The Anti-Nephi-Lehies, after a further long journey to Jershon, occupied that land, and set to work making it another center of Nephite productiveness.
In honor of Ammon, who was their leader, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies took upon themselves his name, and thereafter were called the People of Ammon. Also from that time forth they were considered to be part of the Nephite Nation, and were numbered among the "people who were of the Church of God."
It was a requirement of the Saints then, as it is now, to have their names written in the books of the Church. Thus they were numbered among its members. This was, we may be sure, an ancient Israelitic custom which was an inspired institution among them. The Nephites had inherited this custom from the Jews who were their ancestors. We read more often that names of transgressors were blotted out. 2 Their names were taken from the number of those who remained faithful, and in this manner a record was kept of all who continued in fellowship one with the others.
Moroni, the last writer in the Book of Mormon, describes fully the reasons for and the qualifications of those who by their actions proved themselves worthy of being numbered with the members of God's Church:
And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the Church that they truly repented of all their sins.
And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the Name of Christ, having a determination to serve Him to the end.
And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the Church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good Word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the Author and the Finisher of their faith. (Moro. 6:1-4)
Although the foregoing was written nearly 500 years after the account of the Ammonites was recorded, the words of Moroni, though he did not mention them therein, speak eloquently of the spiritual and moral qualities that imbued the Lamanite Saints of God in the days of Alma, the younger. We may be assured that the same requirements have been made of all those who have affiliated themselves with the Church of God in every generation of its adherents.
The Sacred Record says of the Ammonites, we presume it is a comment made by Mormon the abridger of Alma's record:
"And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end."
The hardened ways of the Lamanites, their savage and ferocious nature, their bloodthirsty desires, upon which from childhood the Ammonites had been nurtured, were now all swallowed up in their views and hopes in Christ, for they saw in Him an everlasting and glorious victory over death. They neither flinched when death approached, nor did they fear it. Again the Sacred Record says that when threatened with death they awaited its coming calmly, and even joyously. (Read Alma 23-25) "They never did look upon death with any degree of terror."
Now, in this generation of mankind, when the world and the things of the world threaten to crowd all thoughts of God from our hearts, it seems to be the proper time to consider well the story of the Ammonites told in the Book of Mormon; their fidelity to God, and their integrity to righteous principles. "Too many of us, day by day, go our way forgetting His wisdom and guidance," The tasks and trials of life, its pursuits and pleasures, absorb us, and we have little time or thought for else than "What shall we eat, or what shall be drink, or wherewithall shall we be clothed?" However, the satisfaction of those demands is not the aim or the end of our actions. It is not the true objective of life! The real purpose of our existence, the ideal life, has been revealed by God to all His children everywhere. That is a life in Christ. None of His Children have been forgotten. He revealed to the Ammonites, through His Nephite servants, enough to establish in them the hope in Christ which they cherished and from which they never fell away. Their belief in Him was a great bulwark in their defense when the powers of Satan sought their destruction. This is true and real life has also been revealed to us! The birth of Christ, His death and resurrection, are revelations of divine love which we can no more ignore than we can the air we breathe. The Ammonites made this life of which we speak, their life.
David in his 23rd Psalm likens life unto a valley through which all must pass; death is its end. And that from birth the travelers there through are continually overshadowed by a coming woe which they cannot escape. Now what are our thoughts of death? If we thought of it at all, it was with fears, and tears, and trembling. Many think of death as a cold and dark chasm along the highway of life where despair and anguish take possession of our souls. This is a wrong conception of this wonderful experience. With Christ in our hearts, it should be the reverse. It is, notwithstanding the sorrow caused at passing, the brightest incident of life. For as we approach that land where the poet says, "All have gone and all must go:" we see emblazoned upon the very portals of Eternal Life, the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth: "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die." (John 11:25-26) No doubt Ammon and his fellow missionaries had taught this very same doctrine, though in different words, to the believing Lamanites.
"Therefore," the sacred historian says of the Ammonites, "They would suffer death in the most aggravating and distressing manner which could be inflicted by their brethren, before they would take the sword or cimeter to smite them. And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord."