6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.
7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.
Ammon glories in how the Lamanites have been so blessed. And how faithful and true they are and will continue to be until the end. He testifies, essentially, that they would never fell away. Unlike the vision that Nephi saw of his people who eventually would fall into sin and darkness and be and be swept off the face of the land, these Lamanites, or as they preferred to be called Anti-Nephi-Lehis, would remain faithful until the end.
What I don’t quite understand is Ammon's several references to the last day. Is this referring to the Lamanites being faithful ALL THEIR DAYS, from the first to the last of their new birth? Is that what “the last day” means in these verses? Or do they somehow also have reference to the latter days, meaning our day.
Why these references to the storm and whirlwinds at the last day? Why not refer to the storms and whirlwinds of their life in general? It seems like he is referring to a singular event, and not just a metaphor for enduring the trials and tribulations of life to the end.
“When the storm cometh”, once again, seems to speak to a future event, as does “the last day”. The Lord will “... raise them up at the last day” seems to also refer to a future event. Have not the Lamanites already been raised up? Why refer to a future raising?
It seems to me this may be a reference or rather a prophecy of what will happen to the seed of these faithful Lamanites. That at some future day their posterity would be gathered and restored to a knowledge of the truth in the last day. For they are the House of Israel! And the church was restored in our day, the last days, for that very purpose— to gather scattered Israel and bring them back into the fold of Christ, to bring them back to a knowledge of the Savior and Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
In another note in this chapter I alluded to the fact that Ammon and his brethren were just ordinary members of Christ's church, but with an extraordinary desire and exceptional faith to share the gospel blessings. And because of their desires and prayers, these ordinary men were able to bring thousands of Lamanites unto Christ and into his loving, healing arms. Well, these ordinary members of the church are displaying the gifts of prophesy.
Indeed, it seems to me that Ammon is prophesying. That not only will these faithful Lamanites be true to the faith until the last day of their lives, but that their seed will survive the storms and whirlwinds and calamities of the last days before the return of the Savior. That they would be “gathered together in their place”, the lands of their inheritance here on this promised land. And the Lord will raise them up in that day. Of course raising them up could have reference to being resurrected in the morning of the first resurrection. But the theme of these verses seem to point to surviving the fierce winds and storms and whirlwinds of the enemy, Satan, in the last days.
So, we now have at least two or three peoples who will survive the last days of tribulation before the second coming! The Lamanites in general, this particular branch or seed of the Lamanites who became Anti-Nephi-Lehis, and the lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Those have been promised. And of course the faithful Gentiles who have been adopted into the House of Israel.
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