The Missionaries Rejoice

Ammon said to his brethren, “We have great reason to rejoice. For how could we have known when we left Zarahemla that God would have given us such great blessings? And what are these great blessings? Our brethren, the Lamanites, were in the most terrible darkness, but now many of them have been brought to see the marvelous light of God! This is the great blessing given to us, that we have been instruments in God’s hands to do His great work. Thousands of Lamanites now rejoice, having come into the fold of God. The field was ripe, and now you are blessed, for you reaped with your might, working all day long. Now look at your harvest, which will not be lost! They will not be lost at the last day, when the storm and whirlwind come, but they will be gathered together where the storm cannot harm them, and the enemy will have no power over them. They are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest. They are His, and He will raise them up at the last day. Blessed be the name of our God! Let us sing His praise! Let us give thanks to His holy name, for His works are righteous forever! If we had not come from Zarahemla, these Lamanites, our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly loved us, would still hate us, and would be strangers to God.”

After Ammon said this, his brother, Aaron, rebuked him, saying, “Ammon, I am afraid you are so carried away with joy that you are boasting.” Ammon replied, “I do not boast in my own strength or wisdom, but my heart is filled with joy, and I rejoice in my God! I know that I am nothing. I am weak, and I do not boast of myself, but of God, for in His strength I can do all things. We have performed many mighty miracles in this land for which we will praise His name forever. See how many thousands of our brothers has God freed from the pains of hell? They have been brought to sing redeeming love because of the power of His word, which is in us. Isn’t this a great reason to rejoice? Yes, we have great reason to praise Him forever, for He is the Most High God and has freed our brethren from the chains of hell.

“Not long ago they were surrounded by eternal darkness and destruction. But God has brought them into His everlasting light and salvation! Now they are surrounded by the matchless bounty of His love, and we have been instruments in His hands by doing this great and marvelous work! So let us glory and rejoice in the Lord, for our joy is full. We will praise our God forever, for who can glory too much in the Lord? Who can say too much about His great power, mercy, and long-suffering toward His children? I cannot express the smallest part of what I feel!

“Who could have thought that our God would be so merciful as to snatch us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state? We were angrily going about threatening to destroy His church. So why didn’t God just consign us to an awful destruction—letting the sword of His justice fall upon us and doom us to eternal despair? My soul cowers at the thought. God did not exercise His justice upon us, but in His great mercy, He carried us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, and saved our souls. And what natural man or woman can know these things? None, unless they repent. Those who repent and exercise faith, who do good works and always pray, are given the knowledge of God’s mysteries. They will be given the power to reveal that which has never been revealed before. They will be given the power, even as we have been given, to bring thousands of souls to repentance.

“Remember how our brothers in the church at Zarahemla laughed when we told them we wanted to preach to the Lamanites in the land of Nephi? Remember how they scorned us, saying, ‘Do you really think you can convert the Lamanites to the truth and convince them that their forefathers’ traditions are wrong? The Lamanites are stubborn. They delight in bloodshed and spend their time doing the most wicked things. Let us go to war and destroy them and their iniquity before they overrun and destroy us.’

“But we ignored our brethren in Zarahemla and went into the wilderness, hoping to perhaps save a few souls. When we were depressed and about to turn back, the Lord comforted us and said, ‘Go among your brethren the Lamanites. Bear your afflictions patiently and I will give you success.’

“And now we have returned after having been among them. We patiently suffered every deprivation. We went from house to house, relying on God’s mercy. We taught them in their homes, on their streets and hills, and in their temples and synagogues. We were thrown out, mocked, spit on, and slapped in the face. We had rocks thrown at us and were tied with strong ropes and thrown into prison. And by God’s power and wisdom we have once again been delivered. We suffered all this to perhaps be the means of saving some soul. We thought our joy would be full with even a few converts. But are the fruits of our labors few? No, they are many. And we know they are sincere, seeing their love for each other and for us. They would rather sacrifice their own lives than take the life of an enemy. They have buried their weapons deep in the earth because they love their brethren. Has there ever been such great love in all the land? No, not even among the Nephites, for they would take up arms against their brethren and not allow themselves to be killed. But over 1,000 Lamanites have laid down their lives. And we know they have gone to their God because of their love for their brothers and their hatred of sin.

“Do we have great reason to rejoice? Yes, since the world began, no men have ever had greater reason to rejoice than we! My joy is carried away, even to boasting in my God. For He has all power, wisdom, and understanding. He comprehends all things, and He is a merciful Being who saves those who will repent and believe in Him. Now if this is boasting, then I will boast, for God is the source of my life and light, my joy and salvation, and my redemption from an everlasting curse. He has been mindful of this people—a branch of the tree of Israel, who are lost from their roots and wander in a strange land. My brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people regardless of where they live. He numbers all His people and shows His mercy over all the earth. This is the reason for my joy and great thanksgiving, and I will give thanks to my God forever. Amen.”