Mosiah 8:16 - 8:21

Mosiah 8:16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.

A seer is a revelator as is a prophet. But the gift that a seer has is greater than prophecy and would have to be a God to have more power than a seer.

Mosiah 8:17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.

For a seer can find out about the past and what is coming in the future. There is nothing in man’s activities whether in the past or future that a seer cannot find out about. Secret acts known only to a single person can be found out by a seer.

Mosiah 8:18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.

By this power of a seer, God can perform what appear to be miracles for the benefit of his fellow man.

Mosiah 8:19 And now, when Ammon had made an end of speaking these words the king rejoiced exceedingly, and gave thanks to God, saying: Doubtless a great mystery is contained within these plates, and these interpreters were doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men.

After Ammon informed king Limhi about king Mosiah back in Zarahemla who would be able to translate the 24 gold plates, he was now anxious to get know what was in them. He reasoned that because they were found, that the Lord wanted them found and that they contained things He wanted the world to know about.

Mosiah 8:20 O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them!

King Limhi gives praise to God for how marvelous are His ways in dealing with His children on earth. Limhi is continually amazed at just how hard it is to give wisdom to men. They don’t seem to desire it or seek for it. They will not let it rule their lives.
[Here is Limhi’s palm for the next two verses. Men are like children. They want to do it themselves rather than let their parents show them how and help them practice until they have it down well enough they can do it on their own the correct way. Their pride will not let them be humble enough to follow instruction from those who know better. As a result, they Lord lets them have it their own way and they learn the hard way. In fact the Lord will give them instruction which will help them to the end they are seeking even though they don’t realize it and think they came up with it on their own. The end He is giving them is as close to what He wants them to have as He can get them. The Law of Moses is an example. The Lord wanted them to live the gospel but they could not so he gave them detailed laws that dictated behavior rather than living a couple of simple admonitions like love God and your neighbor. The rest of the world which could not even abide a supreme being concept, were give philosophies such as Buddhism which do not mentioned Jesus but give principles which will prepare one when the gospel comes along.]

Mosiah 8:21 Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven, and are devoured by the beasts of the forest.

Limhi compares men to a wild flock of animals which run from the one that could protect them and, as a result, fall pray to wild animals of the wilderness.