28 … 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?
29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.
31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sent from God?
34 Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;
35 And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.
Alma 18:28-35 (Emphasis mine)
The questioning and teaching continue. We learn Lamoni believes in God (the Great Spirit) but doesn’t know anything about the heavens. Ammon explains to him about heaven.
Lamoni’s faith is very strong. He is willing to believe whatever Ammon tells him. Ammon is placed in a position where he can have an influence for good or ill depending on how he acts. Nibley wrote that “[i]t's very interesting that he doesn't give him a direct answer. He's still careful not to give a false impression or to take advantage of Lamoni's gullibility. He could have exploited that a lot. Lamoni is willing to believe anything he will tell him, but he wants to tell him only the truth.” [i] (Emphasis mine)
Ammon does all he can to make sure that Lamoni understands who he is. He is a servant of God, sent to the Lamanites to preach the gospel.
36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of the world, and also the creation of Adam, and told him all the things concerning the fall of man, and rehearsed and laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem.
37 And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth.
38 And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the rebellions of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all their rebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time.
39 But this is not all; for he expounded unto them the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known unto them.
Alma 18:36-39 (Emphasis mine)
Ammon begins teaching Lamoni and his servants history from creation to the time Lehi left Jerusalem. He told them about the rebellion of Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael. He finished his historical account by talking about the history of to the present time.
Then he preached about the plan of redemption and the coming of Christ.
Nibley wrote:
“As we said before, faith is not the power; it plugs into the power. It gives you access to the power. My faith gets me the power, but it is not the power. It amounts to it, if it comes to that. He began with the story of the [creation] and the fall ‘and rehearsed and laid before him the records and the holy scriptures [the project to follow this through would have been impossible without the scriptures] of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem, . . . the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness . . . and he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time [verse 38]. . . . For he expounded unto them the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world [see, he takes the gospel back to the preexistence, and he calls it the plan, you notice]; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ.’ “ [ii] (Emphasis mine)
40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king believed all his words.
41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.
42 And now, when he had said this, he fell unto the earth, as if he were dead.
43 And it came to pass that his servants took him and carried him in unto his wife, and laid him upon a bed; and he lay as if he were dead for the space of two days and two nights; and his wife, and his sons, and his daughters mourned over him, after the manner of the Lamanites, greatly lamenting his loss.
Alma 18:40-43 (Emphasis mine)
Lamoni accepts the teachings of Ammon and begins to pray to the Lord asking for forgiveness. In response to his prayer, he passed out and appeared to be dead. His servants prepared him as they would if he were dead. His wives and sons mourned him and his loss.
What do the scriptures tell us about the mercy of God?
31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 4:31 (Emphasis mine)
6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
Psalms 25:6 (Emphasis mine)
16 Hear me, O LORD; for thy loving kindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
Psalms 69:16 (Emphasis mine)
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
Psalms 116:4-5 (Emphasis mine)
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (Emphasis mine)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Ephesians 2:4 (Emphasis mine)
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
James 5:11 Emphasis mine)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:3 (Emphasis mine)
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