20 And now it came to pass in the commencement of
the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges [73 B.C.] over the people of
Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people to declare the word unto them. 21 For behold, because of
their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances
which had been among the people, it became expedient that the word of God
should be declared among them, yea, and that a regulation should be
made throughout the church. 22
Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth to establish the church again in
all the land, yea, in every city throughout all the land which was
possessed by the people of Nephi. And it
came to pass that they did appoint priests and teachers throughout all the land, over all
the churches. 23 And now it
came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and
teachers over the churches that there arose a dissension among them, and they
would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his brethren; 24 But they grew proud, being
lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore
they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk
uprightly before God.
Alma 45:20-24 (Emphasis mine)
After being made high priest, Helaman(1) began preaching to
the people, declaring the word of the Lord to them. This was done because “the preaching of the word
had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had
had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or
anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was
expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God” (Alma 31:5).
Helaman made “a regulation” for the church and appointed
teachers and priests through the land.
Lynn Wardle wrote about dissension in the Book of Mormon.
“In Moroni's day it was not merely the secular authorities (generals and
chief judges) who established the peace. The high priest of the church,
Helaman, worked closely with Moroni to quell dissent. Before the
lengthy Nephite-Lamanite wars began, he tried to set the church in order
because the dissensions that soon were to plague the nation were evident in the
church (Alma 45:20–22) … The establishment of peace did not merely mean that
the Lamanites were defeated, but also that the gospel was widely preached and
that the people repented (Alma 62:45–51)…
“It is noteworthy that dissension in the Nephite church was
associated with contention in the nation (Alma 45:21–46:7; Helaman
4:1). In other words, there may be a spill-over effect. The spillage may move
in both directions. For instance, dissension within the church preceded (and
perhaps spiritually caused) the great civil dissensions that soon plagued the
entire Nephite nation as it plunged into a terribly destructive series of wars
with the Lamanites, who were led and strengthened by Nephite dissenters (Alma
45:20–24; Alma 46–62).
“Dissension in the church may develop when one prophetic
administration ends and another begins. Thus, after Alma2 turned
over the management of the affairs of the church to his son, Helaman, and ‘after
Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the churches .
. . there arose a dissension among them, and they would not give heed to the
words of Helaman and his brethren’ (Alma 45:23). A new ‘regulation’ also was
implemented by the new high priest that may have provoked dissatisfaction among
some persons in the church (Alma 45:21).”[1]
(Emphasis mine)
Chapter 46
Amalickiah conspires
to be king—Moroni raises the title of liberty—He rallies the people to defend
their religion—True believers are called Christians—A remnant of Joseph shall
be preserved—Amalickiah and the dissenters flee to the land of Nephi—Those who
will not support the cause of freedom are put to death. About 73–72 B.C.
1 AND it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to
the words of Helaman and his brethren were gathered together against their
brethren. 2 And now
behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them. 3 Now the
leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong
man; and his name was Amalickiah.
Alma 46:1-3 (Emphasis mine)
The opposition has organized “against their brethren.” Their leader is Amalickiah. Hugh Nibley explains:
“They didn't just form another party. They wanted to run the
government, which is exactly what Amalickiah wanted to do. He wanted to be
everything. They were ‘gathered together against their brethren … And
now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to
slay them.’ (Alma 46:1–2.) It was going to be all out; it wasn't just
going to be an election. Here [in Alma 51:7] an election was forced on
them but went against them. ‘… the voice of the people came in favor of the freemen
. . . Now those who were in favor of kings were those of high birth [here we
are again], and they sought to be kings [everybody thought he was in the royal
line because they were all related to the king]; and they were supported by
those who sought power and authority over the people.’ A coup is what they were after.”[2]
(Emphasis mine)
Hugh Nibley sums up our situation.
“After the postwar boom, Helaman, as the head of the church, is alarmed.
He sees how the prosperity leads people to set their hearts on riches: ‘Therefore,
Helaman and his brethren went forth to establish the church again in all the
land, yea, in every city throughout all the land which was possessed by the
people of Nephi. And it came to pass that they did appoint priests and teachers
throughout all the land, over all the churches’ (Alma 45:22).
”He tries to do something about it, and immediately the resentment of
those whom he rebukes flares up against him. They propose an action
program—quite a dangerous one. Being closely knit, interested families, they
begin to organize an opposition party, and it is taken over by a man of
considerable genius who is capable and unscrupulous: Amalickiah, who organized
the coalition.”[3]
(Emphasis mine)
[1] Dissent:
Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed March 25, 2012.
[2] Lecture
69: Alma 49-52, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute,
accessed March 25, 2012.
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