Alma 17:36-39

Questions

Here we have a tale of a missionary fighting with deadly force. What are we to make of this tale? What lessons, if any, might this have for modern missionaries?
Why couldn't the rustlers hit Ammon with their stones? Were they just poor slingmen, or was Ammon somehow protected?

As a servant and covert missionary, what is Ammon doing with a sword? Did he already have an idea that they might be attacked while watering the kings flocks? Is this a sign that Ammon was prepared, and perhaps already had a plan to impress his fellow servants?
Why are we told that he smote their arms "with the edge of his sword"? Isn't that the only way to use a sword?
Why did Ammon smite off their arms, rather than kill most of his attackers with his sword?

Presumably justified by Lamanite law, Ammon has killed seven rustlers and maimed "not a few" others. How would this incident be viewed by the others in Lamanite society?

We are told that Ammon drove his attackers "afar off". Was he chasing them with his sword?
Why would the servants carry the arms "unto the king for a testimony of the things which they had done"?

Sword. In Mesoamerican societies, metal weapons were almost unheard of, but swords made of wood inlaid with sharp obsidian blades along their edges were common weapons, known later by the Aztecs as macahuitl. Other swords or daggers were made entirely of obsidian or flint, while others were simply sharpened wood instruments, known by the Taino as macana.
Clubs. A common Mesoamerican club was a stick with a round stone attached to the end, known by the later Aztecs as a Quauhololli. It was used to attack and crush the head of an opponent.

Ammon's skill with weapons. According to this account, Ammon was apparently much more skilled with weaponry than his attackers. While we know practically nothing about Nephite customs, in other Mesoamerican cultures such as that of the later Aztecs, the sons of nobility were highly trained in warfare at a special academy known as the Calmecac, where in addition to weapons training, they also received instructions in writing, the calender, and ritual. Ammon and other royal Nephites probably received similar training.