Now this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind — which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness — yea, this light had infused much joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul. ... Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king and he knew that he was not dead.
Now when the servants of the king had seen that they had fallen, they also began to cry unto God, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them also, for it was they who had stood before the king and testified unto him concerning the great power of Ammon.
Therefore, when she saw that all the servants of Lamoni had fallen to the earth, and also her mistress the queen, and the king, and Ammon lay prostrate upon the earth, she knew that it was the power of God; and supposing that this opportunity, by making known unto the people what had happened among them, that by beholding this scene it would cause them to believe in the power of God, therefore she ran forth from house to house making it known unto the people. ... And they began to assemble themselves together unto the house of the king.
And there came a multitude, and to their astonishment they beheld the king, and the queen, and their servants, prostrate upon the earth; and they all lay there as though they were dead. ... And now the people began to murmur among themselves, some saying that it was a great evil that had come upon them, or upon the king and his house, because he had suffered that the Nephite should remain in the land. ... But others rebuked them, saying, The king hath brought this evil upon his house because he slew his servants who had had their flocks scattered at the waters of Sebus. ... And they were also rebuked by those men who had stood at the waters of Sebus and scattered the flocks which belonged to the king, for they were angry with Ammon because of the number which he had slain of their brethren at the waters of Sebus while defending the flocks of the king.
And when she had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand; and behold, he arose and stood upon his feet.
And it came to pass that when they had established a church in that land, that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might shew him unto his father. ... And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon, saying, Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi; for behold, the king will seek thy life.
But behold, I will go with thee to the land of Middoni, for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore, I go to the land of Middoni that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of prison. ... And he said unto Ammon, Come, I will go with thee down to the land of Middoni, and there I will plead with the king that he will cast thy brethren out of prison.
And it came to pass that as Ammon and Lamoni were journeying thither, that they met the father of Lamoni, who was king over all the land.
Now when the king saw that Ammon could slay him, he began to plead with Ammon that he would spare his life. ... Now the king, fearing that he should lose his life, said, If thou wilt spare me, I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to the half of the kingdom.
Now when Ammon saw that he had wrought upon the old king according to his desire, he said unto him, If thou wilt grant that my brethren may be cast out of prison, and also that Lamoni may retain his kingdom, and that ye be not displeased with him, but grant that he may do according to his own desires in whatsoever thing he thinketh, then will I spare thee; otherwise, I will smite thee to the earth. ... Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life. ... For the king was greatly astonished at the words which he had spoken, and also at the words which had been spoken by his son Lamoni; therefore, he was desirous to learn them.
And Lamoni found favor in the eyes of the king of the land; therefore, the brethren of Ammon were brought forth out of prison.
And king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him or be his servant, but he caused that there should be synagogues built in the land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or the people who were under his reign, should assemble themselves together. ... And he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were under him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from the oppression of the king, his father, for that his father had granted unto him that he might reign over the people who were in the land of Ishmael and in all the land round about. ... And he also declared unto them that they might have the liberty of worshipping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in, if it were in the land which was under the reign of king Lamoni. ... And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni. ... Now, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamoni continually, we will return to the account of Aaron and his other brethren; for after he departed from the land of Middoni, he was led by the spirit to the land of Nephi, even to the house of the king which was over all the land, save it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the father of Lamoni.
And it came to pass that he went in unto him, into the king’s palace, with his brethren, and bowed himself before the king, and said unto him, Behold, O king, we are the brethren of Ammon whom thou hast delivered out of prison. ... And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives, we will be thy servants. ... And Aaron said unto the king, Behold, the spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone to the land of Ishmael to teach the people of Lamoni. ... Now the king said unto them, What is this that ye have said concerning the spirit of the Lord? ... And the king said, I know that the Amlicites say that there is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together to worship him.
And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said, Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God. ... And the king said, Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?
And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began, from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king: how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen. ... And Aaron did expound all these things unto the king. ... And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said, What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken?
And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord upon his knees, yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying, O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God, and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me? ... And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead.
And it came to pass that his servants ran and told the queen all that had happened unto the king, and she came in unto the king; and when she saw him lay as if he were dead, and also Aaron and his brethren standing as though they had been the cause of his fall, she was angry with them, and commanded that her servants, or the servants of the king, should take them and slay them. ... Now the servants had seen the cause of the king’s fall, therefore they durst not lay their hands on Aaron and his brethren.
Now when Aaron saw the determination of the queen, and he, also knowing the hardness of the hearts of the people, feared lest that a multitude should assemble themselves together and there should be a great contention and a disturbance among them, therefore he put forth his hand and raised the king from the earth, and said unto him, Stand. ... And the king stood forth and began to minister unto them. ... But the king stood forth among them and administered unto them, and they were pacified towards Aaron and those who were with him.
And it came to pass that when the king saw that the people were pacified, he caused that Aaron and his brethren should stand forth in the midst of the multitude, and that they should preach the word unto them. ... And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea on the east and on the west, and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti by the head of the river Sidon running from the east towards the west; and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided.
Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren, who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land. ... For the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household; therefore, he sent this proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.
And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches and consecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success.
And now it came to pass that the king, and those people which were converted, were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore, the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.
And their hatred became exceeding sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king.
Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi. ... And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God. ... Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.
And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth.