Day 179 Ammon's Studied Knowledge Amplified by the Spirit

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life, and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 179 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

You're going to be reading Alma chapter 18, verses 19 through 43. Today, you're going to finish that chapter, and really, you're going to get a great experience as Ammon expounds on the. We're going to focus on all things gospel-related topics with King Lamoni.

The verse for today takes us into kind of how Ammon got there in the first place. King Lamoni is still grappling with this idea of whether Ammon is God or this great spirit, or whether he was sent by this great spirit. He's trying to figure these things out, and Ammon is trying to help him come to an understanding that Ammon is just a regular guy, but that he is blessed with the Spirit.

And that takes us to our verse for the day a little bit. It is the middle of a thought, so I want you to be aware of this context I'm going to share today is really inside the context of Alma chapter 18, verses 34 to, say, 39 or so, somewhere around there. But our verse for today is verse 35, and this is Ammon talking, and he says, "And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge and also power, according to my faith and desires which are in God." Now we certainly saw the power that Ammon was given according to his faith because he's on the tail end of this incredible experience where he saves the lives of the servants of King Lamoni and gathers the sheep and the flocks or whatever.

All the flocks, the animals. And so we certainly see the power that he was given, but it's interesting here, this knowledge that he has over the next several verses. And it made me wonder, where did Ammon get this?

He comes—yes, a portion of the Spirit is going to help him—but Ammon has to have studied these things. He has to have known these things. And he expounds all the way back to the creation of Adam.

And he talks about the Fall of Man. And he talks about the introduction of the Savior. And he casts this entire vision: Lehi leaving Jerusalem, and the beginning of the Nephites and the Lamanites—all these things.

He casts that vision. He had to have studied those things. And by doing so, the Lord granted his Spirit and amplified his ability to teach.

And I just want to say, hey, inside of Savory Salt, as we're studying, well done today. Well done if you've got a streak going, well done. And that's because you're doing the studying.

It's something I like to do with my daughters as we study the scriptures, and my family, as we sit down and read, is I like them to kind of bookmark places. And my daughters are getting to the point where they can start to say, "Hey, if we're talking about Alma 32, what's Alma 32, right?" We'll get there on Savory Salt. But I like to say, "Hey, what's in 1 Nephi 8?" and help them kind of get bookmarks a little bit so that they are starting to remember places in the scriptures that it.

We're going to expand on these topics. These topics didn't just fall in our laps, right? There are some things that are direct revelation that we learn from, but most of it we study from the scriptures and the Word of God.

And we study through others' revelation to get our own revelation. And that's what Ammon's done here. And I love that he's willing to lean in with the king, and he gets to teach all these things because he'd done the work.

I love seeing missionaries go out and expound on the things that they're learning in their own scripture study. We've been diving into "Preach My Gospel" with my daughter and helping her prepare for her mission. And I love that there's a place to go and say, "Hey, here's gospel topics." Let's go learn them in the scriptures so that we know how to teach them.

Ammon was prepared to teach the king, and we are doing the same thing as we read our scriptures on a daily basis. So, high five to you. Kudos on that path.

Keep studying and learning the scriptures because they expound on the mysteries of God. The more you study them, the more you're going to understand those mysteries. That's all for today, my friends.

Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow, and I hope you are too.