Shepherds

I recently made a comparison between Jesus’ description of Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10), and Ammon, the missionary among the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon (Alma 17). I expected that Ammon would exhibit the characteristics Jesus attributes to Himself as the Shepherd of our souls, since Ammon was working to save souls and save literal sheep at the same time. What I found went beyond what I expected. Not only does Ammon exhibit the attributes describing the good shepherd; his ministry also parallels the narrative of Jesus’ ministry recorded in John. Below I will try to list the parallels I found between the texts in John and Alma.

A Shepherd Described

Jesus calls Himself “the Good Shepherd.” He cares for Father in Heaven’s children as a loving shepherd. Ammon wants to bring the Lamanites to Christ, and is assigned to care for the king’s sheep.

Jesus says the good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Ammon wants to dwell with the Lamanites “perhaps until the day I die.”

Jesus’ sheep know and follow His voice. Ammon’s deepest concern is convincing the Lamanites to “believe in [his] words.” His fellow shepherds heed his suggested strategy for corralling the lost sheep, and eventually everyone Ammon teaches believes and follows his teachings.

Jesus speaks of “thieves and robbers.” Ammon combats actual sheep rustlers.

Jesus speaks of a thief coming “to kill, and to steal, and to destroy” but contrasts His role as the rescuer who gives his own life. Ammon’s fellow shepherds lament their impending doom at the loss of the sheep; Ammon’s quick action saves all their lives from Lamoni’s wrath. He then risks life and limb in combat with the murderous bandits who tried to scatter the sheep. (Jesus also speaks of the wolf scattering the sheep.)

Jesus contrasts the mercenary motives of “an hireling” who runs from danger with the pure motives of the good shepherd, who gives his life in defense of the sheep. Ammon has no ulterior motive in going to serve the Lamanites; he refuses to take a princess to wife, preferring instead to be a literal and figurative lowly shepherd.

Jesus describes the good shepherd as courageous. Ammon stands against a gang of bandits to protect the sheep, and the lives of “his brethren.” (Later, Ammon is responsible for convincing all the converts to flee to the Nephites for military protection.)

Jesus’ discourse on the good shepherd seems to describe Ammon’s personality and his course of action, both as a literal shepherd, and as a missionary. But the parallels do not end there.

Jesus begins to explain theology in John 10: “I and my Father are one.” His audience then takes up stones to kill him. Ammon confronts the bandits, and slings stones at them; they retaliate in kind, “but they could not hit him with their stones.”

Jesus says He can do such miracles because “...the Father is in me, and I in him.” Ammon explains his miraculous power (Alma 18): “...a portion of [his] Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power...”

Jesus and Ammon both hope the people will believe after seeing the display of God’s power through them: “...the works I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me...If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe...” Ammon says, “I will show forth...the power that is in me...that I may lead them to believe in my words.”

The people Jesus and Ammon were sent to teach both marveled and speculated about their identities: “If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.” “Behold, is not this the Great Spirit...?”

Jesus identifies Himself: “I told you, and ye believed not...” Ammon also: “Behold, I am a man, and am thy servant...”

Jesus delves deeper into theology, citing scripture to explain both His divine nature in relation to that of His audience: “...thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said I was the Son of God?” Hear the echoes in Ammon’s response to Lamoni: “...Art thou sent from God? I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true... Now...Ammon...rehearsed and laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets...and he expounded unto them all the records and scriptures...and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known unto them.” (Incidentally, the name Ammon is likely cognate with the Egyptian Amun (as in Amun Ra, their Sun God); little mystery then that the Lamanites jumped to the conclusion that Ammon was a god.)

Courageous, altruistic shepherds with miraculous power, who explain the divine source of their power, present miracles as the bona fides of their divine commissions as messengers from God. Jesus describes Himself as The Good Shepherd, listing His attributes in the role, and Ammon follows suit.

Raising the Dead

But it does not end with Jesus and Ammon. There are parallels in the lives of their audiences.

Immediately after the Good Shepherd discourse, John describes Jesus publicly raising Lazarus from the dead, disturbing the authorities to the point of conspiring to assassinate Him. Alma 18 and 19 describe Lamoni falling to the earth as if he were dead, and being resuscitated on the verge of burial. Alma 22 describes Lamoni’s father collapsing and being revived in a similar manner. Both revivals are public, and lead to controversy and political upheaval.

Mary and Martha bury Lazarus. They are prominent figures in the account. Jesus sends for Mary, who runs to Him. The queen summons Ammon, who comes to where she is keeping vigil with her husband’s body, and he tells her not to bury him. Various women (Lamoni’s queen, his father’s queen, and Abish, the maidservant) each play prominent roles in the revival of the comatose kings.

Mary and Martha both lament and plead with Jesus on behalf of their brother, dead for four days. Martha says, “by this time he stinketh.” The queen asks Ammon about her husband’s fate. They discuss whether or not Lamoni is alive; the queen mentions the odor of his body: “...to me he doth not stink.”

Jesus interviews Martha, to ascertain whether she believes in the resurrection: “...whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? ...Yea, Lord: I believe...” Ammon probes the queen’s faith: “He is not dead, but sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again...Ammon said unto her, Believest thou this? And she said unto him: ...I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.”

Jesus becomes very emotional during this episode. “I thank thee Father that thou hast heard me.” Jesus “groaned within Himself” as He approached the tomb. “Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” Ammon also emoted freely, so much so that he passed out when the king was revived. When Lamoni’s father tried to kill him, Ammon defended Lamoni, and “he also saw the great love he had for his son Lamoni, [therefore] he was astonished exceedingly...” Ammon is perhaps the most emotional person in the Book of Mormon, passing out with joy twice and exulting aloud and undiluted for an entire chapter (Alma 26).

After Jesus raises Lazarus, there is talk of killing him, “...that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” “Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.” After Lamoni and his father are raised as if from the dead, and many people are converted, the remaining Lamanites begin to talk sedition against the reigning family, and attempt to exterminate Ammon’s converts. “...they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against [Ammon’s missionary converts].” The elders of the Jews also rejected their actual King. Note that on first seeing Ammon, people assume that they can kill him easily; Jesus is also assumed to be an easy target. Later, Lamoni marvels, “I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they…” Jesus comments that He could have summoned legions of angels to His defense if it were appropriate.

Women in both texts appeal to the main character as they fuss and lament the death of a male family member; through the power of God the main character in each text predicts the rise of the dead man to life; many people believe after witnessing the miracles, and power shifts; public controversy swirls; political turmoil and deadly intrigue arise in the aftermath.

Who Wrote This Stuff?

As I have stated elsewhere, the idea that Joseph Smith or any contemporary dreamed up the Book of Mormon becomes more preposterous as I study its pages. It presents “wonder upon wonder,” like a stack of transparencies overlaid. Each transparency is amazing; the fact that they are all part of a contiguous, organic whole is flabbergasting. It not only provides spiritual nourishment; it provides imposing gems of scriptural complexity that would have taken months for a panel of scholars to compose and insert into the narrative. It is equally challenging for the spirit and the mind.

Parallels similar to those listed above exist between the trial and death of Jesus, and the trial and death of Abinadi, and have been commented on by others. What happened to Abinadi’s people after his death, and what happened to the Jews after Jesus’ death, is also amazingly symmetrical. Cataloguing the parallels is a laborious task (one which I gave up on after seeing they were too numerous to pin down in a day).

And the list of astonishing elements indicating the authenticity of the Book of Mormon grows without slowing.

Acrobats and jugglers and magicians try to attract attention to themselves with their stunts. But the miraculous complexities and authentic touches of antiquity in this book are not amazing for their own sake. The Book of Mormon manages to perform these amazing feats of skill while continuously pointing the reader back to Jesus Christ, which is perhaps the most amazing thing of all.