8 Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord:
9 The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael;
10 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Middoni;
11 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi;
12 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom.
13 And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were converted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites.
Alma 23:8-13 (Emphasis mine)
Here we have a list of places where Aaron and his brethren had success preaching the gospel. Not only did they have amazing success, there was an unexpected result. The Lamanites put down their weapons of war. They decided they must fully cease being a violent people. This would not be consistent with their new lives.
14 And 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, yea, and all their villages and all their cities.
15 Therefore, we have named all the cities of the Lamanites in which they did repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, and were converted.
16 And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.
17 And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites.
18 And 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.
Alma 23:14-18 (Emphasis mine)
The only place they failed was where the Nephite dissenters lived. With one exception, they rejected the gospel. Not only did the dissenters reject Aaron and his brethren, they convinced the Lamanites around them to reject them.
Returning to the righteous Lamanites, they realized that they had made a huge change. They felt they were no longer Lamanites and needed a new name. They eventually called themselves the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
Hugh Nibley explains the meaning of the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
“They were named Anti-Nephi-Lehies. You know that Nephi-Lehi means a combination of Nephi and Lehi, and anti means ‘combination, face-to-face, meeting.’ … his anti means so many things. We get it in the Book of Mormon a good deal—Antiomno and things like that … It means ‘a face-to-face meeting, a joining together with somebody.’ We are going to find later on about an Anti-Christ, who is a person who pretends to be Christ, who matches Christ, who pretends to take the place of Christ. It's not somebody who opposes Christ, but somebody who pretends to be Christ … So they were set apart, but they began to be an industrious people—getting to work at last.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
The curse that had followed the Lamanites through their history ceased. The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi were freed from that curse. What exactly does this mean?
“Some cursings are given first as warnings rather than a more severe immediate chastisement (2 Ne. 1:21, 22); and, like blessings, they sometimes require a long time for their full consequences to be realized. After being invoked, cursings may often be lessened or lifted entirely by subsequent righteousness. Mormon describes an experience of the Lamanites: ‘And 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’ (Alma 23:18).” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Mormon also tells us that they became an industrious people. Lindon Robison explains:
“Still, Book of Mormon evidence shows that it was not the free-market system that induced lazy Lamanites to work hard; it was their conversion to the gospel and the development of an attitude of caring.
“Nephi taught his people to be industrious and to work with their hands (2 Nephi 5:17). After hearing the gospel taught by Ammon and his brothers, the converted Lamanites, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, became a very industrious people (Alma 23:18). Moreover, the righteous leaders of the Book of Mormon taught through example to till the earth and to support themselves so they would not be a burden for others (Mosiah 6:7).” [3] (Emphasis mine)
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24 (Emphasis mine)
[1] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 22, 2011,
[3] Economic Insights from the Book of Mormon, Lindon J. Robison, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 22, 2011,
No comments:
Post a Comment