14 Now the father of
Lamoni commanded him that he should slay Ammon with the sword. And he also commanded him that he should not
go to the land of Middoni, but that he should return with him to the land of
Ishmael.
15 But Lamoni said
unto him: I will not slay Ammon, neither will I return to the land of Ishmael,
but I go to the land of Middoni that I may release the brethren of Ammon, for I
know that they are just men and holy prophets of the true God.
16 Now when his father
had heard these words, he was angry with him, and he drew his sword that he
might smite him to the earth.
17 But Ammon stood
forth and said unto him: Behold, thou shalt not slay thy son; nevertheless, it
were better that he should fall than thee, for behold, he has repented of his
sins; but if thou shouldst fall at this time, in thine anger, thy soul could
not be saved.
18 And again, it is
expedient that thou shouldst forbear; for if thou shouldst slay thy son, he
being an innocent man, his blood would cry from the ground to the Lord his God,
for vengeance to come upon thee; and perhaps thou wouldst lose thy soul.
19 Now when Ammon had
said these words unto him, he answered him, saying: I know that if I should
slay my son, that I should shed innocent blood; for it is thou that hast sought
to destroy him.
20 And he stretched
forth his hand to slay Ammon. But Ammon
withstood his blows, and also smote his arm that he could not use it.
21 Now when the king
saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare
his life.
22 But Ammon raised his
sword, and said unto him: Behold, I will smite thee except thou wilt grant unto
me that my brethren may be cast out of prison.
23 Now the king,
fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto
thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half of the kingdom.
24 Now when Ammon saw
that he had wrought upon the old king according to his desire, he said unto
him: If thou wilt grant that my brethren may be cast out of prison, and also
that Lamoni may retain his kingdom, and that ye be not displeased with him, but
grant that he may do according to his own desires in whatsoever thing he
thinketh, then will I spare thee; otherwise I will smite thee to the earth.
25 Now when Ammon had
said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life.
26 And when he saw
that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great love he
had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this
is all that thou hast desired, that I would release thy brethren, and suffer
that my son Lamoni should retain his kingdom, behold, I will grant unto you
that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will
govern him no more—
27 And I will also
grant unto thee that thy brethren may be cast out of prison, and thou and thy
brethren may come unto me, in my kingdom; for I shall greatly desire to see
thee. For the king was greatly
astonished at the words which he had spoken, and also at the words which had
been spoken by his son Lamoni, therefore he was desirous to learn them.
28 And it came to pass
that Ammon and Lamoni proceeded on their journey towards the land of
Middoni. And Lamoni found favor in the
eyes of the king of the land; therefore the brethren of Ammon were brought
forth out of prison.
29 And when Ammon did
meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their
skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had suffered hunger, thirst,
and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their
sufferings.
30 And, as it
happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and
a more stiffnecked people; therefore they would not hearken unto their words,
and they had cast them out, and had smitten them, and had driven them from
house to house, and from place to place, even until they had arrived in the
land of Middoni; and there they were taken and cast into prison, and bound with
strong cords, and kept in prison for many days, and were delivered by Lamoni
and Ammon.
Alma 20:14-30
Lamoni’s father, the king of the land, has ordered him to
kill Alma because he was a child of liars.
After the deed was done, he should go with him to the land of Ishmael.
Lamoni refused to kill Ammon. Further, he refused to return to the land of
Ishmael. He was going to Middoni to
effect the release of Aaron and his companions from prison.
Lamoni’s father was angry, drew his sword, and prepared to
kill his son. Ammon stood between father
and son. He made it clear he will not
kill his son. But, Ammon said, if he
were to die, it would be better for him than his father. Lamoni had repented of his sins. His father, because of his anger, could not
be saved.
Should he kill his son, his blood would cry out against him
as he was an innocent man. His cry for
justice would lead to his father losing his soul.
Then, before the king over all the
land, Ammon responds to the Lamanite view that the Nephites are descendants of
a liar and a robber (Alma 20:10–13). By forgoing earthly power, Ammon shows
forth God's power and thus opens up the most significant missionary harvest in
the Book of Mormon. The editor's (Mormon's) heavily repeated use of the word
translated as power drives home that point.[1]
After hearing Ammon’s words, Lamoni’s father admitted he
knew he would be killing an innocent man.
It was Ammon who had sought to destroy his son. And he attempted to kill Ammon.
Ammon withstood this attempt to kill him. He was able to injure the king’s sword arm so
he couldn’t use it.
Being defenseless, he pleaded with Ammon for his life. Ammon told him unless he agreed to release
his brethren from prison, he would kill him.
The king agreed to do anything he asked, even giving Ammon half his
kingdom.
Ammon responded with two conditions. First, he would agree to release his brethren
from prison. Second, he would allow
Lamoni to keep his kingdom and be free to rule it as he saw fit. These were the conditions for the father to
be spared.
The king, realizing he was being spared, rejoiced. Then, he began to look at the situation. Ammon loved his son. This was not expected from a Nephite. Because of this, he agreed to order the
release of Aaron and his brethren. He
also gave Lamoni the freedom to rule his land as he saw fit.
Lamoni's father reacted like Laman
of old in drawing his sword against his son and then Ammon, and when Ammon
overpowered him, the old king cowered before the missionary's greater power,
again as Laman did before Nephi (Alma 16:20-24). But it was not Ammon's
physical superiority that impressed the king; it was the love for the king's
son that astonished him exceedingly (Alma 20:26). When another set of
missionaries offered to serve Lamoni's father, he remembered this love and
wanted to listen. Ammon's generosity, as well as his words, troubled the king,
and he was ready to hear more (Alma 22:3). The willing service and acts of
generosity and love, so contrary to the Lamanite stereotypes of the Nephites,
got through the armor and touched the hearts of the two kings.[2]
He agreed to grant the release of Ammon’s brethren. He requested they come to him in his
kingdom. He was astonished by the words
Ammon and Lamoni and he wanted to learn more.
From the example of Lamoni’s
father, we learn the importance of a soft heart that is willing to change.
Lamoni’s father was willing to give up half of his kingdom to Ammon in exchange
for his life (see Alma 20:21–23).
After Ammon simply requested that the king allow Lamoni to worship as he
desired in his own kingdom, the generosity and greatness of Ammon’s words
caused the king to be troubled in mind and heart (see Alma 20:24; 22:3).[3]
Ammon and Lamoni continued their journey to Middoni. Lamoni found favor with the king and they
were released from prison.
Ammon was surprised to see their condition. They had been imprisoned naked and bound with
strong cords. They weren’t fed on a
regular basis nor given water regularly.
Even so, they remembered the Lord’s words and were patient in their sufferings.[4]
Aaron and his group went to Lamanites who were a wicked
people. They refused to listen to their words. They were beat and cast out. They were driven from house-to-house. They were driven until they arrived in
Middoni and were thrown in prison.
Beginning with the next post, we will look at Aaron’s
mission.
[1] "To
Show unto the Remnant of the House of Israel" Narrators and Narratives,
Maxwell Institute, accessed June 2, 2015.
[2] The
Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Maxwell
Institute, accessed June 4, 2015.
[3] An
Easiness and Willingness to Believe, Elder Michael T. Ringwood, October
2009 General Conference, accessed June 4, 2015.
[4] “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 17:11).
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