“The Great Spirit or a Man”

Brant Gardner

The servants pick up the king's question about whether or not Ammon is a mere mortal. They indicate that they cannot say, although the as much as make him divine in the last verse. As servants, these men would be loathe to place themselves in a position where they might possibly be seen as contradicting the king, so they hedge their answer. In spite of that, they are of the clear opinion that they have witnessed something miraculous.

One of the important comments made by the servants, a comment which will have some bearing on the rest of this story, is that they declare Ammon to be a friend of the king. Based solely on the miraculous power, the king is nervous. As noted, this is because powerful deities were notoriously unpredictable in creating blessings or havoc among the people. The servants opine on this point that the evidence suggests that Ammon is "a friend to the king." Of course this is important in the gaining of the trust of the king so that the process of teaching will be able to take place.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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