No Coincidences

Tag: Ammon

  • Ministering

    Ministering

    Alma 35:7

    “And it came to pass that Alma and his brethren did minister unto them.”

    This is referring to the poor people of the Zoramites who had been forced to leave their homes and their city because they believed in Jesus Christ. These poor Zoramites were welcomed to the city of Jershon by the Ammonites, a recently converted group of Lamanites. I’ve written about the corruption of the Zoramites before.

    The Zoramites were so mad at these poor members of their society that they had already banished that they told the Ammonites in Jershon to not allow these poor individuals to live in their city. The people of Ammon, being decent human beings, ignored the demand from the wealthy Zoramites to cast out these poor people again.

    This is where the verse quoted, verse 7, comes in.

    Alma and his brethren ministered to these poor Zoramites. It was Alma and his brethren who preached to the poor Zoramites which ultimately led to them being cast from their homes. The people of Ammon also ministered to these people.

    Doesn’t this seem like an obvious thing? To take care of an innocent group of already poor people who were forced to leave their homes?

    If there was any question whether the teachings of the rich Zoramites were corrupt and had their roots in an evil nature, this behavior seems to confirm this fact. By their fruits you shall know them.

    And what’s up with the rich Zoramites that made them leave? It wasn’t enough that they forced these people out, making them pack up and go with what little they had to another town? They had to follow these people and try to get another town to not allow them to be there? How petty is this? This makes me think of some who leave the Church. Isn’t it enough to just leave? Do you have to follow the Church around bashing it, hating it, trying to destroy it?

    It is said that adherence of the sabbath day is what separated the Jews from the rest of the world and today respecting and keeping holy the sabbath day should be a mark of Christians, though that has unfortunately changed. That was the sign in ancient sign. What is the sign today?

    What sets apart Christ’s true church? It should be ministering to the one. Christ’s church should have a clear focus on ministering to one another, and to others.

    Christ’s church is not vindictive, it is loving. Christ’s church is not exclusive, it is inclusive. Christ’s church should be a community of saints supporting each other in every physical, emotional, and spiritual way possible. Christ’s church should be like Christ’s ministry. It should be a church of ministering to the one and to the all.

    The Ammonites are an extraordinary example of ministering. “And [they] did minister unto them.” Even with the threat of war, they still ministered. Even with the threat of murder, they ministered.

    What is our excuse as members of the Church of Jesus Christ if we aren’t ministering to each other? The Church of Jesus Christ has an organized, cohesive, important program of ministering. If we aren’t doing our part to minister to one another then we aren’t doing our part in separating ourselves from the world.

    I’m grateful that Christ’s church has an organized emphasis on ministering. I’m grateful I get to be a part of it. I’m grateful that Jesus Christ was the example of a perfect minister.

  • Sent from God – Missionaries

    Sent from God – Missionaries

    The story of Ammon is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon. Ammon went amongst the Lamanites who wanted to kill and murder him to teach them about Jesus Christ. I wrote about a great conversion moment I had from the story of Ammon before. Here I am 4 years later, still being inspired by the story of Ammon.

    This time it was chapter 18 that struck me. Ammon had just performed a miraculous feet, defending the flocks of the king from a group of men trying to scatter them. In defending the sheep, Ammon smote off the arms of so many men that the other servants he was with felt the need to collect them and show them to the king. It is here where King Lamoni, in chapter 18 verse 2 says,

    “Surely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth send such great punishmnets upon this people, because of their murders?”

    Ammon was so powerful that the king believed him to be God.

    In verse 18, King Lamoni asks Ammon if he is the Great Spirit.

    Ammon’s simple reply in verse 19 is, “I am not.”

    Their conversation continues and Ammon begins to teach Lamoni about the one true God. Lamoni asks in verse 33, “Art thou sent from God?”

    This is what jumped out to me and made me think. It wasn’t long ago that King Lamoni thought Ammon was actually God. It’s a natural progression, I think, to then ask if he was sent from God. Ammon’s reply is found in verses 34 and 35:

    “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.”

    I am called by his Holy Spirit.

    This made me think. Ammon could have simply replied, yes, I am from God. Instead, he chose to use the question as an opportunity to expound and teach about God and our relationship to Him.

    What do missionaries say when a stranger or someone they’re teaching asks the simple question, “Are you sent from God?”

    I hope it is without hesitation that the response comes, a resounding: YES.

    This led me to think even deeper about this. King Lamoni was asking if God guided Ammon there. Ammon replied that God had. But what if Lamoni was asking if Ammon came directly from the presence of God to teach him? That question isn’t that crazy after asking the person if they were God. Ammon could have equally replied to that question: Yes. He came from the presence of God to teach King Lamoni and his people.

    Every missionary serving Jesus Christ came from the presence of God to this earth with the purpose of going on a mission, teaching others about God, and bringing others unto Christ.

    How often do our missionaries think this way? I hope daily. It is a powerful thing to understand that you were sent directly from God for this important mission.

    Neil A Maxwell when speaking of the star that signaled Christ’s birth said,

    “The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the babe has given at least equal attention to the placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives so that our light might not only lead others but warn them as well.”

    God knows our missionaries. God loves our missionaries. God sent our missionaries, directly from His presence, to shine their lights and illuminate this world. I am so grateful for our missionaries.