Alma 47:5-19

⁵ And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms. ⁶ And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them, being fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites. ⁷ And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to battle.

⁸ Now it was not Amalickiah's intention to give them battle according to the commandments of the king; but behold, it was his intention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their head and dethrone the king and take possession of the kingdom.  ⁹ And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their tents in the valley which was near the mount Antipas.

Alma 47:5-9 (Emphasis mine)

Having assumed command of the Lamanite army, he began the second phase of his plan.  He was sent to Onidah to deal with the rebellious Lamanites who refused to take up arms.  What the king didn’t know was Amalickiah intended to “gain favor of those who were not obedient.” 

By doing this, he would “gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their heat and dethrone the king and take possession of the kingdom.” 

¹⁰ And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him.  ¹¹ And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount.  And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down.  And it came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third time.

¹² And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti's camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him.

Alma 47:10-12 (Emphasis mine)

The king of the dissidents, Lehonti, had established their camp at the top of mount Antipas.  Amalickiah sent “a secret embassy” asking him to come down and meet with him.   Lehonti wisely refused.

Amalickiah wouldn’t take no for answer.  Two more times he asked Lehonti to meet with him and he refused.  The fourth time, he went up the mountain, “nearly to Lehonti’s camp.”  The fourth request included the condition that, if he came down, “he would bring his guards with him.”

¹³ And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night–time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti's hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army.  ¹⁴ And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti. 

¹⁵ And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded, they plead with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with their brethren, that they might not be destroyed.  Now this was the very thing which Amalickiah desired.  ¹⁶ And it came to pass that he delivered his men, contrary to the commands of the king.  Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired, that he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king.

Alma 47:13-16 (Emphasis mine)

We see just how detailed Amalickiah’s plan was.  When Lehonti finally agreed to meet with him, he “desired him to come down with his army in the night–time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti's hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army.”  If he were the second in command, this would put him in the perfect position to continue to implement his plans.

Lehonti agreed.  When Amalickiah’s army awoke, “they saw that they were surrounded, they plead with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with their brethren, that they might not be destroyed.”  He agreed and delivered his army.  This was contrary to his orders.  His orders were to go forth and force the dissidents to take arms and rejoin the army (Alma 47:3).

I find it somewhat surprising that none of these leaders paused and looked at the situation.  Here they have this guy who wanted to be king over the Nephites.  He was willing to use force to do this.  When the time came, most of his supporters ran.

He then went to the Lamanites and convinced the Lamanites to go to war against the Nephites.  When a part of the army deserted, he was sent to bring them back.  Instead, he made an agreement with those who deserted that sold out his army if he was made second in command.

Every step along the way, Amalickiah was cunning and deceitful.  He sold out anyone and everyone when they had given him what he wanted.  I would expect someone to stop at some point and question him and his motives. 

No one did and many would pay with their lives for their support of Amalickiah.

¹⁷ Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader.  ¹⁸ And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.  ¹⁹ Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief commander.

Alma 47:17-19 (Emphasis mine)

His next step was to get rid of Lehonti and take over the entire army.  There was a structure to the Lamanite army.

“The first references to Lamanite captains and chief captains (see Alma 43:6, 44) with a ‘second leader’ (see Alma 47:17) to the ‘chief leader’ are found during this time, although these positions almost certainly existed much earlier (as with the Nephites). Interestingly, these references indicate that Nephite dissenters were often appointed to be captains over the Lamanites. Evidently the Lamanite armies were not as dependent on actual lineage leaders at this time as were the Nephites. This could imply that ‘Lamanites’ included populations other than those solely related to Lehi, Ishmael, or Zoram, although these three groups were apparently the most dominant.”[1] (Emphasis mine)

Amalickiah had a servant “administer poison by degrees to Lehonti.”  The poison did its job and Amalickiah is now the “chief leader” of a huge Lamanite army.

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[1] Nephite Captains and Armies, A. Brent Merrill, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 1, 2012.