Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 10:17 "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
This reminds me of Ammon in the Book of Mormon, as he rejoiced in their labors among the Lamanites and how many souls had come to Christ. His brother Aaron rebuked him saying, "I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting." Ammon says he boasted of my God.
"But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." (Alma 26:11-12)
Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 17:22-23 "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."
I was interested in the phrase "too superstitious" so I looked at the footnote, "GR most religious, i.e, careful in divine things." That wasn't what I imagined at all. They knew enough that there was a God, but didn't know him. This opened the door for Paul to preach to them of God and Jesus Christ. It reminded me of Ammon and king Lamoni. The importance of meeting the person you are teaching at their level.
"Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he beheld that Ammon could discern his thoughts; but notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit, who knows all things? Ammon answered and said unto him: I am not." And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God? And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth. And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? And he said, Yea. 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?" (Alma 18:18-19, 24-28)
Today's Favorite Verse: Luke 7:41-43 "There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."
One of the most powerful stories in the Book of Mormon is the conversion of the people of Ammon, the Lamanites. They had a hatred of the Nephites and delighted in killing them. They felt they were robbed and justified in their actions. Yet, when they were converted they gave up all their sins and buried their weapons of war. They were a faithful people that would rather give up their lives then to deny the Christ. It was because of their complete repentance that the Spirit was poured out so abundantly to them. They had much to repent of and were forgiven and blessed.
"And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren." (Alma 23:6-7)
Elder Neil L. Andersen: "Years ago, I was asked to meet with a man who, long before our visit, had had a period of riotous living. As a result of his bad choices, he lost his membership in the Church. He had long since returned to the Church and was faithfully keeping the commandments, but his previous actions haunted him. Meeting with him, I felt his shame and his deep remorse at having set his covenants aside. Following our interview, I placed my hands upon his head to give him a priesthood blessing. Before speaking a word, I felt an overpowering sense of the Savior’s love and forgiveness for him. Following the blessing, we embraced and the man wept openly. “I am amazed at the Savior’s encircling arms of mercy and love for the repentant, no matter how selfish the forsaken sin. I testify that the Savior is able and eager to forgive our sins. Except for the sins of those few who choose perdition after having known a fulness, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven. What a marvelous privilege for each of us to turn away from our sins and to come unto Christ. Divine forgiveness is one of the sweetest fruits of the gospel, removing guilt and pain from our hearts and replacing them with joy and peace of conscience” (“Repent … That I May Heal You,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 40–41)." (New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 16: Luke 4-8")
Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 27:27, 30
"And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.
And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord."
The other day an event in the news made me think of people that were over-zealous. I did a little research on where zeal is mentioned in the scriptures and found the zeal is not necessarily bad, but when it is out of balance they become over-zealous and soon do things on their time table and not the Lord's. This is where it appears they are incapable of thinking beyond the end of their noses. Zeniff is a good example of this.
"And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being over-zealous to inherit the land of his fathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king Laman, who having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff, and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land, or even the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom; and the land round about - "
(Mosiah 7:21)
"And yet, I being over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers, collected as many as were desirous to go up to possess the land, and started again on our journey into the wilderness to go up to the land; but we were smitten with famine and sore affliction; for we were slow to remember the Lord our God."
(Mosiah 9:3)
The people of Ammon were a zealous people, but they stayed in remembrance of the Lord and sought to do his will. That is why they were so blessed. The Lord said to them "...blessed are this people in this generation, for I will preserve them." (Alma 28:12) The Lord did preserve them by bringing them out of the land. Later that blessing of protection extended to their sons the 2000 stripling warriors. This is a lesson in not becoming unbalanced in our lives.
Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 18:5, 24-28
"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;
And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
And he said, Yea.
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?"
I noticed in the first verse that king Lamoni believed in a Great Spirit but supposed whatever they did was right. Yet, now he fears thinking Ammon is the Great Spirit and that he had done wrong slaying his servants. I could see this as the light of Christ already working on king Lamoni. For the light of Christ will always testify of truth and by it man will always know right from wrong. It was making him receptive to hearing the message that Ammon would give and to feel the Holy Ghost as he speaks.
Then Ammon says the Great Spirit is God, which technically isn't true. For God does not believe that whatever we do is right. Ammon sets a wonderful teaching example. He taught Lamoni based on the knowledge he already had of a Supreme Being. He used that as common belief in the creator of the earth to then teach eternal truth. He did not destroy the knowledge Lamoni already had, but instead added to it. That is the invitation we need to extend to others.
In the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley.
"We say in a spirit of love, bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source, and come and let us see if we may add to it. This invitation I extend to men and woman everywhere with my solemn testimony that this work is true, for I know the truth of it by the power of the Holy Ghost."
(President Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith", Oct 2002 General Conference)
