Ammon continues to emphasize that the conversion of the Lamanites was God’s work, and that he and his brethren “have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work” (verse 15).
The imagery used in the translation of verse 13 echoes terms with which people in Joseph Smith’s time would have been familiar. The idea of “singing redeeming love,” as well as “loosed from the pains of hell,” were phrases that were familiar in sermons of the era. That does not suggest that there was no translation, but only that, in a similar way to the presence of western European wheat agriculture imagery, some of the language used in translation was familiar.
The meaning behind the words represents the heart of Nephite teachings. The coming Messiah would redeem His people from both spiritual and temporal death. An early Christian document describes Christ coming to Hell to break down the gates that kept humankind trapped in death. That is the image here. The coming Messiah will redeem us from death and Hell.
In 2 Nephi 9:8–9 Lehi had taught that if there were no atoning Messiah: “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself.”
That is the teaching that is behind verse 15, when it says that the Lamanites were “encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction.” It was not that they were irredeemably in that state, but rather, without a proper understanding and faith in the coming Messiah, that would become their fate.