Sons of Mosiah Teach the Lamanites

Event 89

Reference: Alma 21:1-23; 22:1-26

An account of the preaching of Aaron, and Muloki, and theirbrethren, to the Lamanites.NOW when Ammon and his brethren separated themselvesin the borders of the land of the Lamanites, behold Aarontook his journey towards the land which was called by theLamanites, Jerusalem, calling it after the land of theirfathers’ nativity; and it was away joining the borders ofMormon. 2 Now the Lamanites and the Amalekites and thepeople of Amulon had built a great city, which was calledJerusalem. 3 Now the Lamanites of themselves weresufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and theAmulonites were still harder; therefore they did cause theLamanites that they should harden their hearts, that theyshould wax strong in wickedness and their abominations.MormonLand ofJerusalem91 to 77 B.C.4 And it came to pass that Aaron came to the city ofJerusalem, and first began to preach to the Amalekites. Andhe began to preach to them in their synagogues, for theyhad built synagogues after the order of the Nehors; formany of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after theorder of the Nehors. 5 Therefore, as Aaron entered into oneof their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as hewas speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekiteand began to contend with him, saying:Synagogues inland of JerusalemWhat is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why donot angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good asthy people? 6 Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish.How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? Howknowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thouthat we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have builtsanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worshipGod. We do believe that God will save all men.Amalekite Man7 Now Aaron said unto him:MormonBelievest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankindfrom their sins?Aaron8 And the man said unto him:MormonWe do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do notbelieve in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thouAmalekite Man knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathersand also that our fathers did know concerning the things whichthey spake, of that which is to come.Amalekite ManSynagogues inland of Jerusalem91 to 77 B.C.9 Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto themconcerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning theresurrection of the dead, and that there could be noredemption for mankind save it were through the death andsufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.Mormon10 And it came to pass as he began to expound these thingsunto them they were angry with him, and began to mockhim; and they would not hear the words which he spake. 11Therefore, when he saw that they would not hear his words,he departed out of their synagogue, and came over to avillage which was called Ani-Anti, and there he foundMuloki preaching the word unto them; and also Ammahand his brethren. And they contended with many about theword.Village of Ani-Anti12 And it came to pass that they saw that the people wouldharden their hearts, therefore they departed and came overinto the land of Middoni. And they did preach the wordunto many, and few believed on the words which theytaught. 13 Nevertheless, Aaron and a certain number of hisbrethren were taken and cast into prison, and the remainderof them fled out of the land of Middoni unto the regionsround about. 14 And those who were cast into prisonsuffered many things, and they were delivered by the handof Lamoni and Ammon, and they were fed and clothed. 15And they went forth again to declare the word, and thusthey were delivered for the first time out of prison; and thusthey had suffered. 16 And they went forth whithersoeverthey were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the wordof God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in everyassembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted.Land of Middoni17 And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them,insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of thetruth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of thetraditions of their fathers, which were not correct.18 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni returnedfrom the land of Middoni to the land of Ishmael, which wasthe land of their inheritance. 19 And king Lamoni would notsuffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his servant. 20But he caused that there should be synagogues built in theLand of Ishmael land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or thepeople who were under his reign, should assemblethemselves together. 21 And he did rejoice over them, andhe did teach them many things. And he did also declareunto them that they were a people who were under him, andthat they were a free people, that they were free from theoppressions of the king, his father; for that his father hadgranted unto him that he might reign over the people whowere in the land of Ishmael, and in all the land round about.MormonLand of Ishmael91 to 77 B.C.22 And he also declared unto them that they might have theliberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to theirdesires, in whatsoever place they were in, if it were in theland which was under the reign of king Lamoni. 23 AndAmmon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and itcame to pass that he did teach them all things concerningthings pertaining to righteousness. And he did exhort themdaily, with all diligence; and they gave heed unto his word,and they were zealous for keeping the commandments ofGod.1 NOW, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamonicontinually, we will return to the account of Aaron and hisbrethren; for after he departed from the land of Middoni hewas led by the Spirit to the land of Nephi, even to the houseof the king which was over all the land save it were the landof Ishmael; and he was the father of Lamoni.Land of Nephi2 And it came to pass that he went in unto him into theking’s palace, with his brethren, and bowed himself beforethe king, and said unto him:King’s palace inland of NephiBehold, O king, we are the brethren of Ammon, whom thou hastdelivered out of prison. 3 And now, O king, if thou wilt spare ourlives, we will be thy servants.AaronAnd the king said unto them:MormonArise, for I will grant unto you your lives, and I will not suffer thatye shall be my servants; but I will insist that ye shall administerunto me; for I have been somewhat troubled in mind because ofthe generosity and the greatness of the words of thy brotherAmmon; and I desire to know the cause why he has not come upout of Middoni with thee.The King4 And Aaron said unto the king:MormonBehold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he hasgone to the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of Lamoni.Aaron 5 Now the king said unto them:MormonKing’s palace inland of Nephi91 to 77 B.C.What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord?Behold, this is the thing which doth trouble me. 6 And also, whatis this that Ammon said—The KingIf ye will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent, yeshall be cast off at the last day?Ammon7 And Aaron answered him and said unto him:MormonBelievest thou that there is a God?AaronAnd the king said:MormonI know that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I havegranted unto them that they should build sanctuaries, that they mayassemble themselves together to worship him. And if now thousayest there is a God, behold I will believe.The King8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began torejoice, and he said:MormonBehold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God.Aaron9 And the king said:MormonIs God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land ofJerusalem?The King10 And Aaron said unto him:MormonYea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both inheaven and in earth. Believest thou this?Aaron11 And he said:MormonYea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desirethat ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I willbelieve thy words.The King12 And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the kingwould believe his words, he began from the creation ofAdam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how Godcreated man after his own image, and that God gave himcommandments, and that because of transgression, man hadfallen. 13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scripturesfrom the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man beforehim, 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 hisname.Mormon14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything ofhimself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; andthat he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shallhave no victory, and that the sting of death should beswallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expoundall these things unto the king.MormonKing’s palace inland of Nephi91 to 77 B.C.15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded thesethings unto him, the king said:What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hastspoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, havingthis wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit,that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the lastday?The KingBehold, said he,MormonI will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom,that I may receive this great joy.The King16 But Aaron said unto him:MormonIf thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea,if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God,and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, thenshalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.Aaron17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said thesewords, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon hisknees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth,and cried mightily, saying:Mormon18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is aGod, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me,and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may beraised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.The KingAnd now when the king had said these words, he was struckas if he were dead.Mormon19 And it came to pass that his servants ran and told thequeen all that had happened unto the king. And she came inunto the king; and when she saw him lay as if he were dead,and also Aaron and his brethren standing as though they hadbeen the cause of his fall, she was angry with them, andcommanded that her servants, or the servants of the king,should take them and slay them. 20 Now the servants hadseen the cause of the king’s fall, therefore they durst not laytheir hands on Aaron and his brethren; and they pled withthe queen saying: Why commandest thou that we should slay these men, whenbehold one of them is mightier than us all? Therefore we shall fallbefore them.King’s ServantsKing’s palace inland of Nephi91 to 77 B.C.21 Now when the queen saw the fear of the servants she alsobegan to fear exceedingly, lest there should some evil comeupon her. And she commanded her servants that they shouldgo and call the people, that they might slay Aaron and hisbrethren. 22 Now when Aaron saw the determination of thequeen, he, also knowing the hardness of the hearts of thepeople, feared lest that a multitude should assemblethemselves together, and there should be a great contentionand a disturbance among them; therefore he put forth hishand and raised the king from the earth, and said unto him:MormonStand.AaronAnd he stood upon his feet, receiving his strength. 23 Nowthis was done in the presence of the queen and many of theservants. And when they saw it they greatly marveled, andbegan to fear. And the king stood forth, and began tominister unto them. And he did minister unto them,insomuch that his whole household were converted unto theLord. 24 Now there was a multitude gathered togetherbecause of the commandment of the queen, and there beganto be great murmurings among them because of Aaron andhis brethren. 25 But the king stood forth among them andadministered unto them. And they were pacified towardsAaron and those who were with him.Mormon26 And it came to pass that when the king saw that thepeople were pacified, he caused that Aaron and his brethrenshould stand forth in the midst of the multitude, and thatthey should preach the word unto them.