Thursday, January 14, 2016

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 18:5

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 18:5
"Now this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a Great Spirit. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit, they supposed that whatsoever they did was right; nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants;"

In this chapter Ammon speaks to king Lamoni after having preserved his flocks by fighting off the Lamanites that laid in wait to plunger them. He killed seven with his sling and sword and then smote off the arms of others. The servants that witnessed the power Ammon had, gathered the arms and took them to king Lamoni and told him all that had happened. They said he had a power that he could not be killed. Then Lamoni wonders if Ammon is the Great Spirit.

What caught my eye was the part of the Lamanite tradition, "they supposed that whatsoever they did was right'. That is basically the same lie that Zeezrom told Alma in Ammonihah. These are two separate groups of people. I wondered where that false doctrine came from? Then I recalled who their source was, it was Satan. That is who inspired them to believe is such untruth. 

What really struck me and caused me to ponder was reading that even with this false tradition Lamoni begins to fear exceedingly that he had done wrong slaying his servants. He fears seeing Ammon thinking he could be this Great Spirit. In fact when Ammon came into the room Lamoni is at a loss for words and doesn't speak for an hour. 

I wondered why did Lamoni fear if it was his belief that he could do no wrong? Then I saw it, it was the light of Christ telling Lamoni in his heart that he had done wrong. Everyone is born with the light of Christ in them. It is the guiding light that testifies to all men right from wrong. It is our moral compass, a gift from God that guides us to do right even if we never heard the gospel preached to us.

The light of Christ needed to prepare Lamoni's heart in order for the Holy Ghost to enter, and witness to him the truth of the gospel as Ammon spoke it to him. This is why Lamoni had such a deeply powerful and immediate conversion after hearing the plan of redemption. So much so that he fell to the earth as if he were dead. It wasn't that Ammon's words were so powerful or great. It was the fact that Lamoni's heart was ready to be taught by the Holy Ghost truth. It is the spirit that does the converting and his conversion was complete.


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