunity to make him rethink his life a little bit and so that by the time Aaron comes knocking on his door he's really ready absolutely verse 27 he continues 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 had spoken and also at the words which had been spoken by his son Lamoni therefore he was desirous to learn them so Amman and Lamoni proceeded to madona Lamoni is favored by aunt Ayano and aaron and his brethren are released from prison they were hungry thirsty naked and bound with strong cords for many days so now we get into chapter 21 so here's our time marker welcome to chapter 21 it's good to have you here right before chapter 21 we get another little summary it says an account of the preaching of Aaron and mule akai and their brethren to the Lamanites here again this is from the plates it's not something that was added chapter 21 Aaron journeys to Jerusalem so now again we're flashbacking within a flashback so yeah at this point Amman has blessed everyone everyone has gone their separate ways Ammon went to Ishmael Aaron went to Jerusalem this is a city that was built by the Lamanites and the amulets and the Amalekites it's interesting because it's mentioned as if we know who they are already yeah now they could be mentioned in the lost hundred sixteen pages but no yeah so for those of you who've ever and maybe nobody has thought about this or cares but there's a few of us out there who have always wondered what in the world is going on with the Amalekites it's interesting to note that they appear after the Amla sites have been talked about and the Amla sites disappear and so royal Skousen who's done the most work on the analysis of textual variants explains that the Amalekites came about due to a spelling variant in the 1830 Edition they were evidently the same people as the Amla sites now the Amla sites if you'll recall or Alma chapter 2 led by amis I went to war joined the Lamanites and it appears that that's who the Amalekites are so if in your mind you want to amla sites that might be a good place to make a connection if you want to read more about this type of theory it would be good for you to go to Book of Mormon central for know why number 109 it's good discussion and a reminder the video will just summarize it but if you go to the page which we'll link that goes into more detail and will give you references that you can read up if you want to learn more about it so regardless of who the Amalekites were we definitely know who the Amalekites were these are two the descendants of the priests of Noah who have been living among the Lamanites at this time seem to be doing pretty well for themselves yeah evidently verse three the Lamanites are hardened but the Amalekites or Amla sites and the amulets were harder still and they were feeding the hardening of the Lamanites 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 knee for many of the Amalekites and the amulets were after the order of the knee see now that's good missionary work yeah because the amulets certainly would not have been among the Nephites during knee preaching yes oh but if we're right that the Amalekites are the Amla sites they would have brought me teachings down and you know the amulets are like hey this is great yeah we'll buy into this yeah therefore is 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 this that thou has testified has thou seen an angel why do not engines appear unto us behold are not this people as good as thy people thou also say us 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 believe is thou that the son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins 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 father's and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake of that which is to come and 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 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 so they didn't hear his words and they decide to leave they departed out of the synagogue and he came over to a village which was called anteye anteye-- and there he found molokai preaching the word unto them and also amma and his brethren and they contended with many about the word and they also left and departed into the land of madona where again few people believed on the words which they taught now this has got to be really hard and one thing you'd want to ask is why didn't he do what Ammon did you know the Lord said that they were supposed to be an example of him and so Ammon did it he was an example and it was so effective that he waited until the King basically pled with him please please please teach me the gospel but here Aaron went in and he just started preaching the gospel and it went terribly but he has a different mission that Ammon did remember that the example was that they were supposed to show forth how they would handle affliction and ammon had a mission among a particular group Aaron he started out with those who were dissenters from the church who were even more hardened than the Lamanites these people already knew the gospel it wasn't about starting from scratch so Ammon served the way he should have served and Aaron and his brother and I would propose serve the way they should have the people they were talking to knew better now as for the fact that few believed their words just wait by the time we get to Alma 25 that's gonna change so give it time Aaron and his brethren so then a certain they get to madona and they get cast in prison and others of their brother an escape and so this is the condition that they find themselves in suffering when they're rescued by Ammon and la Mona and Lamoni right in verse 15 and they went forth again to declare the word and thus they were delivered for the first time out of prison which is kind of ominous if you think about it haha and thus they had suffered 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 and it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them and so much that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth yeah they did convince many of their sins and of the traditions of their fathers which were not correct first of all I want you to consider being put up in prison for several days being deprived of food being deprived of your clothes and being strung up with strong bonds what's job one when you get released okay back to work that's just very impressive they know why they're there from the Institute manual I have a quote from President Henry be tiring about the importance of why we must keep trying to reach every soul quote why should I speak to anyone about the gospel who seems content what danger is there to them or to me if I do or say nothing well the danger may be hard to see but it is real both for them and for us for instance at some moment in the world to come everyone you will ever meet will know what you know now they will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ was to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God they will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and to keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth and they will know that you knew and they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you and quote powerful thought so Amman in Lamoni returned to the land of Ishmael Lamoni refuses amman to be his servant he's fired then I don't know Lamoni causes synagogues to be built Lamoni teaches his people and tells them that they are now a free people and Amman teaches the people they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God what rate they grew staying there Ishmael so that's awesome awesome and now we go on to chapter 22 alright here we have Aaron's story right uh-huh verse 1 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 madona 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 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 has delivered out of prison and now O king if thou wilt spare our lives we will be thy servants 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 madona with thee 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 what is this that you have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord behold this is the thing which to trouble me and also what is this that Ammon said if you will repent he shall be saved and if you will not repent he shall be cast off at the last day believest thou that there is a god I know that the Amalekites say that there is a God and I've granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries that they may assemble themselves together to worship Him and if now thou says there is a god behold I will believe behold assuredly as thou lovest Oh King there is a God is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem yeah he is that Great Spirit and he created all things both in heaven and in earth believe us now this yay 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 and so Aaron starts again at the creation of the world and the fall of Adam and Eve and teaches the plan of redemption and the importance of the coming of Christ and most importantly he uses the scriptures now think of the scriptures that they would have at this point remember this is just the Old Testament essentially parts of it anyway and perhaps parts that we don't have today and maybe some writings of the Nephites don't know but that's what he's got to teach with and he uses them to teach 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 that was spoken yeh 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 I will give up all that I possess yay I will forsake my kingdom that I may receive this great joy as a sidenote that's the very thing that Aaron did remember that the people wanted Aaron to be king he forsook the kingdom in order to be born again and the King has this same desire and as it was pointed out in a recent General Conference we have the first offer when the King was threatened with his life when Ammon disabled his arm I will give up half the kingdom if you spare my life but here he's willing to give up everything yeah well not yet that's coming up he's willing to put all of his kingdom on the altar but it gets even better let's continue aaron said unto him if thou desirest this thing if that will bow down before god yay if thou wilt repent of all thy sins it will bow down before God and call on his name in faith believing that ye shall receive then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest and it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words the king did bow down before the Lord upon his knees yea even he did prostrate himself upon the earth and cried mightily oh 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 was dead this is an amazing miracle but notice the growth as John pointed out we started with being willing to give up half his kingdom for his life now he's willing to give up all his possessions including his whole kingdom to be born of God and now is the greatest sacrifice that he's willing to put on the altar I will give away all my sins in order to know God that to me is one of the most powerful pieces of humility I can't wait till I'm at that point I'm not at that point we talked about so entire episodes about how each one of us has sins that we kind of hang on to yeah favorite sin is a little little difficult to let go the king and the Lamanites he's willing to let go all of them yep yep and Aaron I think Aaron was the perfect person to teach him because he can really relate to this idea of giving away all of what the what the world could offer which is a lot in order to know God and be born again so these guys are kindred spirits I think well and from the old gospel doctrine manual there's a quote from president Ezra Taft Benson from October 1983 General Conference he says quote each of us must surrender our sins if we are to really know Christ for we do not know him until we become like him there are some like this king who must pray until they too have a wicked spirit rooted from them so they can find the same joy quote it's a great image rooted for anyone who has dug up weeds does that give you a sense of what's being talked about this wicked spirit being rooted from someone that's awesome that's a great image there's another quote that I found in the Institute manual from elder Alexander B Morrison of the seventy at the time this is from General Conference October 1999 he says quote to take his name upon us means a willingness to do whatever he requires of us someone has said that the price of a Christian life is the same today as always it is simply to give all that we have holding back nothing to give away all our sins to know him when we fall short of that standard by reason of sloth indifference or wickedness when we are evil or envious selfish sensual or shallow we in a sense at least crucify him afresh and when we try consistently to be our very best when we care for and serve others when we overcome selfishness with love when we place the welfare of others above our own when we bear each other's burdens and mourn with those that mourn when we comfort those that stand in need of comfort and stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places then we honor him and draw from his power and become more and more like him growing brighter and brighter if we persist until the perfect day and quote wonderful so going on starting in verse 19 the servants of the King ran and told the Queen and she came and saw the king lying as if he was dead and it looks like Aaron and his brethren did it so she commands the servants to kill Aaron and his brethren they respond why command us now that we should slay these men when behold one of them is mightier than us all therefore we shall fall before them and so what's her answer okay well we need a bigger army see now that's very different than LaMotta his wife yes this isn't working out like that at all verse 22 now an errand 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 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 minister unto them and he did minister unto them in so much that his whole household were converted unto the Lord I love it yeah so then on 2:24 now there was a multitude gathered together because of the commandment of the Queen right she was raising an army uh-huh and there would begin to be great murmurings among them because of Aaron and his brethren but the king stood forth among them and administered unto them and they were pacified towards Aaron and those who were with him 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 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 who were in all the regions round about which was bordering even to the sea on the east and on the west and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness which ran from the sea east even to the sea west and round about on the borders of the seashore and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla through the borders of anti this seems like a very strange detour it is for the rest of the chapter verses 28 through 34 Mormon decides to take an opportunity to describe any fight and laminate geography it's actually one of the great blessings that we have in understanding the land that they're dealing with well and it's clear that it's important to him for us to understand that and this is a similar aside to when he took a break to tell us about the monetary system this is just you know every now and then Mormon will look at this and say okay well we really need to we haven't explained it at this point we should really explain it I have a thought about this difference between ministering and administering and I maybe I shouldn't pay that much attention to it but I do notice that when the King ministered to his family in verse 23 the entire household was converted but in 25 he stood forth to the crowd and administered to them and they were pacified and then he let Ammon and his brethren stand forth and do the preaching so I'm not sure what the difference between ministering and administering is necessarily but the results definitely seemed to be different in the way that they're described here with regards to the geography we've mentioned this before we'll mention it again the map that we use is the seminary map from the church materials and if you want a video on the scriptural basis for the outline of this map and it's a great walk through the Book of Mormon you can take a look at the video here yep and to be clear as there seems to be continual complaints we are not ascribing to any Mesoamerican theory or heartland theory or South American theory or any theory this is a map without geographical statements this is just a relative map it's internal to itself we're subscribing to the Book of Mormon geographical right that's right well I realize that this has been a very long episode but I think it's gonna win it just covers so many it covers two of the greatest missionary stories perhaps in all of script sure yeah they're under phasing amazing eye level I know it's been a long reading assignment this week but we hope you've been able to read if not keep trying this is a really great portion of the Book of Mormon and there is so much to be learned and so many great examples we look forward to talking to you in our next lesson and we'll see you then look forward to it this podcast is not officially affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints but we're really big fans you