Chapter 52
Ammoron succeeds
Amalickiah as king of the Lamanites—Moroni, Teancum, and Lehi lead the Nephites
in a victorious war against the Lamanites—The city of Mulek is retaken, and
Jacob the Lamanite is slain. About 66–64 B.C.
1 AND now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth
year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi [66 B.C.], behold,
when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they
found Amalickiah was dead in his own tent; and they also saw that Teancum was ready
to give them battle on that day. 2 And now, when
the Lamanites saw this they were affrighted; and they abandoned their design in
marching into the land northward, and retreated with all their army into the
city of Mulek, and sought protection in their fortifications.
3 And it came to pass that the brother of Amalickiah was appointed king
over the people; and his name was Ammoron; thus king Ammoron, the
brother of king Amalickiah, was appointed to reign in his stead. 4
And it came to pass that he did command that his people should
maintain those cities, which they had taken by the shedding of blood;
for they had not taken any cities save they had lost much blood.
Alma 52:1 – 4 (Emphasis mine)
When the Lamanites awoke, they found their leader dead in
his tent. They saw the army of Teancum
was ready for battle. They “retreated
with all their army into the city of Mulek.”
“[A] note of interest about this event is that it occurred
on the last night of the Nephite-Lamanite year. Throughout Mesoamerica, ‘omens
were regularly … tied to events of the last, or first, day…To awaken on the first day of a
new year to find their leader dead would have been far more unnerving to their
omen-conscious feelings than we moderns may appreciate.’ Not surprisingly
then, ‘when the Lamanites saw this they were affrighted; and they abandoned
their design in marching into the land northward, and retreated with all their
army’ (Alma 52:2). Additionally, when the Nephites or Lamanites lost
their captains, confusion could result; and because strange commanders could
not easily replace the fallen lineage leaders, the armies would often retreat
(see Alma 49:25; 56:51).”[1]
Ammoron, the brother of Amalickiah, was made king. His first act as king was to have his army
remain in the cities they had taken.
Frequently, we think of these wars as simply Lamanites
against Nephites, good against evil. The
truth is the wars “are often not Nephite vs. Lamanite, cowboy vs. Indian, but ‘good’
Nephite vs. ‘bad’ Nephite, with the Lamanites sometimes being manipulated by ‘bad’
Nephites.”[2]
5 And now, Teancum saw that the Lamanites were determined
to maintain those cities which they had taken, and those parts of the land
which they had obtained possession of; and also seeing the enormity of their
number, Teancum thought it was not expedient that he should attempt to attack
them in their forts. 6 But he
kept his men round about, as if making preparations for war; yea, and truly he
was preparing to defend himself against them, by casting up walls round
about and preparing places of resort. 7 And it came to pass
that he
kept thus preparing for war until Moroni had sent a large number of men to
strengthen his army.
Alma 52:5 – 7 (Emphasis mine)
With the Lamanites in the Nephite fortified cities they had conquered,
“Teancum thought it was not expedient that he should attempt to attack them in
the forts.
He continued to make preparations for war, “Teancum then
strengthened his own positions, digging in and awaiting reinforcements from
Moroni (Alma 52:6—7), who, however, was pinned down on the west coast and could
offer little assistance. The Nephites with their inferior numbers were being
forced to fight that kind of a war that all commanders dread—a war on two
fronts.”[3]
8 And Moroni also sent orders unto him that he
should retain all the prisoners who fell into his hands; for as the Lamanites
had taken many prisoners, that he should retain all the prisoners of the
Lamanites as a ransom for those whom the Lamanites had taken. 9
And he also sent orders unto him that he should fortify the land Bountiful, and
secure the narrow pass which led into the land northward, lest the Lamanites
should obtain that point and should have power to harass them on every side.
10 And Moroni also sent unto him, desiring him that
he would be faithful in maintaining that quarter of the land, and that he would
seek every opportunity to scourge the Lamanites in that quarter, as
much as was in his power, that perhaps he might take again by stratagem or some
other way those cities which had been taken out of their hands; and that he
also would fortify and strengthen the cities round about, which had not fallen
into the hands of the Lamanites. 11 And he also said unto
him, I would come unto you, but behold, the Lamanites are upon us in the
borders of the land by the west sea; and behold, I go against them, therefore I
cannot come unto you.
Alma 52:8 – 11 (Emphasis mine)
Moroni(1) sent Teancum instruction about what he was to
do.
First, he was to “retain all the prisoners who fell into his
hands.” He hoped for future prisoner
exchanges. “[Moroni(1)] ordered Teancum
to sit tight on his sector while harassing the Lamanites as much as possible
and keeping a sharp lookout for any chance opportunity or opening to do them
real damage (Alma 52:10); at the same time he was instructed to take and keep
as many prisoners of war as possible with a view to future exchange of prisoners
with the Lamanites, for the addition of one man to the Nephite forces meant far
more than it did to the Lamanites (Alma 52:8).”[4]
Next, he was to “fortify the land of Bountiful” and secure
specific points in the area to prevent the Lamanites from being able “to harass
them on every side.”
Finally, he wanted Teancum to “seek every opportunity to scourge
the Lamanites in that quarter. That
would keep them busy and they would not be able to support the army that
Moroni(1) was currently fighting.
“Ammoron, the brother and successor of Amalickiah, made the
most of this advantage to himself and sent a strong diversionary force to
occupy Moroni and if possible split the Nephite forces even more, while
harassing them everywhere and keeping them off-balance by sallies and
infiltrations from the numerous former Nephite strong places now held by the Lamanites
(Alma 52:11—13).”[5]
[1] Nephite
Captains and Armies, A. Brent Merrill, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 22, 2012.
[2] The
Spirituality of the Outcast in the Book of Mormon, Todd M. Compton, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 22, 2012.
[3] A
Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 22, 2012.
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