Where we are
Alma 19 is the third-day rising of the Lamoni narrative. The king who fell as if dead at the end of Alma 18 has been on a bed for two days and two nights. The queen will not let him be buried. The chapter is the resurrection scene that ends the long Sebus arc: the king rises, testifies of his Redeemer, and the entire household is converted within a single morning.
But the chapter is also, quietly, the introduction of Abish. The Book of Mormon names few women, and it names fewer still in scenes this load-bearing. Abish — Lamanitish by birth, a servant in the queen's household — has been a believer in the Lord for many years on account of a remarkable vision of her father, and she has never made it known. She is the hidden witness the Lord has positioned, by long-prepared providence, in the very court that will be broken open. When everyone else in the room falls overcome with the Spirit, she is the one left standing. She runs from house to house. She is the one who takes the queen's hand. She is the chapter's quiet heroine.
The chapter has six movements: (1) the third-day rising of Lamoni and his testimony (vv. 1–13); (2) the queen's faith and her trance-collapse (vv. 14–15); (3) Abish, the long-hidden witness, runs from house to house (vv. 16–17); (4) the people gather, contention rises, the brother strikes and falls (vv. 18–28); (5) Abish raises the queen, the queen raises Lamoni, the king preaches (vv. 29–32); (6) the household and the people converted, and the editorial close (vv. 33–36).
Six verses carry most of the weight: v. 6 (the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul); v. 10 (I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites); v. 13 (I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name); v. 16 (Abish, she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father); v. 22 (the man fell dead, the brother who tried to kill Ammon); v. 36 (his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name).
The third-day rising (verses 1–13)
And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his body and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose of burying their dead. — Alma 19:1
The Lamanites have made a sepulchre. The verse anticipates the form of John 19:41 — now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. A new tomb. A body about to be placed in it. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Synoptic text on the Jonah-sign pattern (three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, Matt. 12:40) is the Lamoni narrative across Alma 18 and 19. He is on his second night now. The third day is coming.
Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her. — Alma 19:2
The queen sends for Ammon. Mark 1:28 will use the same phrase of Jesus: his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. The fame of a man whose works have outpaced his name has begun to circulate. The chapter notes, without comment, that the queen acted when her husband could not. The Book of Mormon is willing to give the queen the agency the moment requires.
And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do. And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name; Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid upon his bed for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he stinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink. — Alma 19:3–5
To me he doth not stink. John 11:39 will use almost the same phrase of Lazarus, but in the opposite direction: Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Martha says he stinks; the Lamanite queen says he does not. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on faith-perception against physical evidence is in this verse. The queen's eye sees life where the household's nose smells death. Hebrews 11:1 — faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen — finds one of its quietest illustrations in to me he doth not stink.
Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness — yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God — — Alma 19:6
The most theologically loaded sentence in the chapter. Mormon-the-editor strings together every word he can find for what is happening to Lamoni — the power of God, the dark veil being cast away, light, the light of the glory, a marvelous light, joy, the cloud dispelled, the light of everlasting life, his natural frame overcome, carried away in God. The whole vocabulary of pre-Johannine glory mysticism is in this verse. John 1:4–5 — in him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not — has its Book of Mormon precedent here. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the Spirit-as-light doctrine is this single editorial.
The phrase the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul is the chapter's most quoted. Isaiah 60:19 — the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light — gives the underlying construction. The light is the Lord's; it is everlasting; it has been kindled in a Lamanite king. Doctrine and Covenants 84:45 will later put the equation as cleanly as it can be put: the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The light of everlasting life is the Spirit of Jesus Christ in the soul, and that Spirit has been lit in Lamoni.
Now I know that he is overpowered with joy, but, behold, he is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not. — Alma 19:8
He is not dead, but he sleepeth. The phrase is exactly the one Jesus will use over Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:39, Matt. 9:24, Luke 8:52): the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Synoptic text on the not dead, but sleepeth formula is in this verse. The phrase reappears in Paul's letter to Thessalonica — them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him (1 Thess. 4:14). The sleep is not death. It is the form the body takes while the soul is with the Lord.
And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said. — Alma 19:9
The queen believes on the word alone. Jesus will later say to Thomas: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29). The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Johannine text on faith-without-seeing is in the queen's confession. I have had no witness save thy word… nevertheless I believe. The same shape as the father's confession in Mark 9:24: Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites. — Alma 19:10
Ammon's confession. The queen's faith exceeds the faith of the covenant people. The form is the form of the Roman centurion at Capernaum: Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel (Matt. 8:10, Luke 7:9). Both the centurion and the Lamanite queen are outsiders to the covenant; both have a faith that surpasses the covenant nation's. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Synoptic text on the pattern of an outsider whose faith exceeds the covenant nation's is in this verse. The phrase woman, blessed art thou is the form Elizabeth will later use of Mary: blessed art thou among women (Luke 1:42). The Book of Mormon, willing to call a Lamanite queen by this title, is the same Book of Mormon that will record Mary's name in 1 Nephi 11.
And it came to pass that he watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise. And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou. For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit. — Alma 19:11–13
Lamoni's testimony is the chapter's doctrinal pinnacle. Three things: I have seen my Redeemer, he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. The Christology is full and explicit. A pre-Christian Lamanite king names Christ as Redeemer, foretells the virgin birth, and confesses the universal scope of the redemption — and he does it in a single breath. Matthew 1:21 — thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins — finds one of its clearest pre-Bethlehemic articulations in Lamoni's words. The Book of Mormon's testimony that the gospel was preached in fullness long before Bethlehem is in this verse.
The phrase born of a woman is also exactly the Genesis 3:15 protoevangelium — the seed of the woman, who will bruise the serpent's head. Lamoni, taught by Ammon from creation forward, has heard the protoevangelium and now confesses it in his own words.
The queen's collapse and the moment Abish appears (verses 14–16)
Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God because of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with joy; and thus they all three had sunk to the earth. — Alma 19:14
Ammon does not stand over the fallen court; he falls with them. Romans 12:15 — rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep — is the form Paul will give to the same principle. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Pauline text on the shepherd overcome with his flock is in this verse. The prophet's tears are with the people. The prophet's joy is with the people. He kneels with them; he falls with them.
Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was they who had stood before the king and testified unto him concerning the great power of Ammon. And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord, in their might, even until they had all fallen to the earth, save it were one of the Lamanitish women, whose name was Abish, she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father — — Alma 19:15–16
The chapter's most carefully placed sentence. Save it were one of the Lamanitish women, whose name was Abish, she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father. Three things, in one verse, that change everything about how we read what just happened.
First — she is one of the Lamanitish women. Not a Nephite immigrant, not a captured priestess, not a stranger. She is from this people. Whatever the Lord has been doing in Lamoni's court, he was doing it through her long before Ammon ever arrived.
Second — she has been a believer for many years. The conversion is not new. The chapter does not tell us how many years — only that they are many. She has been carrying the Lord's faith in this household, in silence, through every flock-scattering and every executed servant, for years.
Third — she was converted on account of a remarkable vision of her father. The phrase is ambiguous in a fruitful way. The father may be her own Lamanite father — who himself had a vision and told her. Or it may be the heavenly Father, who gave her the vision directly. Both readings yield the same theological force: the Lord can reach a soul anywhere, without missionaries, by direct revelation. The Lamanite tradition has never been a sealed door. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that the Lord prepares his witnesses in private — long before the public moment they will serve — is the introduction of Abish.
The name itself is Hebrew: Av (father) + ish (man) — the father is a man, or of the father. A Lamanite woman with a Hebrew name. The Lehite heritage has not entirely vanished from the land of Ishmael. Whatever vision her father had, the family is named accordingly.
Abish runs from house to house (verses 17–28)
Therefore, being thus converted unto the Lord, and never having made it known, therefore, when she saw that all the servants of Lamoni had fallen to the earth, and also her mistress, the queen, and the king, and Ammon lay prostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power of God; and supposing that this opportunity, by making known unto the people what had happened among them, that by beholding this scene it would cause them to believe in the power of God, therefore she ran forth from house to house, making it known unto the people. — Alma 19:17
The phrase never having made it known is one of the most theologically interesting in the Book of Mormon. Abish has been a believer for years and has told no one. Why? The chapter does not say. But the result is that she is in a position to act in this moment — known to the court, trusted by the household, free to move through the city. Esther 4:14 — who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this — is the canonical statement of the doctrine Abish illustrates. The Lord prepares a witness, hidden, for a moment that has not yet come. When the moment comes, the witness moves.
She does what Mary Magdalene will later do at the empty tomb: she runs to tell. Go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead (Matt. 28:7). The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Synoptic text on the woman-as-first-witness pattern is in this verse. Abish is the first messenger of the Lamanite resurrection. The household is on the ground; she is on her feet; she is running.
And it came to pass that they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the king. And there came a multitude, and to their astonishment, they beheld the king, and the queen, and their servants prostrate upon the earth, and they all lay there as though they were dead; and they also saw Ammon, and behold, he was a Nephite. — Alma 19:18
The crowd notes that Ammon was a Nephite. The detail is doing political work. A Nephite among the fallen Lamanite royalty is, by ethnic instinct, a danger sign. The chapter has set up the contention that will follow.
And now the people began to murmur among themselves; some saying that it was a great evil that had come upon them, or upon the king and his house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should remain in the land. But others rebuked them, saying: The king hath brought this evil upon his house, because he slew his servants who had had their flocks scattered at the waters of Sebus. And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of Sebus and scattered the flocks which belonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of their brethren at the waters of Sebus, while defending the flocks of the king. — Alma 19:19–20
Three factions in the room. Those who blame Ammon; those who blame the king's prior killings; those who blame Ammon for the death of their own brothers at Sebus. John 7:43 will later give the same observation in Galilee: there was a division among the people because of him. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Johannine text on the division-by-Christ pattern is in this verse. The Spirit's coming does not produce uniform peace in the room. It produces, first, division. The wheat-and-the-tares are revealed when the Lord moves.
Now, one of them, whose brother had been slain with the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry with Ammon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword to smite him, behold, he fell dead. — Alma 19:22
The promise the Lord made to Mosiah in Mosiah 28:7 — I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites — comes due. The man raises the sword; he falls. The Book of Mormon does not soften the moment. Acts 12:23 will record a similar instant judgment when Herod accepts the worship of the people: immediately the angel of the Lord smote him… and he gave up the ghost. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Acts text on instant divine judgment of a hand raised against the Lord's servant is this verse. The chapter is making a point about whose protection is on Ammon, and whose hand cannot reach him.
Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith — therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord. — Alma 19:23
The verse names the doctrine plainly. The father's faith secured the son's protection. Mosiah prayed. The Lord promised. The son's life held. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on a parent's faith securing the missionary child is in this verse. The phrase Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord echoes the form of Mary and Joseph presenting the infant Christ at the temple in Luke 2:22–24. The mission call is the parental presentation of the child to the Lord. Lehi and Sariah did it for Nephi. Mosiah did it for his four sons. The Lord, in turn, took the trust seriously.
Abish raises the queen, the queen raises Lamoni (verses 29–32)
And it came to pass that when she had gone forth amongst them and had seen the contentions, she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears. And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by the hand, that perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice, saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people! — Alma 19:29
Abish takes the queen by the hand. Mark 5:41 will use exactly this form when Jesus raises Jairus's daughter: he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi. Damsel, arise. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Markan text on resurrection-by-touch is Abish's gesture in this verse. The power of the Lord flows through the hand of his hidden witness.
The queen's cry is the chapter's first explicit naming of Jesus. O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! A pagan Lamanite queen, in the moment of her rising, names the Christ by the name Matthew 1:21 will later say means he shall save his people from their sins. The Book of Mormon insists, again, that the name of Christ was known and confessed in the pre-Christian Nephite and Lamanite camps. Philippians 2:9–11 will say at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. One Lamanite knee, the queen's, has already bowed.
And it came to pass that she clapped her hands, being filled with joy, speaking many words which were not understood; and when she had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he arose and stood upon his feet. — Alma 19:30
Speaking many words which were not understood. Acts 2:4 will later record exactly this at Pentecost: they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Acts text on the gift of tongues is the queen's utterance in this verse. The Spirit gave her words that the room could not parse. The Lamanite court has its own Pentecost — eighty years before Jerusalem.
The chain continues. Abish takes the queen's hand and raises her; the queen takes Lamoni's hand and raises him. Three resurrections by touch, one passing to the next. The hidden witness raises the queen; the queen raises the king; the king will, in the next sentence, raise his people.
The household and the people converted (verses 33–36)
And he immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went forth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord. But there were many among them who would not hear his words; therefore they went their way. — Alma 19:31
Lamoni rises and preaches the same morning. The pattern is the one Acts 9:20 will use of Saul: straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Acts text on the convert who becomes the immediate preacher is the morning of Alma 19. The man laid as if dead two days ago is preaching his Redeemer to his own people before noon.
And as many as were thus converted began to declare unto their kindreds that they had received of his goodness, and many such things did they speak unto their kindreds; and after a long time, after, behold, even after that they had been redeemed from their iniquities, after they had been pardoned of them, that they began to be very prosperous in things temporal and also in things spiritual. — Alma 19:33
The converts tell their families. Mark 5:19 will record Jesus' instruction to the Gadarene demoniac in exactly this form: go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. The first missionary field is the family. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the family as the first missionary field is in this verse. They received of his goodness, and they could not keep the news to themselves.
And it came to pass that there were many that did believe in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them. — Alma 19:35
The church is established in the Lamanite land. The protocol is the Mosian protocol of Mosiah 18 — believers gathered, baptism on confession, a church formed. The chapter is one of the Book of Mormon's clearest texts on the doctrine that the Lord's church has one form, and that form is portable. What Alma the Elder began at the Waters of Mormon is now happening at Ishmael, on the Lamanite side of the border, in the same shape it has always taken.
And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name. — Alma 19:36
The chapter closes with a universal statement. His arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name. Isaiah 52:10 — the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God — is the Old Testament source. Romans 10:12–13 will give it New Testament form: there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. The Book of Mormon's clearest pre-Pauline text on the universal scope of the gospel is the last verse of Alma 19. The arm of the Lord, made bare at Sebus, extended at the Lamoni household, now stretches to all people who will repent and believe on his name.
The chapter's architecture
Six movements. The rising. The queen's faith. Abish's appearance. The contention and the strike. The chain of touched hands. The household converted.
The chapter is the resurrection scene Alma 18 was building toward, and it is more than that. It is the canonical introduction of Abish, and Abish gives the chapter its theological center of gravity. The Book of Mormon's most-loaded text on the doctrine that the Lord prepares hidden witnesses, in private, for moments not yet arrived, is the sixteenth verse of this chapter. She has been believing for years, and no one knew. She believed because of a vision — her father's, or the Father's — given outside any missionary channel. When the public moment came, she ran from house to house, and her hand was the one the queen needed.
The chapter is also the Book of Mormon's clearest text on the queen's faith as exceeding the Nephite faith. There has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites. The pre-centurion confession is on Ammon's lips, and the centurion-figure is a Lamanite queen. The pattern Jesus will name in Galilee — that the outsider sometimes has the faith the covenant nation has lost — is already in the Nephite history, and Mormon-the-editor preserves it carefully.
The chapter is also the chapter where the name of Jesus is first spoken aloud, by a Lamanite, by direct revelation. O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell. The queen names the Christ before any Bethlehem star has risen. The Book of Mormon insists that the gospel was preached in fullness long before the Lord's mortal ministry. The queen's cry is one of its clearest demonstrations.
Finally, the chapter is the textual hinge between the Lamoni narrative and the Aaron narrative. Alma 20 will take Ammon and the now-converted Lamoni up to Middoni to rescue Aaron and his brethren from prison. The Lamanite king who lay as if dead two days ago will, in the next chapter, ride out to deliver the Nephite missionaries who have been suffering in chains. The arm that extended to him will, by him, be extended to them.