Alma 17:10-17

10  And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted.  And they were comforted.

11  And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.

12  And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.

Alma 17:10-12 (Emphasis mine)

The group prayed to the Lord and received an answer.  I can’t help but think it wasn’t quite what they hoped.

They were told that they had to be “…patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me…” (verse 11).  In answer to their prayer, they were told there would be “afflictions” as they went forward.  Even so, they were to be patient during these times so they would be good examples.  Through the examples they set, they would be “… instrument[s] … my hands unto the salvation of many souls.”  (verse 11).

Successful preaching could have the added benefit of fewer wars. (see previous post), Let us further explore the writings of John Tvedtnes.

“The Book of Mormon stresses that they were going to ‘a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them’ (Alma 17:14). Many long years of war had taken their toll on the Nephites. Taking young men away from agricultural and other pursuits for military service undoubtedly had an adverse effect on the economy, in addition to the loss of life. If the sons of Mosiah could somehow change the hatred of the Lamanites for the Nephites to an acceptance of the Nephites as brothers in the gospel, this would certainly improve the lot of both peoples.”

The Sons of Mosiah: Emissaries of Peace, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 1, 2011

3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

Romans 5:3-4 (Emphasis mine)

4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

2 Corinthians 6:4 (Emphasis mine)

22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (Emphasis mine)

2  We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (Emphasis mine)

24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

2 Timothy 2:24 (Emphasis mine)

2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

2 Timothy 4:2 (Emphasis mine)

2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

James 1:2-4 (Emphasis mine)

19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20 (Emphasis mine)

Even knowing there would be afflictions and suffering, they moved forward.  They went forth with courage and faith, ready to preach the word to the Lamanites. 

13  And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken.

Alma 17:13 (Emphasis mine)

The point-of-no-return had been reached.  There were ready to enter into the land of the Lamanites.  At this time, the group separated and went their own way, being guided by the Spirit (see verse 10).

37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

38  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Matthew 9:37-38 (Emphasis mine)

14  And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their own hands.

15  Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.

16  Therefore, this was the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had undertaken the work, that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption.

17  Therefore they separated themselves one from another, and went forth among them, every man alone, according to the word and power of God which was given unto him.

Alma 17:14-17 (Emphasis mine)

These verses seem to break the narrative.  We have the account that they each went their way (verse 13).  Then we read a description of the Lamanites, portraying them in a very poor light (verses 14-15).  The next two verses repeat what we have already been told.  These verses are most likely “editorial comments” by Mormon. 

While the Nephites tended to have this negative image of the Lamanites as a ferocious people, from the Lamanite perspective, they believed they were justified for their wars and hatred of the Nephites.  The problems go back the hatred of Laman and Lemuel for Nephi.

“The Nephite record gives a further explanation for those wars, in words directly quoted from Lamanite documents. In 63 B.C., Ammoron the Lamanite king wrote to Moroni about a prisoner exchange and explained why they fought: ‘For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that they did rob them of their right to the government when it rightly belonged unto them’ (Alma 54:17). The war would stop, Ammoron said to Moroni, if you ‘lay down your arms, and subject yourselves to be governed by those to whom the government doth rightly belong’ (Alma 54:18). Ammoron referred, of course, to Laman's complaint that Nephi ‘thinks to rule over us,’ when Laman himself claimed the right of rulership.

“…the Lamanite response followed the line of the ancient story. How were the Nephites to be stopped from their habitual robbery of their brethren? Bind them, smite them, kill them. The father of Lamoni turned on Ammon with a sword, and that was always the way. Nephi said his brothers' hearts were like flint, and the most common Nephite characterization of the Lamanites described them as ferocious. They were a ‘wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them’ (Alma 17:14). It was nearly impossible for many of the Nephites to see anything gentle or loving in Lamanite life, because the boundary between the two peoples was defined by the founding saga as one of perpetual war.”  (Emphasis mine)

The Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 1, 2011

The next post will begin to deal with the missionary activities of Ammon.