“The People of Ammon Did Receive All the Poor of the Zoramites”

Brant Gardner

As Mormon had already related, Jershon welcomed the refugees, providing food, clothing, a source of livelihood, and, above all, welcome and acceptance. They treated them like kin, requiring nothing in return. Indeed, there was nothing that could be returned. However, saying that nothing was returned focuses only on the material exchanges. In point of fact, the newcomers, by accepting a kin relationship, also accepted the web of mutual obligations that thereafter governed their interactions. They may have begun on the receiving end, but soon they would be in a position to meet the needs of others, even of their benefactors.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 4

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