Elder
L. Tom Perry, member of the Quorum of the Twelve, died yesterday. A little over a month ago, he was diagnosed
with thyroid cancer. He continued to
perform his duties. Four days earlier,
he was too weak to perform his duties.
On Friday, it was announced he had terminal cancer. It had spread throughout the body. The next day, he died.
I always enjoyed Elder Perry’s talks. It was almost like
listening to a grandfather give me advice on how to live my life. I developed a great respect and admiration
for him.
When the Brigham City Temple was dedicated, we attended the
second session. During the first
session, former Brigham City resident, Elder Boyd K. Packer, gave the initial
dedicatory prayer. In our session, Elder
Perry gave the dedicatory prayer. I was please
he gave the prayer during our session.
His giving the prayer made the dedication of our temple that much more
special for me.
He will be missed.
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 ball
people who will repent and believe on his name.
Alma 19:24-36
The brother of the leader of that gang, who was killed by
Ammon, was struck dead when he tried to kill Ammon.[1] They crowd had no idea what was going
on. Some were fearful, others were
surprised. They began to wonder by what
power this could have occurred. “The action that most miraculously shows forth
the power of God is the death of the man who tries to kill the unconscious
Ammon—an event that causes great contention among the people as to the ‘cause
of this great power’ (Alma 19:24)” (emphasis in original).[2]
Some said Ammon was the Great Spirit. Others said he was sent by the Great
Spirit. Others claimed he was a monster
“sent from the Nephites to torment them” (Alma 19:26). Others claimed Ammon was
sent to punish them because of their sins because the Great Spirit had always
delivered the Nephites.
Abish looked upon the contention and began to mourn. She had hoped this would be a glorious,
spiritual experience; it had turned into chaos.
Because of the contention, Abish took the queen by the hand, hoping to
help her stand. No sooner had she touched
the queen’s hand, she stood and began to testify to the crowd. She proclaimed Jesus had saved her from an
awful hell[3] and
asked the Lord to have mercy on her people.
She then took Lamoni by the hand and he stood on his
feet. Seeing the contention among the
people, he went among them, rebuking them and teaching him Ammon’s words.[4] Many heard his words and believed. Many, however, rejected his words and left.[5]
After all this occurred, Ammon stood and began to administer
to the people. The servants of Lamoni
assisted Ammon in his efforts. A change
had come over the people. They no longer
had desire to sin. After his great
sermon, King Benjamin’s people had the same desire. “And they all cried with one voice, saying:
Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know
of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which
has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more
disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2).
They declared to the people they had seen and conversed with
angels who taught them the things of God.
Many were baptized and became a righteous people. A church was organized among Lamoni’s
people. Here began the work among the
Lamanites. Mormon tells us “and we see
that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name”
(Alma 19:36).
[1]
Enoch had received a similar promise from the Lord. “And it came to pass that Enoch went forth in
the land, among the people, standing upon the hills and the high places, and
cried with a loud voice, testifying against their works; and all men were
offended because of him. And they came forth to hear him, upon the high places,
saying unto the tent–keepers: Tarry ye here and keep the tents, while we go
yonder to behold the seer, for he prophesieth, and there is a strange thing in
the land; a wild man hath come among us. And it came to pass when they heard
him, no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him; for he
walked with God” (Moses 6:37-39).
[2] "To
Show unto the Remnant of the House of Israel" – Narrators and Narratives,
Maxwell Institute, accessed May 31, 2015.
[3] “And
that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable
church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead
away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged
for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their
utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save
it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end” (1 Nephi 14:3).
[4] “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. 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. 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. 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).
[5] The
Savior experienced rejection. “Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is
the light with you. Walk while ye have
the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth
not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be
the children of light. These things
spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had
done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him” (John
12:35-37).
