CHAPTER XIX.
THE MISSION OF THE SONS OF MOSIAH TO THE LAMANITES—THEIR JOURNEY IN THE WILDERNESS—AMMON BROUGHT BEFORE KING LAMONI—THE CONFLICT AT THE WATERS OF SEBUS—THE MIRACULOUS CONVERSION OF LAMONI AND HIS FAMILY—ABISH THE WAITING WOMAN.
(ALMA CHAP. 17 TO 19.)
BEFORE we take up the history of the Nephites, during the reigns of their judges, we will follow the sons of Mosiah and their brethren to the land of Nephi, on the perilous mission that they had undertaken, to convert the Lamanites. The names of the four sons of Mosiah were Aaron, Ammon, Omner and Himni; amongst their companions were Muloki and Ammah.
These all took their journey into the southern wilderness during the last year of Mosiah's reign, or B. C. 91. They carried with them their bows and arrows and other weapons, not to wage war but to kill game for their food in the wilderness. Their journey was a tedious one; they lost their way and almost lost heart, and indeed were on the point of returning when they received divine assurance of their ultimate success. Nerved by this assurance, and with much fasting and prayer, they continued their wanderings, and before long reached the borders of the Lamanites. Commending themselves to God they here separated, each one trusting to the Lord to guide him to the place where he could best accomplish the purposes of heaven.
Ammon entered the Lamanite territory at a land called Ishmael. Here Lamoni was the chief ruler, under his father, who was king of all the Lamanites. Ammon was no sooner discovered than he was taken, bound with cords and conducted into the presence of Lamoni. It was the custom of the Lamanites to so use every Nephite they captured, and it rested with the whim of the king whether the captive be slain, imprisoned or sent out of the country. The king's will and pleasure were the only law on such matters.
Through God's grace, Ammon found favor in the eyes of Lamoni, and, learning that it was his desire to reside amongst the Lamanites, the king offered him one of his daughters to wife. Ammon courteously declined this intended honor and begged to be accepted as one of the king's servants, which arrangement pleased Lamoni, and Ammon was placed in that part of the royal household that had charge of the monarch's flocks and herds.
A glance at Lamanite society may not here be out of place. It would appear that in Lamoni's days the will of the sovereign was the law of the land. The king's power over the lives and property of his subjects was unlimited. We read of no constitution that prescribed or limited his authority. The more degraded portions of the race wandered in the vast wilderness, dwelling in tents, and subsisting on what they killed in the chase or stole. The more civilized Lamanites resided in cities, were wealthy in cattle, and followed the occupations general among semi-civilized races.