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. |
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19:2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of
Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come
in unto her. |
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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. |
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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; |
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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 1stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the
sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink. |
[1] John 11:39: ...Lord,
by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four
days. |
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-- |
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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. |
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19:8 And he said unto the queen: 1He is
not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he 2shall rise again; therefore bury him not. |
[1] John 11:11: ...Our
friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him
out of sleep.
[2] John 11:23:
...Thy brother shall rise again. |
19:9 And Ammon said unto her: 1Believest 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. |
[1] John 11:26:
...Believest thou this? |
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 1great faith among all the people of the
Nephites. |
[1] Luke 7:9 ...I have not found so great faith,
no, not in Israel. |
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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-- |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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; |
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19:26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was
a monster, who had been sent from the Nephites to torment
them. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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! |
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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. |
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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. |
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19:32 But there were many among them who would not
hear his words; therefore they went their way. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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