An account of the sons
of Mosiah, who rejected their rights to the kingdom for the word of God, and
went up to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites; their sufferings and
deliverance—according to the record of Alma.
Comprising chapters 17
to 26 inclusive.
Chapter 17
The sons of Mosiah
have the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—They go their several ways to
declare the word to the Lamanites—Ammon goes to the land of Ishmael and becomes
the servant of King Lamoni—Ammon saves the king's flocks and slays his enemies
at the waters of Sebus. Verses 1–3, about 77 B.C.; verse 4, about 91–77 B.C.;
and verses 5-39, about 91 B.C.
1 AND now it came to
pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the
land of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah
journeying towards the land of Zarahemla.
2 Now these sons of
Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore
Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his
joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong
in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and
they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of
God.
3 But this is not all;
they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the
spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they
taught with power and authority of God.
4 And they had been
teaching the word of God *for the space of fourteen years among the
Lamanites, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the
truth; yea, by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of
God, to call on his name and confess their sins before him.
5 Now these are the
circumstances which attended them in their journeyings, for they had many
afflictions; they did suffer much, both in body and in mind, such as hunger,
thirst and fatigue, and also much labor in the spirit.
6 Now these were their
journeyings: Having taken leave of their father, Mosiah, in the first year of
the judges; having refused the kingdom which their father was desirous to
confer upon them, and also this was the minds of the people;
7 Nevertheless they
departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and took their swords, and their spears,
and their bows, and their arrows, and their slings; and this they did that they
might provide food for themselves while in the wilderness.
8 And thus they
departed into the wilderness with their numbers which they had selected, to go
up to the land of Nephi, to preach the word of God unto the Lamanites.
9 And it came to pass
that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed
much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with
them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God
to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge
of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers,
which were not correct.
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.
Alma 17:1-11
Recall when King Mosiah decided the time had come to step
down as king. “Now when Mosiah had done
this he sent out throughout all the land, among all the people, desiring to
know their will concerning who should be their king. And it came to pass that
the voice of the people came, saying: We are desirous that Aaron thy son should
be our king and our ruler. Now Aaron had gone up to the land of Nephi,
therefore the king could not confer the kingdom upon him; neither would Aaron
take upon him the kingdom; neither were any of the sons of Mosiah willing to
take upon them the kingdom” (Mosiah 29:1-3).
His sons had other desires.
After their conversion and repentance, “they took a small number with
them and returned to their father, the king, and desired of him that he would
grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had selected, go up to
the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and
that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites … Now
they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for
they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very
thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake
and tremble (Mosiah 28:1, 3).
“And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should
let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word. And the Lord said
unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they
shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the
Lamanites. And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might go and do
according to their request” (Mosiah 28:6-8).
At this point Mormon ends Alma’s record for a time and turns
to the sons of Mosiah and their missionary efforts.
Alma was on his way to the land of Manti, he met the sons of
Mosiah. It had been around fourteen
years since they had left for their mission among the Lamanites. Needless to say, it was a joyous reunion. They had been through a lot together. They
had been among the “vilest of sinners” (Mosiah 28:4). They had done all they could to destroy the
church. A miraculous conversion occurred
and they repented and became some of the most important leaders and
missionaries in Book of Mormon history.
It was a joyous reunion because they all had remained
faithful to the gospel. They continued
their service to God all that time.
Before going sequentially through
the story of the sons of Mosiah, for example, the narrator gives us Alma's
report that they are alive and well, that they had "much success in
bringing many to the knowledge of the truth," and that they had suffered
much in both body and mind (Alma 17:1–5). Soon after this report we are told
that at the beginning of their dangerous missionary venture, the sons of Mosiah
learned through the Spirit that they should be patient in afflictions and would
be instruments in the Lord's hands for the salvation of many souls (Alma 17:11).
Thus the essential events are known ahead of time—both by the narrator's
foretelling and by prophecy.[1]
Through fasting and prayer, they had the spirit of prophecy
and revelation. They taught with the
power and authority of God. We are told
they had a successful mission. Many
Lamanites had been brought to the truth of the gospel.
After letting us know their mission is going to be a
success, Mormon begins to discuss their mission. They suffered much in both body and spirit,
but, like Alma, they did labor in the spirit.
“Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty
prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city;
that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance” (Alma 8:10).
When the party departed Zarahemla, they took provisions and
weapon such as bows and arrow, slings, and spears to hunt and provide
themselves food during their travels in the wilderness. Their destination was the land of Nephi.
During their journey, they fasted and prayed to be guided by
the Lord and become instruments in His hands to bring the Lamanites to the
truth. They wanted to teach them the
traditions of their fathers was incorrect.[2]
The marvel is that they succeeded
as well as they did. Traveling in the wilderness toward Lamanite lands, the
missionaries prepared themselves by much fasting and prayer, beseeching the
Lord to enable them to bring the Lamanites "to the knowledge of the truth,
to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were
not correct" (Alma 17:9). And their prayers were answered.[3]
They Lord comforted them and visited them with His
Spirit. They were commanded to go among
the Lamanites and preach His word but to be patient and long-suffering. They would benefit from this council. They were to be good examples and be an
instrument in His hands to bring salvation to many Lamanites.
[1] Feasting
on the Word – "Great Things the Lord Hath Done" – Epic Elements, Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 10, 2015.
[2] “They
were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition
of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land
of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged
in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing
the sea; And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first
inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi
was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord—therefore he was
favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he
took the lead of their journey in the wilderness. And his brethren were wroth
with him because they understood not the dealings of the Lord; they were also
wroth with him upon the waters because they hardened their hearts against the
Lord. And again, they were wroth with him when they had arrived in the promised
land, because they said that he had taken the ruling of the people out of their
hands; and they sought to kill him. And again, they were wroth with him because
he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the records
which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them. And
thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they
should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they
could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the
children of Nephi” (Mosiah 10:12-17).
[3]The
Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 10, 2015.
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