"Being Overpowered by the Spirit," Alma 19:12-13

Alma 19:12-13

At the appointed time, king Lamoni awakens from his deep sleep, and there is his wife, the queen, waiting for him. The first words out of his mouth are these: "Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou." The first part of this statement makes sense. King Lamoni had just received a powerful witness of the reality of God, but he then gives the same blessing to his wife. Why?

I am reminded of the statement of Nephi's brother Jacob, "Behold, the Lamanites your brethren... their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children... and one day they shall become a blessed people." (Jacob 3:5-7)

King Lamoni goes on to testify that he had seen his Redeemer, and then emphasis three points:

• "and he shall come forth,"
• "and be born of a woman,"
• "and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name." (vs. 13)

These are curious points of testimony for me: very simple and succinct. "He shall come forth," a statement of conviction, the reality of things to come. "Be born of a woman," another way of defining the condescension of God -- His humility and willingness to experience mortality. "He shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name," that is a fully-loaded statement. He shall accomplish the task of the redemption of man.  Redemption is all-inclusive, and no one is denied the privilege of such. Then finally, the way in which that redemption is access is through believing on his name. This is the qualifier but it is also the instruction on how redemption is acquired: "believe on his name."

These brief and succinct phrases, accompanied by the penetrating influence of the Holy Spirit, are enough for both the king and the queen to receive a personal witness, and subsequently are both overpowered by the Holy Spirit to such a degree that they cannot stand in their mortal, physical bodies for the moment.