The Book of Mormon
Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Rather than let this old and worn book sit in some musty old
museum to viewed by a handful of curious visitors, Sister Schlie has chosen to
dismantle the book page by page for those who desire to have their favorite scripture framed and displayed
on an authentic page from this original 1830 printing of the Book of Mormon.
I had such a desire, to have my favorite scripture, Alma
17:18-38, which can be found on the page 271-272 of this original Book of
Mormon, framed so that I could demonstrate to others the truth and power which
can be gleaned from the Book of Mormon.
Page 271-272 from Helen
Spencer Schlie’s original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon
This page contains the text from Alma 17:18-38, the story of
Ammon and King Lamoni. There is a power
of scripture, and a power of conversion in this page, as it is read, handled
and contemplated. This page has the
power to build testimonies and change lives, just as “the shadow of Peter” could
heal the sick as told in Acts 5:15; “they
brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches,
that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of
them”.
Why this page? Why
this particular part of scripture? As
we read in Alma 17, we learn of how the sons of Mosiah “had waxed strong in the
knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had
searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God”.
(Alma 17:2), “they had given themselves
to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the
spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and
authority of God” (Alma 17:3). “They fasted much and prayed much that the
Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide
with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it
were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to
the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were
not correct” (Alma 17:9).
Now, Ammon went to the land of Ishmael (Alma 17:19), but as he “entered the land of
Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and bound him, as was their custom to bind all
the Nephites who fell into their hands, and carry them before the king; and
thus it was left to the pleasure of the king to slay them, or to retain them in
captivity, or to cast them into prison, or to cast them out of his land,
according to his will and pleasure” (Alma
17:20). After interviewing with
the king, King Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon, and caused that his bands
should be loosed (Alma 17:24). Ammon told the king that he would like to be
his servant, and” was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni” (Alma
17:25).
“And after he had been in the service of the king three
days, as he was with the Lamanitish servants going forth with their flocks to
the place of water, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites
drive their flocks hither, that they may have water—“ (Alma 17:26), when “behold, a certain number of the
Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the
flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch
that they fled many ways” (Alma 17:27).
“Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now
the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were
scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly,
saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already. Now they wept because of the
fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him
with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my
fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto
the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead
them to believe in my words” (Alma
17:28-29).
This single sentence of scripture; “that I may win the hearts of
these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words”,
is the reason that I desired to have this particular page from the original 1830
edition of the Book of Mormon. In this
sentence, Ammon declares the very essence of missionary work, “that
I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to
believe in my words”.
We have been admonished by latter-day prophets to:
President David O. McKay advised, “Every
member a missionary”;
President Kimball: “Lengthen your stride” and “Do it now”;
President Benson: “Flood … the earth with the Book of Mormon”;
President Hinckley: Increase the number of converts and retain them.
President Monson: Restore the gospel to the inactive members of the churchl.
President Kimball: “Lengthen your stride” and “Do it now”;
President Benson: “Flood … the earth with the Book of Mormon”;
President Hinckley: Increase the number of converts and retain them.
President Monson: Restore the gospel to the inactive members of the churchl.
Through this scripture Ammon has shown us the way; he has
given us the means of declaring the gospel to those who will “believe in my
words”.
The story goes on to show how Ammon restores the flocks to
the king, and does indeed find favor with King Lamoni such that the king says “whatsoever
thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would guard thee
with my armies” (Alma 18:21). Ammon “said
unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words” (Alma 18:22)? “And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I
will believe all thy words” (Alma 18:23).
“And it came to pass that there were many that did believe
in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a
righteous people, and they did establish a church among them. And thus the work of the Lord did commence
among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them;
and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe
on his name” (Alma 19:35-36)
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I
MISSED IT !!!
I was
so excited with the message of pages 271-272, the story of Ammon and King
Lalmoni, and Ammon’s powerful missionary message in Alma 17:29 ”that I may win the hearts of these my
fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words”, that I just
left the story there, but as I was out walking the dogs this morning, I
reviewed the rest of the story in my mind.
After
the servants of the king returned and relate the story of how Ammon had rescued
the kings flocks from the Lamanites, the king can but wonder who this man is. “Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who
doth send such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders?”
(Alma 18:2).
When
Alma is brought before king Lamoni, the king ponders him in his mind; it is a
full hour before the king can even speak to Ammon (Alma 18:14). When Ammon
perceives the thoughts of the king he says: “Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy
flocks, and slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and
smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants;
behold, is it this that causeth thy marveling”? (Alma
18:16).
“Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for
he beheld that Ammon could discern his thoughts; but notwithstanding this, king
Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou? Art thou that Great
Spirit, who knows all things”? (Alma 18:18).
“Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt
thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And
this is the thing that I desire of thee. And the king answered him, and said:
Yea, I will believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with guile”. (Alma
18:22-23), thus fulfilling Ammons desires
expressed in Alma 17:29.
And now
comes Part II; Ammon’s desires to have them “believe in my words” has been met. Now the Lord would desirethe
same thing, that king Lamoni believe with a surety that He is the One True God,
and believe in Him that he might believe in His Words, for when Ammon asks the
king “Believest thou that there is a God”?
the king answers him “I do not know
what that meaneth”. (Alma 18:24-25).
Ammon
rehearses to king Lamoni who God is, and tells him of His wondrous works from
the beginning of the creation down to the present day. When Ammon had finished
these things the king “ began to cry unto
the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which
thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people. And now,
when he had said this, he fell unto the earth, as if he were dead.” (Alma
18:41-42).
For the
space of three days “king Lamoni was
under the power of God; … the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from
his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the
glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness--yea, this light had
infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled,
and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew
that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—“ (Alma 19:6).
When,
by the power of God, king Lamoni is raised from his sleep, he begins to “to teach them” (his people) ”the words which he had heard from the
mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted
unto the Lord”. (Alma 19:31).
And now
through His power, God has taught king Lamoni that He is the One True God, and
now King Lamoni is ready to believe all his words. And thus a great work was done in the
land. This was a pivotal point in the
teachings of God unto the Lamanites.
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The following is a full size reproduction of an original
typeset page and page detail for the first sixteen pages of the Book of Mormon as printed by
Mr. E. B. Grandin. Each typeset page
contained sixteen pages, front and back, which were printed on a single
sheet. There were 185,000 sheets that
would eventually be folded, cut, and bound to create the 590-page Book of
Mormon.
5000 copies of the book were printed at the cost of $3000
and sold for $1.25 apiece.
What is your favorite Book of Mormon
scripture? Choice scriptures are still
available from this original
1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.
Contact Helen Spencer Schlie at http://facebook.com/helenspencerschlie