Wise but Harmless

Today's reading was Alma 18. This is the chapter where Ammon teaches King Lamoni the gospel and where the king becomes converted. My favorite line in this chapter is where Mormon calls Ammon "wise, but harmless". That always brings a smile to my face if not a chuckle to my lips.

I remember being a missionary and having this chapter read to me many, many times because it is a perfect example of teaching someone without the same level of knowledge as you do. Also I enjoy this chapter because it is a great model for teaching someone anything. Build upon what they know and work at their level, use the terms they understand. I use it everyday at work.

The thing that sticks out a lot to me in this chapter is the fact that the Lamanites believed in God. I find that surprising because while I know Laman and Lemuel believed in God, I find it surprising that they would teach their children about Him. And in truth maybe they didn't. Their children knew Lehi and Nephi and maybe it was their children that taught their children, and so on and so forth. But this is the first time in the Book of Mormon that we hear that the Lamanites had a belief in God before the sons of Mosiah came to them.

The surprising thing to me is the way King Lamoni and his father were converted. More so King Lamoni than his father, for his father was actually pricked in his heart by the "greatness of Ammon" which we will see in a few chapters. However, King Lamoni was intrigued because of a miracle. However, the difference between him and a sign seeker is he was not converted by the miracle, but rather wanted to know by what power it was accomplished and he opened his heart to the Spirit to gain a testimony.

As a missionary I actually saw many times people literally hungering for he truth we had and thirsting after knowledge of Jesus Christ. We actually taught a free English Class for our service and to try and find new people to teach and I remember one day a new student wandered in to the class and another missionary and I pulled her aside and talked to her. I remember clear as day that when we asked if she wanted to study English she said, "Yeah that would be good, but I'm more interested to learn about Jesus Christ, can you all teach me about Him?" We were dumbfounded for a moment before we heartily responded that yes we could indeed teach her about the Savior.

Growing up in America, I think we take for granted that we have heard about Jesus Christ our whole lives whether you believe in Him or not. It's hard to fathom of people who have never heard the name Jesus before let alone heard of the Bible. I remember sitting down and trying to teach someone a first discussion and we didn't get very far. When we mentioned the Bible for the 3rd time, she stopped us saying, "You keep mentioning the Bible, what is that?" We ended up just leaving her some pamphlets to study as she wasn't that interested and was far more intrigued by two white American boys who could speak Chinese.

That's why it is important to go slow when trying to talk to someone about the Gospel and to find common ground and to not give up. King Lamoni was instrumental in helping the rest of his people convert to the Lord. Ammon never would have been able to teach King Lamoni if he had not been prepared though, like we talked about yesterday. May we all cultivate the Spirit in our lives so that when we are called to help someone understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can be ready. Until tomorrow.