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.
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.
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.
Alma 17:12-16
The time came for the sons of Mosiah and their part to go
their separate ways. Aaron and those
with him went “towards the land which was called by the Lamanites, Jerusalem,
calling it after the land of their fathers' nativity; and it was away joining
the borders of Mormon” (Alma 21:1).
Mormon calls their missionary efforts a harvest. The Savior used similar terms. “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest
truly is plenteous, but the labourers
are few” (Matthew 9:37).
Here we see a method used in the scriptures called “repetitive
resumption.”
“Repetitive resumption refers to an
editor’s return to an original narrative following a deliberate interlude. Old
Testament writers accomplished this by repeating a key word or phrase that
immediately preceded the textual interruption.”5
One example is found in Alma 17:13, where Mormon tells us that when the
sons of Mosiah came to the “borders of the land of the Lamanites … they
separated themselves and departed one from another.” Then Mormon diverts to a
diatribe against the Lamanites and why the sons of Mosiah really needed to
preach to them. When Mormon returns to his outlined narrative in verse 17, he
writes, “Therefore they separated themselves one from another, and went forth
among them.”[1]
Mormon describes the Lamanites as “a wild and a hardened and
a ferocious people” (Alma 17:14). They murdered,
robbed, and plundered the Nephites.
Pillaging and plundering were
strictly prohibited under Nephite law … While plundering was rarely an issue
for Nephite men under arms, since they always fought to defend their own
territory … [i]t was, however, a common practice among the Lamanites and the
wicked (e.g., Mosiah 10:17; 24:7; Alma 17:14; 18:7; Helaman 3:16; 6:17,
23), both in war and in peace.[2]
Mormon’s description of the Lamanites followed Zeniff’s description,
leaving out his explanation why they felt this way. “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” (Mosiah 10:12).
They were a lazy people.
They worshipped idols. The
tradition of their fathers were responsible for the curse that was placed upon
the Lamanites. “For there are many
promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions
of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance;
therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in
the land” (Alma 9:16).
The sons of Mosiah where there to preach the gospel messages
to the Lamanites, bringing them the Lord’s promises if they repent. Remember their motivation to preach to the
Lamanites.
“Now it came to pass that after the
sons of Mosiah had done all these things, *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—That
perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and
convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might
cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that they might also be brought
to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one
another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land which the
Lord their God had given them. 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).
[1] Mormon's
Editorial Method and Meta-Message, Brant A. Gardner, Maxwell Institute,
accessed May 12, 2015.
[2] Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Law and War in the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch,
Maxwell Institute, accessed May 12, 2015.
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