Mosiah 24:1-7

Chapter 24

Amulon persecutes Alma and his people—They are to be put to death if they pray—The Lord makes their burdens seem light—He delivers them from bondage, and they return to Zarahemla. About 145–120 B.C.

¹ AND it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the king of the Lamanites; therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted unto him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over his people, yea, even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the land of Shilom, and in the land of Amulon. ² For the Lamanites had taken possession of all these lands; therefore, the king of the Lamanites had appointed kings over all these lands. ³ And now the name of the king of the Lamanites was Laman, being called after the name of his father; and therefore he was called king Laman.  And he was king over a numerous people. ⁴ And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites.

 Mosiah 24:1-4 (Emphasis mine)

Amulon was able to become a king.  Next, he got his people appointed teachers over the people.  This means that they would be teaching Alma(1) and his people.  They also began teaching the Lamanites the Nephite language.

Alan Goff explains:

“After the Lamanites captured Amulon and his people, the record states that ‘Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the king of the Lamanites’ (Mosiah 24:1). In gaining the favor of the Lamanites, these priests clearly lost favor with God. There is a note of disapproval in the narrator's words when he says that the people of Amulon not only found favor in the eyes of the Lamanite king, but also that the king appointed these men to be teachers over all his people (see Mosiah 24:1). As teachers, these priests taught the Lamanites the language of the Nephites (see Mosiah 24:4), ‘nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi’ (Mosiah 24:5).” [1] (Emphasis mine)

⁵ And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi; ⁶ But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another. ⁷ And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to trade one with another and wax great, and began to be a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people, delighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren.

Mosiah 24:5-7 (Emphasis mine)

The teachers did teach the people.  But they ignored the religious education.  They did not teach the law of Moses or the words of Abinadi. They knew it was their responsibility.  When Abinadi challenged the priests, asking them what they taught the people, the said “the law of Moses” (see Mosiah 12:28).  Mormon lets us see that they had turned away from their priestly callings and responsibility.  They things of God were no longer important to them.

The Lamanites became a “cunning and wise people” as to worldly knowledge.  They had no problem plundering others.  They did, however, refused to plunder their own people.

Gordon Thomasson explains what happens when literacy is taught without a righteous purpose. 

“Teaching literacy so that men might come to know God was a righteous act and tended to have constructive consequences. In contrast, when Amulon and the priests of Noah taught the Lamanites to read and write the ‘language of Nephi’ it was an aid to commerce and military operations. The Lamanites consequently waxed great in trade and plunder, but they were not taught anything concerning ‘the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi’ (Mosiah 24:5). Thus, the Lamanites became ‘a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world,’ but they also came to ‘[delight] in all manner of wickedness’ (Mosiah 24:7).” [2] (Emphasis mine)

John Sorenson speculates that their refusal to plunder their own people may be evidence of the fact that there were other people here before Lehi’s party arrived. 

“In at least two other places in the text I see possible evidence of ‘others.’ Mosiah 24:7 reports the Lamanites' practicing "all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren." (emphasis in original) Now, given this verse's context, those plundered do not appear to have been Nephites. Who is referred to? Possibly the statement means that the Lamanites considered it acceptable to plunder any community other than those involving immediate relatives or neighbors, but such a limited sense of "their own brethren" is without precedent in the text. Rather it seems to me that this expression tells us that certain portions of the Lamanites classified other segments of the population in their lands as being of different origin and thus subject to less protection.” [3] (Emphasis mine)

---

[1] The Stealing of the Daughters of the Lamanites, Alan Goff, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 19, 2012.

[2] Mosiah: The Complex Symbolism and Symbolic Complex of Kingship in the Book of Mormon, Gordon C. Thomasson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 19, 2012.

[3] When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L. Sorenson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 19, 2012.