# Alma 17

*Simple English*

### Alma Meets the Sons of Mosiah

Alma was traveling from the land of Gideon south toward the land of Manti. He was surprised when he met the sons of Mosiah. They were traveling toward the land of Zarahemla. These sons of Mosiah were with Alma when the angel first appeared to him. Alma was very happy to see his friends. What made him even happier was that they were still his friends in the Lord. They had grown strong in knowing the truth. They were smart men. They had studied the Scriptures carefully so they could know God’s word. But that’s not all. They had prayed a lot and gone without food. Because of this, they had the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation. When they taught, they taught with power and authority. They taught with the power and authority of God. They had been teaching God’s word for fourteen years among the Lamanites. They had helped many people learn the truth. Through the power of their words, many people came before God’s altar to pray to him and confess their sins.

Here is what happened to them on their travels. They had many hard times. They suffered a lot in body and mind. They were hungry, thirsty, and tired. They also worked very hard in the Spirit.

### The Sons of Mosiah Begin Their Mission

Here is how their journey started. They said goodbye to their father Mosiah in the first year of the judges. Their father wanted to give them the kingdom, but they said no. The people wanted this too. But they left the land of Zarahemla. They took their swords, spears, bows, arrows, and slings. They did this so they could get food while in the wilderness. So they went into the wilderness with the men they had picked. They went up to the land of Nephi to preach God’s word to the Lamanites.

They traveled for many days in the wilderness. They went without food a lot and prayed a lot. They asked the Lord to give them some of his Spirit to go with them and stay with them. They wanted to be a tool in God’s hands. They hoped to bring their relatives, the Lamanites, to know the truth. They wanted them to know that their fathers’ teachings were wrong.

The Lord visited them with his Spirit. He said to them: Be comforted. And they felt better. The Lord also said to them: Go among the Lamanites, your relatives, and share my word. You must be patient through long suffering and hard times. Show them good examples of me. I will make you a tool in my hands to save many people.

The hearts of the sons of Mosiah and those who were with them became brave. They were ready to go to the Lamanites to tell them God’s word.

### The Missionaries Separate

When they got to the land of the Lamanites, they separated. They left each other, trusting in the Lord that they would meet again when the harvest was over. They knew the work they started was big. It was a big job. They were going to preach God’s word to a wild, hard, and fierce people. These people loved to murder the Nephites and rob and steal from them. Their hearts wanted riches, gold, silver, and precious stones. But they wanted to get these things by murdering and stealing, not by working for them. So they were a very lazy people. Many of them worshiped idols. God’s curse had fallen on them because of what their fathers taught them. But God’s promises were still offered to them if they would change their hearts. This is why the sons of Mosiah started this work. Maybe they could help them change their hearts. Maybe they could help them learn about God’s plan to save them.

So they separated and went among them. Each man went alone, following God’s word and power that was given to him. Ammon was the leader among them. He helped them. He left them after blessing each one. He shared God’s word with them and helped them before he left. Then they went on their different journeys through the land.

### Ammon Becomes a Servant

Ammon went to the land of Ishmael. The land was named after the sons of Ishmael, who had become Lamanites. When Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and tied him up. This was their custom. They tied up all the Nephites they caught and took them to the king. The king could decide to kill them, keep them as prisoners, put them in jail, or send them away. He could do whatever he wanted. So Ammon was taken to the king who ruled the land of Ishmael. His name was Lamoni. He was a descendant of Ishmael.

The king asked Ammon if he wanted to live in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people. Ammon said to him: Yes, I want to live among this people for a while. Maybe even until the day I die. King Lamoni was very pleased with Ammon. He had Ammon’s ropes untied. He wanted Ammon to marry one of his daughters. But Ammon said to him: No, but I will be your servant. So Ammon became a servant to King Lamoni. He was put with other servants to watch Lamoni’s flocks. This was the custom of the Lamanites.

### The Flocks Are Scattered

After he had worked for the king for three days, he went with the Lamanite servants to take their flocks to water. The place was called the water of Sebus. All the Lamanites took their flocks there to get water. So Ammon and the king’s servants were taking their flocks to this water. A group of Lamanites who had been watering their flocks stood there. They scattered the flocks of Ammon and the king’s servants. They scattered them so much that they ran in many different directions. The king’s servants started to complain. They said: The king will kill us, just like he killed our friends, because their flocks were scattered by the evil of these men. They started to cry a lot. They said: Look, our flocks are already scattered.

They cried because they were afraid of being killed. When Ammon saw this, his heart was filled with joy. He said: I will show my power to these servants. I will show the power that is in me by bringing these flocks back to the king. Then I can win the hearts of these servants. Then I can help them believe my words. These were Ammon’s thoughts when he saw the hard time his friends were having.

### Ammon Defends the Flocks

He encouraged them with his words. He said: My friends, don’t worry. Let’s go look for the flocks. We will gather them together and bring them back to the water. This way we will save the flocks for the king, and he won’t kill us. So they went to look for the flocks. They followed Ammon. They rushed forward very quickly. They got ahead of the king’s flocks and gathered them together again at the water.

Those men stood there again to scatter their flocks. But Ammon said to his friends: Circle around the flocks so they don’t run away. I will go and fight these men who are scattering our flocks. So they did what Ammon told them. He went out and stood to fight those who stood by the waters of Sebus. There were quite a few of them.

So they were not afraid of Ammon. They thought one of their men could kill him easily. They didn’t know that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would save his sons. They didn’t know anything about the Lord. So they loved to destroy their enemies. Because of this, they stood there to scatter the king’s flocks. But Ammon stood there and started to throw stones at them with his sling. With great power, he threw stones at them. He killed some of them. They started to be amazed at his power. But they were angry because of their dead friends. They decided that he must die. When they saw they couldn’t hit him with their stones, they came at him with clubs to kill him.

But every man who lifted his club to hit Ammon got his arm cut off by Ammon’s sword. He blocked their hits by cutting off their arms with the edge of his sword. They started to be amazed and ran away from him. There were many of them. He made them run away by the strength of his arm. Six of them had died from the sling, but he only killed their leader. He cut off the arms of anyone who lifted them against him. There were many of them. When he had driven them far away, he came back. They watered their flocks and took them back to the king’s pasture. Then they went to the king. They brought the arms that had been cut off by Ammon’s sword from those who tried to kill him. They carried them to the king as proof of what they had done.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/simple/alma/17)*
