City of Aaron

Alma's planned destination after rejection in Ammonihah

City of Aaron

The city of Aaron remains a somewhat obscure location within the narrative of the Book of Mormon. It surfaces in the account of Alma2, a Nephite prophet and leader, who was en route to the city of Aaron following his rebuff by the inhabitants of Ammonihah. It was during his journey towards Aaron, burdened by the weight of sorrow for the spiritual state of the people of Ammonihah, that Alma was visited by an angel of the Lord. This heavenly messenger commanded him to return to Ammonihah and seek out Amulek, a righteous man who would become Alma’s companion in prophetic ministry (Alma 8:13-16).

Later textual references introduce a city connected to a later time period (circa 72 B.C.) in the vicinity of Moroni, not far from Nephihah, and located near the eastern seashore (Alma 50:14). There appears to be some ambiguity as to whether this city of Aaron is the same as the one associated with Alma’s intended destination. This ambiguity arises from the city of Aaron’s initial mention as a destination near the western region of Ammonihah and subsequent associations placing it close to eastern locations such as Moroni and Nephihah. Given the geographic descriptions available, it is conceivable that there were two distinct cities bearing the name of Aaron, each situated in a different region of the Nephite lands. Alternatively, there may have been just one city named Aaron centrally positioned in the land of the Nephites, which would imply that Alma’s proposed journey encompassed a wider than anticipated traverse of the land. However, no further detailed description of the city of Aaron’s exact location, size, or social-political significance is provided, leaving its precise identification within Nephite geography a topic of discussion and interpretation.

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