Where there is no true
religion, all that is left is superstition.
I’d like now to turn to the Book of Mormon and the fours sons of Mosiah. One of the more popular stories in the Book of Mormon, is of Ammon. Taking selected companions with them, the four boys arrive in the land, offer a prayer, receive comfort and promises from the Lord, then go their separate ways to different tribes and kings.
The Lamanites of that time are
described as follows.
… for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their own hands. Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, … (Alma 17: 14-15)
Ammon and his companions
eventually come to a tribe governed by one King Lamoni, a son of the high king
over all the Lamanites. There, he
willingly enters into the king’s service and is sent to do a dangerous and
terrifying task. He is to keep the king’s
flocks.
While Ammon is doing his job
with other servants of the king, we come face to face with a typical raid. Other Lamanites, hoping to add to their flocks,
scatter the king’s flocks. The king’s
servants are terrified because they know they’ll be killed by the king for losing
his flocks. Ammon seizes the opportunity
and steps forward with sling and sword to defend the flocks and the servants.
Being the son of a king, I’m
sure Ammon was well trained on the use of weapons. He puts that to good use, and defeats all the
foes, cutting off the arm of any who came against him. The kings servants are astounded and
overjoyed, to the extent they gather up all the arms and take them to the king
to tell the tale of a mighty hero. And
honestly, this is just like the hero stories of the Norsemen, except that,
instead of showing up and boasting of his strength and demanding the hero
portion at the feast that would follow, Ammon finishes with the flocks and
moves on to his next task, feeding the king’s horses and getting them ready for
a journey.
The kings is stunned, and
rightly so! Who behaves like this? He’s terrified that Ammon is the Great
Spirit, sent to punish him for being so petty as to put his own servants to
death for losing some livestock to raiders.
He wants to talk to Ammon, but doesn’t dare.
When Ammon finishes his chores,
he returns to the king for further instructions. Again, is this how a hero of the old myths
behaves? Surely not! Lamoni has no idea what to do with this man,
but just stares at him for about an hour until the Spirit of the Lord impresses
on Ammon what the issues are and the door is opened for Ammon to preach the
gospel of Christ.
I find the similarities between
these two cultures, the Ancient Irish and the Book of Mormon Lamanites,
astounding. Perhaps there are
similarities with other cultures as well.
They both are raiders, taking
slaves, boasting of their might and prowess.
They both are in terror of their deities. The Irish have very frightening deities that
have to be appeased somehow. They both
are in terror of death.
Through the preaching of Ammon,
king Lamoni and all his people become converted to the Lord, insomuch that they
lay down their weapons, even burying them in the earth. They have a complete change of heart.
Through the preaching of St.
Patrick, the land of Ireland is turned from chaos to peace. These mighty warriors turn from their
raiding, warrior ways and instead, turn their energies to studying the gospel
of Christ and becoming great scholars.
They have a complete change of heart.
According to the Book of
Mormon, the Lamanites and the Nephites, are remnants of scattered Israel, of
the House of Joseph of Egypt, of the tribe of Mannessah.
According to the traditions of
the British Isles, one of the daughters of king Zedekiah was brought by the
prophet Jeremiah to Ireland, where she married a local chieftan. The tribe of Ephraim/Judah was introduced
into Ireland.
According to Isaiah, the
children of Israel, once scattered, shall hear the doctrine of the Messiah, and
be restored, converted, healed, changed to bear up the kingdom of God and
establish Zion.
This is what Patrick did. He was a great man, whom I honor and
revere. He had a perfect understanding
of the Salvation of Christ. “The difference between Patrick’s magic and the
magic of the druids is that in Patrick’s world all beings and events come from
the hand of a good God, who loves human beings and wishes them success.” He was “completely at peace over whatever may come”
because he put his absolute trust in the “hands of God Almighty.”
Next, Gildas the Sage.
(All quotations are taken either from the Book of Mormon,
Alma 17-18, or from “How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill, Anchor
Books. I highly recommend you read these
books for further comparison and enlightenment about St. Patrick and Israel in
the British Isles.)
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