In His justice, the Lord has provided that Salvation will come to the Lamanites, who, in their ignorance and simplicity of mind, have been led astray by wicked, and crafty, and deceitful men. These men were their leaders, and had not only taught the Lamanites the false traditions of their fathers, but, besides, had denied them knowledge of the truth. Yet, in spite of their degraded past and the teachings which we so much abhor, we are told by Alma, and it is verified by Mormon, the abridger of Alma’s record, that the Lamanites will receive of His mercy when in the great Day of Judgment they stand before Him who understandeth the hearts of all men. Then will the bowels of the Lord be filled with mercy and compassion for the Lamanites, and they will know the truth. The Gospel of Christ will be made known unto them, and in the spirit of repentance they will cry unto the Lord for a remission of their sins, and many, Alma said, “will be saved.” The assurance is here given that the Lord will hear the cry of the Lamanites when they call, and in His loving-kindness will open up the floodgates of His mercy upon them.
The blood relationship of the Nephites and Lamanites was not forgotten by either of the two branches of Lehi’s family, and in spite of the hatred of the Lamanites towards them, the Nephites never ceased to pray for the welfare of their brethren—that they might turn from evil, and be saved at the last day. This was the devoted supplication of the Nephites for a thousand years.
The prayers of the righteous Nephites prevailed before the throne of the Almighty Father, and the voice of Him who presides On High came to them, not once, but many times, promising Salvation to the benighted Lamanites, many of whom would otherwise perish in ignorance of God’s Plan of Salvation were it not for His divine intervention.
And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto Him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all my diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.
And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of Him—that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of His holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto Salvation—
For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also the traditions of our fathers.
Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord was able to preserve our records, I cried unto Him continually, for He had said unto me: Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.
And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that He would preserve the records; and He covenanted with me that He would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in His own due time.
And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which He had made; wherefore my soul did rest.
And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine. (Enos 11-18)
The Lord will open the eyes of the Lamanites, and they shall see and recognize the truth; they shall have the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached unto them, and again they shall hear the voices of Alma, Benjamin, Mosiah, Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, also the four sons of Mosiah, and many of the Nephite prophets. Again these holy men of God will bear testimony to them of Christ’s atoning blood, and again will declare Salvation to all “who believe on His name.”
The Lamanites will seek the Lord, and will find Him! for “He hidest not His face from any generation of His children that feel after Him and seek His guidance,” and “many of them,” we repeat, “will be saved.”
Alma‘s warning to the people of Ammonihah is greatly like the Old Testament account of King Hezekiah’s call to all Israel and Judah, who lived in the lands of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Zebulun, to repent and observe a solemn Passover which was to be celebrated at Jerusalem. The same blessings were predicated upon heeding each.
Hezekiah sent messengers, the Authorized Version of King James calls them posts, with letters he, himself, had written, carrying an urgent appeal for all to attend the sacred feast, “but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.”
This is the account of King Hezekiah’s proclamation:
So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye Children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.
And be not like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.
Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into His sanctuary, which He hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.
For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion ... for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away His face from you, if ye return unto Him. (II Chronicles 30:6-9)
And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.
And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.
And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.
And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people. (II Nephi 30:3-6)
Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our fathers—that they should have it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should be no whoredoms committed among them.
And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people.
Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator?
O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.
Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of their darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers. (Jacob 3:5-9)