The Queens

This past week, as we were reading from the Book of Mormon before heading off to school, we came to the part where Ammon and Aaron are teaching the Lamanites. And I came across two women who reacted very differently to a situation. The first was King Lamoni’s wife. When King Lamoni was so overcome he dropped to the ground, she came in and saw a Nephite standing over him as if he were dead. Ammon told her that he wasn’t dead and he was just sleeping. And then he asked her if she believed him.  The next lines really struck me as I was reading them, “I have had no witness save they word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that is shall be according as though hast said.”
Here was a woman who was taught her entire life how evil the Nephites were. How they were thieves and liars. She comes into her home and finds a Nephite standing next to her supposed dead husband and without hesitation, she believes Ammon.  What faith!  Ammon is even astounded by the faith of the Lamanite queen and says “Blessed art though because of they exceeding faith; I say unto thee, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.”
I can’t even begin to imagine what faith it took her to forsake all the tradition of her heritage and believe a sworn enemy. But she did it. 
Then, as we were reading a few days later, we come to the account of Aaron teaching King Lamoni’s father, the King of all the Lamanites. When he falls to the ground, the servants go and get the Queen and she sees her husband lying on the ground as if he were dead and she saw Aaron and was angry with him, and commanded her servants to kill Aaron and his brethren.  So Aaron lifted the King up again. The queen began to be afraid of Aaron, even with a witness.
I have thought a lot about these two women and how they reacted so differently to similar experiences. I pray that I will continue to develop my faith so when my times of trial come, I won’t need a witness, I will simply believe.