You can read the entire chapter here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/18?lang=eng.
Also check out this video from 8:12 to 16:00: https://youtu.be/znleUXF1nW4
If we are to pinpoint one moment where the tide is turned, and the centuries of hatred, distrust, and misunderstanding between the Nephites and Lamanites begins to reverse—at least among those who are open to reason—it is this chapter.
Ammon leverages his powerful and righteous example from serving King Lamoni and performing miraculous deeds in defense of his flocks and other servants by making the king curious about the source of his power. The king wonders, “How can Ammon do those amazing things he does?”
As the reports of Ammon’s heroic courage and strength roll in to the king from his other servants, two thoughts occupy and disturb his mind. First, he begins to think that Ammon must be the Great Spirit—the all-powerful being the Lamanites talk about. Second, he worries that Ammon has come to punish him for cruelly putting his servants to death for being unable to protect the flocks against thieves (verses 1-6). When conscience starts to tug at us, we open ourselves up to making changes to pacify those unsettled feelings.
As thunderstruck as King Lamoni is when hearing about Ammon’s exploits in defending the flocks at the watering hole, his amazement goes to another level when he asks where Ammon is and is told that he is preparing the horses and chariots for the king’s upcoming trip. Lamoni is just blown away by Ammon’s unassuming focus on service despite the awesome power he’s capable of. He also marvels at Ammon because of the exactness of his obedience (verses 8-10). Ammon is diligently seeking to understand every detail of Lamoni’s desires so that he can bring them to pass. It seems to unsettle him that someone so powerful is willing to so happily abase himself. At some level, Lamoni may be wondering, “When will this fearful man begin to demand something from me?”
There’s this uncomfortable tension in the king’s presence because there’s a sense that true majesty and power may be in someone other than the person calling himself a monarch. We feel this when Ammon finally finishes his work and makes his way to the king’s room. He sees something very strange about the king’s countenance, and initially thinks it might be better for him to leave him alone. But one of the servants explains that the king wants him to stay. These servants have totally changed their attitude toward Ammon—having suspected and doubted him as an inexperienced outsider and enemy to their people, they now regard him with something approaching reverence and address him as “Rabbanah,” or great and powerful king (verses 12-13).
So Ammon stays. He is respectful to the king, but doesn’t feel like he needs to be overly ceremonious in his conversation or conduct. He just asks the king directly, “What do you want from me?” The king probably has never been in this situation before with a servant or a subject that he believes to be his equal or superior. He is unsure of what to do, so he freezes up and doesn’t do anything. After an hour, Ammon asks again, “What can I do for you?” Still, nothing (verses 14-15).
Ammon, assisted by the Holy Spirit, perceives King Lamoni’s thoughts, and breaks the silence. He asks the king if his paralysis is from hearing about the amazing deeds Ammon pulled off to defend the flocks and servants, and basically says, “Why are you so awestruck? I’m just a man like anyone else. If you want me to do something that is morally right, I’ll do it” (verses 16-17).
Finally, Lamoni speaks. He asks if Ammon is the Great Spirit, and after Ammon says no, wants to understand how he had the power to do what he did and, later, read his mind (verses 18-20).
It is Ammon’s single-minded focus on serving his master that produces curiosity within Lamoni. He wonders, “What manner of man is this? Even though I am the king, maybe I can learn something from him.”
Ammon’s efforts provide a textbook example of how we can build up credibility with other people. If he had walked into the land of Ishmael and in his first audience with King Lamoni told him that he had come to correct his false and deficient understandings about eternal truth and the root of the Nephite-Lamanite dispute, he would have either been killed on the spot or laughed out of the king’s tent.
Instead, his willingness to serve Lamoni with attention to detail gets Lamoni’s attention and makes him receptive to what Ammon has to share. When Ammon comes before Lamoni after demonstrating his power to defend his flocks and servants, Lamoni is in fact desperate to understand more—to the point where he specifically charges Ammon to speak boldly and not hold back, and tells him that he will give Ammon anything he wants so long as he’ll share the secrets behind his success (verse 21).
At this point, Ammon can’t lose. He is now a trusted friend and confidant, and not only has King Lamoni’s attention, but also the opportunity to take plenty of time to explain how and why things are the way they are. The first thing he needs to explain is how he is able to do things that seem miraculous to those who witness them. Lamoni’s first guess is that Ammon is the Great Spirit, but Ammon tells him no, there is a God who works through a different way. He uses messengers and representatives like Ammon to teach people about truth and righteousness and how to live in accordance with them. God makes this possible by allowing a portion of his Holy Spirit to be with people like Ammon and others so that they can have the knowledge and power they need to properly represent Him (verses 22-35).
It certainly raises some other questions about the nature of the Holy Spirit. What is it and its relationship to God and to people? Does it have a life of its own, or is it an extension of God? But there may be opportunities to fully explain this later.
What Ammon feels compelled to explain are the fundamental truths about God, His relationship to us, and His plan that can bring all of us happiness and redemption. So Ammon shares some basic points with Lamoni (verses 28-39)
- God is our Creator and is ever-mindful of us and what we do.
- All people from Adam have had the opportunity to learn about and follow God from prophets and their teachings.
- Lehi’s family was instructed to leave Jerusalem and come to the Americas (where Ammon and Lamoni find themselves now along with all of Lehi’s other descendants), and Laman, Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael rebelled against the Lord’s will.
- Despite whatever happened in the past, Jesus Christ will come to earth (as part of God’s plan from before the Creation) and can redeem us from our fallen state.
So because Ammon has spent time building up credibility with King Lamoni, and is able to teach him things from the beginning, Lamoni is presented with an account of his ancestors’ wickedness in the larger context of God’s plan and love for all His children. It’s much more likely that he will accept this teaching than if Ammon blurted, “Laman and Lemuel were wrong!” the first time they met (even though it is totally true). Also, Ammon emphasizes that he and Lamoni’s people have a common heritage through Lehi, rather than focusing on the divisions between Nephi and his brothers.
King Lamoni believes everything Ammon tells him, and cries to the Lord, seeking mercy for his people in the same way the Lord has blessed the Nephites. And then he falls to the earth, so great is his mind and spirit caught up in what he has learned from Ammon, and perhaps drained from the effort of listening and understanding to this very new and strange doctrine. This is similar to the effect that the angel had on Ammon, his brothers, and Alma when they were confronted with the truth of their wickedness and need to change in the face of what is good and right (verses 40-42).
Lamoni’s servants initially assume that he has died, and take him to his family, where they mourn him for two days and nights, with the story to be continued (verse 43).
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