|
|
|
|
CHAPTER 26Ammon glories in the Lord—The faithful are strengthened by the Lord and are given knowledge—By faith men may bring thousands of souls unto repentance—God has all power and comprehendeth all things. [Between 90 and 77 B.C. |
[Between 81 and 78 B.C.] | |
|
1 AND now, these are the words of Ammon to
his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto
you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we
astarted from the land of Zarahemla that God would have
granted unto us such great blessings?
2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell? 3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how amany of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made binstruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.
|
1a
Mosiah 28:9;
Alma 17:6-11 3a Alma 23:8 (8-13) b 2 Cor. 4:5; Mosiah 23:10
|
|
|
4 Behold, athousands of them do rejoice, and have
been brought into the fold of God.
5 Behold, the afield was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the bsickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your csheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted. 6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the astorm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.
|
4a
Alma 23:5;
Alma 26:31 5a John 4:35; D&C 4:4 b Joel 3:13 c D&C 33:9; D&C 75:5; TG Reward 6a Hel. 5:12; 3 Ne. 14:25, 27
|
|
|
7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the
aharvest, and they are his; and he will
braise them up at the last day.
8 aBlessed be the name of our God; let us bsing to his praise, yea, let us give cthanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever. 9 For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with ahatred against us, yea, and they would also have been bstrangers to God.
|
7a
TG
Harvest b Mosiah 23:22; Alma 36:28 8a Ps. 41:13 b Ps. 57:7-11; Ps. 108:1-5; 2 Ne. 22:5-6 c TG Thanksgiving 9a Mosiah 28:2 c TG Stranger
|
|
|
10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his
brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy
doth carry thee away unto boasting.
11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not aboast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my bjoy is full, yea, my heart is brim with cjoy, and I will rejoice in my God. 12 Yea, I know that I am anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will bnot boast of myself, but I will cboast of my God, for in his dstrength I can do all ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
|
11a
2 Cor. 7:14 (13-16) b 1 Thes. 3:9; D&C 18:16 (14-16) c TG Joy 12a TG Poor in Spirit b Alma 29:9 c Jer. 9:24; Rom. 15:17 d Isa. 45:24; Philip. 4:13 (12-13); 1 Ne. 17:3 e Ps. 18:32-40; 1 Ne. 7:12
|
|
|
13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the
pains of ahell; and they are brought to
bsing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his
word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?
14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the achains of hell. 15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting adarkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting blight, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.
|
13a
TG
Hell b Alma 5:26 14a Alma 12:11 15a Prov. 20:20 b TG Light
|
|
|
16 Therefore, let us aglory, yea, we will
bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is
full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in
the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his
cmercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of
men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and apolluted state? 18 Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to adestroy his church.
|
16a
Rom. 15:17;
1 Cor. 1:31 b Ps. 44:8 (4-8); 2 Cor. 10:17 (15-18); D&C 76:61 c Ps. 36:5-6; Morm. 6:22; D&C 97:6 17a TG Pollution 18a Mosiah 27:10; Mosiah 28:4 (3-4); Alma 36:6-11
|
|
|
19 Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea,
why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to
eternal adespair?
20 Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting agulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls. 21 And now behold, my brethren, what anatural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is bnone that cknoweth these thingsa |
21a what natural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is none that knoweth these things The natural man understandeth nor knoweth the things of God. It is by the spirit that they are to be ascertained and only after there has been the exercise of faith and repentance, whereby the spirit may enter in and so reveal the things of God from God by that spirit to that spirit which is within man. And thus it is the spirit that comes to know and understand the things of God which are spiritually discerned. |
19a
TG
Despair 20a 2 Ne. 1:13; Hel. 3:29 21a TG Man, Natural, Not Spiritually Reborn b Alma 36:5 c 1 Cor. 2:11 (9-16); Jacob 4:8-10, 13
|
|
22 Yea, he that arepenteth and exerciseth faith,
and bringeth forth good bworks, and prayeth continually
without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the
cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be
dgiven to ereveal things which never have
been revealeda; yea, and it shall
be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has
been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
|
22a unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God: yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed Though it be line upon line and precept upon precept, to those who truly walk in the path of righteousness, all things will be revealed by that power which is given to be with in them, the spirit and power of revelation and prophecy, even the Holy Ghost. It is by this gift and power that we might come to know the truth of all things, even the very depths of the mysteries of God. |
22a
TG
Repentance b TG Good Works c Luke 8:10; Alma 12:9; TG Mysteries of Godliness d Dan. 2:22 (19-22, 28) e Jarom 1:4; Hel. 11:23; D&C 107:19 (18-19)
|
|
23 Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in
the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our
brethren, the Lamanites, and they alaughed us to scorn?
24 For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the aincorrectness of the btraditions of their fathers, as cstiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the dshedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language. 25 And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun us and destroy us.
|
23a
2 Chr. 30:10;
Neh. 2:19;
Luke 8:53; TG Laughter 24a Mosiah 1:5; Mosiah 28:2 b Alma 23:3; Alma 25:6 c TG Stiffneckness d Jacob 7:24; Jarom 1:6
|
|
|
26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came 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.
27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to aturn back, behold, the Lord bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with cpatience thine dafflictions, and I will give unto you success.
|
27a
Hel. 13:2-3 b Alma 17:10 c Alma 17:11; TG Patience d Alma 7:5; TG Affliction
|
|
|
28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them;
and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered
every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house,
relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of
the world alone but upon the mercies of God.
29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been bstoned, and taken and bound with cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again. 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.
|
29a
Alma 23:2, 4 b 2 Cor. 11:23-29 c Alma 20:30 (29-30) 30a D&C 18:15-16
|
|
|
31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the
afruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you,
Nay, they are bmany; yea, and we can witness of their
sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us.
32 For behold, they had rather asacrifice their lives than even to take the life of their enemy; and they have bburied their weapons of war deep in the earth, because of their love towards their brethren.
|
31a
Acts 21:19-20 b Alma 23:8-13; Alma 26:4 32a Alma 24:23 (20-24) b Alma 24:15; Alma 25:14
|
|
|
33 And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love
in all the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, there has not,
even among the Nephites.
34 For behold, they would take up arms against their brethren; they would not suffer themselves to be slain. But behold how amany of these have laid down their lives; and we know that they have gone to their God, because of their love and of their hatred to sin.
|
34a
Alma 24:22
|
|
|
35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there
never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world
began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he
has all apower, ball wisdom, and all
understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a
cmerciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will
repent and believe on his name.
36 Now if this is aboasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a bbranch of the tree of Israel, and has been clost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, dwanderers in a strange land. 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is amindful of every bpeople, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.
|
35a
TG
God, Intelligence of; TG God, Perfection of; TG God, Wisdom of b D&C 88:41 c TG God, Mercy of 36a Rom. 3:27 b Gen. 49:22-26; Ezek. 17:22; Jacob 2:25 c Jacob 5:25, 40-45 d Jacob 7:26 37a 2 Ne. 2:27; 2 Ne. 26:24; Jacob 5:41 b Johah 4:11 (10-11); Acts 10:35 (9-35, 44); 2 Ne. 26:33
|
|
| This BM Book | Previous BM Chapter | Next BM Chapter | Commentary Page | Home Page |