Abinadi's Prophecy is Fulfilled

Because they had killed so many of their own men, the Amalekites and Amulonites became even more angry. They swore vengeance upon the Nephites and stopped killing the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Because they had sworn this vengeance, they took their armies into Ammonihah and killed everyone in that city. And after this, they lost many battles with the Nephites. Almost all of Amulon’s descendants, and the descendants of Noah’s other priests, were killed by the Nephite army. Those who were not killed ran into the eastern wilderness and usurped power and authority over the Lamanites, killing many of them by fire because of their belief in the Lord.

After so much suffering and loss, many Lamanites remembered the preaching of Aaron and his brethren in their land. They began to disbelieve the traditions of their forefathers and to believe in the Lord—that He gave great power to the Nephites. By their faith, many Lamanites were converted to the Lord in the wilderness.

Now it was Amulon’s descendants who were killing the converted Lamanites by fire. This martyrdom made many Lamanites so angry that they hunted and killed Amulon’s descendants, who ran into the east wilderness. Even to this day, those Amulonites are still hunted by the Lamanites. This is how Abinadi’s words were fulfilled, for he said the descendants of the priests who were about to kill him would be hunted and killed. Abinadi said, “Your children will be hunted, captured, and suffer death by fire.” Abinadi was the first to die by fire because of his belief in God. He had told Noah’s priests that their descendants would burn many people after him, and that they would be scattered and killed across the land.

When the Lamanites realized they could not overpower the Nephites, they returned to their own land. Many went to live in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi and joined the people of God—the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They, too buried their weapons as their brethren had done and began to be a righteous people. They walked in the ways of the Lord, keeping His statutes and commandments. They kept the law of Moses, which was necessary, for it was not yet fulfilled. Even though they kept the law of Moses, they looked forward to the coming of Christ, understanding that the law of Moses was a type of His coming. They believed they had to keep those outward performances until Christ revealed Himself to them. They knew that salvation did not come by the law of Moses, but that the law of Moses served to strengthen their faith in Christ. This is how they kept their hope—through their faith in an eternal salvation, relying on the spirit of prophecy, which spoke of things to come.

Now Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Himni, and their brethren rejoiced greatly over their success among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had answered their prayers and had also verified His word to them in every detail.