”And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the spirit of God, therefore he perceived the thoughts of the king. And he said unto him, Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks? And slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants? Behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings? I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a man, and am thy servant. Therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do. Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he beheld that Ammon could discern his thoughts. But notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth and said unto him, Who art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit who knows all things? Ammon answered and said unto him, I am not. And the king said, How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speak boldly and tell me concerning these things, and also tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks. And now, if thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee. And if it were needed, I would guard thee with my armies, but I know that thou art more powerful than all they. Nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me, I will grant it unto thee. Now Ammon being wise yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni, Wilt thou hearken unto my words if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee. And the king answered him and said, Yea, I will believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with guile.”
“And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him, Believest thou that there is a God? And he answered unto him, I do not know what that meaneth. And then Ammon said, Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? And he said, Yea. And Ammon said, This is God. And Ammon said unto him again, Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in Heaven and in the earth? And he said, Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth, but I do not know the Heavens. And Ammon said unto him, The Heavens are a place where God dwells, and all his holy angels. And king Lamoni said, Is it above the earth? And Ammon said, Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart, for by his hand were they all created from the beginning. And king Lamoni said, I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou sent from God? Ammon said unto him, I am a man, and man in the beginning was created after the image of God. And I am called by his holy spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true; and a portion of that spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge and also power, according to my faith and desires which are in God.”
”Now when Ammon had said these words, he began to the creation of the world, and also to the creation of Adam, and told him all the things concerning the fall of man, and rehearsed and laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people which had been spoken by the prophets, even down to the time that their father Lehi left Jerusalem. And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travel, etc. And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the rebellions of Laman, and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael — yea, all their rebellions did he relate unto them. And he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time. But this is not all, for he expounded unto them the plan of redemption which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known unto them.”
”And it came to pass that after he had said all these things and expounded them to the king, that the king believed all his words. And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying, O Lord, have mercy, according to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me and my people. And now when he had said this, he fell unto the earth as if he were dead. And it came to pass that his servants took him, and carried him in unto his wife, and laid him upon a bed. And he lay as if he were dead for the space of two days and two nights; and his wife, and his sons, and his daughters mourned over him after the manner of the Lamanites, greatly lamenting his loss.”
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”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. 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; 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. 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. 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.”
”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 (thus having been converted to the Lord), never had 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. And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the king.”
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“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! And when she had said this, she clapped 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. 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. But there were many among them who would not hear his words; therefore, they went their way.”
”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. 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. 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. 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.“
This remarkable account is not given to boast of a few people. It is not intended for this kind of experience to be unique. It is given to show what is possible. Even among a people who had been hardened against the truth and brought up and raised in extremely sinful practices, as soon as they truly turn to the Lord, they experience this life changing event, which changes the course of their lives forever. If this can happen among such a hardened, murderous people as these, it can happen among us. It can happen to you.
After they truly turned themselves to the Lord, and before they really had much of a chance to prove their conversion, immediately they are blessed with exceedingly great and glorious blessings. This account is not to make someone jealous, or to think that God will do something for them that He won’t do for you. God is truly no respecter of persons. What he has done among other people, He is willing to do among us. If our hearts are truly turned to Him, if we come to Him with a broken heart and contrite spirit, as these people did, the Lord will likewise bless us. If you turn to Him as these people turned to Him, great and marvelous blessings will be yours as well.
If you have been born of God, you have had an experience that is on par with the account given here. Have you been born of God? Have you had this kind of mighty change of heart for yourself?