Seminary
Alma 17: “According to the Word and Power of God”

“Alma 17: ‘According to the Word and Power of God,’” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)

“Alma 17,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual

Alma 17

“According to the Word and Power of God”

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Ammon defending Lamoni’s flocks

Imagine trying to preach the gospel to a group of people who could be described as wild, hardened, and ferocious. This is exactly what the sons of Mosiah chose to do when they went to the land of the Lamanites to preach the gospel to them. Alma 17 describes the help Ammon received from God as he began his ministry among the Lamanites in the land of Ishmael. This lesson can help you recognize the help and strength the Lord gives you in the difficult situations you face.

Help learners understand the context and content. The context and content of the scriptures can include multiple storylines about related people and events. Help students understand and make connections between these accounts so they can better recognize the doctrine, principles, and inspired messages of the authors.

Student preparation: Consider inviting students to come prepared to share and discuss some typical problems or challenges teenagers face and why they would need God’s help and strength in their lives. They may also think of times when they have received God’s help in their lives.

Possible Learning Activities

Our need for God’s help

Help students think about examples of times teenagers would need God’s help or strength in their lives. The following scenarios could help with this, or students could create different scenarios.

Luci has felt the need to repent and change the way she is living her life, but everything she has tried to change does not seem to be making a difference.

Guillermo feels inspired to serve a mission, but his parents are upset because they need his help with the family business.

  • What are some ways God could help Luci or Guillermo?

  • What are some ways they could seek for or recognize His help?

Consider displaying the following paragraph. Give students adequate time to ponder and write in their study journals.

Take a moment to ponder and write in your study journal about how you feel you most need God’s help or strength in your life. What are some ways you hope God might help you? As you study Alma 17 today, look for ways you can recognize and invite God’s strength into your life.

The sons of Mosiah

Explain to the students that during the next two weeks, they will be studying about the missionary journey of the four sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites. To help students see how this missionary journey fits into the overall context of the book of Alma, consider summarizing the following paragraph.

Chapters 1–16 in Alma recount events in Alma’s life during the first 14 years of the reign of the judges. In Alma 17–27, we learn about the missionary journey of the sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites during that same time period. Alma 17 begins with Alma and his friends, the sons of Mosiah, meeting for the first time after being apart for those 14 years (see Alma 17:2–4; 27:16). The names of Mosiah’s sons were Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni.

Consider dividing the class into four groups. Assign each group one of the following scripture passages to study. Members from each group could then report to the rest of the class what they found.

Read the following verses, looking for important details about Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni’s mission.

  • What stands out to you about the sons of Mosiah from these verses?

  • What evidence did you find of God’s help or strength operating in their lives? Consider marking this evidence in your scriptures.

Ammon and King Lamoni

Before these missionaries separated to preach the gospel in different areas, Ammon taught and blessed them. Then Ammon went to a land called Ishmael. When he entered that land, he was captured and taken before the king, whose name was Lamoni (see Alma 17:17–20).

Read Alma 17:21–25, looking for the offer Ammon made to King Lamoni. You may also want to watch the video “Ammon Becomes the Servant of King Lamoni” (3:47), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

  • How might Ammon telling the king “I will be thy servant” (Alma 17:25) have allowed Ammon to be a more effective missionary?

While Ammon and others of the king’s servants were watching over the flocks, they encountered a difficult situation.

You could invite a few willing students to come to the front of the room to take turns reading the following verses aloud while the rest of the class follows along in their scriptures.

Read Alma 17:26–39, and look for how Ammon reacted to this situation. You might also watch “Ammon Defends the King’s Flocks” from time code 0:00 to 3:10. This video is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

  • How might Ammon’s confidence in this situation relate to the promise the Lord gave to Ammon’s father, Mosiah, in Mosiah 28:7?

  • If you had been there, what would you have thought about Ammon?

Read Alma 18:1–3, looking for what the other Lamanite servants told King Lamoni about this experience.

  • How did the king’s servants describe Ammon?

Although the king’s servants had a difficult time describing why Ammon was able to preserve the king’s flocks in such a miraculous way, they recognized that he had access to power that was greater than a mortal person could have.

From Ammon’s experience, we can learn that the Lord grants His strength and power to His servants who strive to do His will.

Near the end of his 14-year mission, Ammon reflected on the strength and power God gave him throughout his time serving the Lamanites.

Read Alma 26:12, looking for what Ammon said about the source of his strength.

Consider dividing the class into three groups and assigning each group one of the following questions to discuss. Each group could create a list of as many answers as they can think of in one or two minutes and then share their responses with the class.

Alternatively, you could write the questions on different areas of the board. Students could come to the board and list answers to one or more of the questions until each question has multiple answers written by it. Students’ responses could then be discussed as a class.

  • What are some examples of situations in which we need the Lord’s help or strength in our lives?

  • What are some of the ways the Lord might bless us with His help or strength?

  • What can you do to invite or access God’s help or strength in your life?

Invite the students to think about what they have learned about God today that can help them in their personal lives. Invite them to record their thoughts and spiritual impressions in their study journals. Encourage them to seek help from Heavenly Father to be able to accomplish things that they cannot do on their own.