Alma 57

“Shortly thereafter I received a message from Ammoron, the Lamanite king,” Helaman continued writing in his letter to Moroni, “that if I returned the Lamanite prisoners of war, he would hand the city of Antiparah over to us.

“I wrote back to Ammoron that we would only exchange Lamanite prisoners held by us for Nephite prisoners held by him. I told him that we were certain of our ability to take Antiparah by force. When Ammoron refused my offer, we began our preparations for war. When the citizens of Antiparah learned of our imminent attack they fled to other cities that the Lamanites already held. So the city of Antiparah fell into our hands without a fight.

“Some time later we received generous supplies from Zarahemla along with an additional 6,060 troops. Sixty of these men were more sons of the Ammonites. After this we were a much stronger fighting force than before. So we set our sights next on recapturing the city of Cumeni, and waging war with the Lamanite army that protected it.

“We surrounded the city one night just before their scheduled supply of provisions was due to arrive. For many nights we camped outside the city walls, sleeping with our swords. We needed to be prepared for instant defense if the Lamanites attacked us while we slept. They attempted these nightly ambushes many times, but it was always at their loss. One night, the anticipated supply delivery arrived, and we successfully took the supply party prisoners, and kept the supplies all for ourselves.

“In spite of being cut off from their support, the Lamanites persisted in holding on to Cumeni. We sent the supplies back to Judea, and sent the prisoners back to Zarahemla. When the Lamanites realized that we were determined to conquer the city regardless of any resistance on their part, they surrendered. By now, the number of Lamanite prisoners was so large that it required our entire army to guard them. They tried breaking free once, fighting us with clubs and stones. By the time we subdued them, 2,000 Lamanites lay dead.

“It became necessary that we either kill them all, or bring them all to Zarahemla under heavy guard. In spite of the fact that we’d taken the supplies meant for them, keeping them all fed meant seriously depleting our own resources. In all these ways, these prisoners became a serious problem to us. We resolved to take them to Zarahemla, and sent along an army to guard and transport them.

“The next day a fresh army of well supplied Lamanites sent by King Ammon arrived and attacked us. Just as we were about to be overpowered, the army we’d sent to Zarahemla with the prisoners the previous day, returned and saved us. We didn’t have time to ask what became of the prisoners they’d taken with them.

“My band of 2,060 Ammonite sons fought the Lamanites with ferocious intensity, and all those who opposed them died trying. They were precise in executing my every command. I remembered their mothers’ words to them, ‘that if they didn’t doubt, God would deliver them.’

“Credit for our surprising victory lay with my Ammonite sons, and with the army who had been selected to convey the prisoners, but returned so quickly to us. We had regained Cumeni and driven the Lamanites back to Manti, but not without suffering great losses. As soon as the battle had been won, and the Lamanites had fled, I ordered that the wounded be gathered up for immediate treatment. 200 of my 2, 060 Ammonite sons had fainted from loss of blood in the battle, and all of them were badly wounded. To my astonishment, and through the goodness of God, none of them died. The entire army was in disbelief that all of the Ammonite sons survived when 1,000 of their fellow soldiers had died. We attributed it to the miraculous power of God because of what they’d been taught to believe by their mothers — that God was just, and that whoever did not doubt would be preserved through God’s power.

“After burying the dead, we asked about the fate of the prisoners bound for Zarahemla. The captain in charge was a man named Gid, and this is the story that he told. ‘Shortly after we’d started out we met up with our army’s spies who’d been watching the Lamanite camps. We learned from them of the imminent arrival of the fresh Lamanite army and the peril that the Nephites at Cumeni were in. The prisoners also heard of this and rose up against us in rebellion. Even though they weren’t armed, they attacked us in a great rush. Most of them were killed, while a few of them broke through and ran away. Afterwards we quickly returned to Cumeni to support you. We have been delivered from our enemy’s hands once again by the blessed power of God.’

“When I heard Gid’s story I was filled with joy because of God’s goodness in preserving us. I trust that all of those among us who have died, have gone to rest with God.” [63 BC]