# Alma 22

*Simple English*

### Aaron Teaches the King

While Ammon was teaching the people of Lamoni, we will return to the story of Aaron and his brothers. After he left the land of Middoni, the Spirit led him to the land of Nephi. He went to the house of the king who ruled over all the land except the land of Ishmael. This king was Lamoni’s father. He went into the king’s palace with his brothers. They bowed down before the king. He said to him: We are the brothers of Ammon, who you let out of prison. King, if you will let us live, we will be your servants. The king said to them: Stand up. I will let you live. I will not make you my servants. But I want you to help me. I have been troubled in my mind because of how kind your brother Ammon was and the great things he said. I want to know why he has not come up from Middoni with you.

Aaron said to the king: The Spirit of the Lord called him another way. He has gone to the land of Ishmael to teach the people of Lamoni. The king said to them: What is this you have said about the Spirit of the Lord? This is what troubles me. Also, what does Ammon mean when he says if you change your hearts you will be saved, and if you do not change your hearts, you will be thrown away at the last day?

### The King Wants to Know About God

Aaron answered him and said to him: Do you believe there is a God? The king said: I know that the Amalekites say there is a God. I have let them build places where they can meet together to worship him. If you say there is a God, I will believe.

When Aaron heard this, his heart began to be happy. He said: As you live, O king, there is a God.

The king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?

Aaron said to him: Yes, he is that Great Spirit. He created all things, both in Heaven and on earth. Do you believe this?

He said: Yes, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things. I want you to tell me about all these things. I will believe your words.

### Aaron Teaches God’s Plan

When Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he started from the creation of Adam. He read the Scriptures to the king. He taught how God created man to look like him. God gave him rules to follow. Because man broke the rules, he fell. Aaron explained the Scriptures to him. He started from the creation of Adam. He taught about the fall of man. He taught about their sinful state. He also taught about God’s plan of saving them. This plan was prepared from the beginning of the world through Christ. It is for everyone who would believe in his name. Since man had fallen, he could not earn anything by himself. But the suffering and death of Christ pays for their sins through faith and changing their hearts. He breaks the chains of death. The grave will not win. The sting of death will be swallowed up in the hope of glory. Aaron explained all these things to the king.

### The King Prays to Know God

After Aaron had explained these things to him, the king said: What should I do so that I can have this life that lasts forever? What should I do so that I can be born of God? I want this evil spirit torn out of my heart. I want to receive his Spirit so that I can be filled with joy. I do not want to be thrown away at the last day. He said: I will give up everything I have. I will leave my kingdom so that I can receive this great joy.

But Aaron said to him: If you want this thing, if you will bow down before God, if you change your heart about all your sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that you will receive, then you will receive the hope that you want.

When Aaron had said these words, the king bowed down before the Lord on his knees. He lay flat on the ground. He cried out with a loud voice. O God, Aaron has told me that there is a God. If there is a God, and if you are God, will you make yourself known to me? I will give away all my sins to know you. I want to be raised from the dead and be saved at the last day. When the king had said these words, he fell down as if he were dead.

### The Queen Gets Angry

His servants ran and told the queen all that had happened to the king. She came in to see the king. When she saw him lying there as if he were dead, she also saw Aaron and his brothers standing there. She thought they had caused his fall. She was angry with them. She told her servants to take them and kill them.

The servants had seen what caused the king to fall. They did not dare to touch Aaron and his brothers. They begged the queen. They said: Why do you tell us to kill these men when one of them is stronger than us all? We will fall before them.

When the queen saw the servants were scared, she also began to be very scared. She was afraid that something bad would come upon her. She told her servants to go and call the people so they could kill Aaron and his brothers.

### The King Stands Up Again

When Aaron saw what the queen was going to do, and because he knew the hearts of the people were hard, he was scared that a crowd would gather together. There might be a great fight and trouble among them. He put out his hand and raised the king from the ground. He said to him: Stand. The king stood on his feet. He got his strength back. This was done in front of the queen and many of the servants. When they saw it, they were amazed. They began to be scared. The king stood up and began to teach them. He taught them so much that his whole household believed in the Lord.

A crowd had gathered together because the queen had told them to come. They began to complain a lot about Aaron and his brothers. But the king stood among them and taught them. They became calm toward Aaron and those who were with him. When the king saw that the people were calm, he made Aaron and his brothers stand in the middle of the crowd. They preached the word to them.

### The King’s Message Goes Out

The king sent a message throughout all the land to all his people. His land reached all the way to the sea on the east and on the west. It was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness. This strip ran from the sea on the east to the sea on the west. It went around the borders of the seashore and the borders of the wilderness on the north by the land of Zarahemla. It went through the borders of Manti by the head of the river Sidon. It ran from the east toward the west. This is how the Lamanites and the Nephites were divided.

The lazier part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness and lived in tents. They were spread through the wilderness on the west in the land of Nephi. Also on the west of the land of Zarahemla by the seashore. And on the west in the land of Nephi where their fathers first lived. They went along by the seashore. There were also many Lamanites on the east by the seashore where the Nephites had pushed them. The Nephites were almost surrounded by the Lamanites. But the Nephites had taken all the northern parts of the land. This bordered on the wilderness at the head of the river Sidon. It went from the east to the west around the wilderness side on the north. It went until they came to the land they called Bountiful. It bordered on the land they called Desolation. It was so far north that it came into the land where people had lived and been destroyed. We have talked about their bones. The people of Zarahemla found them. It was the place where they first landed. They came from there up into the south wilderness. The land to the north was called Desolation. The land to the south was called Bountiful. It was the wilderness that was filled with all kinds of wild animals. Some of them had come from the land to the north looking for food. It was only a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite on the line between Bountiful and the land Desolation from the east to the west sea. The land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were almost surrounded by water. There was a small neck of land between the land to the north and the land to the south. The Nephites had lived in the land Bountiful from the east to the west sea. In their wisdom, with their guards and their armies, they had boxed in the Lamanites on the south. That way the Lamanites would have no more land on the north. They could not take over the land to the north. The Lamanites could have no more land except in the land of Nephi and the wilderness around it. This was wise for the Nephites. The Lamanites were their enemies. They did not want to suffer hard times from them on every side. They also wanted to have a country where they could run away if they needed to.

After having said this, I will return again to the story of Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Himni, and their brothers.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/simple/alma/22)*
