Book of Mormon geography
I have mentioned a number of times a relational map of Book of Mormon geography from BYU which I have found very useful. I keep it open on a browser on my iPad to refer to from time to time. I have included a link to the map in nearly every blog post since I found it. I didn’t realize that it was largely the creation of Tyler Griffin with some encouragement from his partner, Taylor Halverson. They have produced a “special” YouTube video talking about the map they created and how it helps with the relative geography of places mentioned in the Book of Mormon. I really like maps, so I found it really interesting. My wife, on the other hand, has no built in GPS (or interest in having one), so she didn’t find it quite so fascinating. Here is the link, for those of you who are nerds like I am and really get into studying maps. https://youtu.be/TO03zqrJrrY
One point they make, which is important for all of us, is that the Lord has not seen fit to reveal the exact location in the Western Hemisphere of where the Book of Mormon events occurred. They mention this quote from a Gospel Topic essay on Book of Mormon Geography.
The Church does not take a position on the specific geographic locations of Book of Mormon events in the ancient Americas. President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, reminded members that “the Book of Mormon is not a textbook on topography. Speculation on the geography of the Book of Mormon may mislead instead of enlighten; such a study can be a distraction from its divine purpose.”
Speaking of the book’s history and geography, President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Interesting as these matters may be, study of the Book of Mormon is most rewarding when one focuses on its primary purpose—to testify of Jesus Christ. By comparison, all other issues are incidental.”
Here is the link to the Gospel Topic essay: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/book-of-mormon-geography
There are lots of resources out there about Book of Mormon geography. If you are interested, I’ll give you information in the endnotes of one that you might find interesting.[1]
Alma Chapter 23
Conversion of thousands of Lamanites
After his remarkable conversion and that of his wife and household, the king of the Lamanites (Lamoni’s father, possibly aka king Laman of Mosiah 24:3. See last week’s post) sent a proclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God.
The king desires that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness.
John Welch, in his Notes for this week, points out that there were many different types of people living there – Lamanites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites, Amulonites, etc. – he wanted to overcome tribal tension, clannish exclusivity, and social segregation by instilling a sense of brotherhood. He wants them to all be “brethren.” There is more to Brother Welch’s comments on this point that I’ll include in the endnotes.[2]
This proclamation had the effect of making it safe for the Nephite missionaries to preach anywhere in the Lamanite lands. This was a great boon to them and their work and allowed them to go wherever they wanted in the land of Nephi and preach the word without being persecuted or cast into prison. They taught the Lamanites in their synagogues, sanctuaries, houses, and temples and began to have great success.
Thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites. Think how amazing that is! After the many generations of traditions of the Lamanites spanning over five centuries and their inbred hatred of the Nephites, they gave up their wicked traditions and accepted the narrative of the Nephites of how things evolved between their ancestors centuries earlier. That would be even harder than for a dyed-in-the-wool BYU Cougar fan to start cheering heart-and-soul for the University of Utah “running Utes” – almost impossible!
And yet it happened because these Lamanites were converted to the Lord. And the remarkable thing is that they were truly converted! As the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. Amazing! As much as missionaries love those they teach and as excited to be members of the Church as those new converts are when they are first baptized, unfortunately some do fall away. It breaks the hearts of the missionaries when they do but some new converts choose not to stay. But none of these Lamanite converts ever fell away. Unheard of!
Millet and McConkie have an interesting comment about the relationship of the nature of the preaching by the missionaries and depth of the conversion of their “converts” in their Commentary. I’ll include it in the endnotes.[3]
There were seven cities in which the Lamanites were converted. Was it just an accident that there were seven cities? It’s hard to know, but seven is a holy number in sacred writings. Maybe it wasn’t an accident after all. As evidence of their conversion, they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God anymore, neither against any of their brethren. We’ll say more about that a little later.
Amalekites and Amulonites
So, who were the Amalekites? We first encountered the Amalekites last week in Alma chapter 21 when Aaron is preaching in the wicked city of Jerusalem but didn’t say much about them then. Presumably they are Nephite dissenters. They are followers of Nehor and have hard hearts. Along with the Amulonites, (who are children of the wicked priests of king Noah and their formerly Lamanite wives, whom they kidnapped and then married, and are also wicked like their fathers and followers of Nehor), they are the hard-hearted Lamanites who lead the attacks against the pacifist Anti-Nephi-Lehies and against the Nephites, including the city of Ammonihah. John Welch suggests that the Amalekites may actually be Amlicites.[4]
The Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt. Why did Mormon mention that one Amalekite was converted? John Welch suggests that it was to show the value of the worth of a soul. Very possible. The full quote from Welch is in the endnotes.[5]
Evidences of true conversion
The converted Lamanites also took upon themselves a new name. They called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites. What an interesting name! I always thought that the name meant something like “non-Nephite descendants of Lehi”. But Taylor Halverson has a better explanation in this week’s YouTube by him and Tyler Griffin. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/4sSz_-OHtR4. It is also explained in a Book of Mormon Central KnowWhy: https://youtu.be/pDIIOU25-P8. Both references suggest that the prefix Anti is from the Egyptian adjective NTY which means “who of” making the meaning “he who is of Nephi and Lehi.” Very interesting! That makes a lot more sense than what I had always thought. By the way, as Taylor points out, Joseph Smith did not begin to study Hebrew or Egyptian until about 1835, more than six years after the Book of Mormon was translated. He could not have “made up” an Egyptian name if he was the author of the Book of Mormon not having studied the language. Just another of many small evidences that the Book of Mormon is authentic as an inspired translation of an ancient document.
Two other evidences of the true conversion of these people are that they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them. Having rejected the erroneous traditions of their fathers, these converted Anti-Nephi-Lehies, changed their way of life from being lazy and loathsome to being “industrious”. They began to correspond with the Nephites and were friendly with them. This probably helped them when they later have to appeal to the Nephites for asylum from the non-converted Lamanites.
What was the curse that was removed?
So, what “curse of God” was it that “did no more follow them”? Was it the color of their skin or something else? We talked about this when we considered the scripture in 2 Nephi 30:5-6 which includes the phrase “… they shall be a pure and delightsome people.” I made the point then and underscore it again that, even if skin color was used by the Lord as an indicator of righteousness and eligibility for certain blessings in some ancient times, that is no longer true. The is no test of color, race, ethnicity, nationality, wealth or any other external indicator other than faith and obedience for all the blessings of the restoration of the gospel in the lives of all of the people of the world.
The first sentence of the new Bicentennial Proclamation reads, We solemnly proclaim that God loves His children in every nation of the world. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/the-restoration-of-the-fulness-of-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ/a-bicentennial-proclamation-to-the-world
(By the way, how are you coming on memorizing the Bicentennial Proclamation? I’m about halfway done.)
If we are holding on to any notion in our own “traditions” that skin color reflects righteousness, in other words, if we are in any sense racially prejudiced, then we, like these converted Lamanites, need to give up our incorrect traditions. The official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today with regard to race and righteousness is expressed in this statement from the Gospel Topics Essay on “Race and the Priesthood.” The Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/race-and-the-priesthood
Griffin and Halverson talk in their lesson this week about what the curse was that no longer followed these converted Lamanites. (see link above). The converted souls were no longer separated from the Spirit of the Lord by unrighteousness. It was that separation which was the curse, not the color of their skin. Their skin color was a marking to identify them as Lamanites. Yes, the Lamanites had been marked with a dark skin, so it’s very possible that, as evidence of their conversion, rejection of the false traditions of the Lamanites and subsequent removal of the curse of their not having the Spirit of the Lord in their lives, that mark was removed. It happened later with other Lamanites who were also converted.
… those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites;
And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;
And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites. 3 Nephi 2:14-16
Alma Chapter 24
Faith of the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi
The conversion of thousands of Lamanites by the Nephite missionaries leads to civil war in the land of Nephi. Those Lamanites who were not converted were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren. They rebel against the old king, the father of Lamoni, who confers the kingdom on one of Lamoni’s brothers and gives him a new name, Anti-Nephi-Lehi. (I believe the old king’s name was actually Laman but that Mormon never used that name in the record because the king rejected the traditions of the Lamanites. His son’s name was probably also Laman and that’s why the old king gave this son a different name when he passed the kingdom to him before he died.)
A priesthood council was held in the land of Ishmael. It included Ammon and his brethren and king Anti-Nephi-Lehi and king Lamoni. The question was what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites. But the problem was there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war. They could all be killed if they won’t fight. What are they going to do?
King Anti-Nephi-Lehi makes a remarkable speech to the priesthood council. He begins with an almost poetic series of statements - I thank my God … I thank my great God … I also thank my God … I also thank my God, yea, my great God … and ends with Oh, how merciful is our God! You’ve got to read it for yourself. It is powerful and evidence of the depth of conversion and the breadth of the soul of this good man.
His gratitude is greatest that they have been forgiven.
I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son. Notice that the Atonement of Christ removes not only our sins but the burden of guilt when we repent.[6]
The king concludes with this remarkable assertion:
Since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.
And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.
These humble, repentant people have been forgiven of their many sins through their faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement. Their swords, symbolic of their previous sins, have been made clean and bright. They will not stain them again. As evidence that they have completely repented and rejected their former lives, they will bury their swords deep in the earth so they won’t be tempted to dig them up and use them again. Notice that they are not burying bloody, stained swords, but that their swords are now clean and bright. They are burying their swords because they were the weapons of their rebellion and they want them to remain bright and clean.
Burying the weapons of our rebellion
As Griffin and Halverson point out this week, the actions of the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi in burying the “weapons of their rebellion” is an excellent model for overcoming addictions and bad habits and other forms of rebellion in our lives. It’s also a great model for overcoming conflict in marriages, families and other relationships.
In 2012, Elder Bednar spoke about burying our weapons of rebellion.
To set aside cherished “weapons of rebellion” such as selfishness, pride, and disobedience requires more than merely believing and knowing. Conviction, humility, repentance, and submissiveness precede the abandonment of our weapons of rebellion. Do you and I still possess weapons of rebellion that keep us from becoming converted unto the Lord? If so, then we need to repent now.
Similarly, in 2019, Elder Renlund in speaking about covenants, also spoke about burying the weapons of our rebellion.
Covenants anchor us to the Savior and propel us along the path that leads to our heavenly home. The power of covenants helps us maintain the mighty change of heart, deepen our conversion to the Lord, and receive Christ’s image more fully in our countenance. But a half-hearted commitment to our covenants will not guarantee us anything. We may be tempted to equivocate, throw our old ways in calm water, or bury our weapons of rebellion with the handles sticking out. But an ambivalent commitment to our covenants will not open the door to the sanctifying power of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
What are the weapons of our rebellion? Are there any habits, beliefs, prejudices, false doctrines, or lies that we, like the Lamanites did for 500 years, are holding onto that separate us from the Lord and/or those we love? Are we willing to bury those weapons deeply and never be tempted to use them again in order to heal those relationships and have the Spirit fully operative in our lives? This is probably the most important message of this week’s Book of Mormon reading. Please give it some prayerful thought.
Over 1000 converted Lamanites are killed
In response to the compelling sermon of their king, all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth.
And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
Unfortunately, these converted Lamanites are required to walk the talk. You know the story. They wouldn’t fight against the oncoming Lamanite army but instead they prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.
And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.
Many of the Lamanites, after killing over a thousand of their brethren, repented of the things which they had done. … they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them. And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain;
Thus we see …
I’ve suggested before that we look for the “fingerprints” of Mormon in the book that bears his name. We hear Mormon’s voice when he uses the phrase thus we see (or something similar to it.) He wants to be sure that we don’t miss the point. He’s saying, “Hello, reader! You Saint of the Latter-days. Don’t miss what I’m trying to tell you!” There are three such examples in this chapter. Each is an important “take home” point from this story.
Thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; (v. 19)
Thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people; (v. 27)
Thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression [the Amalekites and Amulonites], they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things. (v. 30)
Alma Chapter 25
The unrepentant Lamanites, spurred on by the apostate Amalekites and Amulonites, turn their anger toward the Nephites. They went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and destroyed them. This is when the city of Ammonihah is destroyed in a day, as prophesied by Alma. John Welch has some interesting thoughts on why they chose to attack Ammonihah.[7]
After destroying Ammonihah, they had many battles with the Nephites. It’s a little hard to keep track of what happens among the Lamanites after that. As best I can tell, almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, … were slain by the hands of the Nephites. But those who were not slain turn on the other Lamanites and cause many of them to be killed by fire. The remaining seed of Amulon are then driven into the east wilderness where they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. (I presume that statement was made by Alma not Mormon.) In any event, Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire.
After warring against the Nephites, many of the Lamanites came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. And they did also bury their weapons of war, according as their brethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and his statutes.
Isn’t it amazing the different ways that people will be led to repent? We’ve seen three different pathways to repentance: (1) the first group of Lamanites who repent because of the preaching of the missionaries; (2) the second group of Lamanites who repent because their hearts are smitten after the killing of over a thousand of their repentant brethren who would not fight; and (3) a third group of Lamanites who repented because they were fed up with the wickedness of the Amalekites and Amulonites who drove them to war against the Nephites. There are many ways to come to the Lord. I’m reminded of the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (see Matthew 20). These repentant Lamanites came to the Lord at different times and in different ways, but they each came in their own time. I doubt any of those in the first group resented those in the second or third groups or made them feel second class or less worthy because they came later. I’m sure they were embraced and welcomed home regardless of when or how they found the covenant path. We should do the same when people join us on the gospel path, regardless of their timing or background.
In his classic address, “The Net Gathers of Every Kind”, Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, We must be more ready than we now are to receive the hundreds of thousands of individuals “of every kind” who are gathered into the gospel net from nearly every culture and circumstance. They will come as they are. It is our opportunity to accept and love them. It will be our job to lift them up—not to size them up. They will have known much rejection; now let them know much acceptance.
Alma Chapter 26
This chapter and chapter 29 are classic interludes in the historical narrative in which we get glimpses into the hearts of Ammon and Alma. In this chapter, Ammon glories in the Lord and His goodness to them as missionaries. Ammon’s brother Aaron even rebukes him and tells him that he sounds like he is boasting. Ammon responds,
I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
He continues,
Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
Have you ever been so filled with joy that you couldn’t say even the “smallest part” of the joy you felt? In some ways, that’s how I often feel after trying to bear my testimony in a Fast and Testimony Meeting. (Remember when we used to have those?) I often stand up filled with joy and feelings of the Spirit and then sit down feeling like I didn’t even say “the smallest part” of what I was feeling inside. It’s hard to put feelings of the Spirit, feelings of true joy, into words. We often feel, like Ammon, that we fall short and have trouble saying even the smallest part of what we feel.
Ammon concludes,
My joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.
Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, … Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever.
I had a remarkable experience as a young missionary when I was inspired by Ammon and this chapter. It’s a long story so I won’t try to tell it all. Just briefly, in the mid 1960s there was a pull-back in missionary work in the United Kingdom, including England where I was serving, from the exuberance of the early 1960s and some abuses that had occurred during that time. By the time I arrived in England in 1965, it had become fashionable among missionaries to never or rarely speak of converts or conversion stories among missionaries or members, (partly because there weren’t many to speak of) but also because it might appear to be boasting to do so.
As a result of some most unusual circumstances, my companion and I were inspired to open our hearts and open our mouths to the other missionaries in our mission in the setting of a zone conference and, with the permission of our mission president, speak Ammon-like of the goodness of the Lord and His tender mercies in our lives and the lives of people we had taught. My companion told his powerful conversion story from before his mission. I followed by telling the stories of some of the people we had been blessed to see accept the gospel and join the Church in the areas where I had served to that time. Inspired by Ammon, I was filled with the Spirit and was able to bear testimony of the goodness of the Lord and witness of His hand in the work.
It may be the most important church talk I’ve ever given. The result was like opening a floodgate for an outpouring of the Spirit. We skipped the planned lunch for zone conference that day and went straight into a testimony meeting that lasted about two to three hours with missionaries sharing their personal “Ammon” stories. It was amazing! The outpouring of the Spirit was repeated in another zone the next day. The experience began a season of convert harvest in our mission in southern England over the next six months, the likes of which we never had seen before in that mission in terms of good people coming to the Lord and joining His church. I’ve been grateful that I could be an instrument to help it happen. Because of that experience, I can never read this chapter and the words of Ammon without recalling that remarkable outpouring of the Spirit over 50 years ago. A few of you reading this blog post or email may have been there on that occasion. If you were, I suspect you will remember that day. You’ve got to love Ammon!
Alma Chapter 27
The Amalekites, because of their loss, were exceedingly angry. And when they saw that they could not seek revenge from the Nephites, they began to stir up the people in anger against their brethren, the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi; therefore they began again to destroy them. Now this people again refused to take their arms, and they suffered themselves to be slain according to the desires of their enemies.
Ammon tells king Anti-Nephi-Lehi that they need to escape from the land of Nephi or they will all be killed. The king responds, Behold, the Nephites will destroy us, because of the many murders and sins we have committed against them. But if Ammon will inquire of the Lord and if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them.
The Lord instructs Ammon to Get this people out of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land; and blessed are this people in this generation, for I will preserve them.
So king Anti-Nephi-Lehi and his people agree to go with the missionaries to the land of Zarahemla and hope that the Nephites will accept them. As they are traveling toward the land of Zarahemla, Ammon and his brethren with the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi meet Alma in a joyful meeting. We read about that previously in Alma 17. Now we learn that, the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.
Now the joy of Alma in meeting his brethren was truly great, and also the joy of Aaron, of Omner, and Himni; but behold their joy was not that to exceed their strength.
Alma takes Ammon and his brethren to his own home and inquires of the chief judge if the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi may have a home in the land of Zarahemla. The chief judge sends out a proclamation among his people to determine their feelings. The voice of the people is that the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi may have the land of Jershon as a land for their inheritance. Taylor Halverson points out this week that Jershon means inheritance in Hebrew. Interesting!
The Anti-Nephi-Lehies settle in Jershon and Ammon becomes the high priest of the church there. Now watch what happens. They were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after. I suggested last week that we look for ways in which Ammon is a Christ figure to the Lamanites. Now they even take upon themselves his name. Obviously, they have also taken upon themselves the name of Christ (similar to the people of King Benjamin) who is the Father of their spiritual rebirth. But they are also known as the people of Ammon in honor of the missionary who brought salvation to them.
And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end. … thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord.
Alma Chapter 28
The Lamanite army follows the people of Ammon into the land of Zarahemla and there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad. Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi;
The Nephites pay a heavy price for being willing to accept the people of Ammon into their lands. This tells us that they were basically good people for being willing to give their lives to defend these new brethren and sisters. Are we as willing to do all we can to welcome and defend newcomers in our midst? I hope so!
Mormon concludes this chapter with three more “thus we see” statements:
Thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.
Thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and
Thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.
Alma Chapter 29
This beautiful chapter is another interlude in the historical narrative in which we get a glimpse into the heart of Alma. You might consider this chapter the “Song of Alma.” He begins,
O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people![8]
I found several renditions of the song Oh That I were an Angel by Wanda West Palmer on YouTube. But the one I liked best was a young missionary, Elder Cooper Howell, wearing his missionary badge singing at the MTC in 2009. He reminded me the most of Alma singing while serving as a full-time missionary. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Y0aX3evbh5M
I hope you’ll take time to listen and enjoy.
There are two ironies in Alma’s wish to be an angel. First, he was stopped in his tracks as a rebellious young man by an angel (Abinadi?) more than 15 years earlier. And that angel appeared to him again to send him back to Ammonihah. So Alma knows something about angels!
Second, it appears that Alma becomes an angel at the conclusion of his ministry. When Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of. (45:18) It appears that he was translated and would have thus been granted his wish to become an angel.
Much like Nephi in his psalm (2 Nephi 4), Alma knows in whom he trusts. I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
For each of us, like Alma and like Ammon and his brethren, this is our joy that perhaps we might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is our joy. For the the worth of souls is great in the sight of God (D&C 18:10). The worth of a soul is the price of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We partner with Him when we bring a soul, including our own and the souls of those we love, to Him. This is our joy!
Halfway through the Book of Mormon
We are now halfway through the Book of Mormon! For those of you who have been loyal readers of these blog posts and emails for these past six months, thank you so much for your encouragement, suggestions and loyalty! Thanks especially to Lori for reading and editing each post before it goes out, for her faith in me when I get discouraged and for her patience with the many hours I spend sitting on the couch typing on my iPad in my lap when we might be doing other things. As I’ve said before, this has been a bigger project than I anticipated. But it’s been a wonderful experience for me to try to capture in writing some of the feelings of my heart and impressions in my mind for these sacred words. I hope something I have written has been useful to you in your personal study of this marvelous book.
For me, the Book of Mormon is even more true now than when we began this project six months ago. It is true every time I read from its pages. And it is true every time I try to write about it and capture for you some of its bottomless well of truths. May the Lord bless each of us in our search for understanding, comfort, guidance and faith as we strive to “Hear Him” through reading the Book of Mormon and applying its precious truths in our lives.
Thanks for reading!
Richard
Endnotes
As I said earlier, there is a lot of information and there are lots of sources available to learn about possible locations of the Book of Mormon in the Western Hemisphere. I’m not in a position to recommend any as being especially good or more accurate. An interesting option I just learned about from one of our daughters is an Amazon Prime Video series, Hidden in the Heartland. I’ve watched one episode. It was fairly interesting. I’m not a big television fan, but it reminded me of the one episode of the Discovery Channel I’ve seen (a supposed documentary about the death of Tutankhamen). The Amazon episode I watched is an effort to make a case for the Book of Mormon events taking place in North America near the Hill Cumorah in upstate New York. As you may know, the more generally accepted idea is that the Book of Mormon events happened in MesoAmerica and that there were actually two Cumorahs. This theory suggests that Moroni transported the B of M plates and other artifacts from MesoAmerica to upstate New York. Anyhow, I don’t really have an opinion on this matter. But you may find this Amazon series interesting.
In the last part of his decree, he [the king of the Lamanites] emphasized that everyone within his land were all brothers. While there were many different types of people living there—Lamanites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites, Amulonites, etc.—he wanted to overcome tribal tension, clannish exclusivity, and social segregation by instilling a sense of brotherhood. The Gospel can do that.
Does the restored gospel hold the potential for convincing everybody in the world today, men everywhere, that they are all brothers? It most certainly does. Joseph Smith once said that “Fri[e]ndship…is the gr[a]nd fundamental prniple [principle] of Mormonism, to revolution[ize] [and] civilize the world.— pour forth love” (Joseph Smith, Journal, 23 July 1843, Book 3, 15 July 1843–29 February 1844, Journals 3:59–185, available online at Josephsmithpapers.org).
The restored gospel is the greatest revolutionary power the world has even known, because it can cause all men to become friends with each other. … Joseph had a lot to say about friendship, and how he hoped to transform hearts to create friendship among all people; and King Lamoni and his father, in being converted through the wonderful doctrines of King Benjamin’s speech and the testimonies of the sons of Mosiah, wanted to make that happen. However, one royal decree did not turn everyone into good friends.
The Restored Gospel does an amazing job of successfully integrating people and peoples. Our wards and units are defined by geographic boundaries and not by social or economic choice. Members of many other churches may choose which church, priest, or pastor they want to follow, and as a result, people select the ones that they are most comfortable with. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is rare, if not totally unique in the world, in that it requires church members to belong to a ward and stake based on where they live and to regard everyone there as brothers and sisters. Imagine if this principle, of all being family, were implemented on a massive political and social scale. That would indeed be nothing short of a daring revolution that would civilize the entire world.
Here is the link to Brother Welch’s notes for this week:
Two things are worthy of note here, namely, the nature of the preaching done by the sons of Mosiah and the depth of the conversions. These two aspects of conversion are inextricably tied. These missionaries did not trifle with the Lamanites; they did not entertain them or seek by sophistry or by manipulation to bring people into the Church. They preached the gospel. They preached creation, fall, and atonement. They preached faith, repentance, and rebirth. They preached Christ. That is, their message was substantive and sacred, and it was presented by the power of the Holy Ghost. Thus the listeners were converted to Christ, not to the missionaries or the other members of the Church, as pleasant and sincere and dedicated as those might be. They were converted to Christ, and thus their testimonies and their lives were built upon the only sure foundation (see Helaman 5:12).
Millet & McConkie, Commentary
The Amalekites are unidentified. They were not descendants of Laman or Lemuel. They may have been Ishmaelites. They may have been Zoramites, or perhaps Mulekites. Or they could have been complete outsiders. One possibility is that they are related to the Amlicites. Because in the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, the words Amalekite and Amlicite were spelled four or five different ways, we do not know whether they represented different groups. It is possible that Oliver Cowdery did not know how to spell this term every time the word came up. It is also possible that the words were pronounced differently depending on the ancient dialect. The history indicates that sometimes when Joseph Smith came across a new name in the Book of Mormon translation, he would spell it out. There is also manuscript evidence of in-process corrections of the spelling of some words. This means a word would be written, but then it would be crossed out and spelled again in line not above the line, but right after it. However, that would only happen the first time it was spelled. And then Joseph expected Oliver to remember how it was spelled, which apparently did not always happen.
Welch Notes
We are told in Mosiah 23:14 that one Amalekite was converted. Why might this have been mentioned? They worked so hard to convert these people by preaching in the synagogues of the Amalekites, and yet they came away empty except for this one. Missionaries, take hope wherever you are, the worth of souls is great, even if it be only one soul! (D&C 18:15). It would have been easy for the account of the four sons to have said that they worked real hard but did not have much success among the Amalekites. But even one soul was worth mentioning in the record.
Think of other stories in the Book of Mormon where just one was converted. Alma the Elder was the only convert of Abinadi in the courts of Noah. Was he worth something? In the city of Ammonihah, Amulek was initially the only one who listened to Alma, and what a convert and ally he became! Together, Amulek and Alma converted only Zeezrom. As far as we know, the others were driven out or killed. At times, missionaries in the Book of Mormon converted thousands, but that is not always the case. It begins so often with just one, and that one is important.
Welch Notes
[6] The burden of guilt is removed by the atonement of Christ
Because of the atonement of Christ, the truly repentant have not only the burden of sin lifted from them but also the burden of guilt. Through the Atonement we become yoked to Christ; he thereby shares our burden.
Millet and McConkie, Commentary
[7] Why was the city of Ammonihah attacked?
Some of those who had been violently opposed to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were pure literal Lamanites, “actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel” (24:29), and they became very upset that their supposed allies had used them to kill so many of their own Lamanite brethren (24:28). Most of the leaders who had led the attacks on the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were, in fact, “after the order of Nehors” (24:28), who were Nephites, or were “the seed of Amulon,” who were priests of Noah, also a Nephite (25:4). The Lamanites, now becoming angry because those people had “slain their [Lamanite] brethren” (25:1), turned their vengeance “upon the Nephites” (25:1). In particular, they chose as their target “the land of Ammonihah,” not only because it was close (being near the head of the River Sidon, including the cities of Melek, Sidom and Ammonihah), but also because Ammonihah was the headquarters of the Order of Nehors. These Lamanites “fell upon the people in the land of Ammonihah and destroyed them” (25:1), leaving it as the “Desolation of Nehors” reported back in Alma 16:9-11. This explains the not so obvious reasons why the Lamanites attacked the borders of the land of Zarahemla and destroyed the city of Ammonihah (25:1 2).
Welch Notes
We observe again that an “angel” is a messenger of God and that Alma is, indeed, such a messenger. We are also reminded of the words of Nephi, wherein he said that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that upon receiving the Holy Ghost one could speak with the tongue of angels (2 Nephi 32:2–3). Angels do not have a priesthood beyond that held by mortals, nor do they have a gospel that differs in any way from that known by those in the flesh. It is our right to speak with the same clarity, the same power, and the same assurance known to angels in declaring the gospel. And as to those to whom the gospel is declared, it will make no difference to the heavenly tribunal if they rejected the message of a mortal or an immortal messenger, for the message and its power to cleanse sin and bring salvation are the same.
In this beautiful and spirit-filled expression, Alma wishes for the voice of an angel and the spiritual power to declare the message of salvation to every people upon the face of the earth. Perhaps he desires to affect the world for good just as the angel who appeared to him and the sons of Mosiah had dramatically affected the course of events in Nephite history. He then chides himself, saying, “I do sin in my wish,” and concludes that he ought to be content with the office and call the Lord has given him. In the verses that follow he declares that the Lord grants to all men according to their desires (verses 4 and 5). What, then, of his desire to raise the warning voice among all nations? Ought it not be noted that, through the going forth of the Book of Mormon, Alma does indeed speak with the eloquence of an angel to those of every nation, kindred, and tongue! Ought it not be noted also that there was no sin in his desire to declare the gospel to the peoples of the earth, and that people by the tens of thousands, yes, by the tens of millions, will yet hear this voice as the voice of an angel echoing through the ages to touch their hearts and direct their course. The earth has known few teachers the equal of Alma the Younger.
Millet & McConkie, Commentary
I really appreciate your further elaboration of the current Church policy regarding skin color. The essence of our current position is captured in what you quoted from the Gospel Topics essay on race and priesthood.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been thinking a lot about race as our country confronts not only the George Floyd murder but, also, the very apparent health care and wealth inequalities amongst our minority populations during COVID, which caused me to question why we seem to have lost our middle class in this country and why so many of our institutions don’t seem to work for the less-affluent.
If I think about “Black Lives Matter” not as an organization but as a kind of protest movement against inequality (and I don’t mean the protests by 15% of radicals on either the right or the left who destroy property and law and order), I start to question some of my values. I don’t think of myself as a “racist” but I have across a lifetime enjoyed lots of privilege: a good family, a family who understood how to get ahead in the world, lots of educational advantage leading to great jobs, a basic understanding of family economics and why acquiring property and investing were essential for a rainy day and for retirement, being part of networks who helped me understand how things work and gave me contacts, etc.
Given all this, what Ammon says in Alma 26:23-25 is instructive. To paraphrase, the people in Zarahemla, his friends, said why on earth would you guys go up to minister amongst the Lamanites: they are a bunch of no goods, welfare types, criminals, murderers, hate mongers, anarchists, scum — wouldn’t it be better to just take our army or our police force and wipe them out? I guess they could have also said, just ignore these people who are on the other side of the tracks, far away from us and aren’t part of our world. Put them in huge government housing, “the projects”, far from our suburbs. But the sons of Mosiah pushed forward to build sincere relationships with the Lamanites, to try to serve and help them and to bring them the Gospel.
It is also instructive after the sons of Mosiah had so much success and they wanted to leave the “Order of Nehor” types and go to Zarahemla, the king of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies says, maybe we could go and be their slaves (servants, the help, essential workers). Ammon says, “ It is against the law of our brethren ... that there should be any slaves among them.” (27:9).
So, it keeps coming back to me the idea that God loves all His children and wants all of them to have some kind of equality and fair opportunity. Thanks for considering this idea.
In this week’s reading, I was impressed with Alma’s consistency in describing his dramatic angelic visitation which involved actual thunderous sound effects and a physical shaking of the earth. Understandably this event had an overpowering effect on him that he carried though out his life.
ReplyDeleteConsider the original description of this event in Mosiah 27:11
And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.
Now consider Alma’s subsequent reference in Alma 29 where he prays to be an even better missionary with the desire to be like unto the angel that converted him:
1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
Next look at Alma’s description of his angelic conversion found in Alma 36:
6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way.
7 And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us.
The last reference Alma makes to this event is found in Alma 38 speaking to his son, Shiblon:
7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of destruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face and he spake unto me and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.
Certainly, Alma was greatly affected by this angelic visitation to the extent that he wished he could project himself as the ultimate missionary — an angelic ministrant to help convert all the people of the earth.
In his great chiasmus testimony (Alma 36), Alma bears witness of the supernatural event in which he describes the angel speaking with thunderous power such that the earth did tremble (shake) beneath his feet.
Finally Alma uses the same terminology when testifying to Shiblon to describe the power of the angelic message spoken with the voice of thunder that shook the whole earth.
Alma's recounting of this event is both consistent and compelling through out the Book of Alma. These factors speak to the truth that it actually happened as he gives testimony.