Alma 19:29-32

Brant Gardner

Abish saw the contention and acted. She went first to the queen. She was the queen’s servant, and it was a natural act. Abish probably did not understand how quickly the queen would revive to her touch, but it appears to have been immediate. The queen had been immersed in the Spirit, and, therefore, rises with praise on her lips. Importantly, her praise of the “blessed God” would have meant Jehovah, not any of the gods that the Lamanites may have worshipped. She also mentions Jesus. Whether or not she knew of the name or we simply have that as the translation doesn’t really matter. She knew of the mission of the Messiah, and arose testifying to that uniquely Nephite religious teaching.

The queen then takes her husband’s hand, and he, too, rises. Alma doesn’t give us what he said, but simply notes that Lamoni teaches what Ammon had taught him, but with the power of personal experience behind the words of the lesson. The effect is mixed. Some believe, and some do not. Agency is always operative, and even in the presence of the kinds of miracles that the gathered people had seen, some could accept the king’s teaching, but others couldn’t bring themselves to see those miracles in the context of Nephite religious teachings.

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