Chapter 20
The Lord sends Ammon
to Middoni to deliver his imprisoned brethren—Ammon and Lamoni meet Lamoni's
father, who is king over all the land—Ammon compels the old king to approve the
release of his brethren. About 90 B.C.
1 AND it came to pass that
when they had established a church in that land, that king Lamoni desired that
Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his
father.
2 And the voice of the
Lord came to Ammon, saying: Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi, for
behold, the king will seek thy life; but thou shalt go to the land of Middoni;
for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.
3 Now it came to pass
that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni: Behold, my brother and
brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I go that I may deliver them.
4 Now Lamoni said unto
Ammon: I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land
of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a
friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the
king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of prison. Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that
thy brethren were in prison?
5 And Ammon said unto
him: No one hath told me, save it be God; and he said unto me—Go and deliver
thy brethren, for they are in prison in the land of Middoni.
6 Now when Lamoni had
heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his horses and his
chariots.
7 And he said unto
Ammon: Come, I will go with thee down to the land of Middoni, and there I will
plead with the king that he will cast thy brethren out of prison.
8 And it came to pass
that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, they met the father of
Lamoni, who was king over all the land.
9 And behold, the
father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did ye not come to the feast on that great
day when I made a feast unto my sons, and unto my people?
10 And he also said:
Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar?
11 And it came to pass
that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whither he was going, for he feared to offend
him.
12 And he also told
him all the cause of his tarrying in his own kingdom, that he did not go unto
his father to the feast which he had prepared.
13 And now when Lamoni
had rehearsed unto him all these things, behold, to his astonishment, his
father was angry with him, and said: Lamoni, thou art going to deliver these
Nephites, who are sons of a liar. Behold,
he robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come amongst us that they
may, by their cunning and their lyings, deceive us, that they again may rob us
of our property.
Alma 20:1-13
The King and Queen were converted and allowed Ammon to
preach to their people. They found
enough success to establish a church among Lamoni’s people. This having been done, Lamoni wanted to
introduce him to his father, the main King of all the lands.
Instead, the voice of the Lord spoke to Ammon. He was told not to go meet Lamoni’s father,
for he will try to kill him. He was told
to go to Middoni. His brother Aaron and
his two companions, Muloki and Ammah, were in prison.
Having heard the word of the Lord, he went to Lamoni. He told him his brothers were in prison at
Middoni. He was going there to free them
from prison.
Lamoni told Ammon he understands through the Lord Ammon can
do all things. But, he would go with
him. The king of Middoni, Antiomno was
his friend. He was willing to intervene
on behalf of Ammon’s brethren and free them from prison. He asked Ammon, who told him they were in
prison? The Lord had told him to go and
free his brethren from prison.
Lamoni, hearing this, had his horses and chariots made
ready. He went with Ammon to Middoni. As
they were traveling, they ran into Lamoni’s father, king over all the
land. Here we get some insight to
Lamanite political order.
The democratic elements within Nephite governance are
particularly clear when juxtaposed with the autocratic Lamanite counterpart.
Much less is known about the Lamanite state, but we are told that Lamoni's
father is recognized as "king over all the land" (Alma 20:8). As
such, he had authority to "govern" or interfere in the decisions of
lesser kings (Alma 20:26). The general recognition of his authority suggests
the presence of a unitary political state, and his ability to intervene at his
discretion indicates the extent of his personal power. Together these features
characterize Lamanite politics as autocratic.[1]
He was not pleased with his son. He had a feast day for his sons and people,
but Lamoni had not attended.
It wasn’t bad enough Lamoni had not attended the feast, he
was traveling with a Nephite. “Whither
art though going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar?”
(Alma 20:10).[2] Lamoni told him where he was going to avoid
offending his father.
Thus Lamanite animosity had its roots in political and
social divisions through which the Lamanites were “wronged of their rightful
inheritance,” and the Nephites were viewed as deceitful usurpers.[3]
After hearing Lamoni, his father was upset. He was angry he was going to help release
Ammon’s brethren who were “sons of a liar” (Alma 20:13). “[B]y their cunning and their lyings, [they]
deceive us, that they again my rob us of our property” (Alma 20:13).[4]
[1] For
the Peace of the People: War and Democracy in the Book of Mormon, Ryan W.
Davis, Maxwell Institute, accessed June 2, 2015.
[2] “And
again, [Laman and Lemuel] were wroth with [Nephi] 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” (Mosiah
10:16).
[3] “And
it came to pass . . .” The Sociopolitical Events in the Book of Mormon Leading
to the Eighteenth Year of the Reign of the Judges, Dan Belnap, Maxwell
Institute, accessed June 2, 2015.
[4] “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 10:17).
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