the conversion of king lamoni

after 16 long weeks of not attending church, we finally got to go back on sunday. it was strange, but it was nice. we all had to sit on pews that were very well spaced out (pews all the way back in the cultural hall? that's a first!), sacrament tonged into our hands, everyone required to sign in and sanitise on arrival. but it was the same it's always been and it felt so good to be back.

i received a "wonderful" surprise a week or so back, when one of bishops counselors called me and asked me to be our first post covid speaker. i was very surprised, but of course happy to do it. i was given the subject of the conversion of king lamoni and his house and here it is!

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Good morning brothers and sisters. It’s been a hundred and twelve days since we’ve been in the chapel together and a lot of things in the world have changed. A lot of things are still changing, but the truth of the gospel remains the same, which is why we are so blessed to return to this place of refuge amongst the uncertainty outside.

I’ve been asked to speak today about the conversion of King Lamoni and his house, which makes me pretty happy – as it’s one of my favourite stories in the Book of Mormon. Joseph and I love it, him mostly because of Ammon cutting the arms off the robbers, but there is obviously so much more to the story.

Ammon was one of the sons of Mosiah, converted along with Alma the younger, as they went about actually trying to destroy the church. So great was their conversion that an angel of the Lord appeared to them. What an experience that would have been. I mean, I’m not going to lie, there have been occasions where I have wished we could call down an angel to assist with conversion. I know there are plenty of people who could benefit from it and it would make it so easy! The amazing thing is, their conversion was so powerful that they dedicated more than fourteen years of their lives to preaching and ministering unto others to enable them to experience conversion for themselves.

Ammon and his brothers spent several years teaching the Gospel to the Lamanites. Ammon went first to the land of Ishmael. He was captured by the Lamanites and taken before their king, Lamoni. In verse 22 and 23 of Alma chapter 17 King Lamoni asks Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people, Ammon said unto him: “Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.” The king, impressed, offers him high station, along with one of his daughters, to marry. Ammon refuses, and says “Nay, but I will be thy servant” going instead to serve in the king's household where he is given the job of assisting others in caring for the king's flocks. The thing that really stood out to me here, was that Ammon specifically said “perhaps until the day I die.” He was willing to stay for as long as it took to convert these people to believe in Christ and do what he was called to do.

Within days the king would find out that Ammon was willing to risk his life for him. And there came the opportunity for Ammon to be a witness of God to the king. When caring for the flocks of the king, men came to attack and scatter them. Fellow servants tell him they will be killed if the bandits acquire any of the flock. So, Ammon directs the others to encircle the flock so they will not scatter and then confronts the bandits. He recognises this immediately as an opportunity to establish a relationship of trust, preparing them to listen to his message. He doesn’t shy away, he takes these bandits on! As he is seemingly outnumbered, the thieves attack Ammon. From a distance he kills several with his sling and then in hand-to-hand combat cuts off the arms of every robber who attacks him. Upon returning to the king, the other servants present him with these arms and recall the events. King Lamoni asks of Ammons whereabouts, only to be told that this man is still out, tending to the horses. In verse 10 of chapter 18 it says: “Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his chariots he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them.” Ammon gained the trust of the king and his servants through service. They were prepared and ready to listen to his message, all because Ammon was willing to serve. After asking many questions and having them answered by Ammon, King Lamoni and many people in his kingdom are converted to the gospel.

Combining kindness and service with bearing witness has great power to change lives. Thousands of times every day members of the Church are watched, by people curious to know something about our lives. Because we are under covenant to be a witness of the gospel, we will try to tell them how the gospel has brought us happiness. What they think of what we say may depend largely on how much they sense we care for them.

Those we meet will feel the love that springs from our long practice in keeping a covenant to “mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort” (Mosiah 18:9). It may not be in hours or days as it was for King Lamoni, but they will feel our love after testing our hearts. And when they find our concern sincere, the Holy Spirit can more easily touch them to allow us to teach and to testify, as it did for Ammon.

Later, Ammon's love and respect for Lamoni also impresses Lamoni's father, the king of all the Lamanites and he too was converted to the gospel. Have you ever had someone ask why you are different? Why you choose to do things for others, unasked or unaided? We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taught kindness, to love and to serve from a young age. We watch our parents serve in the church, assist others and teach us to do the same. So many are amazed when they hear our positions in the church are unpaid and often without a monetary reward. But like King Lamoni, this is what leads them to ask questions and have a desire to learn of the truth, because we lead by example.

In this weeks come follow me studies we learnt about how our own testimony can have a far-reaching influence. Though accounts of conversion we read about in the scriptures often involve dramatic events, at their core we usually find it was due to individuals who simply had the courage to speak up and share their witness with others. It’s also mentioned about how a great way to study these events is to look for the far-reaching effects of one person bearing his or her testimony.  Ammon shared the gospel with King Lamoni, who shared it with his kingdom, and his father who shared it with his kingdom. Now if you were to leave this chapel and share it with your neighbour, who shared it with their family, who shared it with their friends, who shared it with their workmates, who told the guys at their local sportsclub, who told their mates at uni, who went home and told their parents, can you even imagine the spread it would create? We need to flood the world with the gospel. To allow every person to hear of it. To follow the example of Ammon and serve, as others observe and are lead to the truth.

Lastly I would just like to touch on the great power of King Lamoni’s conversion. It is spoken about, that it was so strong that he fell to the ground and was still for days. He received such a powerful witness that he was completely overwhelmed by the spirit and unable to rise. Although we may not receive a witness of this extent, conversion is a deeply personal experience and allows us to come to the light of Christ in our own way. Just because we do not have a physical experience of this manner, it does not mean that our testimony is lesser or not as worthy as that of someone else.

As we continue learning and growing within the gospel, may we remember the example we are to others outside of our faith and strive to serve others, that we may be able to share our light and testimony with them, just as Ammon did with King Lamoni.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen