Alma, having appointed Nephihah the Chief Judge, but retaining the office of Presiding High Priest, went on a mission, beginning in Zarahemla. From Zarahemla he went to all the cities in the land.
In Gideon. From Zarahemla he first went to the City of Gideon, which was in a valley called by the same name. His special message to the people there was that the Son of God would come upon the earth to establish His kingdom. Having delivered his wonderful message, Alma returned to his home in Zarahemla.
In the Land of Melek. In the tenth year of the reign of the Judges, Alma went to the Land of Melek, which was situated on the west of the River Sidon, by the borders of the Lamanites. Here he filled a very successful mission.
The City of Ammonihah. After Alma had labored unceasingly in the land of Melek where he reaped a bounteous harvest of them who loved the Lord and who sought to do His will, he traveled three days on the north of the Land of Melek and came to the City of Ammonihah. The people there refused to listen to the message he bore. They reviled him and cast him out of their city. Full of sorrow he departed. On the road to the City of Aaron he was met by an angel of the Lord who commanded him to return to the City of Ammonihah. Alma did so. As he entered the city he asked a man whether he was willing to give an humble servant of the Lord something to eat. The man to whom he spoke was Amulek, a Nephite, who received him with great hospitality. In Amulek, Alma found a faithful and invaluable missionary companion.
In the Land of Sidon. After exceedingly painful experiences in Ammonihah, Alma and Amulek went to the Land of Sidon where they found a number of exiles from Ammonihah who had been driven out of that city because of their belief in the words of Alma. Alma organized a Church among them. Then he with Amulek returned to Zarahemla where Alma shared his home with his missionary companion.
Desolation of Nehors. In the eleventh year of the reign of the Judges, the Lamanites destroyed the City of Ammonihah, and all its population perished. The Lamanites were eventually driven back into the wilderness whence they came. The site of the City of Ammonihah, being one great graveyard because of the spoilage of the Lamanites, was called "Desolation of Nehors," because the slain were of the profession of Nehor and their lands remained desolate.