Seven seems to be an important number in the report of Ammon and the rejoicing of Alma, as we will see below. Here it is recorded that the sons of Mosiah converted Lamanites in seven lands or city-states: the lands of Ishmael, Middoni, Nephi, Shilom (meaning “peace”), Shemlon, Lemuel, and Shimnilom. The text doesn’t say there were seven, but they count up to that, “and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war, and they were all Lamanites (23:13).
Of course, there are seven churches found in the Book of Revelation, along with seven angels, seven trumpets, and seven seals; and the number seven is all over the place in the priestly book of Leviticus. When Alma the Elder came to the Land of Zarahemla, he received permission from King Mosiah and opened seven churches in Zarahemla (Mosiah 25:23). I wonder if the four sons of Mosiah ever pondered about having converted people in seven cities. Perhaps they saw these as doing seven-fold penance for the damage they had done to the church in the land of Zarahemla. In the process they also learned that God cared just as much about the Lamanites as he did about the people in Zarahemla. This equal, ecclesiastical setting offer yet again a good message for us today throughout the world.