Loyd Ericson

Rel 439 – Approaches to the Book of Mormon

March 4, 2010

Re-reading Ammon’s Mission to the Lamanites

The story of Ammon’s mission to the Lamanites is usually read and retold by Mormons as a
simple and uncomplicated religious narrative. It is a story of one of the sons of the righteous
Nephite king Mosiah, who after his miraculous conversion to Christianity by an angel, sets out to
share the Christian gospel with the heathen and barbarous Lamanites. In the process, Ammon
amazes the Lamanites with his god-given strength, converts a Lamanite king with his preaching, and
with his brothers’ help, eventually assists in the conversion of thousands of the corrupt Lamanites to
righteousness.
Upon closer reading, however, there appears to be much more going on in the narrative than
only the story of one or more righteous missionaries’ success in converting thousands to the
Christian gospel. In Mormon’s narrative, Ammon and his brothers were not just religious
missionaries, but were also acting as state emissaries of the Nephites seeking to establish a working
relationship with the Lamanite nations—a relationship that most thought was impossible due to a
renewed surge of violence and suspicion at their borders, which was the results of the actions of
some of their own. Furthermore, while abridging and retelling this story Mormon has carefully
crafted the narrative to illustrate what he believes to be the preferred method of Christian
conversion and peace-making between warring nations. The story of Ammon and his brothers, as
told by Mormon, is ultimately the story of how, through good examples and service, they were able
to break through the xenophobic and bigoted stereotypes that both the Nephites and the Lamanites
held of the other, unite their kingdoms, and convert thousands of unbelieving Lamanites to
Christianity.
The hermeneutical approach in this paper makes a few initial assumptions. First, it is taken
for granted that the Book of Mormon is an account of real historical characters—acting as imperfect
humans with their own biases, virtues, and faults. Second, most of the narratives within are not
firsthand accounts, but are rather carefully constructed retellings of the events by the prophet-
historian Mormon. Third, the accounts and sources which Mormon utilized to reconstruct his
narratives were most likely not immediate dictations of the events, but were probably first or second
hand recollections of those events. Because of this, there is only a very limited perspective remaining
on the actual events as they occurred: Mormon’s retelling of one person or group’s own retelling of
the story. Like a detective with only minimal witnesses and partial evidence, the reader is forced to
look for clues that might point to neglected (or intentionally redacted) information, biases, misplaced
assumptions, and reconstructed aspects of the narrative. It is with this methodology that the paper
seeks to re-approach and uncover various aspects of Ammon’s mission. This is not intended to be
an exhaustive account of Ammon’s story—perhaps no investigation could—but is rather intended
to illustrate certain aspects of the narrative that are usually left buried and unseen.

Zeniff’s invasion into Lamanite territory

While the animosity between the Nephites and Lamanites began with their feudal separation
into different kingdoms in the middle of the sixth-century B.C., the most recent and detailed of
altercations prior to Ammon’s mission occurred four centuries later. This renewal of aggression
began with the invasion of the Zeniff’s army into Lamanite territory to reclaim land that the
Nephites had once possessed.
 The personal account of Zeniff’s invasion (located in Mosiah 9-10) is the only full firsthand
record that Mormon included into his otherwise abridged narrative.1 While personally recounting
nearly four decades of his own history, Zeniff painted a story of how after reclaiming land in the
Lamanite kingdom, his people were preserved by God and protected from the wicked Lamanites
because of their own righteousness—a story that certainly would have appealed to Mormon, whose
overall narrative repeated the mantra of how those who ―were faithful in keeping the
commandments of God . . . would prosper them in the land‖ (Alma 48:15).2
However, Zeniff’s account is fraught with contradictions and suspect recollections. For
example, Zeniff began his account by claiming that he was initially ―a spy among the Lamanites . . . ,
that our army might come upon them and destroy them—but when I saw that which was good among them
I was desirous that they should not be destroyed‖ (Mosiah 1:9, emphasis mine). Zeniff’s
reservations, however, quickly dissolved. After his invasion, in order to portray his people as the
unfortunate victims, Zeniff instead writes that the Lamanites were ―a lazy and an idolatrous people;
therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the
labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of our fields‖ (Mosiah
9:12).
Furthermore, according to Zeniff’s own account of the events, after marching in with an
army and inquiring of the Lamanite king Laman if they might ―possess the land in peace‖ (vs. 5),
Laman displaced the citizens of two lands for Zeniff’s people to settle. Rather than recognizing the
seemingly obvious conclusion that Laman displaced his own people under the threat and fear of
Zeniff’s army, Zeniff instead claims that Laman did so because of ―the cunning and the craftiness of
king Laman, to bring my people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might possess
it‖—a plan that Laman apparently took over twelve years to put into effect (vss. 10-12). In trying to
portray his people as victims, Zeniff seems to forget that it was he and his army who were ―over-
zealous‖ and ―slow to remember the Lord our God‖ (vs. 3) as they set out as an armed force to
destroy and take land inhabited by the Lamanites.
Despite a dozen years of peace where Zeniff’s people were able to ―multiply and prosper in
the land‖ (vs 9), Zeniff maintains his claim that Laman’s offering of land was simply a trap to
ensnare his people. It isn’t until thirteen years into their occupation that this peace comes to an
abrupt ends. After ―a numerous host of Lamanites‖ attack some of Zeniff’s people near the
Lamanite border3 and take some of their ―flocks, and the corn of their fields‖ (vs. 14), Zeniff
determines that this was Laman finally implementing his thirteen-year plan ―to bring them into
bondage‖ (vs. 11). In response, Zeniff sends a heavily armed force to battle against the Lamanites
―in the strength of the Lord‖ (vs. 17), killing over three thousand Lamanites (and losing over two
hundred of their own).
After this altercation, Zeniff’s people began amassing armies at their borders, preparing for
another battle. And after his father death, King Laman’s son (also named Laman) also began to

1 The Small Plates of Nephi, composing 1 Nephi through Omni were included by Mormon in addition to his abridged
work, and not a part of it. Zeniff’s account, on the other hand, is interjected into his narrative in lieu of his own typical
work of abridgement.
2 See also 1 Ne. 2:20; 4:14; 2 Ne. 1:9; 1:20; 4:4; Jarom 1:9; Omni 1:6; Mosiah 1:7; 2:21; 2:31; Alma 9:13; 36:1; 36: 30;

37:13; 38:1; 48:15; 48:25; Alma 50:20; and Hel. 3:20.

3 Zeniff records that these farmers were ―away on the south of the land of Shilom‖ (Mosiah 1:14). It is not clear if this

means that they were on the south-end of the land of Shilom, or if they had pushed and expanded beyond their southern
borders. If the latter, then the Lamanites’ attack could have been a response to what they perceived to be an act of
Nephite expansionism.
prepare an army for war.4 Similarly, Zeniff’s own son Noah continued the animosity and violent
threats against the Lamanites. This would continue through Noah’s own son Limhi, until this last
descendant of Zeniff, through battles, enslavement, and struggle, managed to help his people escape
from the Lamanite kingdom to protection with in the Nephite kingdom.5

Nephite and Lamanite inter-national relations.

Ammon’s mission to the Lamanites comes at the heels of the struggles and violence between
Zeniff’s people and the Lamanites. It is a recent part of both of their cultural memories. Ammon’s
best friend Alma, was the son of the prophet Alma—a former priest of Noah who helped Limhi’s
people escape from the Lamanites. Ammon’s father was Mosiah, the Nephite king who gave Limhi’s
people protection. Ammon, as a missionary with the elder Alma’s gospel message and prince
emissary of his father’s kingdom, would be going to preach to the grandson of the Lamanite king
who was at war with Limhi’s people.
It is no wonder then that when Ammon and his brothers decided to go to the Lamanites
with hopes to find reconciliation, the Nephites mocked them. As Ammon is said to report,

they laughed us to scorn. 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 incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are;
whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest
iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? . . . 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. (Alma 26:23-25)

Even Mormon writes that

they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious
people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering
them; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet
they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor
for them with their own hands. Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did
worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their
fathers. (Alma 17:14-15)

On one end, the Nephites seemed to express some of the most racist and xenophobic
feelings imaginable against the Lamanites. On the other end, the Lamanites were still festering hard
feeling towards the Nephites ―who are sons of a liar‖ who ―robbed our fathers; and [whose] children

4 It seems that the Lamanites may have carried the tradition of naming their kings after the first Laman, as did the
Nephites for a period of time. Jacob writes that the Nephites ―were desirous to retain in remembrance his [Nephi’s]
name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth,
according to the reigns of the kings‖ (Jacob 1:11). Likewise, ―the name of the king of the Lamanites was Laman, being
called after the name of his father; and therefore he was called king Laman‖ (Mosiah 24:3). If we assume that the
Lamanites had generations similar to Zeniff’s people, the king Laman of Mosiah 24 would be the son of Laman the son
of Laman that first gave land to Zeniff.
5 There is not room in this paper to explore the further animosity between Limhi’s people and the Lamanites that

resulted from the kidnapping of the Lamanite daughters by Noah’s priests, the resulting battle, and the humiliation of
the Lamanite king in Mosiah 20.
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‖ (Alma 20:13)—a feeling that had certainly been exacerbated by their
probable belief that they had spent the last century threatened by the invasion, occupation, and
expansionism by the Nephites because of Zeniff.
It is in the midst of this inter-national unrest that Ammon and his brothers approach their
father the king and ask for permission to go preach to the Lamanites, with the specific goal that

perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them
of the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the
Nephites, that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might
become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land. (Mosiah 27:2)

Their mission was not just to share the message of salvation with the Lamanites, but was also to
jump right into the heat of violence and animosity that existed at their borders with the hope of
building a relationship between the nations.
With their father, King Mosiah’s, permission, Ammon, his brothers, and others ―which
whom they selected‖ (Alma 17:8) headed off toward the Lamanite kingdom. Mormon reports that as
they traveled they prayed for guidance and direction for their mission, and that part of the Lord’s
instructions to them in return was to be ―good examples unto them in me‖ (vs. 11). And while they
were apparently heavily armed ―that they might provide food for themselves while in the
wilderness‖ (vs. 7), upon reaching the Lamanite border they quickly separated ―one from another . . .
every man alone‖ (vs. 17), avoiding the pretense of entering the neighboring state as another
invading army. Though there were clearly several who set off in Ammon’s group, Mormon only
gives us a detailed glimpse into the missions of two: Ammon and his brother Aaron. In doing so,
Mormon contraposes their differences and seems to construct similarities in their narratives to
portray ―a good example‖ of how to both preach the gospel message and bring peace between two
warring nations.

Ammon’s Mission

Immediately upon entering into the Lamanite land of Ishmael, Ammon was bound and
taken to the local king, following the ―custom‖ or law of the Lamanites ―to bind all the Nephites‖
who come into Lamanite territory—something certainly understandable, given their recent history
and overall tension between the nations.6 According to Mormon, he would then be slain,
imprisoned, or cast out of the land ―according to his [the king’s] will and pleasure‖ (vs. 20).
This king over the land that Ammon was taken to was Lamoni, the son of the king of all of
the Lamanites. From the very beginning, both Lamoni and Ammon exhibited something far from
the deathly aggression that supposedly characterized the stereotypes that each nation had of the
other. Having surely been informed of both Ammon’s desires and his position as a prince of the
Nephites, one could only imagine what was going through Lamoni’s mind. The Nephites and
Lamanites were in the midst of violent tension, and here, alone, comes a Nephite prince into his
land to see him. Was this a declaration of war? Were the Nephites again planning to invade and
occupy their land? Or was this prince coming to his people to extend an olive branch of peace?

6 This custom seems to be carried over by the converted Lamanites who later bind and try the anti-Christ Korihor who
comes to preach to them. While Mormon attributes this to them being ―more wise than many of the Nephites‖ (Alma
30:20), it may have simply been their continued custom of binding and trying any foreigners who trespass into their
territory.
Lamoni immediately asks Ammon if it was true that he wanted to ―dwell among the Lamanites, or
among his people‖ (vs. 22), and Ammon answered that it was, in fact, his desire to dwell with them
―perhaps until the day I die‖ (vs.23).
At this moment, Lamoni must have felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Trusting Ammon’s
word, Lamoni was ―much pleased‖ and invited the Nephite prince to marry one of his daughters, a
Lamanite princess (vs. 24)—an act denoting Lamoni’s desire to unite and build a relationship
between the warring states.7 In a single meeting, both Ammon and Lamoni managed to crush the
stereotypes of hate that each had been taught of the other. Here was a Nephite who was not just
coming to the Lamanites to fire aggression or bring on a holier-than-thou condemnation; and
likewise, here was a Lamanite who was not delighting in killing Nephites, but was actually attempting
to establish peace with them. Ammon, however, turned down the offer of marriage and instead
asked to be a servant of Lamoni—perhaps to demonstrate and solidify his loyalty and friendship
with the king. Lamoni granted him his wish and set him ―among other servants to watch the flocks
of Lamoni‖ (vs. 25). 8
It is during this service that Ammon (infamously among Mormons) exhibited seemingly
divine strength and courage in protecting both the flocks and fellow-servants of Lamoni—one of
the select scenes captured in Arnold Friberg’s commissioned paintings of the Book of Mormon.
Upon hearing of this, Lamoni asked where Ammon was, and was astonished to learn that Ammon
was feeding Lamoni’s horses and preparing his chariots for Lamoni to use to attend a feast
appointed by Lamoni’s father.9 As Ammon goes to see Lamoni, one of Lamoni’s close servants
refers to Ammon as ―Rabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering
their kings to be powerful‖ (vs. 13)—a reference which signifies the respect and honor they were
giving Ammon as Nephite royalty, an honor which was ever increasing with the Lamanites. Ammon,
however, immediately reverses the honor, asking Lamoni, ―What wilt thou that I should do for thee,
O king?‖ (vs. 18). Imagine this scene. Here is a prince of the Nephites, continually refusing to take
the royal honor granted to him and instead lowering himself as a loyal and devoted servant of the
Lamanite king. Lamoni is left speechless. Who is this Ammon really? Why is this prince constantly
serving me? Where did his strength come from? It is not inconceivable that the Lamanite’s had
remnant teachings and traditions dating back to Lehi and Nephi’s visions of a god who would
become man. Could Ammon be the incarnation of their god, come to bring judgment upon the
Lamanites?
For over an hour, Ammon remains waiting as Lamoni stands there in silence before finally
speaking. While Mormon attributes Ammon’s words to his being filled with the spirit, it could have
just as easily been the common sense question following the events of the day. ―Is it because thou
hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew seven 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?‖ He assures Lamoni that there was nothing
to marvel at and again lowers himself before Lamoni, stating, ―Behold, I am a man, and am thy
servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do‖ (vss. 16-17).

7 I must thank David Golding for pointing this out to me.

8 Mormon notes that this, apparently dangerous and difficult task, was ―according to the custom of the Lamanites‖
(Alma 17:25). He adds later that it was ―the practice of these Lamanites to stand by the waters 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‖ (Alma 18:7). Was this a standard practice to test the loyalty of servants?
9 Mormon’s descriptions of flocks, horses, feasts, and other aspects of Lamanite life seem to betray his description of the

Lamanites as ―indolent people‖ (Alma 17:15)—though these may have reflected a slave- and servant-based economy of
an otherwise lazy culture.
 Lamoni’s silence breaks. ―Who art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit, who knows all things?‖
(vs. 18). Ammon’s service and example had won him over. Whatever it was that made Ammon the
way he was, Lamoni wanted to understand it. It is important to Mormon’s narrative that Lamoni is
always the first to ask questions and that Ammon is never casting judgments nor belittling the beliefs
of Lamoni. Rather than discounting Lamoni’s belief in a ―Great Spirit,‖ Ammon confirmed and
built off of it, asking Lamoni if he believed that ―this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things
which are in heaven and in the earth?‖ (vs. 28). It is from this that Ammon teaches Lamoni of
everything from the creation of Adam to their father Lehi, detailing the struggles and rebellions of
their shared ancestry, shares with Lamoni the Nephites’ own history, and teaches Lamoni of Christ,
the god who would become man to bring them salvation. Upon hearing these things, Lamoni
―began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which
thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people‖ (vs. 41). In a Pentecostal-
like expression of overwhelming faith, Lamoni then fell to the ground as if he were dead—an
experience soon repeated by the queen and Ammon.10 After they awake, Lamoni is converted and
immediately begins teaching the gospel with Ammon to Lamoni’s people.
After some time of teaching Lamoni’s people and establishing a church among them,
Lamoni desired to introduce Ammon to his own father. However, Ammon was instructed by the
Lord that if they went, Lamoni’s father would seek to kill them. Instead, Ammon is told that he
must go to the Lamanite land of Middoni where Ammon’s brother, and two of his associates were
imprisoned. Lamoni, in turn, offered his assistance to go with Ammon with his horses and chariot,
that he might talk his friend, the king of Middoni, into releasing Ammon’s brother and friends.
Although the Lord had reportedly told Ammon to not go to Lamoni’s father, as the latter
would have sought to take his life, Ammon and Lamoni nevertheless came upon Lamoni’s father on
the way to Middoni. While it may appear as an interesting twist of fate, Mormon may have
intentionally constructed the narrative in this way to provide another illustration of how the
preferred path to conversion is through being a ―good example.‖ Lamoni’s father is initially furious,
to say the least. Not only was Lamoni cavorting around with a ―Nephite, who is one of the children
of a liar‖ (Alma 20:10), he also missed his father’s feast to be with Ammon, and was going to
Middoni to free more Nephites from imprisonment. Lamoni’s father was either the son or grandson
(or at least monarchial descendant) of the King Laman who was humiliated by Limhi’s people
(Mosiah 20:25), and infuriated by what he surely believed was the Nephite invasion, occupation, and
expansionism under Zeniff and Zeniff’s descendents. The hatred for and fear of the Nephites is
acutely present in Lamoni’s father’s words to his son: ―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‖ (Alma 20:13).
When Lamoni refuses to take action against his friend Ammon, Lamoni’s father tries to
attack Lamoni, but is thwarted by Ammon who defends both Lamoni and himself from Lamoni’s
father’s sword. Ammon easily outmatches the ―old king‖ and pins him to the ground, requesting:

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
10There is, unfortunately, not space in this paper to discuss the unique role that Lamanite women are allowed to play in
the Book of Mormon. Unlike with the Nephites, whose women are rarely, if ever, mentioned, three Lamanite women
play a crucial religious role in the story of Ammon’s mission: Lamoni’s wife, Lamoni’s father’s wife, and Abish, an earlier
convert and daughter of a Lamanite visionary. Not only are they given prominent religious roles, but Ammon tells
Lamoni’s wife, ―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 Nephites‖ (Alma 19:10; emphasis added).
 according to his own desires in whatsoever thing he thinketh, then will I spare thee;
otherwise I will smite thee to the earth. (vs. 24)

Ammon could have easily killed the king, but spared him with only the simple requests of being able
to free his brothers and give Lamoni complete and free sovereignty over his own kingdom. There
were no demands for land, power, or wealth for himself. Mormon then points out, using his own
words, that when Lamoni’s father ―saw the great love he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished
exceedingly‖ (vs. 26). In Mormon’s narrative of Ammon’s mission, it is the ―good example‖ that
causes conversion and changes hearts. Not only does Lamoni’s father grant Ammon’s wishes but he
also asks for Ammon and his brothers to visit him in his kingdom because ―he was desirous to
learn‖ what they knew (vs. 27).
With Lamoni’s help and Lamoni’s father’s approval, Ammon traveled to Middoni and freed
his brothers and friends.

Aaron’s mission

Mormon begins the narrative of Aaron’s mission by showing how Aaron initially took a
different approach to his preaching, which had disastrous results.
Although the sons of Mosiah had left their native lands to visit and teach the Lamanites,
Aaron instead went first to preach to the Nephite-born Amalekites. Also, rather than waiting like
Ammon did, to build a friendship which naturally resulted in discussion, Aaron ―entered into one of
their synagogues to preach unto the people‖ (Alma 21:5). While Mormon does not provide us with
the words of Aaron’s preaching, one can infer that which Aaron proclaimed and understand why the
Amalekites took offense and rejected his words:

Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as
good as thy people? 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 righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we
do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men.

From these, it can be surmised that the Amalekites were offended by the approach used by Aaron.
Mormon, here, shows a stark contrast between the approach of Aaron and that of Ammon, and the
completely different consequences that resulted. While Ammon’s ―good example‖ resulted in
friendships and conversion, the content and directness of Aaron’s preaching resulted in disfavor and
contempt. His going into their synagogues and proclaiming his religious experience (as
authoritative?) was received as a holier-than-thou stance by the Amalekites; and clearly, the
command to repent and condemnation from a complete stranger did not bode well either. After
that, his attempts to preach of Christ fell on deaf ears.
Realizing that he was not going to have any success there, Aaron continued on to another
village where he met some of his associates and, once again, immediately began to ―contend with
many about the word‖ (vs. 11). After failing to win over hearts with his strict preaching, Aaron and
his friends make their way into the Lamanite land of Middoni, where they are immediately ―taken
and cast into prison‖ (vs. 13).
Mormon carefully constructed the narrative to solidify his point of how being a ―good
example‖ was the proper way to teach the gospel and find peace between nations. Not only did he
repeatedly show that Aaron’s confrontational preaching failed to garner success, he again illustrated
the contrast in methodology by immediately shifting from Aaron’s failing narrative to a recasting of
Ammon’s narrative with Aaron as the protagonist.
Perhaps having learned a lesson or two from his brother Ammon, Aaron goes to the palace
of Lamoni’s father—who was already prepared by Ammon and Lamoni—with hopes of sharing
Ammon’s success. It seems clear that Mormon is intentionally duplicated Ammon’s narrative to
indicate that this is his preferred method of teaching. In both cases Ammon and Aaron immediately
offer to serve before beginning any sort of preaching (Alma 17:25; 22:3), and only begin religious
discussion when it is inquired of them (18:20; 22:5). They then jump into nearly the exact same
discussion: ―Do you believe in God?‖ (18:24; 22:7); ―I don’t know‖ (18:25; 22:7); ―Do you believe in
a Great Spirit/ Is the Great Spirit God?‖ (18:26-27; 22:9); ―Yes, the Great Spirit is God‖ (18:28;
22:10); ―Do you believe that God created all things?‖ (18:28; 22:10); ―Yes, I believe that God created
all things‖ (18:29; 22:11); ―Then let me tell you about the creation of Adam and everything else until
the coming of Christ‖ (18:36-39; 22:12-14). Lamoni and Lamoni’s father both pray for forgiveness
(18:41; 22:17-18) and pass out with religious excitement (18:42; 22:18). While Ammon’s narrative has
more characters passing out with this religious excitement, both feature a prominent role of the
Lamanite queens (19:4-10, 29-30; 22: 19-22); both feature Lamanites afraid of what had happened
and accusing the Nephites (19:18-28; 22:19-22); and both end with the kings rising and preaching to
his people about their conversions (19:31; 22:22-23).

The conversion of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies

Following his conversion, Lamoni’s father sent out a proclamation to the entire kingdom—
which Mormon goes to great lengths to show just how large it was (Alma 22:27-33)—commanding
the Lamanites to grant them free passage through their lands. A simplistic reading of the text may
make it seem that the earlier capturing of Ammon and Aaron was evidence of the wickedness of the
Lamanites. However, that such a proclamation was able to grant them protection is evidence that
the Lamanites were not as wicked and blood-thirsty as the Nephites (and even Mormon) had
stereotyped them. It seems clear that if the Lamanites had truly been the blood-thirsty barbarians
that they had been characterized as, this proclamation would not have given them that protection.
As mentioned previously, it seems that their earlier capture was not a consequence of Lamanite
wickedness, but was instead a border practice which would have helped the Lamanites protect
themselves from spies and attacks—a protection they would have surely established following
Zeniff’s occupation. The king of the Lamanite’s proclamation then was most likely an exemption
granted to Ammon and his brothers from this border policy.
Through the subsequent preaching of Ammon and his brothers, ―thousands were brought to
the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the
Nephites‖ (Alma 23:5)—a conversion that all began with Ammon’s desire to serve. Furthermore
these Lamanites were converted to peace, ―lay[ing] down their weapons of rebellion‖ (vs. 7), and
becoming ―friendly with the Nephites; [and] therefore, . . . open[ing] a correspondence with them‖
(vs. 18).
Finally, to separate themselves from those Lamanites who did not convert (and the
Amulonites and Amalekites who had joined with them), Lamoni’s father, the king of all the
Lamanites, renamed his converted people the ―Anti-Nephi-Lehies‖ and thus they ―were no more
called the Lamanites‖ (vs. 17). Furthermore, at the coronation of his son (Lamoni’s brother) as their
new highest king, Lamoni’s father seems to have abandoned the practice of naming the new king
―Laman‖ and instead ―called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi‖ (24:3). Doing so, seems to show that
Lamoni’s father desired to no longer be known by his own Lamanite monarchial name—a request
that Mormon seems to have granted leaving Lamoni’s father nameless.11 Sadly, when the Anti-
Nephi-Lehies sought protection among the Nephites, the Nephites refused to recognize the Anti-
Nephi-Lehies new reformed-Lamanite leadership, and would instead only refer to them with a
Nephite name, calling them ―the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name
ever after‖ (27:26).

Conclusion

Hidden between the words of the Book of Mormon’s account of Ammon’s mission is a
complex narrative that goes far beyond its normal reading of the missionary to the barbarous
Lamanites who wielded God’s power and converted thousands to the gospel. Through a careful
examination of the text, the narrative of Ammon’s mission shows much more than might be
immediately apparent. His mission began during a heightened stage of Nephite and Lamanite
animosity, resulting from what was perceived by the Lamanites to be nearly a century of Nephite
occupation and expansionism in their lands by Zeniff and his descendants. Far from being just a
religious missionary, Ammon was a prince of the Nephites seeking also to create peace with the
Lamanites and establish a relationship between them. Mormon constructed the narrative of his
mission to show that it is through service and being a good example that true conversion and peace
between nations occurs; and in this process hateful stereotypes can be broken down and dissolved.

11 For evidence of the Lamanites naming their new king Laman at their coronation, see note 4 above.