In talking about the people of Ammon, Mormon says that in the beginning they were Lamanites; "but by Ammon and his brethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been converted unto the Lord" (Alma 53:10). According to Hugh Nibley, the writers of the Book of Mormon always specify this way. They sort of demur here. They tell a story at two levels. We are always reminded in the Book of Mormon that the Lord was behind all these things. We talked about the Greek chorus before. Well, a Greek chorus comments on the play and tells us what is really going on. The superficial play is before your eyes, but what is really going on is something deeper than that. . . . So the momentary event is merely a type. . . . The only reason we have any history is that things happen over and over again. We talk about the recurrent events in the Book of Mormon. There are recurrent events all the time. It's these recurrent, typical events that can mean something to us and we can rely on. If it has happened before it will happen again--that's the way we are. [Hugh W. Nibley, Teachings from the Book of Mormon, Semester 3, p. 161]
Alma 53:17 They [the 2000 stripling warriors] entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites ([Illustration]) Artist: Ronald Crosby. "Helaman and His Two Thousand Sons" [Church Educational System, Book of Mormon Student Manual Religion 121-122, p. 101]
Alma 53:19 They [the 2000 stripling warriors] took their weapons of war and they would that Helaman should be their leader (Illustration): Two Thousand Young Warriors. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Art, #313]