These verses declare the depth of the change experienced by the sons of Mosiah. From being “the vilest of sinners” (v. 4), they have been redeemed, a change so great and soul-transforming that it altered their entire outlook on life. This type of dramatic change is almost the exclusive province of those who have come so far so fast. While all may feel the transforming power of the Spirit, those who have made such a dramatic and drastic change can taste that change more deeply than those for whom the transformation is more incremental. Those who can remember the “taste” of both sides of the judgment are the ones most sensitive to others in the state they have most recently left.
After their redemption, they felt so powerfully Yahweh’s joy that they desired to share it with the Lamanites. They could see how this new perspective might completely alter the ages-old conflicts between Lamanite and Nephite (v. 2). This was not a change completely founded in a concern for those who might have been sympathetic to their former life, but a desire for any and all to feel the tremendous joy they felt.