1 NOW it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, from this time forward, king Mosiah having ^agone the way of all the earth, having warred a good warfare, walking uprightly before God, leaving none to reign in his stead; nevertheless he had established ^blaws , and they were acknowledged by the people; therefore they were obliged to abide by the ^claws which he had made.
 2 And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgment-seat, there was a ^aman brought before him to be judged, a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength.
 3 And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he ^atermed to be the word of God, bearing down ^bagainst the church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become ^cpopular ; and they ought ^dnot to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people.
 4 And he also testified unto the people that ^aall mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they ^bneed not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had ^ccreated all men, and had also ^dredeemed ^eall men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.
 5 And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him ^amoney .
 6 And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly ^aapparel , yea, and even began to ^bestablish a ^cchurch after the manner of his preaching.
 7 And it came to pass as he was going, to preach to those who believed on his word, he met a man who belonged to the church of God, yea, even one of their ^ateachers ; and he began to contend with him sharply, that he might lead away the people of the church; but the man withstood him, admonishing him with the ^bwords of God.
 8 Now the name of the man was ^aGideon ; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage.
 9 Now, because Gideon withstood him with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his sword and began to smite him. Now Gideon being ^astricken with many years, therefore he was not able to withstand his blows, therefore he was ^bslain by the sword.
 10 And the man who slew him was taken by the people of the church, and was brought before Alma, to be ^ajudged according to the crimes which he had committed.
 11 And it came to pass that he stood before Alma and pleaded for himself with much boldness.
 12 But Alma said unto him: Behold, this is the first time that ^apriestcraft has been introduced among this people. And behold, thou art not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were ^bpriestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction.
 13 And thou hast shed the ^ablood of a righteous man, yea, a man who has done much good among this people; and were we to spare thee his blood would come upon us for ^bvengeance .
 14 Therefore thou art condemned to ^adie , according to the ^blaw which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and it has been ^cacknowledged by this people; therefore this people must ^dabide by the law.
 15 And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was ^aNehor ; and they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti, and there he was caused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth, that what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious ^bdeath .
 16 Nevertheless, this did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching ^afalse doctrines; and this they did for the sake of ^briches and honor.
 17 Nevertheless, they durst not ^alie , if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished; therefore they pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any man for ^bhis belief.
 18 And they durst not ^asteal , for fear of the law, for such were punished; neither durst they rob, nor murder, for he that ^bmurdered was punished unto ^cdeath .
 19 But it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church of God began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God, and had taken upon them the name of Christ.
 20 Yea, they did persecute them, and afflict them with all manner of words, and this because of their humility; because they were not proud in their own eyes, and because they did impart the word of God, one with another, without ^amoney and without price.
 21 Now there was a strict law among the people of the church, that there should ^anot any man, belonging to the church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no persecution among themselves.
 22 Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with their ^afists .
 23 Now this was in the *second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a cause of much affliction to the church; yea, it was the cause of much trial with the church.
 24 For the hearts of many were hardened, and their names were ^ablotted out, that they were remembered no more among the people of God. And also many ^bwithdrew themselves from among them.
 25 Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were ^asteadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with ^bpatience the persecution which was heaped upon them.
 26 And when the priests left their ^alabor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man ^baccording to his strength.
 27 And they did ^aimpart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the ^bpoor , and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly ^capparel , yet they were neat and comely.
 28 And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.
 29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly ^arich , having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of ^bsilk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely ^ccloth .
 30 And thus, in their ^aprosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were ^bnaked , or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon ^criches ; therefore they were ^dliberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no ^erespect to persons as to those who stood in need.
 31 And thus they did ^aprosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church.
 32 For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in ^asorceries , and in ^bidolatry or ^cidleness , and in ^dbabblings , and in ^eenvyings and ^fstrife ; wearing costly apparel; being ^glifted up in the pride of their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms, and murdering, and all manner of wickedness; nevertheless, the law was put in force upon all those who did transgress it, inasmuch as it was possible.
 33 And it came to pass that by thus exercising the law upon them, every man suffering according to that which he had done, they became more still, and durst not commit any wickedness if it were known; therefore, there was much peace among the people of Nephi until the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

* Verse 23  [About 90 B.C.].

 1 AND it came to pass in the commencement of the *fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain ^aman , being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew ^bGideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—
 2 Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, ^adrawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be a king over the people.
 3 Now this was alarming to the people of the church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after the persuasions of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things must be established by the ^avoice of the people.
 4 Therefore, if it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a wicked man, would ^adeprive them of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the church of God.
 5 And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and wonderful ^acontentions one with another.
 6 And thus they did assemble themselves together to cast in their ^avoices concerning the matter; and they were laid before the judges.
 7 And it came to pass that the ^avoice of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king over the people.
 8 Now this did cause much joy in the hearts of those who were against him; but Amlici did stir up those who were in his favor to anger against those who were not in his favor.
 9 And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did ^aconsecrate Amlici to be their king.
 10 Now when Amlici was made king over them he commanded them that they should take up arms against their brethren; and this he did that he might subject them to him.
 11 Now the people of Amlici were distinguished by the name of Amlici, being called ^aAmlicites ; and the remainder were ^bcalled Nephites, or the people of God.
 12 Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of ^aweapons of war, of every kind.
 13 And thus they were prepared to meet the Amlicites at the time of their coming. And there were appointed ^acaptains , and higher captains, and chief captains, according to their numbers.
 14 And it came to pass that Amlici did arm his men with all manner of weapons of war of every kind; and he also appointed rulers and leaders over his people, to lead them to war against their brethren.
 15 And it came to pass that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the ^ariver Sidon, which ran by the ^bland of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war with the Nephites.
 16 Now Alma, being the ^achief judge and the ^bgovernor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to battle.
 17 And they began to slay the Amlicites upon the hill east of Sidon. And the Amlicites did contend with the Nephites with great strength, insomuch that many of the Nephites did fall before the Amlicites.
 18 Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to flee before them.
 19 And it came to pass that the Nephites did pursue the Amlicites all that day, and did slay them with much slaughter, insomuch that there were ^aslain of the Amlicites twelve thousand five hundred thirty and two souls; and there were slain of the Nephites six thousand five hundred sixty and two souls.
 20 And it came to pass that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people should pitch their tents in the ^avalley of Gideon, the valley being called after that Gideon who was slain by the hand of ^bNehor with the sword; and in this valley the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.
 21 And Alma sent spies to follow the remnant of the Amlicites, that he might know of their plans and their plots, whereby he might guard himself against them, that he might preserve his people from being destroyed.
 22 Now those whom he had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites were called Zeram, and Amnor, and Manti, and Limher; these were they who went out with their men to watch the camp of the Amlicites.
 23 And it came to pass that on the morrow they returned into the camp of the Nephites in great haste, being greatly astonished, and struck with much fear, saying:
 24 Behold, we followed the ^acamp of the ^bAmlicites , and to our great astonishment, in the land of Minon, above the land of Zarahemla, in the course of the land of ^cNephi , we saw a numerous host of the Lamanites; and behold, the Amlicites have joined them;
 25 And they are upon our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing before them with their flocks, and their wives, and their children, towards our city; and except we make haste they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our children be slain.
 26 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi took their tents, and departed out of the valley of Gideon towards their ^acity , which was the city of ^bZarahemla .
 27 And behold, as they were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites and the Amlicites, being as ^anumerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea, came upon them to destroy them.
 28 Nevertheless, the Nephites being ^astrengthened by the hand of the Lord, having prayed mightily to him that he would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, therefore the Lord did hear their cries, and did strengthen them, and the Lamanites and the Amlicites did fall before them.
 29 And it came to pass that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword, face to face; and they did contend mightily, one with another.
 30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much ^afaith , cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and ^bspare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people.
 31 Now when Alma had said these words he contended again with Amlici; and he was strengthened, insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword.
 32 And he also contended with the king of the Lamanites; but the king of the Lamanites fled back from before Alma and sent his guards to contend with Alma.
 33 But Alma, with his guards, contended with the guards of the king of the Lamanites until he slew and drove them back.
 34 And thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west of the river Sidon, throwing the bodies of the Lamanites who had been slain into the waters of Sidon, that thereby his people might have room to cross and contend with the Lamanites and the Amlicites on the west side of the river Sidon.
 35 And it came to pass that when they had all crossed the river Sidon that the Lamanites and the Amlicites began to flee before them, notwithstanding they were so numerous that they could not be numbered.
 36 And they fled before the Nephites towards the wilderness which was west and north, away beyond the borders of the land; and the Nephites did pursue them with their might, and did slay them.
 37 Yea, they were met on every hand, and slain and driven, until they were scattered on the west, and on the north, until they had reached the wilderness, which was called Hermounts; and it was that part of the wilderness which was infested by wild and ravenous beasts.
 38 And it came to pass that many died in the wilderness of their wounds, and were devoured by those beasts and also the vultures of the air; and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the earth.

* Verse 1  [87 B.C.].

 1 AND it came to pass that the Nephites who were not ^aslain by the weapons of war, after having buried those who had been slain—now the number of the slain were not numbered, because of the greatness of their number—after they had finished burying their dead they all returned to their lands, and to their houses, and their wives, and their children.
 2 Now many women and children had been slain with the sword, and also many of their flocks and their herds; and also many of their fields of grain were destroyed, for they were trodden down by the hosts of men.
 3 And now as many of the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been slain upon the bank of the river Sidon were cast into the ^awaters of Sidon; and behold their bones are in the depths of the ^bsea , and they are many.
 4 And the ^aAmlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had ^bmarked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites.
 5 Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were ^anaked , save it were skin which was girded about their loins, and also their armor, which was girded about them, and their bows, and their arrows, and their stones, and their slings, and so forth.
 6 And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a ^acurse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.
 7 And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a ^amark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women.
 8 And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not ^amix and believe in incorrect ^btraditions which would prove their destruction.
 9 And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed.
 10 Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under that head, and there was a mark set upon him.
 11 And it came to pass that whosoever would not believe in the ^atradition of the Lamanites, but believed those records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the tradition of their fathers, which were correct, who believed in the commandments of God and kept them, were ^bcalled the Nephites, or the people of Nephi, from that time forth—
 12 And it is they who have kept the records which are ^atrue of their people, and also of the people of the Lamanites.
 13 Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a ^amark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads.
 14 Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be ^aseparated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and ^bturn to me that I may have mercy upon them.
 15 And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also.
 16 And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed.
 17 And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed.
 18 Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open ^arebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.
 19 Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the ^acurse ; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation.
 20 Now it came to pass that not many days after the battle which was fought in the land of Zarahemla, by the Lamanites and the Amlicites, that there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of Nephi, in the ^asame place where the first army met the Amlicites.
 21 And it came to pass that there was an army sent to drive them out of their land.
 22 Now Alma himself being afflicted with a ^awound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites;
 23 But he sent up a numerous army against them; and they went up and slew many of the Lamanites, and drove the remainder of them out of the borders of their land.
 24 And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the land, being troubled no more for a time with their enemies.
 25 Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and contentions were commenced and ended in the *fifth year of the reign of the judges.
 26 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their ^arewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.
 27 For every man receiveth ^awages of him whom he listeth to ^bobey , and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

* Verse 25  [87 B.C.].

 1 NOW it came to pass in the *sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the ^aland of Zarahemla;
 2 But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the ^aloss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by the Lamanites.
 3 And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they were ^aawakened to a remembrance of their duty.
 4 And they began to establish the ^achurch more fully; yea, and many were ^bbaptized in the ^cwaters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated the ^dhigh priest over the people of the church, by the hand of his father Alma.
 5 And it came to pass in the *seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the ^achurch of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time.
 6 And it came to pass in the *eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding ^ariches , and their ^bfine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their ^cindustry ; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly ^dapparel .
 7 Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many of the people whom Alma had consecrated to be ^ateachers , and ^bpriests , and ^celders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people.
 8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their ^ahearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did ^bnot believe according to their own will and pleasure.
 9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great ^acontentions among the people of the church; yea, there were ^benvyings , and ^cstrife , and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.
 10 And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great ^astumbling -block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.
 11 And it came to pass in the *commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the ^aexample of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.
 12 Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the ^aneedy and the naked and those who were ^bhungry , and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted.
 13 Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the ^apoor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of ^bafflictions , for Christ’s ^csake , who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;
 14 Looking forward to that day, thus ^aretaining a ^bremission of their sins; being filled with great ^cjoy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and ^ddeliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.
 15 And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their ^ainequality , began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.
 16 And he selected a wise man who was among the ^aelders of the church, and gave him power according to the ^bvoice of the people, that he might have power to enact ^claws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.
 17 Now this man’s name was ^aNephihah , and he was appointed ^bchief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people.
 18 Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being ^ahigh priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto ^bNephihah .
 19 And this he did that he ^ahimself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might ^bpreach the ^cword of God unto them, to ^dstir them up in ^eremembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure ^ftestimony against them.
 20 And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to ^aNephihah , and confined himself wholly to the ^bhigh priesthood of the holy order of God, to the ^ctestimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy.

* Verse 1  [86 B.C.]; Verse 5  [85 B.C.]; Verse 6  [84 B.C.]; Verse 11  [83 B.C.].

 1 NOW it came to pass that *Alma began to ^adeliver the word of ^bGod unto the people, first in the land of Zarahemla, and from thence throughout all the land.
 2 And these are the words which he spake to the people in the church which was established in the city of Zarahemla, according to his own record, saying:
 3 I, Alma, having been ^aconsecrated by my father, Alma, to be a ^bhigh priest over the church of God, he having power and ^cauthority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the ^dland which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon.
 4 And behold, I say unto you, they were ^adelivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.
 5 And behold, after that, they were brought into ^abondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of ^bbondage by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also.
 6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in ^aremembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has ^bdelivered their souls from hell?
 7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the ^abands of death, and the ^bchains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.
 8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.
 9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the ^achains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did ^bsing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.
 10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they ^asaved ? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?
 11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the ^amouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?
 12 And according to his faith there was a mighty ^achange wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.
 13 And behold, he ^apreached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their ^btrust in the true and ^cliving God. And behold, they were faithful until the ^dend ; therefore they were saved.
 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?
 15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who ^acreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption ^braised in incorruption, to stand before God to be ^cjudged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
 16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye ^ablessed , for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?
 17 Or do ye ^aimagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and ^bsay —Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?
 18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect ^aremembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?
 19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the ^aimage of God engraven upon your countenances?
 20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become ^asubjects to the devil?
 21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be ^asaved ; for there can no man be saved except his ^bgarments are washed white; yea, his garments must be ^cpurified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
 22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with ^ablood and all manner of ^bfilthiness ? Behold, what will these things testify against you?
 23 Behold will they not ^atestify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are ^bguilty of all manner of wickedness?
 24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with ^aAbraham , with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?
 25 I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the ^achildren of the kingdom of the devil.
 26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a ^achange of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the ^bsong of redeeming love, I would ask, ^ccan ye feel so now?
 27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves ^ablameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently ^bhumble ? That your garments have been ^ccleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to ^dredeem his people from their sins?
 28 Behold, are ye stripped of ^apride ? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.
 29 Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of ^aenvy ? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared; and I would that he should prepare ^bquickly , for the hour is close at hand, and he knoweth not when the time shall come; for such an one is not found guiltless.
 30 And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a ^amock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?
 31 Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the ^atime is at hand that he must repent or he cannot be saved!
 32 Yea, even wo unto all ye ^aworkers of iniquity; repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it!
 33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto ^aall men, for the ^barms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
 34 Yea, he saith: ^aCome unto me and ye shall partake of the ^bfruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the ^cbread and the waters of life ^dfreely ;
 35 Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire—
 36 For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever ^abringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the works of righteousness, the same have cause to wail and mourn.
 37 O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are ^apuffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone ^bastray , as ^csheep having no ^dshepherd , notwithstanding a shepherd hath ^ecalled after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not ^fhearken unto his voice!
 38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good ^ashepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not ^bhearken unto the voice of the ^cgood shepherd, to the ^dname by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.
 39 And now if ye are not the ^asheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the ^bdevil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth this is a ^cliar and a ^dchild of the devil.
 40 For I say unto you that whatsoever is ^agood cometh from God, and whatsoever is ^bevil cometh from the devil.
 41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth ^agood works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a ^bchild of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.
 42 And whosoever doeth this must receive his ^awages of him; therefore, for his ^bwages he receiveth ^cdeath , as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto all good works.
 43 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should hear me, for I speak in the ^aenergy of my soul; for behold, I have spoken unto you plainly that ye cannot err, or have spoken according to the commandments of God.
 44 For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the ^aholy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.
 45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I ^aknow of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
 46 Behold, I say unto you they are made ^aknown unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have ^bfasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of ^crevelation which is in me.
 47 And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.
 48 I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.
 49 And now I say unto you that this is the ^aorder after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be ^bborn again.
 50 Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his ^aglory , in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the ^bKing of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men.
 51 And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying: Go forth and say unto this people—Repent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the ^akingdom of ^bheaven .
 52 And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ^aax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be ^bhewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it.
 53 And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and ^atrample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be ^bpuffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of ^ccostly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your ^driches ?
 54 Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God, wherewith they have been brought into this church, having been ^asanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for repentance—
 55 Yea, and will you persist in turning your backs upon the ^apoor , and the needy, and in withholding your substance from them?
 56 And finally, all ye that will persist in your wickedness, I say unto you that these are they who shall be hewn down and cast into the fire except they speedily repent.
 57 And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the ^agood shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye ^bseparate , and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names shall be ^cblotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my people;
 58 For the names of the righteous shall be written in the ^abook of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritance at my right hand. And now, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say unto you, if ye speak against it, it matters not, for the word of God must be fulfilled.
 59 For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his ^aflock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him.
 60 And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.
 61 And now I, Alma, do command you in the language of ^ahim who hath commanded me, that ye observe to do the words which I have spoken unto you.
 62 I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the ^atree of life.

* Verse 1  [About 83 B.C.].

 1 AND now it came to pass that after Alma had made an end of speaking unto the people of the church, which was established in the city of Zarahemla, he ^aordained priests and ^belders , by laying on his ^chands according to the order of God, to preside and ^dwatch over the church.
 2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church who ^arepented of their sins were baptized unto repentance, and were received into the church.
 3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not ^arepent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the ^bpride of their hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were ^cblotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.
 4 And thus they began to establish the order of the church in the ^acity of Zarahemla.
 5 Now I would that ye should understand that the word of God was liberal unto all, that none were deprived of the privilege of assembling themselves together to hear the word of God.
 6 Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in ^afasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.
 7 And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations he departed from them, yea, from the church which was in the city of Zarahemla, and went over upon the east of the ^ariver Sidon, into the ^bvalley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley that was called Gideon, being called after the man who was ^cslain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.
 8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the ^atestimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen.

 1 BEHOLD my beloved brethren, seeing that I have been permitted to come unto you, therefore I attempt to address you in my language; yea, by my ^aown mouth, seeing that it is the first time that I have spoken unto you by the words of my mouth, I having been wholly confined to the ^bjudgment -seat, having had much business that I could not come unto you.
 2 And even I could not have come now at this time were it not that the judgment-seat hath been ^agiven to another, to reign in my stead; and the Lord in much mercy hath granted that I should come unto you.
 3 And behold, I have come having great hopes and much desire that I should find that ye had humbled yourselves before God, and that ye had continued in the supplicating of his grace, that I should find that ye were blameless before him, that I should find that ye were not in the awful ^adilemma that our brethren were in at Zarahemla.
 4 But blessed be the name of God, that he hath given me to know, yea, hath given unto me the exceedingly great joy of knowing that they are established again in the way of his righteousness.
 5 And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I shall also have joy over you; nevertheless I do not desire that my joy over you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow which I have had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow.
 6 But behold, I trust that ye are not in a state of so much unbelief as were your brethren; I trust that ye are not lifted up in the pride of your hearts; yea, I trust that ye have not set your hearts upon riches and the vain things of the world; yea, I trust that you do not worship ^aidols , but that ye do worship the true and the ^bliving God, and that ye look forward for the remission of your sins, with an everlasting faith, which is to come.
 7 For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all—for behold, the ^atime is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people.
 8 Behold, I do not say that he will come among us at the ^atime of his dwelling in his mortal tabernacle; for behold, the Spirit hath not said unto me that this should be the case. Now as to this thing I do not know; but this much I do know, that the Lord God hath power to do all things which are according to his word.
 9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying—^aRepent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God ^bcometh upon the face of the earth.
 10 And behold, he shall be ^aborn of Mary, at ^bJerusalem which is the ^cland of our forefathers, she being a ^dvirgin , a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and ^econceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
 12 And he will take upon him ^adeath , that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.
 13 Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
 14 Now I say unto you that ye must ^arepent , and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
 15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth ^abeset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
 16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will ^aremember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.
 17 And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy.
 18 For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of ^adilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been gratified.
 19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his ^apaths straight.
 20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot ^awalk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.
 21 And he doth not dwell in ^aunholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is ^bfilthy shall remain in his filthiness.
 22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.
 23 And now I would that ye should be ^ahumble , and be ^bsubmissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.
 24 And see that ye have ^afaith , hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.
 25 And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with ^aAbraham , Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments ^bspotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.
 26 And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word.
 27 And now, may the ^apeace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen.

 1 AND now it came to pass that Alma returned from the ^aland of Gideon, after having taught the people of Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the ^border of the church, according as he had before done in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he had performed.
 2 And thus ended the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
 3 And it came to pass in the commencement of the *tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of ^aMelek , on the west of the ^briver Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness.
 4 And he began to teach the people in the land of Melek according to the ^aholy order of God, by which he had been called; and he began to teach the people throughout all the land of Melek.
 5 And it came to pass that the people came to him throughout all the borders of the land which was by the wilderness side. And they were baptized throughout all the land;
 6 So that when he had finished his work at Melek he departed thence, and traveled three days’ journey on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a city which was called ^aAmmonihah .
 7 Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small villages, after the ^aname of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah.
 8 And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of God unto them.
 9 Now Satan had gotten great ^ahold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.
 10 Nevertheless Alma ^alabored much in the spirit, ^bwrestling with God in ^cmighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.
 11 Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.
 12 And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the judgment-seat unto ^aNephihah ; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.
 13 Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and ^areviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be ^bcast out of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron.
 14 And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much ^atribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an ^bangel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:
 15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that ^adelivered it unto you.
 16 And behold, I am sent to ^acommand thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will ^bdestroy them.
 17 For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord) which is contrary to the ^astatutes , and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto his people.
 18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.
 19 And as ^ahe entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?
 20 And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an ^aangel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will impart unto thee of my ^bfood ; and I know that thou wilt be a blessing unto me and my house.
 21 And it came to pass that the man received him into his house; and the man was called Amulek; and he brought forth bread and meat and set before Alma.
 22 And it came to pass that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he ^ablessed Amulek and his house, and he gave thanks unto God.
 23 And after he had eaten and was filled he said unto Amulek: I am Alma, and am the ^ahigh priest over the church of God throughout the land.
 24 And behold, I have been called to preach the word of God among all this people, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy; and I was in this land and they would not receive me, but they ^acast me out and I was about to set my back towards this land forever.
 25 But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and prophesy unto this people, yea, and to testify against them concerning their iniquities.
 26 And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed; for I was an hungered, for I had fasted many days.
 27 And Alma ^atarried many days with Amulek before he began to preach unto the people.
 28 And it came to pass that the people did wax more gross in their iniquities.
 29 And the word came to Alma, saying: Go; and also say unto my servant ^aAmulek , go forth and prophesy unto this people, saying—Repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my ^bfierce anger away.
 30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
 31 And they had ^apower given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their ^bpower until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them.
 32 And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them.

* Verse 3  [82 B.C.].

 1 AND again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people who were in the city of ^aAmmonihah , it came to pass as I began to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:
 2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of ^aone man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?
 3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew not that the earth should pass away.
 4 And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be destroyed in ^aone day.
 5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous ^aworks , for they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.
 6 And they said: ^aWho is God, that sendeth ^bno more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?
 7 And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly testify unto them, saying:
 8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse ^ageneration , how have ye forgotten the ^btradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God.
 9 Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the ^ahand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?
 10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he ^adelivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?
 11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his ^along -suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of ^bendless misery and woe.
 12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly ^adestroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his ^banger , and in his ^cfierce anger he will not turn away.
 13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: ^aInasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
 14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been ^acut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.
 15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more ^atolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.
 16 For there are many promises which are ^aextended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the ^btraditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ^cignorance ; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and ^dprolong their existence in the land.
 17 And at some period of time they will be ^abrought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who ^bcall on his name.
 18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be ^aprolonged in the land, for the ^bLamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with ^cutter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce ^danger of the Lord.
 19 For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to ^adestroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could ^bfall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God;
 20 Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been favored above every other ^anation , kindred, tongue, or people; after having had all things ^bmade known unto them, according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come;
 21 Having been ^avisited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of ^btranslation ;
 22 Yea, and after having been ^adelivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having been ^bsaved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they having waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out of ^cbondage time after time, and having been kept and preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich in all manner of things—
 23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress ^acontrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more ^btolerable for the Lamanites than for them.
 24 For behold, the ^apromises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall ^butterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth?
 25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: ^aRepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
 26 And ^anot many days hence the Son of God shall come in his ^bglory ; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of ^cgrace , equity, and truth, full of patience, ^dmercy , and long-suffering, quick to ^ehear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
 27 And behold, he cometh to ^aredeem those who will be ^bbaptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.
 28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a ^areward of their ^bworks , according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall ^creap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the ^ddamnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
 29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people.
 30 And now, my ^abeloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and seeing that ye are a ^blost and a fallen people.
 31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard-hearted and a ^astiffnecked people.
 32 And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands upon me, that they might cast me into prison.
 33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they should take me ^aat that time and cast me into prison.
 34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to preach unto them also. And now the ^awords of Amulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.

 1 NOW these are the ^awords which ^bAmulek preached unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah, saying:
 2 I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was the same Aminadi who interpreted the ^awriting which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.
 3 And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of ^aManasseh , who was the son of ^bJoseph who was ^csold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.
 4 And behold, I am also a man of no small ^areputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and ^bfriends , and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my ^cindustry .
 5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his ^amysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.
 6 Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was ^acalled many times and I would not ^bhear ; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling ^cagainst God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
 7 As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an ^aangel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has ^bfasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt ^creceive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.
 8 And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the ^aman whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.
 9 And the angel said unto me he is a ^aholy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an angel of God.
 10 And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his ^aangel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath ^bdwelt at my house.
 11 For behold, he hath ^ablessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake.
 12 And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was ^amore than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.
 13 Nevertheless, there were some among them who thought to question them, that by their cunning ^adevices they might catch them in their words, that they might ^bfind witness against them, that they might deliver them to their judges that they might be judged according to the law, and that they might be slain or cast into prison, according to the crime which they could make appear or witness against them.
 14 Now it was those men who sought to destroy them, who were ^alawyers , who were hired or appointed by the people to administer the law at their times of trials, or at the trials of the crimes of the people before the judges.
 15 Now these lawyers were learned in all the arts and ^acunning of the people; and this was to enable them that they might be skilful in their profession.
 16 And it came to pass that they began to question Amulek, that thereby they might make him ^across his words, or contradict the words which he should speak.
 17 Now they knew not that Amulek could ^aknow of their designs. But it came to pass as they began to question him, he ^bperceived their thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse ^cgeneration , ye lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye are laying ^dtraps and snares to catch the holy ones of God.
 18 Ye are laying plans to ^apervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter destruction of this people.
 19 Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom, having no one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by their own voices—yea, well did he say that if the time should come that the voice of this people should ^achoose iniquity, that is, if the time should come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction.
 20 And now I say unto you that well doth the Lord ^ajudge of your iniquities; well doth he cry unto this people, by the voice of his ^bangels : Repent ye, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
 21 Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that: ^aI will come down among my people, with equity and justice in my hands.
 22 Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the ^aprayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by ^bflood , as were the people in the days of ^cNoah , but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the ^dsword .
 23 But it is by the ^aprayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will ^bcast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the ^ctime is soon at hand except ye repent.
 24 And now it came to pass that the people were more angry with Amulek, and they cried out, saying: This man doth revile against our laws which are just, and our wise ^alawyers whom we have selected.
 25 But Amulek stretched forth his hand, and cried the mightier unto them, saying: O ye wicked and perverse generation, why hath Satan got such great hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves unto him that he may have power over you, to ^ablind your eyes, that ye will not understand the words which are spoken, according to their truth?
 26 For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation.
 27 And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the ^adestruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the ^bunrighteousness of your ^clawyers and your judges.
 28 And now it came to pass that when Amulek had spoken these words the people cried out against him, saying: Now we know that this man is a ^achild of the devil, for he hath ^blied unto us; for he hath spoken against our law. And now he says that he has not spoken against it.
 29 And again, he has reviled against our lawyers, and our judges.
 30 And it came to pass that the lawyers put it into their hearts that they should remember these things against him.
 31 And there was one among them whose name was Zeezrom. Now he was the foremost to ^aaccuse Amulek and Alma, he being one of the most expert among them, having much business to do among the people.
 32 Now the object of these lawyers was to get gain; and they got gain ^aaccording to their employ.

 1 NOW it was in the law of Mosiah that every man who was a judge of the law, or those who were appointed to be judges, should receive ^awages ^baccording to the time which they labored to judge those who were brought before them to be judged.
 2 Now if a man owed another, and he would not ^apay that which he did owe, he was complained of to the judge; and the judge executed authority, and sent forth officers that the man should be brought before him; and he judged the man according to the law and the evidences which were brought against him, and thus the man was compelled to pay that which he owed, or be stripped, or be cast out from among the people as a thief and a robber.
 3 And the judge received for his wages ^aaccording to his time—a ^bsenine of gold for a day, or a senum of silver, which is equal to a senine of gold; and this is according to the law which was given.
 4 Now these are the names of the different pieces of their gold, and of their silver, according to their value. And the names are given by the Nephites, for they did not reckon after the ^amanner of the Jews who were at Jerusalem; neither did they measure after the manner of the Jews; but they altered their reckoning and their measure, according to the minds and the circumstances of the people, in every generation, until the reign of the judges, they having been ^bestablished by king Mosiah.
 5 Now the reckoning is thus—a senine of gold, a seon of gold, a shum of gold, and a limnah of gold.
 6 A senum of silver, an amnor of silver, an ezrom of silver, and an onti of silver.
 7 A senum of silver was equal to a senine of gold, and either for a measure of barley, and also for a measure of every kind of grain.
 8 Now the amount of a seon of gold was twice the value of a senine.
 9 And a shum of gold was twice the value of a seon.
 10 And a limnah of gold was the value of them all.
 11 And an amnor of silver was as great as two senums.
 12 And an ezrom of silver was as great as four senums.
 13 And an onti was as great as them all.
 14 Now this is the value of the lesser numbers of their reckoning—
 15 A shiblon is half of a senum; therefore, a shiblon for half a measure of barley.
 16 And a shiblum is a half of a shiblon.
 17 And a leah is the half of a shiblum.
 18 Now this is their number, according to their reckoning.
 19 Now an antion of gold is equal to three shiblons.
 20 Now, it was for the sole purpose to get ^again , because they received their wages according to their ^bemploy , therefore, they did ^cstir up the people to ^driotings , and all manner of disturbances and wickedness, that they might have more employ, that they might ^eget ^fmoney according to the suits which were brought before them; therefore they did stir up the people against Alma and Amulek.
 21 And this Zeezrom began to question Amulek, saying: Will ye answer me a few questions which I shall ask you? Now Zeezrom was a man who was ^aexpert in the ^bdevices of the devil, that he might destroy that which was good; therefore, he said unto Amulek: Will ye answer the questions which I shall put unto you?
 22 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, if it be according to the ^aSpirit of the Lord, which is in me; for I shall say nothing which is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord. And Zeezrom said unto him: Behold, here are six onties of silver, and all these will I ^bgive thee if thou wilt deny the existence of a Supreme Being.
 23 Now Amulek said: O thou ^achild of hell, why ^btempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?
 24 Believest thou that there is no God? I say unto you, Nay, thou knowest that there is a God, but thou lovest that ^alucre more than him.
 25 And now thou hast lied before God unto me. Thou saidst unto me—Behold these six onties, which are of great worth, I will give unto thee—when thou hadst it in thy heart to retain them from me; and it was only thy desire that I should deny the true and living God, that thou mightest have cause to destroy me. And now behold, for this great evil thou shalt have thy reward.
 26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God?
 27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.
 28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?
 29 And he answered, No.
 30 Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things?
 31 And he said: An ^aangel hath made them known unto me.
 32 And Zeezrom said again: Who is he that shall come? Is it the Son of God?
 33 And he said unto him, Yea.
 34 And Zeezrom said again: Shall he save his people ^ain their sins? And Amulek answered and said unto him: I say unto you he shall not, for it is impossible for him to deny his word.
 35 Now Zeezrom said unto the people: See that ye remember these things; for he said there is but one God; yet he saith that the Son of God shall come, but he shall ^anot save his people—as though he had authority to command God.
 36 Now Amulek saith again unto him: Behold thou hast ^alied , for thou sayest that I spake as though I had authority to command God because I said he shall not save his people in their sins.
 37 And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their ^asins ; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that ^bno unclean thing can inherit the ^ckingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.
 38 Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father?
 39 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very ^aEternal Father of heaven and of earth, and ^ball things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last;
 40 And he shall come into the ^aworld to ^bredeem his people; and he shall ^ctake upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
 41 Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been ^ano redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that ^ball shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be ^cjudged according to their works.
 42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the ^abands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
 43 The spirit and the body shall be ^areunited again in its ^bperfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, ^cknowing even as we know now, and have a bright ^drecollection of all our ^eguilt .
 44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be ^arestored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the ^bFather , and the Holy Spirit, which is ^cone Eternal God, to be ^djudged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
 45 Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the ^adeath of the mortal body, and also concerning the ^bresurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is ^craised to an ^dimmortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can ^edie no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming ^fspiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.
 46 Now, when Amulek had finished these words the people began again to be astonished, and also Zeezrom began to tremble. And thus ended the words of Amulek, or this is all that I have written.

 1 NOW Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his ^alying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a ^bconsciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.
 2 Now the words that Alma spake unto Zeezrom were heard by the people round about; for the multitude was great, and he spake on this wise:
 3 Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy ^athoughts , and thou seest that thy ^bthoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit;
 4 And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very ^asubtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to ^brevile us and to cast us out—
 5 Now this was a plan of thine ^aadversary , and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.
 6 And behold I say unto you all that this was a ^asnare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his ^bchains , that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.
 7 Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was convinced more and more of the power of God; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of him, for he was convinced that they ^aknew the thoughts and intents of his heart; for power was given unto them that they might know of these things according to the spirit of prophecy.
 8 And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the ^ajust and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be ^bjudged according to their works?
 9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to ^aknow the ^bmysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart ^conly according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
 10 And therefore, he that will ^aharden his heart, the same receiveth the ^blesser portion of the word; and he that will ^cnot harden his heart, to him is ^dgiven the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
 11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser ^aportion of the word until they ^bknow nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the ^cchains of ^dhell .
 12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning ^adeath , and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be ^bjudged according to our works.
 13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.
 14 For our ^awords will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the ^bmountains to fall upon us to ^chide us from his presence.
 15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting ^ashame that all his ^bjudgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.
 16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second ^adeath , which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal ^bdeath , shall also ^cdie a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.
 17 Then is the time when their torments shall be as a ^alake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.
 18 Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been ^ano redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot ^bdie , seeing there is no more corruption.
 19 Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;
 20 But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an ^aimmortal state that the soul can never die?
 21 What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed ^acherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of ^bEden , lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.
 22 Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see that Adam did ^afall by the partaking of the forbidden ^bfruit , according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a ^clost and fallen people.
 23 And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have ^apartaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: ^bIf thou eat thou shalt surely die.
 24 And we see that ^adeath comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto ^bman in which he might repent; therefore this life became a ^cprobationary state; a time to ^dprepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
 25 Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no ^aresurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of ^bredemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.
 26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the ^atree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the ^bplan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect.
 27 But behold, it was not so; but it was ^aappointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to ^bjudgment , even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.
 28 And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;
 29 Therefore he sent ^aangels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.
 30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God ^aconversed with men, and made known unto them the ^bplan of redemption, which had been prepared from the ^cfoundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their ^dholy works.
 31 Wherefore, he gave ^acommandments unto men, they having first transgressed the ^bfirst commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, ^cknowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to ^dact , or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—
 32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made ^aknown unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second ^bdeath , which was an everlasting ^cdeath as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of ^djustice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme ^egoodness of God.
 33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the ^aplan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will ^brepent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;
 34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on ^amercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a ^bremission of his sins; and these shall enter into my ^crest .
 35 And whosoever will harden his heart and will do ^ainiquity , behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.
 36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity ^aprovoketh him that he sendeth down his ^bwrath upon you as in the ^cfirst provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting ^ddestruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.
 37 And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we ^aprovoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the ^brest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

 1 AND again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ^aordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.
 2 And those priests were ordained after the ^aorder of his Son, in a ^bmanner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.
 3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being ^acalled and ^bprepared from the ^cfoundation of the world according to the ^dforeknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to ^echoose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great ^ffaith , are ^gcalled with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.
 4 And thus they have been ^acalled to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and ^bblindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great ^cprivilege as their brethren.
 5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the ^asame standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared—
 6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his ^arest —
 7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being ^awithout beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from ^beternity to all eternity, according to his ^cforeknowledge of all things—
 8 Now they were ^aordained after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end—
 9 Thus they become ^ahigh priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of ^bgrace , equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.
 10 Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this ^ahigh priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding ^bfaith and ^crepentance , and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;
 11 Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were ^asanctified , and their ^bgarments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
 12 Now they, after being ^asanctified by the ^bHoly Ghost, having their garments made white, being ^cpure and spotless before God, could not look upon ^dsin save it were with ^eabhorrence ; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.
 13 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth ^afruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.
 14 Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of ^aMelchizedek , who was also a high priest after this same order which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever.
 15 And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid ^atithes ; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed.
 16 Now these ^aordinances were given after this ^bmanner , that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a ^ctype of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord.
 17 Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;
 18 But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the ^aholy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father.
 19 Now, there were ^amany before him, and also there were many afterwards, but ^bnone were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention.
 20 Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the ^ascriptures are before you; if ye will ^bwrest them it shall be to your own destruction.
 21 And now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words unto them, he stretched forth his hand unto them and cried with a mighty voice, saying: ^aNow is the time to repent, for the day of salvation draweth nigh;
 22 Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the ^amouth of angels, doth declare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth; wherefore they have come unto us.
 23 And they are made known unto us in ^aplain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this because of our being ^bwanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for we have these glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard.
 24 For behold, ^aangels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.
 25 And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we ^aknow not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but let it be sooner or later, in it I will rejoice.
 26 And it shall be made known unto ^ajust and holy men, by the mouth of angels, at the time of his coming, that the words of our fathers may be fulfilled, according to that which they have spoken concerning him, which was according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.
 27 And now, my brethren, I ^awish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great ^banxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not ^cprocrastinate the day of your repentance;
 28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and ^awatch and pray continually, that ye may not be ^btempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be ^cled by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, ^dmeek , submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;
 29 ^aHaving faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the ^blove of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his ^crest .
 30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be ^abound down by the chains of ^bhell , that ye may not suffer the second ^cdeath .
 31 And Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not written in ^athis book.

 1 AND it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the ^ascriptures .
 2 But the more part of them were desirous that they might destroy Alma and Amulek; for they were angry with Alma, because of the ^aplainness of his words unto Zeezrom; and they also said that Amulek had ^blied unto them, and had reviled against their law and also against their lawyers and judges.
 3 And they were also angry with Alma and Amulek; and because they had ^atestified so plainly against their wickedness, they sought to ^bput them away privily.
 4 But it came to pass that they did not; but they took them and bound them with strong cords, and took them before the chief judge of the land.
 5 And the people went forth and witnessed against them—testifying that they had reviled against the law, and their lawyers and judges of the land, and also of all the people that were in the land; and also testified that there was but one God, and that he should send his Son among the people, but he should ^anot save them; and many such things did the people testify against Alma and Amulek. Now this was done before the chief judge of the land.
 6 And it came to pass that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also knew concerning the ^ablindness of the minds, which he had caused among the people by his ^blying words; and his soul began to be ^charrowed up under a ^dconsciousness of his own guilt; yea, he began to be encircled about by the pains of hell.
 7 And it came to pass that he began to cry unto the people, saying: Behold, I am ^aguilty , and these men are spotless before God. And he began to plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him, saying: Art thou also possessed with the devil? And they spit upon him, and ^bcast him out from among them, and also all those who believed in the words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast them out, and sent men to cast stones at them.
 8 And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be ^acast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be ^bburned and destroyed by fire.
 9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of ^amartyrdom , that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
 10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the ^apower of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
 11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in ^aglory ; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the ^bjudgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the ^cblood of the ^dinnocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
 12 Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also.
 13 And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not.
 14 Now it came to pass that when the bodies of those who had been cast into the fire were consumed, and also the records which were cast in with them, the chief judge of the land came and stood before Alma and Amulek, as they were bound; and he smote them with his hand upon their ^acheeks , and said unto them: After what ye have seen, will ye preach again unto this people, that they shall be cast into a ^blake of fire and brimstone?
 15 Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy faith. And the judge smote them again upon their cheeks, and asked: What say ye for yourselves?
 16 Now this judge was after the order and faith of ^aNehor , who slew Gideon.
 17 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek answered him ^anothing ; and he smote them again, and delivered them to the officers to be ^bcast into prison.
 18 And when they had been cast into prison three days, there came many ^alawyers , and judges, and priests, and teachers, who were of the profession of Nehor; and they came in unto the prison to see them, and they questioned them about many words; but they answered them nothing.
 19 And it came to pass that the judge stood before them, and said: Why do ye not answer the words of this people? Know ye not that I have ^apower to deliver you up unto the flames? And he ^bcommanded them to speak; but they answered nothing.
 20 And it came to pass that they departed and went their ways, but came again on the morrow; and the judge also smote them again on their cheeks. And many came forth also, and smote them, saying: Will ye stand again and judge this people, and condemn our law? If ye have such great power why do ye not ^adeliver yourselves?
 21 And many such things did they say unto them, gnashing their teeth upon them, and spitting upon them, and saying: How shall we look when we are damned?
 22 And many such things, yea, all manner of such things did they say unto them; and thus they did ^amock them for many days. And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were ^bbound with strong cords, and confined in ^cprison .
 23 And it came to pass after they had thus suffered for many days, (and it was on the twelfth day, in the tenth month, *in the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) that the chief judge over the land of ^aAmmonihah and many of their teachers and their lawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek were bound with cords.
 24 And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: If ye have the ^apower of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words.
 25 And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them the ^apower of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet.
 26 And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great ^aafflictions , O Lord? O Lord, ^bgive us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto ^cdeliverance . And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them.
 27 And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the ^aprison ; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof.
 28 And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them ^apower , according to their faith which was in Christ. And they straightway came forth out of the prison; and they were ^bloosed from their ^cbands ; and the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into the city.
 29 Now the people having heard a great noise came running together by multitudes to know the cause of it; and when they saw Alma and Amulek coming forth out of the prison, and the walls thereof had fallen to the earth, they were struck with great fear, and fled from the presence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with her young from two lions; and thus they did flee from the presence of Alma and Amulek.

* Verse 23  [81 B.C.].

 1 AND it came to pass that Alma and Amulek were commanded to depart out of that city; and they departed, and came out even into the land of Sidom; and behold, there they found all the people who had departed out of the land of ^aAmmonihah , who had been ^bcast out and stoned, because they believed in the words of Alma.
 2 And they related unto them all that had happened unto their ^awives and children, and also concerning themselves, and of their ^bpower of deliverance.
 3 And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his ^awickedness , for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat.
 4 Now, when he heard that Alma and Amulek were in the land of Sidom, his heart began to take courage; and he sent a message immediately unto them, desiring them to come unto him.
 5 And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the message which he had sent unto them; and they went in unto the house unto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low with a burning fever; and his mind also was ^aexceedingly sore because of his iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched forth his hand, and besought them that they would heal him.
 6 And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: ^aBelievest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?
 7 And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught.
 8 And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be ^ahealed .
 9 And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.
 10 And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have ^amercy on this man, and ^bheal him according to his faith which is in Christ.
 11 And when Alma had said these words, ^aZeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.
 12 And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people.
 13 And Alma established a church in the land of Sidom, and consecrated ^apriests and ^bteachers in the land, to baptize unto the Lord whosoever were desirous to be baptized.
 14 And it came to pass that they were many; for they did flock in from all the region round about Sidom, and were baptized.
 15 But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah, they yet remained a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people; and they repented not of their sins, ^aascribing all the power of Alma and Amulek to the devil; for they were of the profession of ^bNehor , and did not believe in the repentance of their sins.
 16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having ^aforsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being ^brejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;
 17 Therefore, after Alma having established the church at Sidom, seeing a great ^acheck , yea, seeing that the people were checked as to the pride of their hearts, and began to ^bhumble themselves before God, and began to assemble themselves together at their ^csanctuaries to ^dworship God before the ^ealtar , ^fwatching and praying continually, that they might be delivered from Satan, and from ^gdeath , and from destruction—
 18 Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his ^aown house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and ^bstrengthened him in the Lord.
 19 And thus ended the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

 1 AND it came to pass in the *eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month, there having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having been no wars nor contentions for a certain number of years, even until the fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry of war heard throughout the land.
 2 For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of ^aAmmonihah , and began to slay the people and destroy the city.
 3 And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had ^adestroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness.
 4 Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.
 5 Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.
 6 And it came to pass that Alma ^ainquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of ^bManti . And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.
 7 And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river Sidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon.
 8 And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were brought by their brethren to possess their own lands.
 9 And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were ^adestroyed ; yea, ^bevery living soul of the Ammonihahites was ^cdestroyed , and also their ^dgreat city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness.
 10 But behold, in ^aone day it was left desolate; and the ^bcarcases were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness.
 11 Nevertheless, after many days their ^adead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were covered with a shallow covering. And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of ^bNehors ; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate.
 12 And the Lamanites did not come again to war against the Nephites *until the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus for three years did the people of Nephi have continual peace in all the land.
 13 And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their ^atemples , and in their ^bsanctuaries , and also in their ^csynagogues , which were built after the manner of the Jews.
 14 And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any ^arespect of persons, continually.
 15 And thus did Alma and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had been chosen for the work, to preach the word throughout all the land. And the establishment of the church became general throughout the land, in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.
 16 And there was ^ano inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their ^bhearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—
 17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a ^abranch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the ^brest of the Lord their God.
 18 Now those ^apriests who did go forth among the people did preach against all ^blyings , and ^cdeceivings , and ^denvyings , and ^estrifes , and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not so to be—
 19 Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the ^acoming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.
 20 And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught that he would ^aappear unto them ^bafter his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.
 21 And now after the church had been established throughout all the land—having got the ^avictory over the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people—thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

* Verse 1  [81 B.C.]; Verse 12  [About 78 B.C.].

 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.
 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.
 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, and also this was the minds of the people;
 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.
 8 And thus they departed into the wilderness with their numbers which they had ^aselected , to go up to the land of Nephi, to preach the word of God unto the Lamanites.
 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.
 19 And Ammon went to the land of ^aIshmael , the land being called after the sons of ^bIshmael , who also became Lamanites.
 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.
 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.

* Verse 4  [From about 91 to 77 B.C.].

 1 AND it came to pass that king Lamoni caused that his ^aservants should stand forth and testify to all the things which they had seen concerning the matter.
 2 And when they had all testified to the things which they had seen, and he had learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in preserving his flocks, and also of his ^agreat power in contending against those who sought to slay him, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Surely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth send such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders?
 3 And they answered the king, and said: Whether he be the Great Spirit or a man, we know not; but this much we do know, that he ^acannot be slain by the enemies of the king; neither can they ^bscatter the king’s flocks when he is with us, because of his expertness and ^cgreat strength; therefore, we know that he is a friend to the king. And now, O king, we do not believe that a man has such great power, for we know he cannot be slain.
 4 And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down at this time to preserve your lives, that I might not ^aslay you as I did your brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.
 5 Now this was the ^atradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a ^bGreat Spirit. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit they supposed that ^cwhatsoever they did was right; nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants;
 6 For he had slain many of them because their brethren had scattered their flocks at the place of water; and thus, because they had had their flocks scattered they were slain.
 7 Now it was the practice of these Lamanites to stand by the ^awaters of Sebus to scatter the flocks of the people, that thereby they might drive away many that were scattered unto their own land, it being a practice of plunder among them.
 8 And it came to pass that king Lamoni inquired of his servants, saying: Where is this man that has such great power?
 9 And they said unto him: Behold, he is feeding thy ^ahorses . Now the king had commanded his servants, previous to the time of the watering of their flocks, that they should prepare his horses and chariots, and conduct him forth to the land of Nephi; for there had been a ^bgreat ^cfeast appointed at the land of Nephi, by the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land.
 10 Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his ^achariots he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them.
 11 Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me, but I durst not.
 12 And it came to pass that when Ammon had made ready the horses and the chariots for the king and his servants, he went in unto the king, and he saw that the ^acountenance of the king was changed; therefore he was about to return out of his presence.
 13 And one of the king’s servants said unto him, ^aRabbanah , which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay.
 14 Therefore Ammon turned himself unto the king, and said unto him: What wilt thou that I should do for thee, O king? And the king answered him not for the space of an ^ahour , according to their time, for he knew not what he should say unto him.
 15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto him again: What desirest thou of me? But the king answered him not.
 16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the ^aSpirit of God, therefore he perceived the ^bthoughts of the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew ^cseven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings?
 17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a ^aman , and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do.
 18 Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he beheld that Ammon could ^adiscern his thoughts; but notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit, who ^bknows all things?
 19 Ammon answered and said unto him: I am not.
 20 And the king said: How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things; and also tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks—
 21 And now, ^aif thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they; nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee.
 22 Now Ammon being ^awise , yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee.
 23 And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I ^awill believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with ^bguile .
 24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with ^aboldness , and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
 25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
 26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a ^aGreat Spirit?
 27 And he said, Yea.
 28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
 29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.
 30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels.
 31 And king Lamoni said: Is it above the earth?
 32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he ^aknows all the thoughts and ^bintents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning.
 33 And king Lamoni said: I believe all these things which thou hast spoken. Art thou ^asent from God?
 34 Ammon said unto him: I am a ^aman ; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy ^bSpirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;
 35 And a portion of that ^aSpirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me ^bknowledge , and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.
 36 Now when Ammon had said these words, he began at the creation of the world, and also the creation of Adam, and told him all the things concerning the fall of man, and ^arehearsed and laid before him the ^brecords and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the ^cprophets , even down to the time that their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem.
 37 And he also rehearsed unto them (for it was unto the king and to his servants) all the journeyings of their fathers in the wilderness, and all their sufferings with hunger and thirst, and their travail, and so forth.
 38 And he also rehearsed unto them concerning the ^arebellions of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, yea, all their rebellions did he relate unto them; and he expounded unto them all the ^brecords and scriptures from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem down to the present time.
 39 But this is not all; for he ^aexpounded unto them the ^bplan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world; and he also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and all the works of the Lord did he make known unto them.
 40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king ^abelieved all his words.
 41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant ^amercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.
 42 And now, when he had said this, he ^afell unto the earth, ^bas if he were dead.
 43 And it came to pass that his ^aservants took him and carried him in unto his wife, and laid him upon a bed; and he lay as if he were dead for the space of two days and two nights; and his wife, and his sons, and his daughters mourned over him, after the manner of the Lamanites, greatly lamenting his loss.

 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.
 2 Now the queen having heard of the fame of Ammon, therefore she sent and desired that he should come in unto her.
 3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 16 And 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, 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.
 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.
 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 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.

 1 AND it came to pass that when they had established a church in that ^aland , that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father.
 2 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 ^aMiddoni ; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.
 3 Now it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni: Behold, my brother and brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I go that I may deliver them.
 4 Now Lamoni said unto Ammon: I know, in the ^astrength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of ^bprison . Now Lamoni said unto him: Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison?
 5 And Ammon said unto him: No one hath told me, save it be God; and he said unto me—Go and deliver thy brethren, for they are in prison in the land of Middoni.
 6 Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his ^ahorses and his chariots.
 7 And he said unto Ammon: Come, I will go with thee down to the land of Middoni, and there I will plead with the king that he will cast thy brethren out of prison.
 8 And it came to pass that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, they met the father of Lamoni, who was king ^aover all the land.
 9 And behold, the father of Lamoni said unto him: Why did ye ^anot come to the ^bfeast on that great day when I made a feast unto my sons, and unto my people?
 10 And he also said: Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a ^aliar ?
 11 And it came to pass that Lamoni rehearsed unto him whither he was going, for he feared to offend him.
 12 And he also told him all the cause of his tarrying in his own kingdom, that he did not go unto his father to the feast which he had prepared.
 13 And now when Lamoni had rehearsed unto him all these things, behold, to his astonishment, his father was angry with him, and said: Lamoni, thou art going to deliver these Nephites, who are sons of a liar. Behold, he robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come amongst us that they may, by their cunning and their lyings, deceive us, that they again may rob us of our property.
 14 Now the father of Lamoni commanded him that he should slay Ammon with the sword. And he also commanded him that he should not go to the land of Middoni, but that he should return with him to the land of ^aIshmael .
 15 But Lamoni said unto him: I will not slay Ammon, neither will I return to the land of Ishmael, but I go to the land of Middoni that I may release the brethren of Ammon, for I know that they are just men and holy prophets of the true God.
 16 Now when his father had heard these words, he was angry with him, and he drew his sword that he might smite him to the earth.
 17 But Ammon stood forth and said unto him: Behold, thou shalt not slay thy son; nevertheless, it were ^abetter that he should fall than thee, for behold, he has ^brepented of his sins; but if thou shouldst fall at this time, in thine anger, thy soul could not be saved.
 18 And again, it is expedient that thou shouldst forbear; for if thou shouldst ^aslay thy son, he being an innocent man, his blood would cry from the ground to the Lord his God, for vengeance to come upon thee; and perhaps thou wouldst lose thy ^bsoul .
 19 Now when Ammon had said these words unto him, he answered him, saying: I know that if I should slay my son, that I should shed innocent blood; for it is thou that hast sought to destroy him.
 20 And he stretched forth his hand to slay Ammon. But Ammon withstood his blows, and also smote his arm that he could not use it.
 21 Now when the king saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare his life.
 22 But Ammon raised his sword, and said unto him: Behold, I will smite thee except thou wilt grant unto me that my brethren may be ^acast out of prison.
 23 Now the king, fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half of the kingdom.
 24 Now when Ammon saw that he had wrought upon the old king according to his desire, he said unto him: If thou wilt grant that my brethren may be cast out of prison, and also that Lamoni may retain his kingdom, and that ye be not displeased with him, but grant that he may do according to his own desires in ^awhatsoever thing he thinketh, then will I spare thee; otherwise I will smite thee to the earth.
 25 Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life.
 26 And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great ^alove he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that I would ^brelease thy brethren, and suffer that my son Lamoni should retain his kingdom, behold, I will grant unto you that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no more—
 27 And I will also grant unto thee that thy brethren may be cast out of prison, and thou and thy brethren may come unto me, in my kingdom; for I shall greatly desire to see thee. For the king was greatly astonished at the words which he had spoken, and also at the words which had been spoken by his son Lamoni, therefore he was ^adesirous to learn them.
 28 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni proceeded on their journey towards the land of Middoni. And Lamoni found favor in the eyes of the king of the land; therefore the brethren of Ammon were brought forth out of prison.
 29 And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had ^asuffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were ^bpatient in all their sufferings.
 30 And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more ^astiffnecked people; therefore they would not hearken unto their words, and they had cast them out, and had smitten them, and had driven them from house to house, and from place to place, even until they had arrived in the land of Middoni; and there they were taken and cast into prison, and bound with ^bstrong cords, and kept in prison for many days, and were delivered by Lamoni and Ammon.

 1 NOW when Ammon and his brethren ^aseparated themselves in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, behold Aaron took his journey towards the land which was called by the Lamanites, ^bJerusalem , 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 ^aAmulon 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 ^asynagogues , for they had built synagogues after the ^border 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 ^asynagogues 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 ^bangel ? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold ^care 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 ^arighteous people? Behold, we have built ^bsanctuaries , and we do assemble ourselves together to worship ^cGod . 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 ^abelieve 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 ^ascriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be ^bno redemption for mankind ^csave it were through the ^ddeath 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 ^amock 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 ^aMiddoni . And they did preach the word unto many, and ^bfew believed on the words which they taught.
 13 Nevertheless, Aaron and a certain number of his brethren were taken and cast into ^aprison , 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 ^asuffered many things, and they were delivered by the hand of Lamoni and Ammon, and they were fed and clothed.
 15 And they went forth again to declare the word, and thus they were delivered for the first time out of prison; and thus they had suffered.
 16 And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the ^aSpirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted.
 17 And it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did ^aconvince many of their sins, and of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.
 18 And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni returned from the land of Middoni to the land of ^aIshmael , which was the land of their inheritance.
 19 And king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his ^aservant .
 20 But he caused that there should be ^asynagogues built in the land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or the people who were under his reign, should assemble themselves together.
 21 And he did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things. And he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were under him, and that they were a ^afree people, that they were free from the oppressions of the king, his father; for that his father had granted unto him that he might reign over the people who were in the land of Ishmael, and in all the land round about.
 22 And he also declared unto them that they might have the ^aliberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in, if it were in the land which was under the reign of king Lamoni.
 23 And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and it came to pass that he did teach them all things concerning things pertaining to righteousness. And he did exhort them daily, with all diligence; and they gave heed unto his word, and they were ^azealous for keeping the commandments of God.

 1 NOW, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamoni continually, we will return to the account of Aaron and his brethren; for after he departed from the land of Middoni he was ^aled by the Spirit to the land of Nephi, even to the house of the king which was ^bover all the land ^csave it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the father of Lamoni.
 2 And it came to pass that he went in unto him into the king’s palace, with his brethren, and bowed himself before the king, and said unto him: Behold, O king, we are the brethren of Ammon, whom thou hast ^adelivered out of ^bprison .
 3 And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives, we will be thy servants. And the king said unto them: Arise, for I will grant unto you your lives, and I will not suffer that ye shall be my servants; but I will insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been somewhat ^atroubled in mind because of the ^bgenerosity and the greatness of the words of thy brother Ammon; and I desire to know the cause why he has not come up out of Middoni with thee.
 4 And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone ^ato the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of Lamoni.
 5 Now the king said unto them: 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, what is this that Ammon said—^aIf ye will repent ye shall be saved, and if ye will not repent, ye shall be cast off at the last day?
 7 And Aaron answered him and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God? And the king said: I know that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together to worship him. And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will ^abelieve .
 8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God.
 9 And the king said: Is God that ^aGreat Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?
 10 And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he ^acreated all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?
 11 And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will ^abelieve thy words.
 12 And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, ^areading the scriptures unto the king—how God ^bcreated man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen.
 13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the ^acreation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the ^bplan of ^credemption , which was prepared ^dfrom the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.
 14 And since man had ^afallen he could not ^bmerit anything of himself; but the sufferings and ^cdeath of Christ ^datone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the ^egrave 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.
 15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: ^aWhat shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be ^bborn of God, having this wicked spirit ^crooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up ^dall that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
 16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt ^abow 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, then shalt thou receive the ^bhope which thou desirest.
 17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did ^abow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried ^bmightily , saying:
 18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, 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 be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck ^aas if he were dead.
 19 And it came to pass that his servants ran and told the queen all that had happened unto the king. And she came in unto the king; and when she saw him lay as if he were dead, and also Aaron and his brethren standing as though they had been the cause of his fall, she was angry with them, and commanded that her servants, or the servants of the king, should take them and slay them.
 20 Now the servants had seen the cause of the king’s fall, therefore they durst not lay their hands on Aaron and his brethren; and they pled with the queen saying: Why commandest thou that we should slay these men, when behold one of them is ^amightier than us all? Therefore we shall fall before them.
 21 Now when the queen saw the fear of the servants she also began to fear exceedingly, lest there should some evil come upon her. And she commanded her servants that they should go and call the people, that they might slay Aaron and his brethren.
 22 Now when Aaron saw the determination of the queen, he, also knowing the hardness of the hearts of the people, feared lest that a multitude should assemble themselves together, and there should be a great contention and a disturbance among them; therefore he put forth his ^ahand and raised the king from the earth, and said unto him: Stand. And he stood upon his feet, receiving his strength.
 23 Now this was done in the presence of the queen and many of the servants. And when they saw it they greatly marveled, and began to fear. And the king stood forth, and began to ^aminister unto them. And he did minister unto them, insomuch that his ^bwhole household were ^cconverted unto the Lord.
 24 Now there was a multitude gathered together because of the commandment of the queen, and there began to be great murmurings among them because of Aaron and his brethren.
 25 But the king stood forth among them and administered unto them. And they were ^apacified towards Aaron and those who were with him.
 26 And it came to pass that when the king saw that the people were pacified, he caused that Aaron and his brethren should stand forth in the midst of the multitude, and that they should preach the word unto them.
 27 And it came to pass that the king sent a ^aproclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on the east and on the ^bwest , and which was divided from the land of ^cZarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore, and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of ^dManti , by the head of the ^eriver Sidon, running from the east towards the west—and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided.
 28 Now, the more ^aidle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents; and they were spread through the wilderness on the west, in the land of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of Zarahemla, in the borders by the seashore, and on the west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their fathers’ first inheritance, and thus bordering along by the seashore.
 29 And also there were many Lamanites on the east by the seashore, whither the Nephites had driven them. And thus the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken possession of all the northern parts of the land bordering on the wilderness, at the head of the river Sidon, from the east to the west, round about on the wilderness side; on the north, even until they came to the land which they called ^aBountiful .
 30 And it bordered upon the land which they called ^aDesolation , it being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose ^bbones we have spoken, which was discovered by the ^cpeople of Zarahemla, it being the place of their ^dfirst landing.
 31 And they came from there ^aup into the south wilderness. Thus the ^bland on the northward was called ^cDesolation , and the land on the southward was called Bountiful, it being the wilderness which is filled with all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which had come from the land northward for food.
 32 And now, it was only the ^adistance of a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small ^bneck of land between the land northward and the land southward.
 33 And it came to pass that the Nephites had inhabited the land Bountiful, even from the east unto the west sea, and thus the Nephites in their wisdom, with their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the Lamanites on the south, that thereby they should have no more possession on the north, that they might not overrun the land northward.
 34 Therefore the Lamanites could have no more possessions only in the land of Nephi, and the wilderness round about. Now this was wisdom in the Nephites—as the Lamanites were an enemy to them, they would not suffer their afflictions on every hand, and also that they might have a country whither they might flee, according to their desires.
 35 And now I, after having said this, return again to the account of Ammon and Aaron, Omner and Himni, and their brethren.

 1 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.
 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 .
 3 And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and ^aall his ^bhousehold ; 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.
 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.
 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.
 8 Now, these are ^athey who were converted unto the Lord:
 9 The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael;
 10 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of ^aMiddoni ;
 11 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi;
 12 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of ^aShilom , and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom.
 13 And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were ^aconverted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites.
 14 And the Amalekites were not ^aconverted , save only one; neither were any of the ^bAmulonites ; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities.
 15 Therefore, we have named all the cities of the Lamanites in which they did repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, and were converted.
 16 And now it came to pass that 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 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; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did ^bopen a correspondence with them, and the ^ccurse of God did no more follow them.

 1 AND it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of ^aAmulon , and also in the land of ^bHelam , and who were in the land of ^cJerusalem , and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of ^dAnti -Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.
 2 And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
 3 Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
 4 And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God.
 5 Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they might hold a ^acouncil with Lamoni and also with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.
 6 Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.
 7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the ^atraditions of our wicked fathers.
 8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have ^aopened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.
 9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our ^asins , and of the many murders which we have committed.
 10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath ^aforgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the ^bguilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.
 11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to ^atake them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—
 12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.
 13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords ^aagain they can no more be ^bwashed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.
 14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our ^asouls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the ^bplan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.
 15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us ^ahide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us ^bclean thereby.
 16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall ^ago to our God and shall be saved.
 17 And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did ^abury them up deep in the earth.
 18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they ^anever would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and ^bcovenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would ^cgive up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
 19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to ^abelieve and to know the truth, they were ^bfirm , and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.
 20 And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place ^aanother in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.
 21 Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and ^aprostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.
 22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a ^athousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.
 23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and ^aperish , and ^bpraised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—
 24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did ^aforbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had ^bswollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.
 25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.
 26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were ^asaved .
 27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ^aways to the salvation of his people.
 28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the ^aorder of the ^bNehors .
 29 Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were ^anone who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.
 30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once ^aenlightened by the ^bSpirit of God, and have had great ^cknowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have ^dfallen away into sin and transgression, they become more ^ehardened , and thus their state becomes ^fworse than though they had never known these things.

 1 AND behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren; therefore they swore vengeance upon the Nephites; and they did ^ano more attempt to slay the people of ^bAnti -Nephi-Lehi at that time.
 2 But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and ^adestroyed them.
 3 And after that, they had ^amany battles with the Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain.
 4 And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the ^aseed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were slain by the hands of the Nephites;
 5 And the remainder, having fled into the east wilderness, and having usurped the power and ^aauthority over the Lamanites, caused that many of the Lamanites should ^bperish by fire because of their belief—
 6 For many of ^athem , after having suffered much loss and so many afflictions, began to be stirred up in remembrance of the ^bwords which Aaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore they began to disbelieve the ^ctraditions of their fathers, and to believe in the Lord, and that he gave great power unto the Nephites; and thus there were many of them converted in the wilderness.
 7 And it came to pass that those rulers who were the remnant of the children of ^aAmulon caused that they should be put to ^bdeath , yea, all those that believed in these things.
 8 Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to ^ahunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness.
 9 And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire.
 10 For he said unto them: What ye shall ^ado unto me shall be a type of things to come.
 11 And now Abinadi was the first that suffered ^adeath by fire because of his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many should suffer death by fire, according as he had suffered.
 12 And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they were hunted, and they were smitten.
 13 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of ^aIshmael and the land of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of ^bAnti -Nephi-Lehi.
 14 And they did also ^abury their weapons of war, according as their brethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and his statutes.
 15 Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled. But notwithstanding the ^alaw of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a ^btype of his coming, and believing that they must keep those ^coutward ^dperformances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.
 16 Now they did not suppose that ^asalvation came by the ^blaw of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a ^chope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come.
 17 And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their ^aprayers , and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular.

 1 AND now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we ^astarted from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?
 2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?
 3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how ^amany of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made ^binstruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.
 4 Behold, ^athousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.
 5 Behold, the ^afield was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the ^bsickle , and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your ^csheaves ! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.
 6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the ^astorm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.
 7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the ^aharvest , and they are his; and he will ^braise them up at the last day.
 8 ^aBlessed be the name of our God; let us ^bsing to his praise, yea, let us give ^cthanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.
 9 For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with ^ahatred against us, yea, and they would also have been ^bstrangers to God.
 10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting.
 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not ^aboast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my ^bjoy is full, yea, my heart is brim with ^cjoy , and I will rejoice in my God.
 12 Yea, I know that I am ^anothing ; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnot boast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all ^ethings ; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
 13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of ^ahell ; and they are brought to ^bsing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?
 14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the ^achains of hell.
 15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting ^adarkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting ^blight , yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.
 16 Therefore, let us ^aglory , yea, we will ^bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his ^cmercy , and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
 17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and ^apolluted state?
 18 Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to ^adestroy his church.
 19 Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea, why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal ^adespair ?
 20 Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting ^agulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls.
 21 And now behold, my brethren, what ^anatural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is ^bnone that ^cknoweth these things, save it be the penitent.
 22 Yea, he that ^arepenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good ^bworks , and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the ^cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be ^dgiven to ^ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
 23 Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites, and they ^alaughed us to scorn?
 24 For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the ^aincorrectness of the ^btraditions of their fathers, as ^cstiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the ^dshedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.
 25 And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun us and destroy us.
 26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls.
 27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to ^aturn back, behold, the Lord ^bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with ^cpatience thine ^dafflictions , and I will give unto you success.
 28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.
 29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their ^asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been ^bstoned , and taken and bound with ^cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.
 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ^ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.
 31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the ^afruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are ^bmany ; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us.
 32 For behold, they had rather ^asacrifice their lives than even to take the life of their enemy; and they have ^bburied their weapons of war deep in the earth, because of their love towards their brethren.
 33 And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love in all the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, there has not, even among the Nephites.
 34 For behold, they would take up arms against their brethren; they would not suffer themselves to be slain. But behold how ^amany of these have laid down their lives; and we know that they have gone to their God, because of their love and of their hatred to sin.
 35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all ^apower , ^ball wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a ^cmerciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.
 36 Now if this is ^aboasting , even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a ^bbranch of the tree of Israel, and has been ^clost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, ^dwanderers in a strange land.
 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is ^amindful of every ^bpeople , whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

 1 NOW it came to pass that when those Lamanites who had gone to war against the Nephites had found, after their ^amany struggles to destroy them, that it was in vain to seek their destruction, they returned again to the land of Nephi.
 2 And it came to pass that the Amalekites, because of their loss, were exceedingly angry. And when they saw that they could not seek revenge from the Nephites, they began to ^astir up the people in anger against their ^bbrethren , the people of ^cAnti -Nephi-Lehi; therefore they began again to destroy them.
 3 Now this people ^aagain refused to take their arms, and they suffered themselves to be slain according to the desires of their enemies.
 4 Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so dearly beloved them—for they were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction—therefore, when Ammon and his brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion, and they ^asaid unto the king:
 5 Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites, and flee out of the hands of our enemies, that we be not destroyed.
 6 But the king said unto them: Behold, the Nephites will destroy us, because of the many murders and sins we have committed against them.
 7 And Ammon said: I will go and inquire of the Lord, and if he say unto us, go down unto our brethren, will ye go?
 8 And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them.
 9 But Ammon said unto him: It is against the law of our brethren, which was established by my father, that there should be any ^aslaves among them; therefore let us go down and rely upon the mercies of our brethren.
 10 But the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land.
 11 And it came to pass that Ammon went and inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said unto him:
 12 Get this people ^aout of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation, for I will ^bpreserve them.
 13 And now it came to pass that Ammon went and told the king all the words which the Lord had said unto him.
 14 And they gathered together all their people, yea, all the people of the Lord, and did gather together all their flocks and herds, and departed out of the land, and came into the wilderness which divided the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla, and came over near the borders of the land.
 15 And it came to pass that Ammon said unto them: Behold, I and my brethren will go forth into the land of Zarahemla, and ye shall remain here until we return; and we will ^atry the hearts of our brethren, whether they will that ye shall come into their land.
 16 And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the ^aplace of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.
 17 Now the ^ajoy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the ^bexhausting of his strength; and he fell ^cagain to the earth.
 18 Now was not this ^aexceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of ^bhappiness .
 19 Now the joy of Alma in meeting his ^abrethren was truly great, and also the joy of Aaron, of Omner, and Himni; but behold their joy was not that to exceed their strength.
 20 And now it came to pass that Alma conducted his brethren back to the land of Zarahemla; even to his ^aown house. And they went and told the ^bchief judge all the things that had happened unto them in the land of Nephi, among their brethren, the Lamanites.
 21 And it came to pass that the chief judge sent a proclamation throughout all the land, desiring the voice of the people concerning the admitting their brethren, who were the people of ^aAnti -Nephi-Lehi.
 22 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the ^aland of ^bJershon , which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance.
 23 And behold, we will set our armies between the land Jershon and the land Nephi, that we may ^aprotect our brethren in the land Jershon; and this we do for our brethren, on account of their fear to take up arms against their brethren lest they should commit sin; and this their great fear came because of their sore repentance which they had, on account of their many murders and their awful wickedness.
 24 And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon; and we will guard them from their enemies with our armies, on condition that they will give us a ^aportion of their substance to assist us that we may maintain our armies.
 25 Now, it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he returned to the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, and also Alma with him, into the wilderness, where they had pitched their tents, and made known unto them all these things. And Alma also related unto them his ^aconversion , with Ammon and Aaron, and his brethren.
 26 And it came to pass that it did cause great joy among them. And they went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the land of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the ^apeople of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after.
 27 And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their ^azeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly ^bhonest and upright in all things; and they were ^cfirm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.
 28 And they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with the greatest abhorrence; and they never could be prevailed upon to take up arms against their brethren; and they never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it.
 29 Therefore, they would suffer ^adeath in the most aggravating and distressing manner which could be inflicted by their brethren, before they would take the sword or cimeter to smite them.
 30 And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord.

 1 AND now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of ^aJershon , and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness.
 2 And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad.
 3 Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were ^adriven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land.
 4 And now this was a time that there was a great ^amourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi—
 5 Yea, the cry of ^awidows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.
 6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much ^afasting and prayer.
 7 And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi;
 8 And ^athis is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their ^bincomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever.
 9 And this is the account of the wars and contentions among the Nephites, and also the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites; *and the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges is ended.
 10 And from the ^afirst year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed.
 11 And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are ^amoldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are ^bmourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.
 12 While many thousands of others truly ^amourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the ^bpromises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending ^chappiness .
 13 And thus we see how great the ^ainequality of man is because of sin and ^btransgression , and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning ^cplans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.
 14 And thus we see the great call of ^adiligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the ^blight of Christ unto life.

* Verse 9  [76 B.C.].

 1 O THAT I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the ^atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
 2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and ^acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
 3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.
 4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire , whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their ^bwills , whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
 5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is ^ablameless ; but he that ^bknoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of ^cconscience .
 6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to ^aperform the work to which I have been called?
 7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?
 8 For behold, the Lord doth ^agrant unto ^ball nations, of their own nation and ^ctongue , to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he ^dseeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.
 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do ^anot ^bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
 10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember ^awhat the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.
 11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the ^aLord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage.
 12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who ^adelivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of ^bbondage .
 13 Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a ^aholy calling, to ^bpreach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is full.
 14 But I do not joy in my own ^asuccess alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi.
 15 Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward!
 16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my ^ajoy .
 17 And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise him forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen.