Alma 26:1-9

Chapter 26

Ammon glories in the Lord—The faithful are strengthened by the Lord and are given knowledge—By faith men may bring thousands of souls unto repentance—God has all power and comprehendeth all things. About 90–77 B.C.

1  AND now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?

2  And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us?  Can ye tell?

3  Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God!  And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

Alma 26:1-3 (Emphasis mine)

At the end of Chapter 25, we read about how the sons of Mosiah and their brethren are rejoicing.  Ammon, more specifically, begins to rejoice.

Look at what has happened since we began our missionary journey.  Could we have ever expected such great blessing?  Can we?  The Lamanites were in darkness, but we have now brought them to light of God.  We have been instruments in the hands of God to accomplish this.

5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

2 Corinthians 4:5 (Emphasis mine)

Hugh Nibley writes about Ammon’s words and the importance of Ammon.

“Now we come to this wonderful speech, Ammon's mission report. It's a very good one here. It's a most singular document. The Book of Mormon is so full of things like this one here. … Remember, this was the same Ammon who was more than a match for the people at the waters of Sebus. He was a one-man platoon; he could wipe out anything you wanted. He was the most ferocious and effective fighter in the Book of Mormon. Yet see what kind of a mission he went on here … This is what happened, a miraculous turn. There's one key figure in all this change, all this going on. The whole movement comes back to this one man, Ammon, so it is very important that he gives a report on his behavior, his motivation, and how he was able to do it.”  [1]   (Emphasis mine)

4  Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.

5  Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves!  And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.

6  Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.

7  But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.

8  Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.

9  For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been strangers to God.

Alma 26:4-9 (Emphasis mine)

Ammon continues to rejoice in the faithfulness of their converts.  “…they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day” (verse 7) Ammon proclaims.  Ammon’s words begin to appear almost like a song of praise, a spoken song.  Let’s look at two verses, 8-9.

Blessed be the name of our God;

    let us sing to his praise,

    yea, let us give thanks to his holy name,

        for he doth work righteousness forever.

For if we had not come up

    out of the land of Zarahemla,

these our dearly beloved brethren,

    who had so dearly beloved us

would still have been racked

   with hatred against us,

   yea, and they would also

      have been strangers to God.

Compare this with examples from Psalms.

7  My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

8  Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

9  I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

10  For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Psalms 57:7-10 (Emphasis mine)

1  O GOD, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

2  Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

3  I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

4  For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

5  Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;

Psalms 108:1-5 (Emphasis mine)

Ammon’s rejoicing is another way to praise God.

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[1] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 30, 2011.

Alma 25:11-17

11  And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death by fire because of his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many should suffer death by fire, according as he had suffered.

12  And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they were hunted, and they were smitten.

13  And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

14  And they did also bury their weapons of war, according as their brethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and his statutes.

Alma 25:11-14 (Emphasis mine)

Going back to the words of Abinadi we are reminded that he said the priests of Noah we cause the death of many through fire.  They would be scattered and hunted.  We see this coming to pass.

The Lamanites ended their wars because they could not win.  It turns out that many joined the Anti-Nephi-Lehites and buried their weapons and became a righteous people.  Even though the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi suffered, even unto death, their sacrifice was not in vain.  Not only did the return to God, their faith and actions were responsible for increasing the number of people joining the Anti-Nephi-Lehites.

 “If the Nephites are not all good, the Lamanites are by no means all bad. For many years it was only because Nephite dissenters stirred them up that the Lamanites came to war against the Nephites. It was hardened Lamanite troopers who had sworn vengeance upon the Nephites (Alma 25:1) who, upon returning from a campaign, of their own free will went over in large numbers ‘and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi’ (Alma 25:13). It was fierce tribesmen with a long record of savagery and bloodshed who suddenly decided to bury their weapons and became the most righteous people in the New World (Alma 24:19). It was also the Lamanite veterans of a long war who later went over in droves to join them, becoming overnight model Nephite citizens (Alma 62:17, 29).” [1]  (Emphasis mine)

15  Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled.  But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.

16  Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come.

17  And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular.

Alma 25:15-17 (Emphasis mine)

The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi were Christian.  Their faith was in Christ.  Their hope was in Christ.  They knew that, only through the atonement of Christ would they be saved.

Even so, they also understood that the Law of Moses had not been fulfilled.  They still had to follow that law.  They knew that, by following the Law of Moses, they found a way to strengthen their faith.  (Even those who have a deep and profound faith knew that it was essential to have the faith strengthened whenever possible.)

Mormon than shares the joy of the sons of Mosiah and their brethren.  They desired to preach the gospel among the Lamanites.  They prayed for success.  And, they were seeing that their prayers had been answered and that the Lord had confirmed his words to them.

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[1] Good People and Bad People, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 29, 2011.

Alma 25:1-9

Chapter 25

Lamanite aggressions spread—The seed of the priests of Noah perish as Abinadi prophesied—Many Lamanites are converted and join the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi—They believe in Christ and keep the law of Moses. About 90–77 B.C.

1  AND behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren; therefore they swore vengeance upon the Nephites; and they did no more attempt to slay the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi at that time.

2  But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and destroyed them.

3  And after that, they had many battles with the Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain.

Alma 25:1-3 (Emphasis mine)

Lamanite anger is now directed towards the Nephites.  The land of Ammonihah was attacked and the people were killed.  Battles continued with the Nephites. 

4  And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were slain by the hands of the Nephites;

5  And the remainder, having fled into the east wilderness, and having usurped the power and authority over the Lamanites, caused that many of the Lamanites should perish by fire because of their belief—

6  For many of them, after having suffered much loss and so many afflictions, began to be stirred up in remembrance of the words which Aaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore they began to disbelieve the traditions of their fathers, and to believe in the Lord, and that he gave great power unto the Nephites; and thus there were many of them converted in the wilderness.

7  And it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the children of Amulon caused that they should be put to death, yea, all those that believed in these things.

8  Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness.

9  And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites.  Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire.

Alma 25:4-9 (Emphasis mine)

Once again we see the wicked priests of Noah making an appearance.  They had been responsible for inciting the Lamanites to attack the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. 

The Lamanites are angered and attack them and almost destroy their seed.  A few did escape.  They promptly began to execute, by fire, some Anti-Nephi-Lehies.  As with the previous attack, while some righteous died for their beliefs (remember, Mormon tells us they returned to God). 

Finally, the Lamanites had it.  They began to hunt and kill them.  Mormon tells us that a few did escape.  They were still being hunted by the Lamanites in Mormon’s day, almost half a millennium later.

Hugh Nibley writes:

“After Amulon took a beating he moved into Lamanite country and oppressed the Lamanite nonresisters who had been converted by this general pacifistic trend … The Lamanites in general reacted against the arrogant Amulonites because of the way they had treated the non-resistant, gentle Lamanites. The other Lamanites got mad at the Amulonites and lit into them. So we find a perennial feud going on here, a terrible mess.  Verse 8: ‘Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren [who had done so much mischief to their more faithful brethren] and began to slay them. . . . And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites.’ So it was going on at the time this was written.” [1]   (Emphasis mine)

Todd Compton wrote:

“The wicked priests of King Noah intermarry with Lamanite women (Mosiah 20), and their leader, Amulon, becomes a satellite ‘king’ under a chief Lamanite king (Mosiah 23:39). These wicked priests become teachers among the Lamanites (Mosiah 24:1, 4). After the missionary successes of the sons of Mosiah, it is the Amulonites and the Amalekites (apparently other evil Nephites who lived among the Lamanites) who stir up the unconverted Lamanites to war against their converted brethren, and then against the Nephites (Alma 25:2).”  The Lamanites eventually see that they are being manipulated and hunt down the Amulonites and kill them (Alma 25:8–9). [2]  (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 28, 2011.

[2] The Spirituality of the Outcast in the Book of Mormon, Todd M. Compton, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 28, 2011.

Alma 24:20-30

20  And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

21  Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

22  And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

Alma 24:20-22 (Emphasis mine)

The other Lamanites were ready to overthrow the king and place one of their choosing in his place.  They also wanted to destroy the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

They were ready for war.  They went on the attack and expected a major battle.  They were surprised by the response.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies went out, lay on the ground, and began praying to the Lord.  Seeing this, the armies attacked them and killed 1,005, meeting no resistance. 

Mormon then breaks in to tell us that they are blessed for the sacrifice.  They have returned to God.

I wonder what manner of men were these Lamanites.  They willingly attacked and killed defenseless people.  Hugh Nibley offers an explanation.

“They offer no opposition. It begins to hurt the consciences of the leaders on the other side and make them sick. As a result they get mad at these people, ‘Won't you resist? Dammit, why don't you fight?’ They get mad enough to slaughter them. It's a paradox here because they didn't want to slaughter them; they forced them to do it. ‘Why do you force us to do this dirty thing?’ This happens at the beginning of the next chapter. ‘Those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren.’ “ [1]   (Emphasis mine)

23  Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—

24  Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.

25  And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

26  And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

27  And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

Alma 24:23-27 (Emphasis mine)

I remember first reading these scriptures and feeling anger that these innocent people were brutally murdered.  Why had the Lord allowed this?  Then I continued reading.

Seeing that they praised God even as they were being slaughtered, the Lamanites stopped.  Many realized what they had done, and immediately repented of their actions.  They threw down their weapons and refused to use them again. 

We’re read that more people joined the Anti-Nephi-Lehies then were slain.  Their numbers increased.

Mormon then tells us that not a wicked man died.  All were righteous people.  Then he concludes “…thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.” (verse 27). 

28  Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.

29  Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

30  And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.

Alma 24:28-30 (Emphasis mine)

The Nephite dissenters make an appearance again.  They stirred up the people to attack the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.  Interestingly, none of these dissenters were among the converted.  Only the descendants of Laman and Lemuel were converted.

Then, Mormon emphasizes an important truth.  Once people have experienced the truth, and then fall away into sin and transgression, their hearts become harder and they are even less willing to listen to the words of the Lord.  It would have been better for them to never have known these things.

I’ll close with some words from Hugh Nibley.

“… This was murder they were doing. I mean when you take life it's murder no matter what you call it. Then more of them were joining the church than those who were slain. ‘Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites’ … Only the actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel were converted.” [2] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 27, 2011.

[2] Ibid.

Alma 24:15-19

14  And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

15  Oh, how merciful is our God!  And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

16  And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

Alma 24:14-16 (Emphasis mine)

The king continues reminding the people God loves their soul and has had mercy on them.  They have been visited by angels that taught them the plan of salvation (verse 14). 

The king then makes a powerful proposal.  Since they have been forgiven, their swords were made bright because the stains have been taken away.  There is only one way to keep them bright.  Bury them deep in the earth as a testimony before God that they were never used.  If their brethren destroy them, they will go to God and be saved (verse 16). 

This is a very powerful show of faith.  They know that there are those that are getting ready to attack them.  They know their very lives are in danger.  The king even tells them they may die.  But, if they do, they will return to God.  This is a faith that is rarely seen.

18  And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

Alma 24:18 (Emphasis mine)

And the people made a covenant with God that they would rather die than shed any more blood.  They also promised they would labor rather than spend their day in idleness. 

Discussing this powerful example, Victor Ludlow wrote that “…the converted Lamanite ‘people of Ammon covenant with God that they will never again use weapons for the shedding of human blood. These passages demonstrate that both peaceful and warlike people can humble themselves and enter into covenants with God.” [i] (Emphasis mine)

Making a covenant with God was not an uncommon occurrence in the Book of Mormon.

“The concept of covenant in the Book of Mormon is consistent with Israelite practices recorded in the Old Testament. Covenants are the formation of new relationships and can be seen in family terms. Like the Israelites, the Nephites believed that people were able to make covenants directly with God. This belief is demonstrated by the actions of the people of Ammon after their conversion. They covenanted that ‘they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives’ (Alma 24:18).” [ii] (Emphasis mine)

This covenant was important to them because of their many murders.  What would happen to them if they became what they were like before?  Welch writes:

“This oath of the Ammonites (as they would later come to be known) reflected the resolve of converts with a unique background. Because of their ‘many murders, the Ammonites deeply feared that any further shedding of blood might take them beyond the scope of forgiveness (Alma 24:11-13). After these people arrived in the land of Zarahemla, their oath, which had been tested in blood, was honored by the Nephites, who continued to grant them exemption from active (but not economic) military duty (see Alma 27:24)” [iii] (Emphasis mine)

They feared that, if they took up weapons again, that they might never be forgiven again.  They were willing to die rather than risk being eternally cut off from God.

Mormon breaks in for a brief observation so we understand the importance of the actions of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

19  And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

Alma 24:19 (Emphasis mine)

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[i] Covenant Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Victor L. Ludlow, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 26, 2011.

[ii] The Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, Jennifer Clark Lane, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 26, 2011.

[iii] Law and War in the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 26, 2011.