Alma
39 verses
As Alma was traveling from the land of Gideon south toward the land of Manti, he was astonished to meet the sons of Mosiah on their way to the land of Zarahemla.
And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla.
The sons of Mosiah had been with Alma when the angel first appeared to him, so Alma was extremely happy to see his brothers again. What made him even happier was that they were still his brothers in the Lord, and they had grown strong in their knowledge of the truth. They were men of sound understanding who had studied the scriptures carefully so they could know the word of God.
Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first 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 searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
But that’s not all; they devoted themselves to much prayer and fasting. Because of this, they had the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with the power and authority of God.
But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.
They had been teaching the word of God among the Lamanites for fourteen years and had great success in helping many learn the truth. Through the power of their words, many came before the altar of God to pray and confess their sins to Him.
And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of God, to call on his name and confess their sins before him.
These are the circumstances they experienced during their journeys: they faced many hardships and suffered greatly, both physically and mentally, enduring hunger, thirst, fatigue, and also much spiritual labor.
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 labor in the spirit.
These were their travels: After saying goodbye to their father Mosiah in the first year of the judges, they turned down the kingdom their father wanted to give them, which was also what the people wanted.
Now these were their journeyings: Having taken leave of their father, Mosiah, in the first year of the judges; having refused the kingdom which their father was desirous to confer upon them, and also this was the minds of the people;
They left the land of Zarahemla and took their swords, spears, bows, arrows, and slings with them so they could provide food for themselves while they were in the wilderness.
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 provide food for themselves while in the wilderness.
So they left and went into the wilderness with the group they had chosen, to travel to the land of Nephi and preach the word of God to the Lamanites.
And thus they departed into the wilderness with their numbers which they had selected, to go up to the land of Nephi, to preach the word of God unto the Lamanites.
They traveled for many days in the wilderness, fasting and praying often that the Lord would give them a portion of His Spirit to go with them and stay with them, so they could be instruments in God’s hands to help, if possible, their brothers the Lamanites come to know the truth and recognize the false traditions of their ancestors, which were not correct.
And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed 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 instrument 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 traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.
The Lord visited them with his Spirit and said to them, “Be comforted. ” And they were comforted.
And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.
The Lord also said to them: Go among the Lamanites, your brothers, and teach my word. Be patient through long-suffering and afflictions, so you can be good examples to them through me. I will use you as instruments to help save many souls.
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.
The sons of Mosiah, and those with them, gained courage to go to the Lamanites to share the word of God.
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.
When they arrived at the borders of the land of the Lamanites, they separated and went their own ways, trusting in the Lord that they would meet again at the end of the harvest, because they believed the work they had taken on was very important.
And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken.
Their challenge was truly great, because they had decided to preach the word of God to a wild, hardened, and fierce people—a people who took pleasure in killing the Nephites, robbing, and plundering them. Their hearts were focused on riches, like gold, silver, and precious stones, and they tried to get these things by murdering and stealing, so they wouldn’t have to work for them themselves.
And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild 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.
They were a very lazy people, and many of them worshiped idols. The curse of God had come upon them because of their fathers’ traditions, but the Lord’s promises were still offered to them if they would repent.
Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.
This is why the sons of Mosiah had taken on this work—so they might help the people repent and come to understand the plan of redemption.
Therefore, this was the cause 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.
So they separated from each other and went out among the people, each man alone, following the word and power of God that had been given to him.
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.
Ammon was the leader among them, and he served them. After blessing them according to their different responsibilities and sharing the word of God with them before he left, he departed from them. Then they each went on their separate journeys throughout the land.
Now Ammon being the chief among them, or rather he did administer unto them, and he departed from them, after having blessed 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.
Ammon traveled to the land of Ishmael, which was named after the sons of Ishmael, who had also become Lamanites.
And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being called after the sons of Ishmael, who also became Lamanites.
As Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites captured him and tied him up, as was their custom with all Nephites who fell into their hands, and brought them before the king. It was then up to the king to decide whether to kill them, keep them in captivity, throw them into prison, or drive them out of his land, according to his will.
And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and bound 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.
So Ammon was brought before the king who ruled over the land of Ishmael. His name was Lamoni, and he was a descendant of Ishmael.
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.
The king asked Ammon if he wanted to live in the land among the Lamanites or among his own people.
And the king inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people.
Ammon said to him, "Yes, I want to live among this people for a while, and maybe even until the day I die.
And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.
King Lamoni was very pleased with Ammon and ordered that his bonds be loosened. He wanted Ammon to marry one of his daughters.
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.
But Ammon said to him, “No, but I will be your servant. ” So Ammon became a servant to King Lamoni, and he was placed with the other servants to watch over Lamoni’s flocks, according to the custom of the Lamanites.
But Ammon said unto him: Nay, but I will be thy servant. Therefore Ammon became a servant 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.
After he had served the king for three days, he went with the Lamanite servants to take their flocks to the place called the water of Sebus, where all the Lamanites bring their flocks to get water.
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 water, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive their flocks hither, that they may have water—
So, as Ammon and the king’s servants were driving their flocks to the watering place, a group of Lamanites who had already brought their flocks to water stood up and scattered the flocks of Ammon and the king’s servants, driving them in so many directions that the animals ran off in all directions.
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 scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fled many ways.
The king’s servants started to complain, saying, “Now the king will kill us, just like he did our brothers, because these men’s wickedness caused the flocks to scatter. ” They began to cry intensely, saying, “Our flocks are already scattered. ”
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.
They cried because they were afraid of being killed. When Ammon saw this, he was filled with joy and said, “I will show my power to these fellow servants, or the power that is in me, by bringing these flocks back to the king. Then I can win their hearts and lead them to believe my words. ”
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 believe in my words.
These were Ammon’s thoughts when he saw the suffering of those he called his brothers.
And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.
He encouraged them, saying, "My brothers, be hopeful and let’s go look for the flocks. We’ll gather them and bring them back to the watering place. In this way, we’ll save the flocks for the king, and he won’t kill us.
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.
They searched for the flocks and followed Ammon. They ran quickly, got ahead of the king’s flocks, and gathered them together again at the watering place.
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.
The men tried again to scatter the flocks, but Ammon told his brothers, “Surround the flocks so they don’t run away, and I will go and deal with the men who are scattering them. ”
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.
So they did as Ammon told them, and he went out and stood to face those who were by the waters of Sebus; and there were many of them.
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.
So they weren’t afraid of Ammon, because they thought any one of them could kill him whenever they wanted. They didn’t know that the Lord had promised Mosiah he would protect his sons from them, and they didn’t know anything about the Lord. Because of this, they enjoyed destroying their own people, and that’s why they tried to scatter the king’s flocks.
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 deliver 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.
Ammon stepped forward and started throwing stones at them with his sling. With great power, he hurled stones among them and killed several of them, which amazed them because of his strength. Still, they were angry because their brothers had been killed, and they were determined to kill him. When they saw they couldn't hit him with their stones, they came at him with clubs to kill him.
But Ammon 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 certain 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 could not hit him with their stones, they came forth with clubs to slay him.
Every man who raised his club to strike Ammon had his arm cut off by Ammon’s sword, because he defended himself by striking their arms with the edge of his sword. They became so astonished that they began to run away from him, and there were many of them. He made them flee by the strength of his arm.
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.
Six of them had been killed by the sling, but he killed only their leader with his sword. He cut off many of their arms as they were raised against him, and there were many.
Now six of them had fallen by the sling, but he slew 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.
After he had chased them far away, he returned, and they watered their flocks and brought them back to the king’s pasture. Then they went in to the king, carrying the arms that had been cut off by Ammon’s sword from those who had tried to kill him, and they brought them to the king as evidence of what they had done.
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.