My favorite section of the Book of Mormon is from Mosiah 11 to Alma 43. There is so much detail in the story line, from Abinadi to Alma I to Alma II and Amulek, from Aaron and Ammon and Ammonihah. Apparently it's also the richest trove of place and person names that begin with the letter A.
In the middle of this you get the conversion of the sons of Mosiah and their mission to the Lamanites. Mosiah 28 tells of their desire to leave their homeland and give up the kingship of Zarahemla. Mosiah's initially resistant because he's afraid for his sons' lives, but God tells him "Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites." The sons leave and the story returns to Alma II's missions and Chief Judgeship.
One thing I hadn't noticed until a few nights ago is the proximity of Mosiah's death with the departure of his sons. In Mosiah 28:8, the sons leave. Then Mosiah translates the record of the Jaredites, comes up with the system of chief judges, and dies. He's 63 years old, having been king of 33 of those years. Where are Aaron, Omner, Himni, and Ammon? They're just getting started on their 14 year mission, far away in the Land of Nephi. They've been gone since the previous chapter, probably around a year earlier. Did they know he was going to die? Was he pretty sure he would never see his sons again? I'd wager they knew King Dad was getting on in years and that they might never see him again.
None of those details are explicitly spelled out anywhere in the verses leading up to their departure, but the fact that Mosiah's sons were leaving behind not just a kingdom and their homeland, but also their own father, adds to the so much more to their story.
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