Alma Jr. and the Missionary Buddies: Alma 17



Alma Jr.



Omner





Ammon



Aaron

Himni

1 And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land of ^aManti, behold, to his astonishment, he ^bmet with the ^csons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla.



Remember the angel?

  2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel ^afirst appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had ^bsearched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

They had read their scriptures diligently

 3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and ^afasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with ^bpower and authority of God.

 4 And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites, having had much ^asuccess in bringing many to the ^bknowledge of the truth; yea, by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of God, to call on his name and ^cconfess their sins before him.

 5 Now these are the circumstances which attended them in their journeyings, for they had many afflictions; they did suffer much, both in body and in mind, such as hunger, thirst and fatigue, and also much ^alabor in the spirit.

 6 Now these were their journeyings: Having ^ataken leave of their father, Mosiah, in the ^bfirst year of the judges; having ^crefused the kingdom which their father was desirous to confer upon them...

 7 Nevertheless they departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and took their swords, and their spears, and their bows, and their arrows, and their slings; and this they did that they might ^aprovide food for themselves while in the wilderness.

9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and ^aprayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an ^binstrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the ^ctraditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did ^avisit them with his ^bSpirit, and said unto them: Be ^ccomforted. And they were comforted.

 11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be ^apatient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good ^bexamples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.

 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 ^aseparated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their ^bharvest; 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 ^awild 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 ^acurse of God had fallen upon them because of the ^btraditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.

 16 Therefore, this was the ^acause 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.

 17 Therefore they separated themselves one from another, and went forth among them, every man alone, according to the word and power of God which was given unto him.

18 Now Ammon being the chief among them, or rather he did administer unto them, and he departed from them, after having ^ablessed them according to their several stations, having imparted the word of God unto them, or administered unto them before his departure; and thus they took their several journeys throughout the land...



King Lamoni, a Lamanite

   20 And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and ^abound him, as was their custom to bind all the Nephites who fell into their hands, and carry them before the king; and thus it was left to the pleasure of the king to slay them, or to retain them in captivity, or to cast them into prison, or to cast them out of his land, according to his will and pleasure.

 21 And thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni; and he was a descendant of Ishmael.

Ammon

 22 And the king inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people.

 23 And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to ^adwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.

 24 And it came to pass that king Lamoni was much pleased with Ammon, and caused that his bands should be loosed; and he would that Ammon should take one of his daughters to wife.

 25 But Ammon said unto him: Nay, but I will be thy servant. Therefore Ammon became a ^aservant to king Lamoni. And it came to pass that he was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni, according to the custom of the Lamanites.

 26 And after he had been in the service of the king three days, as he was with the Lamanitish servants going forth with their flocks to the place of ^awater, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive their flocks hither, that they may have water—

 27 Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving forth their flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain number of the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and ^ascattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fled many ways.

 28 Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already.

 29 Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to ^abelieve in my words.

 30 And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.

 31 And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us.

 32 And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks, and they did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and did gather them together again to the place of water.

 33 And those men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said unto his brethren: Encircle the flocks round about that they flee not; and I go and contend with these men who do scatter our flocks.

 34 Therefore, they did as Ammon commanded them, and he went forth and stood to contend with those who stood by the waters of Sebus; and they were in number not a few.

 35 Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would ^adeliver his sons out of their hands; neither did they know anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.

 36 But ^aAmmon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling; yea, with mighty power he did sling stones amongst them; and thus he slew a ^bcertain number of them insomuch that they began to be astonished at his power; nevertheless they were angry because of the slain of their brethren, and they were determined that he should fall; therefore, seeing that they ^ccould not hit him with their stones, they came forth with clubs to slay him.

 37 But behold, every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword; for he did withstand their blows by smiting their arms with the edge of his sword, insomuch that they began to be astonished, and began to flee before him; yea, and they were not few in number; and he caused them to flee by the strength of his arm.

 38 Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he ^aslew none save it were their leader with his sword; and he smote off as many of their arms as were lifted against him, and they were not a few.

 39 And when he had driven them afar off, he returned and they watered their flocks and returned them to the pasture of the king, and then went in unto the king, bearing the arms which had been smitten off by the sword of Ammon, of those who sought to slay him; and they were carried in unto the king for a testimony of the things which they had done.

Abish the Servant Does Her Missionarywork

First, an introduction:  Abish.  She was a worker at King Lamoni's palace who had a small but very important role in this story of missionarywork.  



Abish, the servant-missionary of King Lamoni

  

Remember that King Lamoni had fallen down, appearing to be dead, but actually just passed out, filled with the power of God, after his intense missionary discussion with Ammon. 

The scriptures say:

(Alma 19)

1 And it came to pass that after two days and two nights they were about to take his ^abody and lay it in a sepulchre, which they had made for the purpose of burying their dead.



King Lamoni



 2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.

 4 ...And she said unto him: The ^aservants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a ^bprophet of a holy God, and that thou hast ^cpower to do many mighty works in his name;

 5 Therefore, if this is the case, I would that ye should go in and see my husband, for he has been laid



upon his bed


        

 for the space of two days and two nights; and some say that he is not dead, but others say that he is dead and that he ^astinketh, and that he ought to be placed in the sepulchre; but as for myself, to me he doth not stink.




Queen Lamoni did not believe that her husband was dead, even when the servants said that he was dead.

 

 6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark ^aveil of ^bunbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the ^clight which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had ^dovercome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—

 7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead.

Ammon found great faith in Queen Lamoni

 8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.

 9 And Ammon said unto her: ^aBelievest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I ^bbelieve that it shall be according as thou hast said.

 10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the ^aNephites.

 11 And it came to pass that she watched

        over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise.

 12 And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.

 13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have ^aseen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be ^bborn of a ^cwoman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit.

 14 Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his ^aprayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God because of their iniquities and their ^btraditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with ^cjoy; and thus they all three had ^dsunk to the earth.

Ammon, Queen Lamoni, and King Lamoni all fell to the earth, overcome

 15 Now, when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was ^athey who had stood before the king and testified unto him concerning the great power of Ammon.

 16And it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord, in their might, even until they had all fallen to the earth, save it were one of the Lamanitish ^awomen, whose name was Abish, 

Abish, the servant-missionary of King Lamoni

she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father—

 17 Thus, having been converted to the Lord, and never having made it ^aknown, therefore, when she saw that all the servants of Lamoni had ^bfallen to the earth, and also her mistress, the queen, and the king, and Ammon lay ^cprostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power of God; and supposing that this opportunity, by making known unto the people what had happened among them, that by beholding this scene it would ^dcause them to believe in the power of God,  therefore she ran forth from house to house, making it known unto the people.

All the people gathered in to the King's house when Abish bid them to come

 18 And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the king. And there came a multitude, and to their astonishment, they beheld the king, and the queen, and their servants prostrate upon the earth, and they all lay there as though they were dead; and they also saw Ammon, and behold, he was a Nephite.

 19 And now the people began to murmur among themselves; some saying that it was a great evil that had come upon them, or upon the king and his house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should ^aremain in the land.

 20 But others rebuked them, saying: The king hath brought this evil upon his house, because he slew his servants who had had their flocks scattered at the ^awaters of Sebus.

 21 And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of Sebus and ^ascattered the flocks which belonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of their brethren at the waters of Sebus, while defending the flocks of the king.

 22 Now, one of them, whose brother had been ^aslain with the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry

 with Ammon, drew his sword       and went forth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword to smite him, behold, he fell dead.

Ammon could not be killed, both because of his faithfulness and
because of the promise of the Lord to his father, that his son would survive his mission

 23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the ^aLord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—therefore, Mosiah ^btrusted him unto the Lord.

 24 And it came to pass that when the multitude beheld that the man had fallen dead, who lifted the sword to slay Ammon, ^afear came upon them all, and they durst not put forth their hands to touch him or any of those who had fallen; and they began to marvel again among themselves what could be the cause of this great power, or what all these things could mean.

 25 And it came to pass that there were many among them who said that Ammon was the ^aGreat Spirit, and others said he was sent by the Great Spirit;

 26 But others rebuked them all, saying that he was a ^amonster, who had been sent from the Nephites to torment them.

 27 And there were some who said that Ammon was sent by the Great Spirit to afflict them because of their iniquities; and that it was the Great Spirit that had always attended the Nephites, who had ever delivered them out of their hands; and they said that it was this Great Spirit who had destroyed so many of their brethren, the Lamanites.

 28 And thus the contention began to be exceedingly sharp among them. And while they were thus contending, the ^awoman servant 

Abish, the servant-missionary of King Lamoni, took the queen by the hand

who had caused the multitude to be gathered together came, and when she saw the contention which was among the multitude she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears.

 29 And it came to pass that she went and took the queen by the ^ahand, that perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice, saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an ^bawful hell! O blessed God, have ^cmercy on this people!

 30 And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled with joy, speaking many words which were not understood; and when she had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he arose and stood upon his feet.

 31 And he, immediately, seeing the contention among his people, went forth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them the ^awords which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord.

 32 But there were ^amany among them who would not hear his words; therefore they went their way.

 33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been ^achanged; that they had no more desire to do ^bevil.

 34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen ^aangels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of God, and of his righteousness.

 35 And it came to pass that there were many that did ^abelieve in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.

 36 And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his ^aSpirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to ^ball people who will repent and believe on his name.



Abish, the servant-missionary of King Lamoni



Aaron and his brethren bring thousands of Lamanites to the gospel - Alma 23

 

The king's proclamation said that no one may hurt the missionaries



Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a ^aproclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on  Ammon, or

 Aaron, or Omner, or  Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land.





     

Ammon and Aaron







Omner



Himni

 2 Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their ^asynagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their ^bsanctuaries.

 ... for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and ^aall his ^bhousehold; 

The king and queen had been converted to the Lord

therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked ^ctraditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.

 4 And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from ^acity to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating ^bpriests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success.

They were taught the records
and the prophecies of God

 5 And ^athousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the ^btraditions of the Nephites; and they were taught the ^crecords and prophecies which were handed down even to the present time. 

 6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working ^amiracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were ^bconverted unto the Lord, ^cnever did fall away.

The converted Lamanites never did fall away from the gospel



Many were converted in many cities



 7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.

  16 ...The king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron

The king consulted with Aaron and others to find a new name
to call themselves:  they chose "Anti-Nephi-Lehis"

and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.

 17 And it came to pass that they called their names ^aAnti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called ^bLamanites.

 18 And they began to be a very ^aindustrious people...