19:1 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.
19:2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she
sent and desired that he should come in unto her.
19:3 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.
19:4 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;
19:5 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.
19:6 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—
19:7 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.
19:8 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.
19:9 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.
19:10 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.
19:11 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.
19:12 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.
19:13 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.
19:14 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.
19:15 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.
19:16 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—
19:17 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.
19:18 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.
19:19 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.
19:20 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.
19:21 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.
19:22 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.
19:23 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.
19:24 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.
19:25 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;
19:26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a monster, who
had been sent from the Nephites to torment them.
19:27 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.
19:28 And thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them.
And while they were thus contending, the woman servant who had caused
the multitude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the
contention which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful,
even unto tears.
19:29 And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by the hand,
that perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she
touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a
loud voice, saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful
hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!
19:30 And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled
with joy, speaking many words which were not understood; and when she
had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he
arose and stood upon his feet.
19:31 And he, immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went
forth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them the words which he
had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words
believed, and were converted unto the Lord.
19:32 But there were many among them who would not hear his words;
therefore they went their way.
19:33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered
unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all
declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been
changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.
19:34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen
angels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things
of God, and of his righteousness.
19:35 And it came to pass that there were many that did believe in
their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became
a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.
19:36 And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites;
thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see
that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on
his name.