This morning I had the opportunity to study in one of my favorite sections of the Book of Mormon, the Ammon chapters. During my mission in Brasil, Elder David E Bednar came to visit and invited us to study what it meant to walk with the strength of the Lord. This phrase appears often in the scriptures with some variation, and it appeared in chapter 20 of Alma. In this chapter, Ammon was traveling with King Lamoni to free his brethren. Lamoni had recently learned about Jesus Christ and was impressed by all the things Ammon was capable of doing because of his faith in Jesus Christ. In verse 4, Lamoni shows his faith in Christ by being willing to help Ammon in rescuing his brothers. He tells Ammon that he is friends with the King in that part of the land and that he will try pleasing him to get his brothers out. I imagined Lamoni joking with his friend and convincing him that prisoners weren’t in style, or coming up with other reasons that appealed to his friend. Then Lamoni asks Ammon how he knew that his brothers were in prison. Ammon replied that it was God that told him. At this point, Lamoni’s approach does a 180, and he tells his servants to ready his horses and tells Ammon that he will grovel before his friend if that is what it takes to free Ammon’s brothers. Notice how Lamoni’s language changes from flatter (In Portuguese Spanish and German: please, charm, persuade) to plead (supplicate, advocate, pressure him). Because Lamoni knew that God had given Ammon this assignment, his commitment increased and he was willing to do more to help Ammon. Lamoni overcame whatever fears he might have had about messing up the relationship with his friend or being shamed by him. He also overcame his fear of displeasing his father, the King over all of the Lamanites. While still being respectful and courteous to his father, Lamoni stood up for and risked his life to accomplish what the Lord had asked Ammon to do. Ammon and Lamoni’s faith in Christ was so great, that their example, the love they had for God and everyone around them, softened Lamoni’s father’s heart and eventually helped thousands of Lamanites come to a knowledge of their Redeemer. As we nurture our faith in Christ, we will also receive His strength and grow to do great things!

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/20?lang=eng&id=title_number1-study_summary1#title_number1