Chapter 2
Amlici seeks to be
king and is rejected by the voice of the people—His followers make him king—The
Amlicites make war on the Nephites and are defeated—The Lamanites and Amlicites
join forces and are defeated—Alma slays Amlici. About 87 B.C.
1 AND it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth
year of their reign [About 87 B.C.] there began to be a contention among the
people; for a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man,
yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the
man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—2
Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so
much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to
establish Amlici to be a king over the people.
3 Now this was alarming to the people of the
church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after the persuasions
of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things
must be established by the voice of the people. 4 Therefore, if it
were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a
wicked man, would deprive them of their rights and privileges of the church;
for it was his intent to destroy the church of God.
Alma 2:1-4 (Emphasis mine)
During the fifth year of the new government, we see the
first major threat to the freedom of the people. Amlici, “a very cunning man, yea, a wise man
as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of {Nehor] … had, by
his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to
be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be a king
over the people” (verses 1-2).
John L. Sorenson writes:
“Then after [Nehor’s] demise his order showed its
power-seeking face through Amlici, a new organizer of dissent against the norms
of Nephite society. He was a follower of Nehor who is said to have been cunning
and ‘a wise man as to the wisdom of the world (Alma 2:1). His intent was to ‘deprive [the
people] of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to
destroy the church of God’ (Alma 2:4). His mechanism was first to amass
political support and then to convert that strength to armed force—a rebel
army—in order to have himself declared king (see Alma 2:2, 10). To make
this agenda palatable to the widest possible mass of supporters, he used
Nehor's materialistic belief system as religious validation to color his
political ambitions.” [1]
(Emphasis mine)
Many in the church were “drawn away after the persuasions of
Amlici.” The concern was they, if he
gained more support, he would win any election.
He wanted to deprive the church of its right and privileges. He wanted to destroy the church.
Less than five years after the new government was formed,
the people seemed to be ignoring King Mosiah(2)’s warning. He told the people that, “if the time comes
that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the
judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you
with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land” (Mosiah
29:27).
Hugh Nibley summed up the situation:
“In the fifth year there was contention among the people. Then
this Amlici took advantage of it. He was a shrewd person. He was able,
effective, a born winner, and a member of the Nehor church, which will be the
church from now on. Notice in Alma 2:1: ‘… He being a very cunning man,
yea, a wise man [he was sharp] as to the wisdom of the world, he being after
the order of the man that slew Gideon …’ He was a member of the Nehor church,
and he drew away many people after him. When Alma got in [as chief judge] lots
of people had to be excommunicated, and even more of them just left of their
own free will. They just apostatized and joined the Nehors. This is what was
happening, and it picked up speed with this man Amlici, who took advantage of
the motion.
“Verse 3: ‘Now this was alarming to the people of the
church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after the persuasions
of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things must be
established by the voice of the people.’ He had put it on a different level.
It was not just religion, or not just a big shot like Nehor, the evangelist. He
wanted to be king. Well, this was something else; they had just
abolished a kingship. What was going to happen now? Naturally, it got them
worried. He got a big party following him and went for the big one. Kingship
was out of fashion for only five years here because he got followers. So it
alarmed the people of the church and everybody else ‘for they knew that
according to their law that such things must be established by the voice of the
people.’ Not by the voice of the church, but the voice of the people. They knew
they would be shut out if that's what happened. If Amlici won his victory, it would
be legal because the church as such had no voice in the civil government.
They had said they would do all things by the voice of the people, and if the
people choose the wrong thing, that's just too bad for them. They will be
responsible. So he could legitimately be elected king by their
constitution—doing things by the voice of the people. He had a real power base,
and ‘it was his intent to destroy the church of God.’ That was the immediate
obstacle that he had to get rid of.” [2]
(Emphasis mine)
5 And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves
together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it
were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and
wonderful contentions one with another. 6 And thus
they did assemble themselves together to cast in their voices concerning the
matter; and they were laid before the judges.
7 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came
against Amlici, that he was not made king over the people.
Alma 2:5-7 (Emphasis mine)
The people met. They debated
and argued, “having much dispute and wonderful contentions with one another.” I found the phrase “wonderful contentions”
interesting. What was meant by using the
world “wonderful”? When teaching the
Nephites, the Savior said “he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me,
but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the
hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29). This makes me think that “wonderful
contentions” were not a good thing. I
was not able to find any commentary that might explain this term.
When the discussions and contentions were over, “the voice
of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king over the people.” Mosiah(2) expressed faith in the people. When he told the people that “it is not
common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is
right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which
is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your
business by the voice of the people” (Mosiah 29:26).
Hugh Nibley wrote:
“Over a generation later when one Amlici was able to exert
great political pressure to get himself elected king, ‘the people assembled
themselves together throughout all the land . . . in separate bodies, having
much dispute and wonderful contentions one with another’ (Alma 2:5). Here
the system is abused by an illegal claimant to the throne who insists on
holding his own coronation assembly. When a vote was taken, ‘the voice of the
people came against Amlici, that he was not made king’ (Alma 2:7), that
is, he failed to receive the acclamation that every ancient king had to have,”
[3]
(Emphasis mine)
[1] Religious
Groups and Movements among the Nephites, 200–1 B.C., John L. Sorenson, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 21, 2012.
[2] Lecture
43: Alma 1-2, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute,
accessed February 21, 2012.
[3] Old
World Ritual in the New World, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed February 21, 2012.
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