As selfless service created the opportunity for Ammon to teach the gospel to Lamoni, so Ammon’s selfless concern for Lamoni and for his own brethren without any interest in earthly honors or wealth now creates the opportunity for him and his brethren to teach the gospel to Lamoni’s father. Ammon was a powerful preacher of righteousness whose example of love and commitment spoke with effect and eloquence equal to that of his words.
“On Account of His Wickedness”
The physical and the spiritual are inseparably connected. We cannot do despite to the spiritual without at the same time damaging the physical. When a person sins against light-when he or she wantonly goes at cross purposes to the ways of the Lord and sets at naught honor and decency and conscience and principles- that person does damage to the soul, of which the physical body is an integral part.
When Jesus of Nazareth commanded the infirm of body to rise up, and further declared, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” his enemies accused him of blasphemy. The Master asked simply: “Does it require more power to forgive sins than to make the sick rise up and walk?” (JST, Luke 5:23; see also JST, Matthew 9:5.) That is to say, the same power by which death is rebuked or ailments are cured is able to rebuke the evil one and cure a sinsick soul. In like manner, if one has the faith to be healed physically, he has the faith by which that cleansing and healing power can work a spiritual miracle and purify him from the stains of sin. (See James 5:15; Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 3:275.)