Chapter 27
The Lord commands Ammon to lead the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi to safety—Upon meeting Alma, Ammon's joy exhausts his
strength—The Nephites give them the land of Jershon—They are called the people
of Ammon. About 90–77 B.C.
1 NOW it came to pass that when those Lamanites who
had gone to war against the Nephites had found, after their many struggles to
destroy them, that it was in vain to seek their destruction, they returned
again to the land of Nephi.
2 And it came to pass that the Amalekites, because of
their loss, were exceedingly angry. And
when they saw that they could not seek revenge from the Nephites, they began to
astir up the people in anger against their brethren, the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi; therefore they began again to destroy them.
3 Now this people again refused to take their arms,
and they suffered themselves to be slain according to the desires of their
enemies.
4 Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of
destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so
dearly beloved them—for they were treated as though they were angels sent from
God to save them from everlasting destruction—therefore, when Ammon and his
brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion,
and they said unto the king:
5 Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and
let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites, and flee
out of the hands of our enemies, that we be not destroyed.
6 But the king said unto them: Behold, the Nephites
will destroy us, because of the many murders and sins we have committed against
them.
7 And Ammon said: I will go and inquire of the Lord,
and if he say unto us, go down unto our brethren, will ye go?
8 And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith
unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves
until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed
against them.
9 But Ammon said unto him: It is against the law of
our brethren, which was established by my father, that there should be any
slaves among them; therefore let us go down and rely upon the mercies of our
brethren.
10 But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord,
and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land.
11 And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of
the Lord, and the Lord said unto him:
12 Get this people out of this land, that they perish
not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up
the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee
out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation, for I will
preserve them.
13 And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told
the king all the words which the Lord had said unto him.
14 And they gathered together all their people, yea,
all the people of the Lord, and did gather together all their flocks and herds,
and departed out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided the
land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla, and came over near the borders of the
land.
Alma 27:1-14
The Lamanites, having failed
in their attempts to defeat the Nephites returned to the land of Nephi.[1]
The Amalakites were very
angry at their defeat. The wicked
Amalakites stirred up the people to anger and directed it towards the
Anti-Nephi-Lehies.[2] An
army was assembled and they attacked the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They refused to take up arms in their
defense. It was nothing less than a
slaughter of innocent men, women, and children.[3]
Ammon and his brethren saw
the slaughter and realized there was a serious problem. If nothing changed, it wouldn’t be long
before they would all be dead. Ammon
went to the king and discussed this problem.
His recommendation was they go to the land of Zarahemla.
The king was hesitant. Remembering all the violence committed
against the Nephites, he was concerned with their safety. He feared they would be destroyed because of
their murders. Ammon told the king he would inquire of the Lord. Should the Lord say “go,” would they agree to
go?
The king, having great faith,
told Ammon if the Lord told him to take his people to the land of Zarahemla,
they would go. But, he placed a
condition on it. They would become slaves
to the people as penance for all the murders and sins committed against the
Nephites.
Ammon told him that was not
possible. His father’s laws prohibited
slavery. He told them they would go and
“rely upon the mercies of our brethren” (Alma 27:10). Ammon went and inquired of the Lord.
Ammon set the example we
should follow. We need to inquire of the
Lord as we face decisions and choices in our lives. The Lord will hear and answer our prayers. He is just waiting for us to ask with faith.
“It is the privilege and the right of every member of the Church to receive
revelation and to enjoy the gifts of the Spirit. When we are confirmed members
of the Church, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the right to the
constant companionship of that member of the Godhead, based on faithfulness. The
actual enjoyment of this gift depends upon personal worthiness.”[4]
The word of the Lord came to
Ammon. The people must leave the
land. Satan has a hold of the
Amalekites. They will do all they can to
destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
The only way they can be preserved is to leave the land. Ammon returned to the king and shared the
words of the Lord with him.
The people gathered their
flocks, herds, and possession and left the land of Nephi and went to the land
of Zarahemla.
[1] “And
behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they
had slain their brethren; therefore they swore vengeance upon the Nephites; and
they did no more attempt to slay the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi at that time.
But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of
Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and
destroyed them. And after that, they had many battles with the Nephites, in the
which they were driven and slain”
(Alma 25:1-3).
[2] It
is not unusual to see the wicked stir up anger towards the righteous. “But the Jews stirred up the devout and
honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against
Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts” (Acts 13:50).
[3][3]
“Yea, and [the Nephites] also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards
their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the
people of Ammon—and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a
covenant and they would not break it—therefore, if they should fall into the
hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed.
And the Nephites would not suffer that they should be destroyed;
therefore they gave them lands for their inheritance” (Alma 43:11-12).
[4] The
Lord’s People Receive Revelation, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, April 1971
General Conference, accessed June 24, 2015.
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