17 And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular.
I imagine that the degree of their rejoicing we cannot even imagine. If our joy is great in bringing one soul unto Christ, can you imagine how great your joy would be to bring THOUSANDS! I suppose only those who have done so can even begin to comprehend.
At least two things transpired here.
First, that everything that happened— all of this good that was done to bring thousands of souls unto Christ— was in answer to prayer. If those prayers of supplication to God were not offered, would their harvest have been so bountiful? I say that without those prayers there would have been no harvest at all! So, does the fervent, effectual prayer of the righteous availeth much? Surely it does! It was because of these men’s righteous desires that all this good was brought to pass because of their prayers, their obedience, their love of God and of all men, and their willingness to work hard, sacrifice and even suffer that these things might be.
And secondly, the Lord had “verified his word unto them in every particular”. What does this refer to? I suppose, generally speaking, to all of the promises in scripture that God has made about everything. And in particular, about the promises made to them when they were set apart. That they would be protected from death, that they would suffer much affliction, and would have much success on their missions. I had forgotten that they were promised protection! And in all their afflictions, with all of the chances that they could have been killed, they did not die. Not one of them. Even if it meant that God had to smite to the earth someone who’s sword was above one of his servants and was about to strike a deadly blow. What an amazing promise, and what an amazing fulfillment of it!
Apparently my thoughts are along the lines of truth based on the chapter heading for the following chapter:
Ammon glories in the Lord—The faithful are strengthened by the Lord and are given knowledge—By faith men may bring thousands of souls unto repentance—God has all power and comprehends all things. About 90–77 B.C.
“By faith men may bring thousands of souls unto repentance”. Does that mean that if we have enough faith and desire, and are willing to work and suffer as these brothers did, that we too may be an instrument in bringing thousands of souls unto Christ?
It appears to be so. Were these brothers special in any particular way other than their faith and desires? Did they have educational degrees? Did they have great oratory skills? Were they scriptorians? I don’t know, but they surely knew the scriptures! Knowing the scriptures alone, without the faith and prayers they demonstrated, could never bring the fruits they enjoyed. Notice what it says. It was not their knowledge of scripture that brought souls to Christ. It was their faith and prayers.
Matter of fact, let’s not forget these were rebellious youth who tried to destroy the church. And because they had been forgiven much, they loved much. And because they loved much, they wanted to bless others. They wanted others to share in the joy and peace they had been blessed with.
These were ordinary men, with an extraordinary desire to bless others as they had been blessed. Do we have the same potential? It seems we are only limited by our faith and desire.
I just read ahead in the following chapter, because it is one of those chapters where reading and analyzing and making notes verse by verse can lose the spirit of the message. Because the entire chapter is rejoicing and praising God!
Yet, this one verse stuck out in relation to my notes here, because it seems to bear out what I have just written on:
22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
So, it is true. Anyone- anyone with a desire who is willing to do those things can bring thousands of people unto Christ.
But ..."it shall be given unto such". It is a gift of God, and not something we can do in and of ourselves no matter how much we know, what skills and talents we have, or how hard we try. We cannot effectuate such a miraculous blessing. We can only be a catalyst and an instrument.
Comments