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.
Alma 19:16-23
Abish had never made her conversion known; however, seeing
the queen, king, and Ammon laying on the ground, she knew this was because of
the power of God. She believed this
scene would cause people to believe in the power of God, so she went from
door-to-door telling people what happened.
The people came and were astonished to see the king, queen,
and their servants lying on the ground as though they were dead. They also saw the Nephite, Ammon on the
ground.
Sadly, the crowd did not perceive this as a miracle. The king brought this evil upon himself. He allowed this Nephite to live in their
land.[1]
Others said the king brought this evil upon himself because he killed his
servants when their flocks were scatted at the waters of Sebus.[2]
In the crowd were members of the same group that was
responsible for scattering the flocks and causing all sorts of problems. They were angry with Ammon because of those
who were killed when he defended the king’s flocks. “Some in the crowd said
these things were happening because the king ‘slew his servants who had had
their flocks scattered at the waters of Sebus’ (Alma 19:20); and the very men
who had scattered the king's flocks loudly announced their presence by shouting
abuses at Ammon for what he had done ‘to their brethren at the waters of Sebus’
(Alma 19:21).”[3]
The brother of one of the dead saw his chance to exact
revenge. He drew his sword and raised
it, ready to give the death blow.
Unfortunately for him, he fell dead on the spot.
The brother of the head man (whom
Ammon had killed with his sword) drew his own sword on the spot and made at
Ammon (Alma 19:22). So the men had swords but only used clubs. Isn't that odd,
and isn't it odd that those same wicked Lamanites walked around right in front
of the king's palace where everybody recognized them, and nobody did anything
about it? And no one held it against the winning team that they had stolen
their flocks back, but the losers were only angry with Ammon because he had
thrown rocks and used his sword against men bearing only ceremonial clubs.[4]
Mormon interjects an observation. We see Ammon could not be killed. The Lord had promised King Mosiah he would be
spared according to Mosiah’s faith.[5]
“Not only does Mormon speak to a latter-day audience but he counsels with them
and personalizes what they learn from his narratives. ‘Now we se’," he
emphasizes, ‘that Ammon could not be slain’ (Alma 19:23)” (emphasis in original)[6]
[1] “And
Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and
perhaps until the day I die” (Alma 17:23).
[2] “And
after he had been in the service of the king three days, as he was with the
Lamanitish servants going forth with their flocks to the place of water, which
was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive their flocks hither,
that they may have water—Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were
driving forth their flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain number of
the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the
flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch
that they fled many ways. Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying:
Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were
scattered by the wickedness of these men.
And they began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are
scattered already” (Alma 17:26-28).
[3] The
Book of Mormon: Forty Years After, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed May 29, 2015.
[5] “And
the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their
words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the
hands of the Lamanites” (Mosiah 28:7).
“Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed
that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew
not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of
their hands; neither did they know anything concerning the Lord; therefore they
delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this cause they stood
to scatter the flocks of the king” (Alma 17:35).
[6] "To
Show unto the Remnant of the House of Israel" – Narrators and Narratives,
Maxwell Institute, accessed May 29, 2015.
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