Alma 19:1-15

Chapter 19

Lamoni receives the light of everlasting life and sees the Redeemer—His household falls into a trance, and many see angels—Ammon is preserved miraculously—He baptizes many and establishes a church among them. About 90 B.C.

1 And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his body and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose of burying their dead.

2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.

3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.

4 And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name;

5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.

6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—

7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.

8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.

9 And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.

10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.

11 And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise.

12 And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.

13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit.

14 Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God because of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with joy; and thus they all three had sunk to the earth.

15 Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was they who had stood before the king and testified unto him concerning the great power of Ammon. (Alma 19:1-15)

Two days have passed since Lamoni was overcome by the spirit. The servants were ready to take his body and lay it in a sepulchre. The queen had heard of Ammon. She sent for him to speak to her.

Ammon went to the queen and asked what she wanted from him.

She told him the servants said he was a prophet of God and did mighty works in His name. If this is true, she asked he go to her husband. He has been on his bed for two days. Some say he is not dead. Other say he is and should be placed in a sepulchre.

Ammon knew the king was under the power of God. The veil of unbelief was being lifted and the light which was the glory of God was removing the clouds of darkness. What the queen desired, Ammon did also. He went to the king and, when he saw him, he knew he was not dead.

He returned to the queen. He told her “he is not dead, but he sleepeth in God” (Alma 19:8). He will rise again tomorrow, so don’t bury him.

He asked the queen if she believed this. She replied she had not witness other than Ammon’s word as well as the servants’ word. Even so, he believed Ammon.

Ammon told her she was blessed because of her faith. In fact, he told her, her faith was greater than the faith among the Nephites.

“By believing Ammon, a witness for the Lord's hand in the matter, she demonstrated a faith greater than any Ammon had witnessed among the Nephites (see Alma 19:10). She was quite obviously teachable and amenable to the Spirit, despite her elevated social status and Ammon's servant/alien status.”[1]

The queen watched over her husband from that time until the next day.

That day, Lamoni arose from his bed. He told his wife, “Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou” (Alma 19:12).

He announced he had seen his Redeemer. He prophesied of his mission, which will redeem all who believe in Him.

Both Lamoni and his queen were overcome by the Spirit and they collapsed to the ground.

The Spirit had been poured out upon the Lamanites through his prayers. “And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith” (D&C 42:14).

The Lamanites had been the cause of mourning among the people of God because of the traditions of their fathers.

King Benjamin told his sons, “were it not for these things [the records and plates of brass], which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct” (Mosiah 1:5).

Ammon kneeled and poured out his soul to God giving thanks for what He had done for the Lamanites. He was overpowered by the Spirit and fell to the earth.

“[W]hen the Spirit is poured out it results in joy so great that recipients cannot speak, which was the case with King Benjamin’s people (Mosiah 4:20). Likewise, when Ammon saw that the Spirit had been poured out on the Lamanites, he was overpowered with joy (Alma 19:14). The pouring out of the Spirit revealed no inequality among different peoples (Alma 16:16), for God extends his arm to all (Alma 19:36) and pours out his Spirit on both the Lamanites (Helaman 6:36) and eventually the Gentiles (3 Nephi 20:27).”[2]

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[1] Women In the Book of Mormon: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Interpretation, Camille S. Williams, Maxwell Institute website.

[2] NOTES, Book of Mormon Pneumatology, John Christopher Thomas.