“But Behold I Mistake, for I Have Seen Much”

George Reynolds, Janne M. Sjodahl

Notwithstanding that he had many friends and relatives among the people of Ammonihah, and the further fact that he was blessed beyond measure in the things of the world, Amulek was inclined to forget the hand of the Lord in all these things. But on second thought he reasoned quite readily that it was the Lord whose marvelous power had made him the possessor of it all. Like a panorama, illumined by light from Above, Amulek saw the many events in his people's history pass before him in retrospect. Scenes, he thought were forgotten, yet he remembered; he saw them in contrast with each other and quickly they appeared to him full of meaning. Time and time again Amulek knew the Ammonihahites had been preserved from bitter Lamanitish hatred when the peril of destruction awaited them. In all the comings and goings of his people Amulek saw the great mysteries of God unfold before him.

But in spite of all the evidence of God's goodness and mercy that had been shown to him in the experiences of the past, Amulek said that to them he had been blind. He had refused to listen to the Holy Spirit's promptings. He knew what was true, yet he remained unconvinced of its power. In short, Amulek rebelled against the good and that which was holy. In the past, like many of his neighbors, his thoughts were upon the world and the things of the world. He found joy in worldly goods. But now, all was changed! His head, his heart, and his whole being had suddenly been awakened to thoughts of God's Kingdom. What, only a short time before, he had been indifferent to, now became the things he loved most. What once he loved, he now despised. Love for God's children and patience under trial were qualities that emerged from Amulek's great heart as the Sun emerges from eclipse. Even Amulek noted to his listeners the exact time when this change came about. It was in about the middle of the tenth year of the Reign of the Judges.

Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

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