Chapter 10
Lehi descended from Manasseh—Amulek recounts the angelic command that he care for Alma—The prayers of the righteous cause the people to be spared—Unrighteous lawyers and judges lay the foundation of the destruction of the people. About 82 B.C.
1 NOW these are the words which Amulek preached unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah, saying:
2 I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was the same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.
3 And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.
4 And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.
Alma 10:1-4 (Emphasis mine)
Amulek next began speaking to the people.
He begins by identifying himself and his descent. He is a descendent of Lehi and of Manasseh, don of Joseph.
He is a well-known man. He is relying on his reputation and success in life in Ammonihah as making his words more credible.
We are introduced, briefly, to a Book of Mormon prophet, Aminadi. The finger of God wrote a message on the wall of a temple. Aminadi interpreted the writing. Was this a part of the lost 116 pages? I tend to think it was. My thinking is that if Mormon included a reference to Aminadi, he did so because he was a part of the abridgement.
Hugh Nibley made some observations about Amulek.
“So then Amulek stood forth and began to preach to them. Amulek introduced himself, and he is a very striking character. These vignettes, these character sketches in the Book of Mormon, are very clearly marked. He was the most respected citizen you could possibly imagine. He was a blueblood. Alma 10:2: ‘I am Amulek … a descendant of Aminadi, . . . and Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi.’ He was proud of his genealogy. And here we have an extremely important genealogical note. Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, who was half Egyptian … He had been a successful businessman, and made himself very rich. He had been very successful and very respected. He was la creme de la creme.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.
6 Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
7 As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.
8 And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.
9 And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an angel of God.
10 And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath dwelt at my house.
11 For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake.
Alma 10:5-11 (Emphasis mine)
Amulek confesses to the people that he had been called many times by the Lord, but he had hardened his heart and did not hear the calling. It was only when an angel of the Lord came to him, and told him about Alma(2), that he began to understand his calling.
He then testifies both of Alma(2)’s calling as a holy man and his words. Now the people no longer have the word of only one person. They have the testimony of two; one of the two was known by the people.
In verse 11, we have a reference to how the people lived. We see an entire family unit together in one home. Brant Gardner explains that there is archeological evidence to show that this type of a dwelling was not unusual in Mesoamerica.
“Mesoamerican dwellings were basically compounds for multiple family units. How well does this archaeological feature fit with the rare Book of Mormon descriptions of dwelling units? We find the following in Alma: ‘For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake’ (Alma 10:11). When Amulek describes Alma's blessing, he paints a picture of how Amulek perceives his kin connections. These descriptions fit the general picture of Mesoamerican households…
“The first term Amulek uses is ‘my house.’ For kin-based societies, this typically is as real as it is symbolic of the family. Kin-based societies frequently live in compounds. Excellent documents allow anthropologists to visualize some Aztec households close to the time of the Conquest. … One account from 1580 indicates that houses typically contained six or seven married couples besides unmarried youth.
“The archaeological discovery of living areas that clearly contain multiple buildings led archaeologists to the conclusion that such an area was a family compound, which is a very common feature of the archaeological sites of the Maya area dating to the Book of Mormon time period … Amulek may plausibly have lived in a typical Mesoamerican household compound … When Amulek speaks first of Alma blessing his ‘house’ and then lists specific groups, we are justified in assuming that these are people who are living in the same ‘house,’ which would mean the entire dwelling area, not a single structure.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10. Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 18, 2011.
[2] Behind the Mask, Behind the Curtain: Uncovering the Illusion, Brant Gardner, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 18, 2011.
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