Considering Their Kings To Be Powerful

I love the little interjection that Mormon gives us in Alma 18:13 concerning the Lamanite views on their king.  One of the king’s servants called Ammon “Rabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to be powerful.”  That last phrase—“considering their kings to be powerful”—reminds me a bit of Joseph’s words in D&C 121:39 when he spoke of why many are called but few are chosen.  He wrote, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”  Again the emphasis here is that what man thinks is power and authority is not at all what God views as power.  True power comes by “long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge” (D&C 121:41-42).  The world would teach that power is equivalent with the ability to command and control people; the Lord teaches here that power comes from the ability to love and persuade people in righteousness.  I think this is in essence the idea behind Elder Maxwell’s statement about the power of righteous women: “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?” (Neal A. Maxwell, “The Women of God,” Ensign, May 1978, 10–11.)  True power to control the nations comes first and foremost from the love, gentleness, and kindness of mothers who raise up righteous children to serve the Lord, and in the end we will ultimately view the power of “great” men who made laws and ruled countries and controlled people as of little importance.  The Lamanites considered that Ammon was powerful because he could slay the wicked scatters of the sheep; but in reality he was powerful because of his love, humility, and righteousness, and he did more to change the hearts of the Lamanites than any leader with mere physical control could have done.