As King Lamoni and Ammon are traveling with their entourage to Middoni, they meet Lamoni’s father, who remains unnamed throughout the story. We learn that Lamoni was supposed to come to a feast with his father, but did not attend. Although our record doesn’t give the reason that Lamoni’s father was on the road where he might meet Lamoni, we can make the reasonable assumption that he was on his way to see Lamoni in order to discern why Lamoni had not come. As the overking, Lamoni’s father certainly expected his sons to come, and if they did not, it might signal the beginning of a rebellion, which would not have been tolerated. Therefore, verse 11 notes that Lamoni “feared to offend” his father.
Lamoni does explain why he did not go, and that explanation certainly had a lot to do with the reason that he was traveling with “this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar.” Lamoni’s father’s attitude is clear. This evidence does confirm what the Lord told Ammon, that if Ammon appeared in the overking’s center of power, he likely would not have left it alive.