Dear Elder Miller: You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Arizona Mesa Mission.
So what exactly IS a missionary, for those of you guys who might not know? Of course, we're best known as those overexcited, naive, annoying guys who knock on your door asking if you'd like to hear a message. But that's never how I've seen it. I think the best way to describe a missionary would be to tell you a story. A story about one of my heroes. The man I'm named after. This is the story of Ammon.
The Book of Mormon is an ancient record of God's dealings with the people in ancient America. Around 600 BC, a group of people left Jerusalem after being warned that it would soon be destroyed. They headed out to sea to get to the Promised Land on the American continents. Their population grew, and they eventually separated into two main groups, called the Nephites and the Lamanites. The Nephites were mainly good guys, listening to God and doing the stuff they were supposed to. The Lamanites weren't so great, and were always looking for a fight, because they felt that they had been wronged in having to leave Jerusalem.
Time passed, and there was still a lot of tension between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Meanwhile, in the Nephite territory, a man named Alma traveled around the land with his friends, who consisted Ammon and his three brothers. They did everything they could to destroy God's church. This was especially bad, because Ammon and his brothers were the sons of the king, Mosiah, and Alma was the son of the high priest, also named Alma. After seeing all the terrible things they were doing, Alma's father prayed to God, asking that his son would come to know of the truth of the gospel. Mosiah 27:11-14,18 explains what happened next:
And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood. And so great was their astonishment that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them. Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people. And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith
And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder.
After this experience, Alma, Ammon, and his brothers turned their lives around and dedicated themselves to the gospel. When it came time for King Mosiah to confer the kingdom to one of his sons, they all refused, wanting instead to proclaim the truth to anyone who would listen. What shocked King Mosiah the most, however, was that his sons wanted to preach the gospel to the Lamanites! This would have been suicide, as the Lamanites hated the Nephites with a passion. However, the sons of Mosiah had faith that their Lord would protect them, and Mosiah was assured by the Lord that they would be protected.
Ammon traveled to the land Ishmael to begin his mission. Almost immediately he was bound by the Lamanites and brought before their king, Lamoni. Ammon was asked why he was in this foreign land, and he simply replied that he was there to dwell with the Lamanites and to serve them. Surprisingly, the king was pleased by this and told Ammon that he would be in charge of the flocks of sheep. Ammon immediately went to work, doing everything that the king asked of him. As he was watching the flocks with his fellow servants, other Lamanites came out of nowhere and scattered the flocks, in order to try to take some for themselves. The other servants of King Lamoni were afraid, because they thought that the king would kill them, as he had to other servants who had let the sheep go. However, Ammon cheered them up and with God's help, collected every single sheep. When the other Lamanites saw this, they came out to scatter them again, but this time Ammon fought back.
(We look exactly the same, right?)
But Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling; yeah, with mighty power he did sling stones amongst them; and thus he slew a certain number of them insomuch that they began to be astonished at his power...therefore, seeing that they could not hit him with their stones, they came forth with clubs to slay him. But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished, and began to flee before him; yea, and they were not few in number; and he caused them to flee by the strength of his arm. Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he slew none save it were their leader with his sword; and he smote off as many of their arms as were lifted against him, and they were not a few.
That's right. Ammon didn't mess around.
Anyway, eventually the word got back to King Lamoni about the inhuman power of Ammon. The other servants, after seeing everything that he did, assumed that he was the Great Spirit. Lamoni agreed, and began to fear that he was about to be punished for having killed so many of his servants before. When he asked where Ammon was, he was surprised to find that he was preparing his chariots, just as he had been asked, even after this great display of power.
Lamoni sent for Ammon. When he arrived, there was silence for an hour, as Lamoni was too afraid to speak to who he thought was the Great Spirit
Alma 18:16
And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the Spirit of God, therefore he perceived the thoughts of the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou has 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 marvelings?
King Lamoni answered that indeed, these were his thoughts. He asked Ammon how he had such great power, and Ammon agreed to tell him. He explained that he had the power of God within him because he was called to serve and teach the Lamanites. He then proceeded to share God's plan with King Lamoni, including the creation of the world, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and how we can meet our Heavenly Father again through the blessing of repentance. King Lamoni believed all the words, and was touched by what he heard.
Alma 18:41
And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou has had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.
After this prayer, King Lamoni fainted. Three days later, he woke up, changed and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because he had chosen this path, eventually many of his own people were also converted to the gospel. Because of the righteousness of Ammon, a whole people were converted that nobody would have thought possible just a few years before!
I have always been fascinated by the story of Ammon, and his incredible faith and righteousness that led to so many miracles. I've always wanted to serve a mission, and I hope that I can have just a fraction of the courage that he had. Although I know that my mission won't be nearly as dramatic as his, I know that it can be just as satisfying, and that it's something that I'm supposed to do. Not because my parents expect it, not because so many people at BYU go, and not because I want to brag about going on a mission. Honestly, I'm nothing compared to so many of the other guys that go out there. I'm going because I want to share the truths that I have learned. Some of these truths are:
- God loves us and sent his son Jesus Christ to help us return to Him again
- The atonement of Christ not only saves us from sin, but from any pain, trials, or weakness we struggle with.
- By following the commandments of God, we achieve happiness through his Plan of Salvation.
- The original church of Jesus Christ has been restored once again upon the Earth
- Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and translated the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon is true and will help us come closer to Christ
- Families can be together forever
- Prophets are on the earth today, and help us know how to deal with the problems of this world.
D&C 128:22
Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and can help us with anything we are struggling with. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet today. By following his words, as well as the words found in The Book of Mormon and The Bible, we can find happiness in this life, and secure happiness in the life to come. I know that the atonement of Christ is real, and has helped me through every trial I've ever faced. I say these things in His holy name, Jesus Christ, amen.
http://mormon.org/