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CHAPTER 18King Lamoni supposes that Ammon is the Great Spirit—Ammon teaches the king of the creation, of God's dealings with men, and of the redemption that comes through Christ—Lamoni believes and falls to the earth as if dead. [About 90 B.C.] |
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1 AND it came to pass that king Lamoni
caused that his aservants should stand forth and testify to
all the things which they had seen concerning the matter.
2 And when they had all testified to the things which they had seen, and he had learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in preserving his flocks, and also of his agreat power in contending against those who sought to slay him, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Surely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth send such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders? 3 And they answered the king, and said: Whether he be the Great Spirit or a man, we know not; but this much we do know, that he acannot be slain by the enemies of the king; neither can they bscatter the king's flocks when he is with us, because of his expertness and cgreat 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.
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1a
Alma 19:15 2a Alma 22:9-11 3a Alma 17:36 (34-38) b Alma 17:27; Alma 19:21 (20-21) c Alma 22:20
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4 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 aslay you as I did
your brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.
5 Now this was the atradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a bGreat Spirita. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit they supposed that cwhatsoever they did was right; nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants; 6 For he had slain many of them because their brethren had scattered their flocks at the place of water; and thus, because they had had their flocks scattered they were slain.
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5a this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a Great Spirit Now what was left of the truth of God among this people of the Lamanites who were the descendants of Ishamael, is that there is a Great Spirit. Now they also believed that this 'Great Spirit' did create the heavens and the earth. And to this extent the truth was known among them, not that they knew all things, but they had retained an element of the truth. For indeed was Jehovah still a spirit, not having yet come to earth to obtain his body of flesh and bone. And it was also true that as a spirit, by that fulness of power and authority give him by the Father of Spirits, did create the heavens the the earth of the Second Estate and all things that in them are. |
4a
Alma 17:28-31 5a Alma 17:15; Alma 60:32 b Alma 19:25-27; TG God, Knowledge about c Alma 30:17
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7 Now it was the practice of these Lamanites to stand by the
awaters of Sebus to scatter the flocks of the people, that
thereby they might drive away many that were scattered unto their own land,
it being a practice of plunder among them.
8 And it came to pass that king Lamoni inquired of his servants, saying: Where is this man that has such great power? 9 And they said unto him: Behold, he is feeding thy ahorses. 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 bgreat cfeast appointed at the land of Nephi, by the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land.
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7a
Alma 17:26;
Alma 19:21 (20-21) 9a Enos 1:21; Alma 20:6 b Alma 20:9, 12 c Esther 1:3
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10 Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and
his achariots 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 doth
remember all my commandments to execute them.
11 Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me, but I durst not.
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10a
Alma 20:6;
3 Ne. 3:22
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12 And it came to pass that when Ammon had made ready the horses and
the chariots for the king and his servants, he went in unto the king, and he
saw that the acountenance of the king was changed;
therefore he was about to return out of his presence.
13 And one of the king's servants said unto him, aRabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay. 14 Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and said unto him: What wilt thou that I should do for thee, O king? And the king answered him not for the space of an ahour, according to their time, for he knew not what he should say unto him.
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12a
Dan 5:6 13a John 20:16 14a 3 Ne. 8:19
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15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto him again: What
desirest thou of me? But the king answered him not.
16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the aSpirit of God, therefore he perceived the bthoughts of the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew cseven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings? 17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a aman, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do.
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16a
Gen. 41:38;
1 Ne. 1:12;
Mosiah 27:24 b Alma 12:3 c Alma 17:36 17a Dan 2:30
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18 Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he
beheld that Ammon could adiscern his thoughts; but
notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who
art thou? Art thou that Great
Spirita, who
bknows all things?b
19 Ammon answered and said unto him: I am not.
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18a that Great Spirit This
simple truth yet remained among the Lamanites, that there was a Great Spirit.
For in truth Jehovah at this time was but a spirit, which speaks much for
the ability and power that a spirit might have. Jehovah was yet to come to
earth and obtain his body, he like unto us pertaining to the second estate,
being one of the spirit children of God the Father of Spirits.
18b Art thou that Great Spirit, who knows all things? The answer to this question as asked by the king is 'no.' Ammon said that he was not the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit at this point was the Spirit God Jehovah, who is the same as Jesus Christ. Jehovah was a spirit God empowered by God the Father, Elohim. And he would not obtain his body until he was born of Mary. Now as to Ammon's answer, while he himself was not the Great Spirit, at this point Ammon's answer is incomplete. There is more to that answer and it does go beyond the fact that Ammon at that point was the representative of the Great Spirit to the king. Ammon must further prepare the king for the fuller answer which is in verses 34 and 35 of this chapter. |
18a
TG
Discernment, Spiritual b TG God, Omniscience of
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20 And the king said: How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart?
Thou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things;
and also tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of
my brethren that scattered my flocks—
21 And now, aif 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.
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21a
Dan 5:16
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22 Now Ammon being awise, yet
harmlessa, he said
unto Lamoni: 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.
23 And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I awill believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with bguilea.
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22a Ammon being wise, yet
harmless Ammon's full intent was to the benefit of King Lamoni.
He was not about to take advantage of the king in deciet to the disadvantage
of the king to extract from the king that which would be to the king's
detrement. But it was the intent of Ammon to bring the king to the truth and
light and to that which would be of great benefit and betterment to the king.
The harmlessness of Ammon's wisdom is to be likened to a parent who logically
persuades and coaches a child in to the way they ought to go for their own
good. Or it like that of a missionary who uses the reasoning of logic and
leading questions to bring an investigator along into seeing and accepting
the light of truth. Ammon's intent was not to harm or take advantage of the
king, but to bring the king unto the true understanding of God.
23a thus he was caught with guile The word guile has a negative connotation to many people in light of the fact that when the Savior first met Nathanael, he stated that Nathanael was a man without any guile. In Nathanael's circumstance it was a commpiment that Nathanael was of the type that would not think or contrive to harm or take advantage of anyone. To others 'guile' is the process which the Pharisees and Saducees, and even Zeezrom in the Book of Mormon use to attempted to catch someone in their words with deceiving and lying in order to bring harm and to the other's detrament. But there is another side to the word guile which is best given by the similar words of astuteness, clever and wise. When used for the purpose of bring a person to the truth, often leading questions which cunningly lead the person to the logical conclusion and/or to the state of being benefited, then guile is not bad. Getting a child to take their medicine might be considered manipulation, or even guile in the manner which a parent might resort to. But it is for the child's benefit and good. Since Ammon's intention was to bring Lamoni to the truth of God, a little craftiness of speech which place Lamoni into the path of accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ was well within Ammon's wisdom to use. And though harmless to the king in any negative sense, it was very astute for Ammon to so set the stage when Lamoni could easily be 'drawn in' or 'led to' the truth of Christ. If a horse is in need of water, it is well to not only lead the horse to water, but if possible by some contrivance, to also get the horse to drink. Thus 'guile' when used to benefit someone is not wrong, but it is wisdom to do so. It is not against someone's agency to persuade and to set the stage for righteous behavior. God will force no man to heaven, but he will may made many an atempt to bring him around to that path which will lead him there. |
22a
Gen. 41:39;
Alma 48:11-17 23a Alma 18:40 b Josh. 9:22
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24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with
aboldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is
a God?
25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
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24a
Alma 38:12
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26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a
aGreat Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea. 28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth? 29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
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26a
Alma 22:9-10
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30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God
dwells and all his holy angels.
31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth? 32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he aknows all the thoughts and bintents of the hearta; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
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32a he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart As discused in chapter 12 verse 7, it is the power of God to know the thoughts and intents of man by the power of the Holy Ghost which can reside with a person that these things are ascertained, immediately even as one does stand before God does God know of the soul of the man as it is writen in the fleshy tablets of the soul of that man, so they may be read and known. |
32a
TG
God, Omniscience of b Amos 4:13; 3 Ne. 28:6
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33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast
spoken. Art thou asent from God?
34 Ammon said unto him: I am a aman; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy bSpirita to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true; 35 And a portion of that aSpirit dwelleth in mea, which giveth me bknowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.
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34-35a I am called by his Holy Spirit ... a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me And herein lays the rest of the matter. That is the Spirit of the Lord may and does dwell within a man called of God. Ammon was called by God and what king Lamoni recognized was that indeed the Spirit, a portion of the Great Spirit did dwell in Ammon. And in that frame of reference indeed was Ammon was a representation to Lamoni of the Great Spirit, the Spirit of God. It could be seen and manifested in, through, and by man from God as so called by God. And it rested in Ammon. And that same Great Spirit, that everlasting spirit of the soul of man that never dies, that very spirit of intelligence whereby Jehovah is one with the Father, Elohim. And we also may be one in them, even as Jehovah, and also here illustrated as was Ammon one with and in the Spirit of God acting as one with them. |
33a
2 Chr. 24:19 34a Mosiah 7:27; Ether 3:15 (13-16) b TG Teaching with Spirit 35a TG Inspiration b TG Knowledge
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36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of
the world, and also the creation of Adam, and told him all the things
concerning the fall of man, and arehearsed and laid before
him the brecords and the holy scriptures of the people,
which had been spoken by the cprophets, even down to the
time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem.
37 And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth. 38 And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the arebellions of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all their rebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the brecords and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time.
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36a
Mosiah 1:4;
Alma 22:12;
Alma 36:1; Alma 37:9; Hel. 5:13 (1-13); Moses 6:58 b Alma 63:12; TG Scriptures, Value of c Acts 3:18-21; Acts 28:23 38a 2 Ne. 1:2 b 1 Ne. 9:2
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39 But this is not all; for he aexpounded unto them
the bplan of redemption, which was prepared from the
foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the
coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known unto them.
40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king abelieved all his words. 41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant amercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.
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39a
Alma 19:31;
TG
Missionary Work b TG Salvation, Plan of 40a Alma 18:23 41a TG God, Mercy of
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42 And now, when he had said this, he afell unto
the earth, bas if he were dead.
43 And it came to pass that his aservants 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.
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42a
Alma 19:1, 5-12 b Alma 22:18 43a Alma 19:4-5
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