Ammon's promise was prophetic. He was raised to the highest point of inspired utterance. He foretold what only a few months later proved to be history. The Anti-Nephi-Lehites, afterwards called Ammonites, Alma 27:23) "Behold," said Ammon, "they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are His; and He will raise them up at the Last Day." (V. 7)
Blessed be the Name of our God. Rewarded with the joy of being in the service of God, the happiness that filled the hearts of the missionaries knew no bounds. The perception, that they might have listened to the counsel of well-meaning, but, nevertheless mistaken friends and relatives in Zarahemla to forsake the idea of converting the Lamanites unto the Lord, almost overwhelmed them with a feeling of repugnance. Had they listened to the fearful stories which were told them of their bloodthirsty brethren, they would have been persuaded to abandon the Lamanites to lives of darkness and misery. But, in the strength of the Lord, they had resisted every effort made to intimidate them, and now their joy was complete. We may well conceive of the rejoicing that prompted Ammon to exclaim, "Blessed be the Name of our God; let us sing His praise, yea, let us give thanks to His Holy Name." Ammon's glad-some praise which he raised to God was also an invitation to his brothers and brethren to join him in offering the homage of grateful hearts for the many blessings that had been bestowed upon them. His great desire of them was like that of the Psalmist when David sang: "O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together." (Psalm 34:3)
The joy of the missionaries was increased as they pondered the results of the years they had spent in the mission field among the Lamanites. They remembered the words of their grandfather, King Benjamin, when that great Presiding High Priest of God's Church preached his last sermon to the Saints assembled in Zarahemla. A great General Conference was then held, and Benjamin, trembling under the weight of many years, enfeebled, and almost worn out with the toils of everyday life, was compelled to raise his voice that even those closest to him might hear: "Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto that I had spent my days in your service, I did not mean to boast, for I have only been in the service of God. And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:16-17) In King Benjamin's sermon, no lessons are more boldly proclaimed than is this lesson of service. The conclusion is not to be escaped that we serve God best by sharing with the needy the gifts we receive from His bounteous hands, by showing compassion for the distressed, by upholding the falling, by loosing the bound. Truly, we can ennoble our lives no more graciously than by serving God with deeds of loving-kindness to our fellow men. (See COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF MORMON, Volume II, p. 44.)
Let us sing to His praise. (V. 8) From the very first, when our fathers roamed for so many years in the Arabian Wilderness, they sought comfort and joy in songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, to whom they gave all honor and glory. "When my cares are many within me, songs in Thy praise delight my soul." (Hebrew Proverb; See COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF MORMON, Volume II, Alma 12:24; pp. 130-131.) Not only did the Children of Israel receive solace from above in singing songs in defeat and in sorrow, but also joy in the lyre when triumph and victory sustained their banners.
In Israel's history, singing the songs of Zion ofttimes raised the vanquished to realms where God, alone, planted victory upon the armour of righteousness. It drew from the ashes of remorse the hope that in Him light would come forth out of darkness and joy from sorrow. Singing is an important part of Israel's worship; it always was and it always will be. The Nephites inherited this showing of devotion to God, and this particular manner of paying their homage to His Name from their ancestors who in ages past called upon all Creation to worship Him in song. "O sing unto the Lord, a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the Earth." (Psalm 96:1) "Praise the LORD from the Earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling His Word; Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: Kings of the Earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the Earth: both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the Name of the LORD." (Ibid., 148:7-13) "Let the mountains shout for joy, let the valleys sing, and be glad before the Lord," is modern Israel's rendition of this familiar theme.
Imbued with this heavenly legacy, Ammon besought of his brethren a song in praise of Him who had watched over them throughout the many days of sorrow and of gladness which had now ended so gloriously in the Salvation of their Lamanite brethren, the Anti-Nephi-Lehites. Ammon gave thanks to God that he and his missionary companions had not been discouraged in their desire to proclaim the Gospel to the Lamanites. For, he reminisced, if they had listened to the words of their would-be benefactors in Zarahemla, and had stayed within the sanctuary of their protected homes there, their brethren who, through their ministrations had partaken of the mercies of God, would have, in that event, still been stirred up in anger against those whom they now love so much. And what is further, he opined, "they would also have been strangers to God," much as they, themselves, had been strangers to Him before that dreadful day when in the height of their folly they had been stopped in their wicked course by an angel from Heaven.