10 But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land.
11 And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said unto him:
12 Get this people out of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation, for I will preserve them.
13 And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told the king all the words which the Lord had said unto him.
14 And they gathered together all their people, yea, all the people of the Lord, and did gather together all their flocks and herds, and departed out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla, and came over near the borders of the land.
Alma 27:10-14 (Emphasis mine)
After being told they would not become slaves, the king told Ammon to inquire of the Lord. Whatever he says, we will do.
In answer to Ammon’s prayers, he was told to get the people out of the land. The Amalekites are stirring up Lamanites to kill them. If they go, the Lord said He would preserve them.
With that promise, they left their land and arrived near the borders of the land of Zarahemla.
The Anti-Nephi-Lehies once again showed remarkable faith. They knew there was a chance they would die at the hands of the Nephites because of the violence done to them by these people. Still, they went forward, trusting in the Lord.
15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto them: Behold, I and my brethren will go forth into the land of Zarahemla, and ye shall remain here until we return; and we will try the hearts of our brethren, whether they will that ye shall come into their land.
16 And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.
17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.
18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.
19 Now the joy of Alma in meeting his brethren was truly great, and also the joy of Aaron, of Omner, and Himni; but behold their joy was not that to exceed their strength.
20 And now it came to pass that Alma conducted his brethren back to the land of Zarahemla; even to his own house. And they went and told the chief judge all the things that had happened unto them in the land of Nephi, among their brethren, the Lamanites.
Alma 27:15-20 (Emphasis mine)
Ammon and his brethren had the Anti-Nephi-Lehies wait while they went into the city to plead their case. It was here that they met Alma(2). That event was recorded in Chapter 26.
After Alma(2) heard their story, he took them to his home in Zarahemla. They meet with the chief judge and related the things that had happened over the last 14 years.
21 And it came to pass that the chief judge sent a proclamation throughout all the land, desiring the voice of the people concerning the admitting their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
22 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon, which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance.
23 And behold, we will set our armies between the land Jershon and the land Nephi, that we may protect our brethren in the land Jershon; and this we do for our brethren, on account of their fear to take up arms against their brethren lest they should commit sin; and this their great fear came because of their sore repentance which they had, on account of their many murders and their awful wickedness.
24 And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon; and we will guard them from their enemies with our armies, on condition that they will give us a portion of their substance to assist us that we may maintain our armies.
Alma 27:21-24 (Emphasis mine)
The chief judge called the people together and told them what happened. It appears there was little opposition to giving the Ammonites land. The voice of the people was immediately heard.
They gave them the land of Jershon as the land of their inheritance. They also respected them and their promise not to bear arms again. There was one condition. They would have to pay to help maintain the army.
John Welch explained that allowing them not to serve in the army was quite unusual.
“The only Book of Mormon group given an exemption from military service was the famous people of Ammon. In repenting of their previous shedding of blood, they had sworn an oath that they would never again take up arms (see Alma 24:11-13). After they arrived in Zarahemla, they were granted an extraordinary exemption from active military duty if they would help to sustain the Nephite armies with provisions (see Alma 27:23-24). Surprisingly, the grant of this exceptional privilege was consistent with ancient Israelite law.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
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