No Respecter of Persons

Today I read Alma 19, where Lamoni's wife and their entire household is converted to the Lord. The chapter starts out with yet another type and shadow of Christ, they are everywhere! King Lamoni when he falls into the trance the first time is in the trance for just over two days and two nights, a clear shadow of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. Unlike Christ however, during these 3 days, Lamoni was being ministered to by angels and by the Savior himself.

The rest of the chapter is about the conversion of the rest of the people in Lamoni's household and a good portion of those in his kingdom. I have titled this blog, "No Respecter of Persons", because the Gospel is meant for all people and it is preached to all with equal fervor. Even though the Lamanites were bloodthirsty and not really worthy of the Spirit, we find in this chapter that one of them had had a vision many years earlier and that as a result of the vision he and his daughter, Abish, had been converted to the Lord.

I think we often fall into the trap of thinking that unless someone is perfectly worthy of the Spirit in every single way, they can't feel it. This is wholly untrue. If it were, no one would ever become converted to the Lord. Because it is the Spirit which converts and very, very few are worthy of the Spirit when they first hear of the Gospel on account of their riotous living. Very, very few people in this country at least, live a life conducive to the Spirit before they join the church.

But the Lord sees all things before Him and knows our hearts and sends the Spirit accordingly. Speaking of seeing all things before Him, every time I read this chapter I can't help but wonder if the Lamanite who wishes to kill Ammon and is slain was killed on the spot, or if once again the Lord knew the exact moment he would need to die and caused the man to have a defect at birth or later in life that came to fruition at that exact moment, much like He did with the storm in 1 Nephi when they were crossing the sea or the new star that appeared when the Savior was born. I suppose I'll never know but it sure leaves me in awe every time I think about it and read this chapter. With a being like that, is there really anyway we can hide anything from Him? Absolutely not, but most of us sure try don't we?

A final thought for today. None of this would have happened if Ammon had not been living a righteous life and prepared himself accordingly. He had searched the scriptures and knew them and could teach them. He had fasted and prayed for the Spirit to accompany him. He was prepared in all things for these events. He had prepared his mind and body. So too must we prepare spiritually if we are to be effective instruments in the Lords hands. We must prepare ourselves, another reason to attend our church meetings and read the scriptures for 30 minutes each day at least. If we do that, we will be able to witness some truly remarkable things in this life in His service, this I promise you. Until tomorrow.