My Soul Shouts Glory
MY SOUL SHOUTS GLORY:
This song comes from Alma 26 when Ammon and his brothers are traveling toward the Nephite capital to seek refuge for the Lamanites who converted to the Lord (they called themselves Anti-Nephi-Lehi's and are later known as the People of Ammon). After their conversion, the remaining Lamanites declare war on them. They fight against the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's who refuse to fight back. Many Anti-Nephi-Lehi's are slain but others throw down their weapons of war and join them.
Since turning to the Lord, the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's would rather die than take up arms again. Ammon hopes that the Nephites could offer land and protection to these people he has grown to love. While on his journey to the Nephite nation, he and his brothers run into their best friend, Alma. Ammon is happy to see this friend who he hasn't heard from in years and even more so, to see that Alma had grown spiritually. He is so overjoyed that his limbs lose strength and he falls to the earth glorifying God in this state.
Ammon and his brothers had lived among the Lamanites for 14 years. Ammon worked closely with king Lamoni and the two had probably become really close. Lamoni's song, when Ammon first arrived and taught him the gospel, was from the king of rock n' roll. When Elvis was a young performer, he travelled and performed with Jerry Lewis. Some of their songs had a similar tone, but they were very different in their performance style. I thought that this song of praise should be patterned after Jerry Lewis' song "Great Balls of Fire."
