Mosiah 23:15-39

25 For behold, it came to pass that while they were in the land of Helam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling the land round about, behold an army of the Lamanites was in the borders of the land.

26 Now it came to pass that the brethren of Alma fled from their fields, and gathered themselves together in the city of Helam; and they were much frightened because of the appearance of the Lamanites.

27 But Alma went forth and stood among them, and exhorted them that they should not be frightened, but that they should remember the Lord their God and he would deliver them.

28 Therefore they hushed their fears, and began to cry unto the Lord that he would soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they would spare them, and their wives, and their children.

29 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the hearts of the Lamanites.  And Alma and his brethren went forth and delivered themselves up into their hands; and the Lamanites took possession of the land of Helam.

30 Now the armies of the Lamanites, which had followed after the people of king Limhi, had been lost in the wilderness for many days.

31 And behold, they had found those priests of king Noah, in a place which they called Amulon; and they had begun to possess the land of Amulon and had begun to till the ground.

32 Now the name of the leader of those priests was Amulon.

33 And it came to pass that Amulon did plead with the Lamanites; and he also sent forth their wives, who were the daughters of the Lamanites, to plead with their brethren, that they should not destroy their husbands.

34 And the Lamanites had compassion on Amulon and his brethren, and did not destroy them, because of their wives.

35 And Amulon and his brethren did join the Lamanites, and they were traveling in the wilderness in search of the land of Nephi when they discovered the land of Helam, which was possessed by Alma and his brethren.

36 And it came to pass that the Lamanites promised unto Alma and his brethren, that if they would show them the ^away which led to the land of Nephi that they would grant unto them their lives and their liberty.

37 But after Alma had shown them the way that led to the land of Nephi the Lamanites would not keep their promise; but they set guards round about the land of Helam, over Alma and his brethren.

38 And the remainder of them went to the land of Nephi; and a part of them returned to the land of Helam, and also brought with them the wives and the children of the guards who had been left in the land.

39 And the king of the Lamanites had granted unto Amulon that he should be a king and a ruler over his people, who were in the land of Helam; nevertheless he should have no power to do anything contrary to the will of the king of the Lamanites.

Mosiah 23:25-39

Alma’s people have been living in peace and prosperity, faithfully keeping the Lord’s commandments.  The people were tilling their land, minding their own business, when a Lamanite army arrived. 

The people fled to the city of Helam in fear of the Lamanite army.  Alma went among the people and told them not to fear the army.  They would be delivered by the Lord. 

The people began to pray, asking the hearts of the Lamanites would be soften towards them and their families.  The Lord heard their prayers and soften their hearts.  Alma and his brethren surrendered to the Lamanites; they took possession of the land of Helam.

From where did this Lamanite army come?  This is the Lamanite army that had pursued Limhi and his people.  “And now it came to pass when the Lamanites had found that the people of Limhi had departed out of the land by night, that they sent an army into the wilderness to pursue them; And after they had pursued them two days, they could no longer follow their tracks; therefore they were lost in the wilderness” (Mosiah 22:15 - 16).

Before the lost army found Alma’s group, they found Amulon and the priests of Noah and their families.  “When a disoriented Lamanite army accidentally located [Noah’s priests] many months later, the priests craftily escaped punishment by obliging their ‘wives’ to intercede on their behalf, thereafter easing themselves into Lamanite society, even taking positions of responsibility … One must remember, of course, that at least three years had passed before the women, now ‘wives,’ were discovered by the Lamanite army (see Mosiah 23:30—31); some of the former fiancés must have married other women in the meantime..^[1]

Amulon pleaded with the Lamanite army, but apparently had no success.  Then, their wives went before the army and presented their case.  It was only then the army decided not to attack.

There was a condition.  Amulon and his group had to join the Lamanites and return with them.  They continued their search and came upon Alma and his group.  The Lamanites asked Alma to show them the way to the land of Nephi.  If they did this, they would remain free.

Alma showed them the way to the land of Nephi.  Once they got what they wanted, the Lamanites broke the agreement and placed guards around the land of Helam.

The rest of the army returned to the land of Nephi.  Some returned, bringing the wives and children of those left to guard the land of Helam.

The Lamanite king made Amulon a king over Alma’s people living the land of Helam; however, his power was limited. 

“In time, Amulon obtained the Lamanite king's favor. He was made a ruler over the land of Helam (see Mosiah 23:39). This was the land to which Alma, the repentant priest of King Noah, and his followers had fled (see Mosiah 23:38). Amulon and his associates were appointed teachers over the people…”^[2]  He could do nothing save it was in accordance with the will of the Lamanite king.

However, negotiations also meant that the priests evidently were required to abandon their new settlement, to return to the homeland of the Lamanites, and to "join the Lamanites," although the text does not specify what this latter means (Mosiah 23:35).³⁶ The results for the priests were that they would keep both their lives and their wives—a decision not subsequently overturned by the Lamanite king because, afterward, he appointed Amulon to serve as a regent king over the colony of Alma, "his people" (Mosiah 23:39).[3]

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[1] Marriage and Treaty in the Book of Mormon: The Case of the Abducted Lamanite Daughters, S. Kent Brown, Maxwell Institute, accessed November 25, 2014.

[2] The Impact of Shifting Cultural Assumptions on the Military Policies Directing Armed Conflict Reported in the Book of Alma, Matthew M. F. Hilton and Neil J. Flinders, Maxwell Institute, accessed November 25, 2014.

[3] Marriage and Treaty in the Book of Mormon: The Case of the Abducted Lamanite Daughters, S. Kent Brown, Maxwell Institute, accessed November 25, 2014.