An account of the
preaching of Aaron, and Muloki, and their brethren, to the Lamanites.
Comprising chapters 21
through 25.
Chapter 21
Aaron teaches the
Amalekites about Christ and His Atonement—Aaron and his brethren are imprisoned
in Middoni—After their deliverance, they teach in the synagogues and make many
converts—Lamoni grants religious freedom to the people in the land of Ishmael.
About 90–77 B.C.
1 Now when Ammon and
his brethren separated themselves in the borders of the land of the Lamanites,
behold Aaron took his journey 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.
2 Now the Lamanites
and the Amalekites and the people of Amulon had built a great city, which was
called Jerusalem.
3 Now the Lamanites of
themselves were sufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and the Amulonites
were still harder; therefore they did cause the Lamanites that they should
harden their hearts, that they should wax strong in wickedness and their
abominations.
4 And it came to pass
that Aaron came to the city of Jerusalem, and first began to preach to the
Amalekites. And he began to preach to them in their synagogues, for they had
built synagogues after the order of the Nehors; for many of the Amalekites and
the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors.
5 Therefore, as Aaron
entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was
speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with
him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do
not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good as thy people?
6 Thou also sayest,
except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of
our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou
that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we
do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save
all men.
7 Now Aaron said unto
him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their
sins?
8 And the man said
unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe
in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to
come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know
concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.
9 Now Aaron began to
open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also
concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption
for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the
atonement of his blood.
10 And it came to pass
as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and
began to mock him; and they would not hear the words which he spake.
11 Therefore, when he
saw that they would not hear his words, he departed out of their synagogue, and
came over to a village which was called Ani-Anti, and there he found Muloki
preaching the word unto them; and also Ammah and his brethren. And they
contended with many about the word.
12 And it came to pass
that they saw that the people would harden their hearts, therefore they
departed and came over into the land of Middoni. And they did preach the word
unto many, and few believed on the words which they taught.
13 Nevertheless, Aaron
and a certain number of his brethren were taken and cast into prison, and the
remainder of them fled out of the land of Middoni unto the regions round about.
14 And those who were
cast into prison suffered many things, and they were delivered by the hand of
Lamoni and Ammon, and they were fed and clothed. (Alma 21:1-14
We leave the account of Ammon and his missionary efforts,
and turn to an account of the missionary efforts of Aaron, Muloki, and their
brethren in the land of Jerusalem.
The city of Jerusalem was built by the Lamanites,
Amalekites, and the people of Amulon. This is the same Amulon who persecuted
Alma1 and his followers.
“And behold, they had found those priests of king Noah, in a
place which they called Amulon; and they had begun to possess the land of
Amulon and had begun to till the ground” (Mosiah 23:31).
“And it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes
of the king of the Lamanites; therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted unto
him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over his people, yea,
even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the land of
Shilom, and in the land of Amulon” (Mosiah 24:1).
The Lamanites were a hardened people. The Amalekites and
Amulonites (probably consisting primarily Nephite dissenters) were even more
so. They caused the Lamanites to continue be a hardened people.
When Aaron arrived in Jerusalem, he first preached to the
Amalekites. He found the Amalekites and Amulonites followed the order of Nehor.
When he began to preach, he was challenged by an Amalekite.
He question his teachings. He asked if he had seen an angel. He had. “And now
Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their
astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an angel of the Lord; and
his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth; and they knew that there was
nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to
tremble as though it would part asunder” (Mosiah 27:18).
Why, Aaron was asked, do angels not appear to them? Is he
better then they are?
Aaron has told them lest they repent, they will perish. How,
he was asked, does he know the thought and intent in their hearts. How could he
know they needed to repent. How does he know they aren’t a righteous people.
They built places to worship. They meet regularly to worship God. They believed
God will save all men.
Aaron asked them if they believed the Son of God will come
and redeem mankind from their sins? The man responded they did not believe he
knew any such thing. This is a foolish tradition.
The man rejected Aaron’s teachings because they did not believe
he could know any such thing. He could very well have been falling back on Sherem’s
apostate teaching. “And it came to pass that he began to preach among the
people, and to declare unto them that there should be no Christ. And he
preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did
that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ” (Jacob 7:2).
Aaron began to teach them from the scriptures. He taught
them about the coming of Christ. He taught them about the resurrection. He
taught them about the redemption of man.
“And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the
creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and
also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the
world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.
“And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of
himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through
faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death,
that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be
swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto
the king” (Alma 22:13-14).
He made it clear we can only be saved through Christ’s atonement.
King Benjamin taught this same principle. “And under this
head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free.
There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that
ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the
covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives” (Mosiah
5:8).
Alma told his son, Shiblon, “I have told you this that ye
may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means
whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life
and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness”
(Alma 38:9).
As he taught them, they became angry. They rejected his
teachings and began to mock him. Seeing they rejected his teachings, his
departed and went to the village of Ani-Anti. There, he found Muloki and Ammah
and his brethren teaching and contending with the people.
They had little success in Ani-Anti. A few did believe, but
most rejected their teachings. “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the
way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
Aaron and some of his brethren were cast into prison. “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” (Alma 20:2).
“Bondage often seems to be necessary to prepare a person for
conversion or salvation. After Aaron is freed (Alma 21:14–17), he and his
brothers are tremendously successful. It is as though they somehow need to go through
the experience of physical bondage in order to deliver others from spiritual
bondage. Further, the captivity suffered by such peoples as Alma’s group is
beyond what humans can solve, requiring the power of God to be shown directly: ‘They
were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it were the Lord their God’
(Mosiah 24:21).”[1]
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