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"To behold the marvelous light of God!" Alma 26:1-7

Alma 26:1-7

This chapter represents the end of 14 years of missionary labors for Ammon and his brethren, though it doesn't expressly say so at the beginning of the chapter. Rather, this chapter starts immediately with the remarks of Ammon as he is reflecting back upon their labors.

His remarks begin with a series of questions:
  • "...Could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?" (vs. 1)
  • "...What great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?" (vs. 2)
 Ammon proceeds to answer for himself with this statement first:
...Our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God!  (vs. 3)
And then he points to the blessing:
And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work. (also vs. 3)
Ammon's description of the Lamanite's conversion in terms of light and darkness are curiously profound, and then that he links their work as instruments in the hands of God to bring others into the light. The great blessing that Ammon sees here is that he was permitted to become an instrument of light! And that he can see it as such, something which is not discernible with natural eyes, is even more noteworthy, because this thing, which is unseen with the natural eyes, is the very blessing for which he found the most joy.

The next four verses describes the preservation of those precious souls that are brought into the fold of God and the protection afforded them through "the Lord of the harvest" against the storms of this world.

Verses 4 - 7 are important verses in that they illustrate the safety and protection afforded all those who are converted to the gospel of Christ.  While the world would have us to think that such non-commotion safety and protection is not very glamorous, (I find this to be particularly so among my own teens) the reality of such protection is illustrated well in these verses metaphorically.

Consider this promise: "But when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them." (vs. 6) While the adversary would convince the youth that such is a bland and boring path. The reality is just the opposite. Protection against heartache and sorrows results in greater joy, happiness, and fulfillment. Life has a way of illustrating that in only a few short years of choosing either path. The difficulty is that only those who choose to walk in the light can clearly see the delineation of the two separate paths.

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