4 But it came to pass in the fifty and sixth year of
the reign of the judges, there were dissenters who went up from the
Nephites unto the Lamanites; and they succeeded with those others in stirring
them up to anger against the Nephites; and they were all that year
preparing for war. 5 And in the fifty and seventh year [35 B.C.] they
did come down against the Nephites to battle, and they did commence the work of
death; yea, insomuch that in the fifty and eighth year of the reign of
the judges they succeeded in obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; yea,
and also all the lands, even unto the land which was near the land Bountiful. 6
And the Nephites and the armies of Moronihah were driven even into the land of
Bountiful;
7 And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from
the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day's journey for a
Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to
defend their north country. 8 And thus
those dissenters of the Nephites, with the help of a numerous army of the
Lamanites, had obtained all the possession of the Nephites which was in the
land southward. And all this was
done in the fifty and eighth and ninth years of the reign of the judges.
Helaman 4:4 – 8 (Emphasis mine)
As contention increased in the church and Nephite society,
more dissenters left and went to the Lamanites.
They were eventually able to convince the Lamanites to go to war. Lynn Wardle discusses the effect of
dissension on Nephite history.
“Frequently, the Book of Mormon notes that dissension
directly led to war. Often it was the dissenters from the Nephites who ‘stirred
up to anger’ the Lamanites against the Nephites and caused them to ‘[commence]
a war with their brethren.’ (Helaman 4:4; 11:24; see also Alma 46–47).
The Gadianton robbers existed because of, and their success depended upon, ‘dissenters
that went forth unto them’ (Helaman 11:25; 3 Nephi 2:18; 7:12). It is
no wonder that Mormon declared that contention among the Nephites was ‘a cause
of all their destruction’ during the great series of wars described in
Alma (Alma 51:16).”[1] (Emphasis
mine)
War also caused significant disruption to the Nephite economy. “Ancient economies were heavily beset by the
ravages of war. Most ancient cities lived in constant fear of being overrun by
invading armies or harassed by robber bands. Zarahemla was no exception: at one
point, the city was easily conquered in a single invasion (see Helaman 4:5).
Fighting for one’s very existence in sustained campaigns placed heavy strains
on these already fragile economies. Besides costing time away from planting and
harvesting crops, wars claimed the lives of scarce workers and leaders.”[2]
The war began and lasted two years. The Nephites were defeated. They lost the land of Zarahemla. They lost “and also all the lands, even unto
the land which was near the land Bountiful” (v. 5). The people along, with the army under
Moronihah, were forced to flee to the land of Bountiful. Moronihah regrouped and began to fortify the
land against the Lamanites.
When the battle ended, the Lamanites controlled all of the
Nephite land which was in the land southward.
9 And it came to pass in the sixtieth year of the
reign of the judges, Moronihah did succeed with his armies in
obtaining many parts of the land; yea, they regained many cities which had
fallen into the hands of the Lamanites. 10 And it came
to pass in the sixty and first year of the reign of the judges [31 B.C.] they
succeeded in regaining even the half of all their possessions.
11 Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the
great slaughter which was among them, would not have happened had it not been
for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea,
and it was among those also who professed to belong to the church of God. 12
And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches,
yea, it
was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the
hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble
brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the
spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing,
committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into
the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—13 And because
of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they
were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were
afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost
possession of almost all their lands.
Helaman 4:9 – 13 (Emphasis mine)
Why was there war?
Mormon tells us the answer. “[T]he great slaughter which was among them, would
not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination
which was among them” (v.11). The Lord
had made promises to the Nephites. A
promise made to Joseph Smith would equally apply to the Nephites. “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say;
but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10).
What could overthrow the Lord’s church? The angel who appeared to Alma2
told him, “the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish it; and
nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people” (Mosiah
27:13).
The people who claimed to be members of the church were
rich. Paul, writing to Timothy, told him,
“[c]harge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all
things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). The
people were proud. Obadiah wrote, “[t]he
pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of
the rock, whose habitation is high;
that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars,
thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD” (Obadiah 1:3-14).
One the greatest sins they committed was “their oppression
to the poor” (v. 12). The Lord has
commanded us it is our responsibility to provide for the poor. King Benjamin said, “whosoever doeth this the
same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath
done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God” (Mosiah
4:18).
Solomon tells us that, “[w]hoso mocketh the poor reproacheth
his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities
shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5); “[w]hoso stoppeth his ears at the cry
of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs
21:13).
Why is taking care of the poor so important? James wrote, “[h]earken, my beloved brethren,
Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the
kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him” (James 2:5).
Other sins included: “making
a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of
revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising
up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the
Lamanites” (v. 12).
This destruction came upon the Nephites because of their
wickedness. They turned away from the
Lord. The committed sinned. Pride spread throughout not only society but
also the church. They were ripe for
destruction. It came and they had no one
else to blame but themselves.
[1] Dissent:
Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 21, 2012.
[2] Rollercoaster
Economics, The FARMS Updates of
the 1990s by Melvin J. Thorne, and John W. Welch, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 21, 2012.
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