Alma 19
1 And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to
take his body and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose
of burying their dead.
2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent
and desired that he should come in unto her.
3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in
unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.
4 And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known
unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to
do many mighty works in his name;
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 space 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.
6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was
under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being
cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was
the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness —
yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having
been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea,
he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in
God —
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.
8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and
on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.
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.
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.
11 And it came to pass 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.
12 And it came to pass 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 God, and blessed art thou.
13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall
come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who
believe on his name. 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.
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 God because
of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to
pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God 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.
15 Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they
also began to cry unto God, 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.
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
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 —
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 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.
18 And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the
king. And there came a multitude, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
24 And it came to pass that when the multitude 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.
25 And it came to pass that there were many among them who said that
Ammon was the Great Spirit, and others said he was sent by the Great Spirit;
26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a monster, who had been
sent from the Nephites to torment them.
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.
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 multitude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the contention
which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto
tears.
29 And it came to pass 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 hell! O blessed God, have
mercy on this people!
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.
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.
32 But there were many among them who would not hear his words;
therefore they went their way.
33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto
them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto
the people the selfsame thing — that their hearts had been changed; that they
had no more desire to do evil.
34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels
and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of God,
and of his righteousness.
35 And it came to pass 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.
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.