22:1 Now, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of
Lamoni continually, we will return to the account of
Aaron and his brethren; for after he departed from the
land of Middoni he was led by the Spirit to the land of
Nephi, even to the house of the king which was over all
the land save it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the
father of Lamoni. |
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22:2 And it came to pass that he went in unto him
into the king's palace, with his brethren, and bowed
himself before the king, and said unto him: Behold, O
king, we are the brethren of Ammon, whom thou hast
delivered out of prison. |
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22:3 And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives,
we will be thy servants. And the king said unto them:
Arise, for I will grant unto you your lives, and I will
not suffer that ye shall be my servants; but I will
insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been
somewhat troubled in mind because of the generosity and
the greatness of the words of thy brother Ammon; and I
desire to know the cause why he has not come up out of
Middoni with thee. |
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22:4 And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the
Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has
gone to the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of
Lamoni. |
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22:5 Now the king said unto them: What is this that
ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold,
this is the thing which doth trouble me. |
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22:6 And also, what is this that Ammon said--If ye
will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent,
ye shall be cast off at the last day? |
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22:7 And Aaron answered him and said unto him:
Believest thou that there is a God? And the king said: I
know that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I
have granted unto them that they should build
sanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together
to worship him. And if now thou sayest there is a God,
behold I will believe. |
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22:8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began
to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou
livest, O king, there is a God. |
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22:9 And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit
that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem? |
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22:10 And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great
Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in
earth. Believest thou this? |
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22:11 And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great
Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should
tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe
thy words. |
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22:12 And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that
the king would believe his words, he began from the
creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the
king--how God created man after his own image, and that
God gave him commandments, and that because of
transgression, man had fallen. |
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22:13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures
from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before
him, and their carnal state and also the plan of
redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the
world, through Christ, for all
whosoever would believe on his name. |
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22:14 And since man had fallen he could not merit
anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and
repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands
of death, that the 1grave shall have no victory, and that the sting
of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory;
and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king. |
[1] I Corinthians 15:55: O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? |
22:15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had
expounded these things unto him, the king said: What
shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which
thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born
of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my
breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with
joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold,
said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will
forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy. |
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22:16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this
thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou
wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before
God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye
shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which
thou desirest. |
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22:17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said
these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon
his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the
earth, and cried mightily, saying: |
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22:18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God;
and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou
make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my
sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the
dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king
had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. |
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22:19 And it came to pass that his servants ran and
told the queen all that had happened unto the king. And
she came in unto the king; and when she saw him lay as if
he were dead, and also Aaron and his brethren standing as
though they had been the cause of his fall, she was angry
with them, and commanded that her servants, or the
servants of the king, should take them and slay them. |
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22:20 Now the servants had seen the cause of the
king's fall, therefore they durst not lay their hands on
Aaron and his brethren; and they pled with the queen
saying: Why commandest thou that we should slay these
men, when behold one of them is mightier than us all?
Therefore we shall fall before them. |
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22:21 Now when the queen saw the fear of the servants
she also began to fear exceedingly, lest there should
some evil come upon her. And she commanded her servants
that they should go and call the people, that they might
slay Aaron and his brethren. |
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22:22 Now when Aaron saw the determination of the
queen, he, also knowing the hardness of the hearts of the
people, feared lest that a multitude should assemble
themselves together, and there should be a great
contention and a disturbance among them; therefore he put
forth his hand and raised the king from the earth, and
said unto him: Stand. And he stood upon his feet,
receiving his strength. |
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22:23 Now this was done in the presence of the queen
and many of the servants. And when they saw it they
greatly marveled, and began to fear. And the king stood
forth, and began to minister unto them. And he did
minister unto them, insomuch that his whole household
were converted unto the Lord. |
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22:24 Now there was a multitude gathered together
because of the commandment of the queen, and there began
to be great murmurings among them because of Aaron and
his brethren. |
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22:25 But the king stood forth among them and
administered unto them. And they were pacified towards
Aaron and those who were with him. |
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22:26 And it came to pass that when the king saw that
the people were pacified, he caused that Aaron and his
brethren should stand forth in the midst of the
multitude, and that they should preach the word unto
them. |
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22:27 And it came to pass that the king sent a
proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his
people who were in all his land, who were in all the
regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea,
on the east and on the west, and which was divided from
the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness,
which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and
round about on the borders of the seashore, and the
borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the
land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the
head of the river Sidon, running from the east towards
the west--and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites
divided. |
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22:28 Now, the more idle part of the Lamanites lived
in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents; and they were
spread through the wilderness on the west, in the land of
Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of
Zarahemla, in the borders by the seashore, and on the
west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their fathers'
first inheritance, and thus bordering along by the
seashore. |
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22:29 And also there were many Lamanites on the east
by the seashore, whither the Nephites had driven them.
And thus the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the
Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken possession
of all the northern parts of the land bordering on the
wilderness, at the head of the river Sidon, from the east
to the west, round about on the wilderness side; on the
north, even until they came to the land which they called
Bountiful. |
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22:30 And it bordered upon the land which they called
Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into
the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of
whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by the
people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their first
landing. |
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22:31 And they came from there up into the south
wilderness. Thus the land on the northward was called
Desolation, and the land on the southward was called
Bountiful, it being the wilderness which is filled with
all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which
had come from the land northward for food. |
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22:32 And now, it was only the distance of a day and
a half's journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and
the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and
thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were
nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of
land between the land northward and the land southward. |
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22:33 And it came to pass that the Nephites had
inhabited the land Bountiful, even from the east unto the
west sea, and thus the Nephites in their wisdom, with
their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the
Lamanites on the south, that thereby they should have no
more possession on the north, that they might not overrun
the land northward. |
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22:34 Therefore the Lamanites could have no more
possessions only in the land of Nephi, and the wilderness
round about. Now this was wisdom in the Nephites--as the
Lamanites were an enemy to them, they would not suffer
their afflictions on every hand, and also that they might
have a country whither they might flee, according to
their desires. |
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22:35 And now I, after having said this, return again
to the account of Ammon and Aaron, Omner and Himni, and
their brethren. |
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