Modern readers focus on the success that the sons of Mosiah achieved. Ammon is clearly focusing on their successes, but Ammon understands that the successes did not arrive without trials. Ammon notes that “our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back.” Only here do we clearly hear the voice of the brothers’ despair. We hear of the degradations that three of the brothers suffered in Middoni, but we read about that only after the miraculous success Ammon had with King Lamoni. For those brothers, however, it was the opposite of success.
Even when those brothers are released from prison and learned of King Lamoni’s conversion, they had little success. It was only after going to the overking that their fortunes changed. Up to that time, it was all disappointment.
Perhaps modern readers would be wise to read this part of Ammon’s message more frequently. Perhaps there is an important lesson about the nature of hope in Christ that could support us when our hearts are depressed. God promises redemption through our hope in Christ, but even Paul noted that “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). We can have success in our earthly labors. Sometimes they will appear to come quickly and miraculously, as Ammon’s story seems to say. Sometimes we may be more like the brothers who were thrown in prison, and who “were about to turn back” because of the lack of success.
Nevertheless, Ammon declares that there is light after the darkness of depression. He doesn’t promise when, nor that, there would be no pain; only that the light will come.