The Book of Mormon Part 65

Alma 19:5 5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the s.p.a.ce of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.

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

Alma 19:7 7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire.

Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.

Alma 19:8 8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in G.o.d, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.

Alma 19:9 9 And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.

Alma 19:10 10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.

Alma 19:11 11 And it came to pa.s.s that she watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise.

Alma 19:12 12 And it came to pa.s.s that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of G.o.d, and blessed art thou.

Alma 19:13 13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit.

Alma 19:14 14 Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of G.o.d because of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to G.o.d for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with joy; and thus they all three had sunk to the earth.

Alma 19:15 15 Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto G.o.d, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was they who had stood before the king and testified unto him concerning the great power of Ammon.

Alma 19:16 16 And it came to pa.s.s 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 Lamanitish women, whose name was Abish, she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father--

Alma 19:17 17 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 G.o.d; 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 G.o.d, therefore she ran forth from house to house, making it known unto the people.

Alma 19:18 18 And they began to a.s.semble themselves together unto the house of the king. And there came a mult.i.tude, and 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 a Nephite.

Alma 19:19 19 And now the people began to murmur among themselves; some saying that it was a great evil that had come upon them, or upon the king and his house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should remain in the land.

Alma 19:20 20 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 Sebus.

Alma 19:21 21 And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of Sebus and scattered the flocks which belonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of their brethren at the waters of Sebus, while defending the flocks of the king.

Alma 19:22 22 Now, one of them, whose brother had been slain with the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry with Ammon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword to smite him, behold, he fell dead.

Alma 19:23 23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith--therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.

Alma 19:24 24 And it came to pa.s.s that when the mult.i.tude beheld that the man had fallen dead, who lifted the sword to slay Ammon, fear came upon them all, and they durst not put forth their hands to touch him or any of those who had fallen; and they began to marvel again among themselves what could be the cause of this great power, or what all these things could mean.

Alma 19:25 25 And it came to pa.s.s that there were many among them who said that Ammon was the Great Spirit, and others said he was sent by the Great Spirit;

Alma 19:26 26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a monster, who had been sent from the Nephites to torment them.

Alma 19:27 27 And there were some who said that Ammon was sent by the Great Spirit to afflict them because of their iniquities; 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 this Great Spirit who had destroyed so many of their brethren, the Lamanites.

Alma 19:28 28 And thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them. And while they were thus contending, the woman servant who had caused the mult.i.tude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the contention which was among the mult.i.tude she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears.

Alma 19:29 29 And it came to pa.s.s that she 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 h.e.l.l! O blessed G.o.d, have mercy on this people!

Alma 19:30 30 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.

Alma 19:31 31 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.

Alma 19:32 32 But there were many among them who would not hear his words; therefore they went their way.

Alma 19:33 33 And it came to pa.s.s that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing--that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

Alma 19:34 34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of G.o.d, and of his righteousness.

Alma 19:35 35 And it came to pa.s.s that there were many that did believe in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.

Alma 19:36 36 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.

Alma 20 Chapter 20

Alma 20:1 1 And it came to pa.s.s that when they had established a church in that land, that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father.

Alma 20:2 2 And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon saying: Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi, for behold, the king will seek thy life; but thou shalt go to the land of Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.

Alma 20:3 3 Now it came to pa.s.s that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni: Behold, my brother and brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I go that I may deliver them.

Alma 20:4 4 Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of prison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison?

Alma 20:5 5 And Ammon said unto him: No one hath told me, save it be G.o.d; and he said unto me--Go and deliver thy brethren, for they are in prison in the land of Middoni.

Alma 20:6 6 Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his horses and his chariots.

Alma 20:7 7 And he said unto Ammon: Come, I will go with thee down to the land of Middoni, and there I will plead with the king that he will cast thy brethren out of prison.

Alma 20:8 8 And it came to pa.s.s that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, they met the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land.

Alma 20:9 9 And behold, the father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did ye not come to the feast on that great day when I made a feast unto my sons, and unto my people?

Alma 20:10 10 And he also said: Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar?

Alma 20:11 11 And it came to pa.s.s that Lamoni rehea.r.s.ed unto him whither he was going, for he feared to offend him.

Alma 20:12 12 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 prepared.

Alma 20:13 13 And now when Lamoni had rehea.r.s.ed 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 lyings, deceive us, that they again may rob us of our property.

Alma 20:14 14 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 Middoni, but that he should return with him to the land of Ishmael.

Alma 20:15 15 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 Middoni that I may release the brethren of Ammon, for I know that they are just men and holy prophets of the true G.o.d.

Alma 20:16 16 Now when his father had heard these words, he was angry with him, and he drew his sword that he might smite him to the earth.

Alma 20:17 17 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 shouldst fall at this time, in thine anger, thy soul could not be saved.