Why did the veil of unbelief afflict Lamoni this way? Alma 19:6-7

Why did the veil of unbelief afflict Lamoni this way? Alma 19:6-7

Lamoni is taught by Ammon. After he is taught, he cries to God saying, "O Lord, have mercy on me the same way that you have had mercy on the people of Nephi, have mercy on me and my people!" Then, in a very surprising and probably awkward moment, he falls over as if he's dead and stays that way for two days and two nights!

Queen Lamoni (I am gonna call her that since Mormon totally failed to name her! Grr. Or maybe it's not his fault, but previous historians. Why!?) goes to Ammon after two days and two nights and begs him to go to her husband. She does not believe he's dead. She has heard that Ammon is a prophet. She has some small amount of faith at least that Ammon will be able to help him.

Ammon knows that Lamoni was having the "veil of unbelief" cast away from his mind. He's super happy that Queen Lamoni asked him to see him. 

Why did the shedding of the veil of unbelief require such a physical reaction for Lamoni? 

Answer:

I have no idea, but it seems to be a pattern elsewhere in the scriptures. Maybe it has something to do with the cultural circumstances in which one is raised? Or maybe it's simply that God really needed Lamoni to be converted, so he influenced him in a particularly strong way? I don't know. Would very much like to find out more about how this works.

Why is it mentioned last, the part about teaching the plan of redemption? And Christ? Alma 18:39

Why is it mentioned last, the part about teaching the plan of redemption? And Christ? Alma 18:39

Ammon teaches King Lamoni, who has promised to believe everything he says. This is the order that he teaches him the gospel:

God exists.

God is the Great Spirit.

God created everything on heaven and earth.

Heaven is on another plane than earth.

God knows all the thoughts and intents of our heart, since he created us.

Man is created in the image of God.

Man can be called by God's Holy Spirit to teach people what is just and true.

A portion of God's Spirit can dwell inside man.

God's Spirit gives us knowledge and power proportional to our faith in God and desire to serve him.

The world was created by God.

Adam and Eve were created by God.

Adam and Eve fell from God's presence.

The scriptures record the history of the prophets of the world from the time of Adam down to the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.

Lehi left Jerusalem with his sons.

Nephi was righteous and Laman and Lemuel were wicked.

The plan of redemption exists. This plan is that Jesus Christ will come to save the world from sin and death, and through his atonement, all people can repent, be forgiven, and receive exaltation.

Answer:

Maybe it's just mentioned last because that could have been a rhetorical device in their language? Honestly, Jesus Christ is laced throughout the entire thing. For example, Jesus Christ is the creator of the world (and until recently, I thought that was a point of doctrine not shared between my faith and other Christian denominations - but they should read Hebrews 1-6 more closely! And honestly, the main thing is that we don't share the same belief in how the Godhead works.) The fall of Adam and Eve would be meaningless without the mediator's grace stepping in. Jesus Christ's plan to be the Savior was already in place at the time of their fall. 

Or maybe it was the most important thing, so Ammon really wanted it to stay in Lamoni's mind. Maybe it was something more difficult to agree with or believe in. I am not really sure, since it's something I can't remember ever not believing.  

Should I be this way? Why does Mormon love to point out "being caught with guile"? Alma 18:23

Should I be this way? Why does Mormon love to point out "being caught with guile"? Alma 18:23

Answer:

Again, I think Mormon was trying to be halfway apologetic for Ammon's method of rhetoric, likely because some piece of it didn't sit well with him personally.

It doesn't really matter if I "should" or "should not" be this way. The fact is, I am pretty good at subtle manipulation. I guess the main way I do it is quite similar to Ammon, too: a combination of the overt and the subtle. I mean, it's not like Ammon didn't give Lamoni a chance.

"How do you know what I'm thinking? If you tell me, I'll give you anything that you ask. I would even give you my armies, but I know that you're more powerful than they are, so what good would that even do. But still, you just tell me what you want and it's yours. I have to know."

"Will you listen to me?"

"Yes! I'll listen and believe everything you tell me."

Well. There you go. 

Why is he described as "wise yet harmless"? Alma 18:22

Why is he described as "wise yet harmless"? Alma 18:22

One of the funniest parts of the Book of Mormon, in my opinion, is when Ammon "tricks" King Lamoni to listen to him. Ammon is described as being "wise, yet harmless" and catching Lamoni "with guile." 

I think this is side commentary from Mormon. Maybe it's halfway apologetic for Ammon's trickery. Maybe it's how Mormon was able to come to terms with Ammon's method for teaching Lamoni. 

I sure don't have anything against this method. It's basically Ammon using Master Manipulator skills, which are skills which I often feel like I share in common with him. Basically, Ammon is using his powers for good and for awesome.

How long did they think the "harvest" would be? Alma 17:13

How long did they think the "harvest" would be? Alma 17:13

When the sons of Mosiah arrived at the border to the land of the Lamanites, they separated from each other, trusting that they would meet again "at the close of their harvest" - aka, at the end of their missions. 

Answer:

Ammon was willing to live among the Lamanites for the rest of his life. The others all thought that "great was the work which they had undertaken." Basically: they may not have known how long it would be, but they were definitely aware it was going to be substantial.

Were these their wives? Alma 17:12

Were these their wives? Alma 17:12

The sons of Mosiah decide to go on a mission to the Lamanites.

I noticed on this read that the scriptures mention people going with the sons of Mosiah who were not the sons of Mosiah.

"And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God."

I wondered to myself if this meant their wives. I know that Ammon was willing to live the rest of his life with the Lamanites. It seems unlikely that he was married, unless this people practiced polygamy, because he was offered a Lamanite princess as a bride (yuck). But maybe the other sons of Mosiah were married?

Paul the Apostle has some really stern things to say about missionaries being married. These have been taken out of context by the Christian world in such drastic ways as to cause the institutionalization of sexism and permanently celibate clergy.

Answer:
It sure would be a different story to imagine that they were married. Since the sons of Mosiah were princes, maybe it is just referring to their servants or helpers or whatever. They might not have been used to "roughing it" with the Lamanites so much.

How can I help with this? Alma 16:16-17

How can I help with this? Alma 16:16-17

Alma and Amulek start to preach the gospel to the rest of the Nephites. The people are described as having no inequality among them, with the Spirit of the Lord poured out among them to prepare their hearts to receive Jesus Christ when he would come for the first time. Specifically, they were being prepared so as not to harden their hearts, but to receive the message of the gospel with joy, and become like a grafted branch into the church.

Clearly, this kind of stuff is still going on today in preparation for Jesus Christ's second coming. In fact, it is kind of the very point of point of missionary work.

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like if all Christian churches could unite into one "tree." If we could all agree on points of doctrine, if we could all share the same hope, faith, belief - how powerful and amazing would that be? And I'm not talking about subsuming groups into my own, but more like...

When Jesus Christ comes again, won't it be so much simpler for us to all unite and come together? We would not longer be "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" but just, well, "the Church of Jesus Christ." All of our meetinghouses everywhere could be used to worship him in a united, joyful manner. It would be a time of unity rather than division. 

Daydreams.

Answer:

The way that I can help is probably twofold:

1. I can help share my testimony. This is sometimes not so easy for me. 

2. I can make sure my own heart is soft and able to listen to what God wants me to hear. That means being humble. Submitting my will to his. Trying to understand the message that he is giving me in the little, daily things (in our most recent general conference, an encouraging message included that God often speaks through small parables of daily life). I can try to receive the message of the gospel by learning more about Jesus Christ. That means reading the scriptures. It means a daily practice of prayer and service. It means choosing to believe. I do a lot better with this second aspect than the first, unless doing temple work for the dead counts. I think it sort of does, but, well...