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.
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. (Alma 19:16-27)
The king, queen, and Ammon had been overcome by the Spirit
and were lying on the floor. The servants began to call on the Lord until they,
too, fell to the ground, with one exception.
We are introduced to Abish. She had been converted to the Lord
for years. This is because of a vision of her father. What was this vision?
“Note that the text does not specify a vision ‘that her
father had’ or a ‘vision of her father’s.’ It says ‘a vision of her father.’ It
seems a better reading to credit Abish with having a vision of her father,
which led to her conversion … But yet, once someone (in this case, John Hansen)
provides a better reading, the possibility seems quite obvious. Clearly, we all
need to read more carefully.”[1]
She never told anyone one about the vision and her
conversion. Seeing the servants, the queen, king, and Ammon prostrate on the
ground, she recognized the power of God.
She saw this as an opportunity for the people to see the
power of God. She ran from house-to-house, telling the people what happened.
The people came to the house of the king. They were
astonished to see the king, queen, and servants lying on the ground like they
were dead. They also saw Ammon and knew he was a Nephite.
The people began to complain, Some said this was evil. It
was brought upon the king because he allowed a Nephite to remain in the land.
Others claimed the king brought this evil upon himself. This
is because he killed servants who had their flocks scattered as the waters of
Sebus.
Also in the crowd were those who faced Ammon at the waters
of Sebus. They remembered he had killed many of their gang while defending the
king’s flocks.
The brother of one of the dead wanted his revenge. He took
his sword and intended to kill Ammon. As he lifted his sword, he fell dead.
Mormon reminds us of the Lord’s promise to King Mosiah. “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).
Seeing the man struck dead, the crowd was overcome by fear.
They didn’t dare to touch Ammon or any of those who had fallen. They were
amazed and wondered what was responsible for this power and what it meant.
Many speculated that Ammon was the Great Spirit or he was
sent by the Great Spirit.
Others disagreed. They believed he was a monster, sent by
the Nephites to torment them.
Then we had a group who believed he was sent by the Great Spirit
to make them miserable them because of their sins. This same Great Spirit had
watched over the Nephites and had been delivered from the Lamanites. The Great
Spirit was who killed so many Lamanites.
[1] Nephite
Feminism Revisited: Thoughts on Carol Lynn Pearson’s View of Women in the Book
of Mormon, Kevin Christensen and Shauna Christensen, Maxwell Institute.
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