Ammon, a Descendent of Zarahemla

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this week.  I was only able to be home from 10:00 am Tuesday until 6:00 am this morning, but I had a wonderful time with family and friends.  I enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at home with my family and then another delicious dinner later that day with Julianne, her sister Rebecca, her brother-in-law Neil, and their daughter Madi.  I didn't know that I still had a "two Thanksgiving dinner day" left in me.  I was certain that I had finished with those some 11 years ago when I enjoyed my last Thanksgiving in my mission.  But I thoroughly enjoyed both dinners and didn't manage to make myself sick in the process.  And then, perhaps an even greater accomplishment was eating at Tucanos the next day with Julianne.  I'm certain that the surgeon general would not approve of such a slate, but I was mildly proud of myself nonetheless.  I didn't really want to come back to Texas today; and I surely didn't want to come back to the three major papers yet to be written and four books left to read.  But I suppose these things have to be done so I will do them.  I did far too little homework this week, but it was nice to feel like a regular person for once and just enjoy some time at home.

Minerva Teichert, "Ammon Before King Limhi"

[Insert transition sentence that I am too lazy to write at the moment here].  This last week or so I have been reminded of one of my favorite Book of Mormon characters.  He is a man who gets little if any notice, and is generally confused with a man whom I confidently assume was named after him.  I'm writing about Ammon, the descendent of Zarahemla, who appears in Mosiah 7-8, 21-22.  Although he doesn't get much attention when we talk about the Book of Mormon, I firmly believe that he deserves some.

Ammon finds his way into the Book of Mormon some three years after the beginning of the reign of King Mosiah II, the son of King Benjamin.  Mormon tells us that Mosiah was "desirous to know concerning the people who went up to dwell in the land of Lehi-Nephi, or in the city of Lehi-Nephi; for his people had heard nothing from them from the time they left the land of Zarahemla."  And apparently Mosiah's people were anxious to hear from this group also, for they "wearied [Mosiah] with their teasings" (Mosiah 7:1).  To placate these complaints, Mosiah selected "sixteen of their strong men" to go and find this group that had left the land of Zarahemla with Zeniff.  At the head of this group was Ammon, "he being a strong and mighty man, and a descendent of Zarahemla" (Mosiah 7:3).

I have found through the years that the short genealogies listed in the scriptures are not things to be passed over and forgotten, but rather that they contain important information that helps us to understand the stories we are reading more fully.  The comment about Ammon's genealogy is short, but I believe it speaks volumes.  Zarahemla had been the king over the people of Zarahemla at the time that Mosiah I and his people found the city.  So Ammon was not merely a descendent of Zarahemla, he was (at least to some degree) an heir to a lost throne.  But this was not just any throne and Zarahemla had not just been any king.  Zarahemla had been a descendent of Mulek (Mosiah 25:2) who was the son of Zedekiah, king of Judah at the time that Lehi had left Jerusalem.  And although one of his brothers had had a higher and more direct claim upon the throne of David, Zedekiah was a descendent of David with a lineal claim upon his throne.  Ammon was therefore an heir of David with at least some claim to the Davidic throne.  Indeed, Ammon had a stronger claim to the throne than did Mosiah whom he served, for Lehi's family had not ceased to be a part of Israel when they came to the Americas.

Hopefully you will forgive the long and boring genealogy, but I think it is significant.  Although my study of history has largely been confined to American history, I know enough about European and Asian history to know that competing claims to authority usually ends up in war and bloodshed.  What's more, most strong men and women who have a legitimate claim to a throne usually don't allow somebody else to rule in their place.  And they certainly don't become dutiful servants of those other rulers.  But Ammon did.

I have often wondered what it was like for Ammon to be in this position of being an heir of David, with a legitimate right to rule in Israel (of which the Nephites were a part), but nevertheless being a faithful servant of Mosiah.  Furthermore, I have wondered what it was like for Mosiah to fully trust such a mighty and strong man with legitimate claims to the throne he (Mosiah) occupied.  Like David and Jonathan before them, we see only faithfulness and trust between these two men who might have been enemies.  Far from leading wars of rebellion in search of power, Ammon led what turned out to be a rescue mission that answered the prayers and pleadings of a lost group of Nephites.

In one way or another, all of us will have occasion to play the role of Ammon in our lives.  We all have moments when we are perhaps asked to follow and support someone who seems less talented or less qualified than us.  We may, at times, be asked to serve rather than lead, even though we know that we could get the job done well if we were asked to lead.  Similarly, in one way or another, all of us will have occasion to play the role of Mosiah and be asked to lead a person who may be more qualified than we see ourselves as being.  Like Mosiah we will have to be humble and trusting of such individuals, making good use of their strong talents and giving them opportunities to utilize them without fearing their stealing the spotlight and the mantle of leadership.  At one point or another, we will all have to come to a full realization of the truth spoken by the Lord that "all have not every gift given unto them . . . and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.  To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby" (D&C 46:11-12).

May we all learn to appreciate the gifts of others and also to serve in the callings to which we are appointed and uphold and sustain those who are called to preside over us.  By so doing, we will gain the power to rescue lost souls and to build the Kingdom of God on earth.

Brett