What lessons can we learn from how the sons of Mosiah approached their missions? What did they do to prepare? Obviously, there was no MTC available to help them prepare for their missionary call. Indeed, Alma 17 is used today as a primary scriptural source of study and training for newly-called missionaries in the MTC. These scriptures discuss principles that can also apply to any calling. How do you approach a difficult calling in the Church?
First and foremost, the sons of Mosiah spent a lot of time reading the scriptures. “[T]hey had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.” This helped them become “men of a sound understanding” as they “waxed strong in the knowledge of truth.” Apparently, these missionaries had some sort of scriptural record with them. We are not told the material on which those writings were written—perhaps it was something written on fig bark, a commonly used material. Metal was probably not used because such records would be very heavy to carry from place to place, and metal would also have been a liability if somebody wanted to rob them of something valuable.
When Ammon taught King Lamoni, he “rehearsed and laid before [the king] the records and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets, even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem” (Alma 18:36). Ammon understood and used the scriptures to good effect as he taught. When it mentions that Ammon “rehearsed” the records, it could have meant either he was reciting from memory or reading from a scriptural text. To better understand how teaching was done by Ammon, it is important to note that reading in the ancient world was rarely done silently. Today when we read a book, we are quiet. However, even in the Middle Ages, monks would read out loud, even when reading by themselves, so that the words could be not just seen but heard. So, in a typical ancient setting, to “rehearse” a text meant to read it out loud.
We can follow the example of the sons of Mosiah when we get a new calling. We can ask ourselves, “What will the scriptures tell me about this new calling? What do the scriptures tell me about how to approach and work with people over which I have stewardship and accountability?” When we reread scriptural passages that we have read on other occasions, we often find that with a new set of problems the scriptures open themselves in ways that they had not before.
Next, after “much prayer and fasting,” the four missionary brothers and Alma received the “spirit of prophecy” and the “spirit of revelation.” One might wonder, is there a difference between the “spirit of prophecy” and the “spirit of revelation”? Why, when there was so little space on the plates, would both of these phrases be used?
The “spirit of prophecy” is a gift of the spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians. For the ancients, it meant prophesying beforehand about the future. During this time period of the Book of Mormon, the most important future thing that the righteous people were looking forward to was the coming of Christ. Perhaps, as these four missionaries read the scriptures, they were filled with the spirit of the prophets who had spoken about the coming of Christ. They certainly made the coming of Christ a major part of their missionary message—both Ammon and Aaron focused much of their preaching on this topic. We too can seek the spirit to make the future second coming of Christ and events leading up to that inevitable arrival more vividly present in our hearts and minds.
The “spirit of revelation” then refers to moments when the veil is taken from our minds and we understand things a little better. When something is revealed, answers to a difficult problem are uncovered or some new insight or understanding is discovered and becomes clear. By reading the scriptures and by asking for the “spirit of revelation” in addition to the “spirit of prophecy,” we desire to think like a prophet—we want to have the mysteries of God open to our understanding by His influence, and not by our own rationalizations or limited perspectives.
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Book of Mormon Prophets Quote Long Passages of Scripture? (1 Nephi 19:22),” KnoWhy 473 (October 4, 2018).