The Missionaries Return to Jershon
After Amulek finished speaking, they left the crowd and went to the land of Jershon. The rest of the brothers also went to the land of Jershon after they had preached to the Zoramites.
The Zoramites Reject the Message
The most popular Zoramites met together to talk about what had been preached to them. They were angry because the message would destroy their way of life. So they would not listen to it. They gathered all the people across the land and talked with them about what had been said. Their rulers, priests, and teachers did not tell the people what they wanted. So they secretly found out what all the people thought. After they found out what all the people thought, they forced out everyone who agreed with what Alma and his brothers had said. There were many of them. They also went to the land of Jershon. Alma and his brothers helped them.
The People of Ammon Help the Poor Zoramites
The Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon. The chief ruler of the Zoramites was a very evil man. He sent a message to the people of Ammon asking them to force out all the people who had left Zoram. He made many threats against them. But the people of Ammon did not fear what he said. So they did not force them out. Instead, they welcomed all the poor Zoramites who came to them. They fed them, gave them clothes, and gave them land to own. They took care of everything they needed.
War Begins
This made the Zoramites angry with the people of Ammon. They began to join with the Lamanites and made them angry at the people of Ammon too. So the Zoramites and the Lamanites began to get ready for war against the people of Ammon and also against the Nephites.
This ended the seventeenth year of the judges over the people of Nephi. The people of Ammon left the land of Jershon and went to the land of Melek. They gave the land of Jershon to the armies of the Nephites so they could fight the armies of the Lamanites and the Zoramites. This is how the war between the Lamanites and the Nephites started in the eighteenth year of the judges. Their wars will be told about later.
Alma, Ammon, their brothers, and Alma’s two sons went back to the land of Zarahemla. God had used them to bring many Zoramites to change their hearts. Everyone who changed was forced out of their land. But they have land to own in the land of Jershon. They have taken up weapons to defend themselves, their wives, their children, and their lands.
Alma Teaches His Sons
Alma was very sad about the sin of his people. He was sad about the wars, the killing, and the fighting. He had gone to preach in every city. He saw that people’s hearts were becoming hard. They began to get upset because God’s word was strict. His heart was very sad. So he had his sons come together. He wanted to give each one his own message about doing what is right. We have a record of what he told them.