11 Therefore, when he saw that they would not hear his words, he departed out of their synagogue, and came over to a village which was called Ani-Anti, and there he found Muloki preaching the word unto them; and also Ammah and his brethren. And they contended with many about the word.
12 And it came to pass that they saw that the people would harden their hearts, therefore they departed and came over into the land of Middoni. And they did preach the word unto many, and few believed on the words which they taught.
13 Nevertheless, Aaron and a certain number of his brethren were taken and cast into prison, and the remainder of them fled out of the land of Middoni unto the regions round about.
14 And those who were cast into prison suffered many things, and they were delivered by the hand of Lamoni and Ammon, and they were fed and clothed.
Alma 21:11-14 (Emphasis mine)
Aaron and his brethren left and went to Ani-Anti and found Muloki, Ammah, and his other brethren preaching there. All they were able to do was argue with a bunch o people. They left for Middoni.
Here they found few who would believe in their words. It was also here that Aaron and a few of his brethren were arrested and jailed. Those that weren’t fled.
This brings us up to date on the occurrences in Alma 20.
The lack of success that Aaron and his company experienced demonstrates the challenge faced in preaching the gospel. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught that there would be challenges.
13 ¶ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 (Emphasis mine)
15 And they went forth again to declare the word, and thus they were delivered for the first time out of prison; and thus they had suffered.
16 And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted.
17 And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.
Alma 21:15-17 (Emphasis mine)
In this set of verses, we see an interesting pattern found in the Book of Mormon. This pattern is bondage for the servants of the Lord, suffering while in bondage, release brought about through the hand of the Lord, and then success in their missionary work. Richard Rust discusses this pattern.
“Bondage is often considered in the Book of Mormon to be a necessary condition as preparation for conversion or salvation. After Aaron was freed (Alma 21:14-15), he and his brothers were tremendously successful—as though they somehow needed to go through the experience of physical captivity as a price to be paid in order to deliver others from spiritual bondage. Further, the bondage suffered by peoples such as Alma's group was beyond what humans could do to solve it, requiring the power of God to be shown directly: ‘They were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it were the Lord their God’ (Mosiah 24:21). Similarly, the most oppressive spiritual bondage has to be overcome miraculously by the power of God himself. This is the core of the testimony of Alma the Younger, and it is also the experience of the Lamanites whom Ammon and his brethren taught. Through their teaching, they were moved out of the imprisoning power of Satan and into the refuge of God's love (see Alma 26:15).” [i] (Emphasis mine)
We briefly return to Ammon and Lamoni.
18 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni returned from the land of Middoni to the land of Ishmael, which was the land of their inheritance.
19 And king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his servant.
20 But he caused that there should be synagogues built in the land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or the people who were under his reign, should assemble themselves together.
21 And he did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things. And he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were under him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from the oppressions of the king, his father; for that his father had granted unto him that he might reign over the people who were in the land of Ishmael, and in all the land round about.
22 And he also declared unto them that they might have the liberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in, if it were in the land which was under the reign of king Lamoni.
23 And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and it came to pass that he did teach them all things concerning things pertaining to righteousness. And he did exhort them daily, with all diligence; and they gave heed unto his word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God.
Alma 21:18-23 (Emphasis mine)
Lamoni and Ammon return to the kingdom of Ishmael. After all that had happened, Lamoni told Ammon he was no longer a servant.
Synagogues were built and he called the people together. They were told they had been freed from the oppressions of Lamoni’s father. They had the freedom to worship however, they wanted, as long as they were in the land where Lamoni reigned.
Ammon continued to preach the word of the Lord to the people. His successes continued and the people were fervent living the gospel.
In the October 2009 session of General Conference, Elder Dale Renlund talked about zeal among the converts of the sons of Mosiah.
“The lives of the people who were converted by the preaching of the sons of Mosiah offer some insights as to how one avoids rejecting the mightily changed spiritual heart. Of them, we read that ‘as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, … and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.’
“How did they successfully endure to the end? We know that they were ‘distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.’
“Their zeal towards God likely reflects an eagerness to please God and worship Him with fervor and passion. Their zeal towards men suggests an ardent interest in helping and serving others. Being perfectly upright and honest in all things suggests that they held their covenants firmly and did not rationalize their commitments to God or man. We further know that they taught their children the gospel in their homes. We know that they buried their weapons of war, distancing themselves from temptations.
“They must have frequently assessed the condition of their spiritually changed hearts. They did not simply assume that all was well. By figuratively examining their changed hearts, they could identify any early hardening or rejection and treat it.” [ii] (Emphasis mine)
[i] Book of Mormon Imagery, Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 17, 2011.
[ii] Preserving the Heart’s Mighty Change, Elder Dale G. Renlund, October 2009 General Conference.
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