Saturday, June 5, 2010

Alma 18

King Lamoni has no conception of God or religion other than he thinks there is a great spirit that rules the universe. To me, this is much like some people today who say they think there must be some ruling power in the universe but no one knows what it is. Now Ammon has to teach a king who probably thinks he knows everything but in reality knows nothing. So where do you begin with someone like that? We don't have all that Ammon said, but seems he begins at the beginning explaining who God is and what he is like. Even though it's not included here, Ammon surely would have included the concept of pre-mortal life. Then he teaches the king about the creation and continues teaching about each of the prophets and down to the time of Lehi. This included the fall and redemption of man. Lamoni, who is a king who has murdered many people and probably committed many other terrible crimes, now gains an overwhelming sense of his guilt and fallen state. Realizing the stat of his spiritual destruction, he is completely overcome, pleas to the Lord for mercy and then collapses.

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