The Story of Two Ammons

Near the beginning of his reign, King Mosiah, the son of King Benjamin, sent a man named Ammon along with several others to “go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi” to find the Nephites who had gone up many years before with Zeniff. Ammon was their leader and after traveling close to the land of the Lamanites, he took with him in particular three others into the land of Nephi. There “they met the king of the people who were in the land of Nephi, and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by the king’s guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison” (Mosiah 7:3-7). They were soon released and ultimately Ammon and his brethren were able to rescue the Nephites from the Lamanites and help King Limhi “deliver themselves out of bondage.” We read that they escaped by night and were “led by Ammon and his brethren” until they “joined Mosiah’s people, and became his subjects” (Mosiah 22:1,11,13). Ammon’s sacrifice to go up and risk his life among the Lamanites proved key to the temporal salvation of the people of King Limhi.

About thirty years later, almost the same thing happened. King Mosiah, now near the end of his reign, sent a man named Ammon along with several others, and three of his brothers in particular, up to the land of Nephi. When “Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and bound him, as was their custom to bind all the Nephites who fell into their hands, and carry them before the king.” When King Lamoni began to trust Ammon he let him go and Ammon served him until he ultimately preached the gospel to him and his family. Lamoni and his household were converted to the Lord and they were delivered out of spiritual bondage through Jesus Christ. His wife declared, “O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! (Alma 17:20,29). Eventually thousands among the Lamanites were converted unto the Lord, and as their lives were put in danger Ammon led them out of the land of Nephi to go down to Zarahemla, telling them: “Let us gather together this people of the Lord, and let us go down to the land of Zarahemla to our brethren the Nephites.” They did indeed do that and initially inherited the land of Jershon, “and they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God” (Alma 27:5,27). By this time King Mosiah had passed away, but they were received by the Nephites just like that other group about 45 years earlier. I love the parallels here—one Ammon went up to save his brethren physically, and the second went up and saved his brethren spiritually, both under the direction of King Mosiah. And all of them found their way home to safety among the Nephites.   

I have to think that as King Mosiah hesitantly sent that second group, including all of his sons, he thought about the first group. The experience of the first Ammon witnessed to the dangers of the Lamanites and their enmity towards the Nephites. Undoubtedly he feared that his own Ammon and other sons would lose their lives among the Lamanites. I believe that’s why the Lord’s message to him was that they would indeed be preserved: “And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites” (Mosiah 28:7). Perhaps as he received that message he remembered the miraculous way that the Lord had delivered the people of King Limhi through Ammon and his brethren, and he trusted the Lord enough to selflessly send off his sons to preach the gospel to his enemies. He had the faith to send both of these groups led by a man named Ammon, and his actions led to the salvation of many souls.