A Report from Aaron

When Ammon and his brethren first separated near the Lamanite border, Aaron went toward Jerusalem, named after the old Jerusalem across the ocean. The Lamanites, Amalekites, and the people of Amulon had built this great city, Jerusalem. The Lamanites were stubborn, but the Amalekites and Amulonites were even more so. They had influenced the Lamanites to become very wicked.

When Aaron came into Jerusalem, he started to preach to the Amalekites in their great church buildings called synagogues. These synagogues were built according to the order of the Nehors, for many of the Amalekites and Amulonites belonged to that order.

As Aaron was preaching, an Amalekite man stood up and argued with him, “What do you mean, you have seen an angel? Why don’t angels appear to us? Are your people better than we? You said if we do not repent, we will die. How do you know if we need to repent? How do you know if we are righteous or not? Look around. We have built sacred buildings and have come here to worship God, who we believe will save all men.”

Aaron responded to the man by asking him, “Do you believe that the Son of God will come to redeem mankind from their sins?” The man answered, “We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that you know the future any more than we believe our forefathers knew the future.”

Then Aaron read the scriptures to them about the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead—that no redemption could be made for anyone unless it were through the death and suffering of Christ and the Atonement of His blood. The people did not want to hear the truth. They wanted to believe they would all be saved no matter what they did. So as Aaron explained the scriptures to them they became angry and interrupted him with their mocking. Aaron left their synagogue and went to a village called Ani-Anti. There he found Muloki, Ammah, and his brethren preaching to the people, who also refused to listen to the truth. So they all left and went to Middoni. There they preached the word to many, but few believed them. Aaron and some of his brethren were thrown into prison. The others ran out of the city to other places. In prison, Aaron and his brethren suffered many things until they were freed by Lamoni and Ammon, who fed and clothed them.

After recovering, Aaron and his brethren went out to preach again, going wherever the Lord’s Spirit told them to. They preached God’s word in every Amalekite synagogue and Lamanite assembly that allowed them. The Lord began to bless them, for they brought many to the knowledge of the truth. They convinced many people that their lives were sinful and that their forefathers’ traditions were false.

Ammon and Lamoni went to Ishmael, Lamoni’s land, and Lamoni no longer allowed Ammon to be his servant. He had his people build synagogues wherein they could meet together. He rejoiced over them and taught them many things. He told them they were a free people under him, that they would no longer be oppressed by his father, the king, who had given him reign over Ishmael and over all the surrounding land. Lamoni told everyone under his reign that they were free to worship the Lord their God the way they desired. Ammon preached about righteousness to Lamoni’s people. He taught them diligently each day, and they listened, for they were eager to keep God’s commandments.