Aaron Meets the King
While Ammon kept teaching the people of Lamoni, let’s turn back to Aaron and his brothers. After Aaron left Middoni, the Spirit led him to the land of Nephi—right to the palace of the king who ruled all the Lamanite territory except Ishmael’s land. This king was Lamoni’s father.
Aaron and his brothers walked into the palace and bowed before the king. “Your Majesty,” Aaron said, “we’re Ammon’s brothers—the ones you freed from prison. If you’ll spare our lives, we’ll serve you.” The king replied, “Stand up. I’ll spare you, but I won’t make you servants. I do want you to teach me, though. I’ve been deeply troubled by your brother Ammon—his kindness and his powerful words. I want to know why he didn’t come with you from Middoni.”
Aaron answered, “The Spirit of the Lord called him somewhere else. He went to Ishmael to teach Lamoni’s people. What do you mean by ‘the Spirit of the Lord’?” the king asked. “That’s what troubles me. And what did Ammon mean when he said, ‘If you repent you’ll be saved, but if you don’t, you’ll be cut off at the last day’?”
Aaron asked him, “Do you believe there’s a God?” The king said, “I know the Amalekites say there is, and I’ve let them build sanctuaries to worship him. If you say there’s a God, I’ll believe it.” Aaron’s heart leaped. “As surely as you’re alive, Your Majesty, there is a God.”
“Is God that Great Spirit who brought our ancestors out of Jerusalem? Yes, he is that Great Spirit,” Aaron said. “And he created everything in heaven and on earth. Do you believe that?”
“Yes, I believe the Great Spirit created everything. Tell me more about all this—I’ll believe what you say.”
Teaching the Plan of Redemption
When Aaron saw that the king was ready to believe, he started from the beginning. He read the scriptures about the creation of Adam—how God made man in his own image, gave him commands, and how Adam fell because of disobedience. Aaron explained the scriptures from Adam’s creation forward—the Fall and humanity’s broken condition, and the plan of redemption that God prepared before the world began. Through Christ, anyone who believes in his name can be saved. “Since we’ve all fallen, we can’t earn anything by ourselves. But Christ’s suffering and death pay for our sins through faith and repentance. He breaks death’s chains so the grave loses its power, and death’s sting is swallowed up in the hope of glory.” Aaron laid it all out for the king.
The King’s Prayer
After Aaron finished explaining, the king asked, “What do I need to do to have this eternal life you’re talking about? What do I do to be born of God, to have this wicked spirit torn out of me and receive his Spirit so I can be filled with joy and not be cut off at the last day?” He paused. “I’ll give up everything I have. I’ll even abandon my kingdom for this great joy.”
Aaron told him, “If this is what you truly want, bow down before God. Repent of all your sins, kneel before God, and call on his name in faith. Believe that you’ll receive, and you’ll receive the hope you’re looking for.” After Aaron said this, the king dropped to his knees before the Lord. Then he threw himself facedown on the ground and cried out, “O God, Aaron has told me there is a God. If there is a God, and if you are God, reveal yourself to me. I’ll give away all my sins to know you, to be raised from the dead, and to be saved at the last day.” After the king said this, he collapsed as if dead.
The Queen’s Fury
His servants ran to tell the queen what happened. She rushed in and saw the king lying there like a corpse, with Aaron and his brothers standing over him. Thinking they’d caused his fall, she flew into a rage and ordered her servants to seize them and kill them.
But the servants had seen what really happened to the king, and they were too afraid to touch Aaron and his brothers. They pleaded with the queen: “Why do you want us to kill these men? One of them is stronger than all of us combined! We wouldn’t stand a chance.” When the queen saw how terrified her servants were, she became afraid herself—afraid that something terrible might happen to her. So she ordered them to go call the people to come and kill Aaron and his brothers.
When Aaron saw how determined the queen was, and knowing how hard-hearted the people could be, he feared that a mob would form and cause a violent riot. So he reached down, lifted the king from the ground, and said, “Stand up.” The king stood, his strength restored. This happened right in front of the queen and many servants. When they saw it, they were amazed and began to be afraid. The king stepped forward and started teaching them. He taught them so powerfully that his entire household converted to the Lord.
Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered because of the queen’s command, and they were grumbling angrily about Aaron and his brothers. But the king stood before them and taught them. Soon they calmed down toward Aaron and those with him. When the king saw the people had calmed down, he had Aaron and his brothers stand before the crowd and preach.
The King’s Proclamation and the Geography
Then the king sent out a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom—all the territory that stretched from the eastern sea to the western sea, divided from Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness that ran from the east sea to the west sea, bordered on the north by the wilderness near Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, at the headwaters of the Sidon River, running east to west. This was how the Lamanites and Nephites were separated.
The more nomadic Lamanites lived in the wilderness in tents. They were scattered through the western wilderness in the land of Nephi, and also west of Zarahemla along the seashore, and in western Nephi where their ancestors first settled—all along the coast. There were also many Lamanites on the east coast, where the Nephites had driven them. So the Lamanites nearly surrounded the Nephites. But the Nephites controlled all the northern territory bordering the wilderness at the headwaters of the Sidon River, from east to west, all around the wilderness side on the north, up to the land they called Bountiful.
Bountiful bordered the land called Desolation, far to the north—the land that had once been inhabited by the people whose bones were discovered by Zarahemla’s people. That’s where those ancient people first landed. From there they came south into the wilderness. So the northern land was called Desolation, and the southern land was called Bountiful—a wilderness filled with all kinds of wild animals, some of which had migrated from the north looking for food.
The distance from the eastern sea to the western sea along the border between Bountiful and Desolation was only a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite. This meant the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, with just a small strip of land connecting the northern and southern lands. The Nephites had settled in Bountiful from the eastern sea to the western sea. With their guards and armies, they’d wisely boxed the Lamanites in on the south so they couldn’t possess any northern territory and couldn’t overrun the land to the north.
This limited the Lamanites to the land of Nephi and the surrounding wilderness. This was strategic for the Nephites—since the Lamanites were their enemies, they didn’t want to be attacked from all sides. They also wanted territory they could retreat to if needed.
Now that I’ve explained all this, let me return to the story of Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Himni, and their brothers.