According to Stephen Ricks, fasting as an act preparatory to seeking the gifts of the Spirit can be seen in the account of the sons of Mosiah, who had given themselves "to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God" (Alma 17:3). In Alma 17:9 we find that as they journeyed many days in the wilderness on their way to the Lamanites that "they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a potion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God." (see also Alma 5:46, 8:26) In the Old Testament, in a slightly different vein, we find that Moses fasted on the mountain for forty days when receiving the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9), Saul fasted before visiting the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:20), and Ahab and Jezebel proclaimed a public fast in anticipation of the trial of Naboth (1 Kings 21:9, 12). [Stephen D. Ricks, "Fasting in the Book of Mormon and the Bible" in The Book of Mormon: The Keystone Scripture, p. 130] [For a listing and description of all references to fasting in both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon, see the commentary illustrations for Alma 45:1; see also the commentary on Mosiah 27:22; Helaman 9:10]