Chapter 3
The Amlicites had
marked themselves according to the prophetic word—The Lamanites had been cursed
for their rebellion—Men bring their own curses upon themselves—The Nephites
defeat another Lamanite army. About 87–86 B.C.
1 AND it came to pass
that the Nephites who were not slain by the weapons of war, after having buried
those who had been slain—now the number of the slain were not numbered, because
of the greatness of their number—after they had finished burying their dead
they all returned to their lands, and to their houses, and their wives, and
their children.
2 Now many women and
children had been slain with the sword, and also many of their flocks and their
herds; and also many of their fields of grain were destroyed, for they were
trodden down by the hosts of men.
3 And now as many of
the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been slain upon the bank of the river
Sidon were cast into the waters of Sidon; and behold their bones are in the
depths of the sea, and they are many.
4 And the Amlicites were
distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in
their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not
shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites.
5 Now the heads of the
Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked, save it were skin which was girded
about their loins, and also their armor, which was girded about them, and their
bows, and their arrows, and their stones, and their slings, and so forth.
6 And the skins of the
Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers,
which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion
against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who
were just and holy men.
7 And their brethren
sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark
upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and
Ishmaelitish women.
8 And this was done
that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that
thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and
believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction.
9 And it came to pass
that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the
same curse upon his seed.
10 Therefore,
whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under
that head, and there was a mark set upon him.
11 And it came to pass
that whosoever would not believe in the tradition of the Lamanites, but
believed those records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and
also in the tradition of their fathers, which were correct, who believed in the
commandments of God and kept them, were called the Nephites, or the people of
Nephi, from that time forth—
12 And it is they who
have kept the records which are true of their people, and also of the people of
the Lamanites.
Alma 3:1-12
The war has ended, but a high price was paid. Casualties were very high. The casualties were not limited to the
military population. Innocent civilians
were killed during the war. Additionally
crops were destroyed by armies traveling through the fields.
The bodies of the dead were thrown into the Sidon
River. The events at the beginning of
Alma’s service foreshadowed what happened as it ended.
The record of Alma's ministry (Alma
1:1–45:19) begins and ends in the same place, embroiled in problems resulting
from the apostasy of Nehor and the Amlicites. Both his earliest battle and his
final battle 18 years later end with the same story: the dead bodies of the
enemy soldiers being thrown into the River Sidon, which carried them to
"the depths of the sea" (Alma 3:3; 44:22). Thus Alma's record
carefully shows how dissension, which was dealt with by preaching the word, can
lead to apostasy and then to treason, which was dealt with by legal action and
war.[1]
The Amlicites have joined the Lamanites. To identify themselves with the Lamanites,
the marked their foreheads in red.
On at least one occasion Nephite
defectors place a red mark on their foreheads "after the manner of the
Lamanites" in order to distinguish themselves from their former
compatriots (Alma 3:4). This symbolic marking would not be necessary if ethnic
identity were determined by racial (genetic) more than cultural (behavioral and
value-based) criteria.[2]
The Lamanites heads were shaved. They only clothing they wore was a loincloth
and armor. They had bows and arrows as
well as slings and stones.
The skin of the Lamanites was dark according to their
curse.
While at least some of the Nephites
disdained the Lamanites because of their skin color, the Lord was concerned
about the sinful nature of the Lamanites and merely used their physical
characteristics to deter the Nephites from accepting their wicked ways. Any
individual from among the Nephites who, having rejected the Nephite religion,
mingled with the Lamanites brought "the same curse upon
his seed" and had "a mark set upon him." Again,
we see that the curse and the mark, while going together, were two different
things.[3]
The curse placed on the original ancestors of the Lamanites
was placed upon Laman, Lemuel, the sons of Ishmael, and the Ishmaelitish women.
Nephi described the curse (which he saw in his great vision), “And it came to pass that I beheld, after
they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy
people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations” (1 Nephi 12:23).
The curse was to prevent the righteous Nephites from mixing
with the Lamanites, who believed in the traditions of their fathers, the source
of their hatred and wickedness. “They
were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition
of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land
of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged
in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing
the sea” (Mosiah 10:12). Anyone who
intermarried with the Lamanites brought the curse upon their offspring. We see this occurring when the Amlicites
place a mark upon the foreheads to distinguish themselves from the Nephites.
The mark was not a racial thing but
was acquired by "whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the
Lamanites" (Alma 3:10); Alma moreover defines a Nephite as anyone
observing "the tradition of their fathers" (Alma 3:11). Which makes
the difference between Nephite and Lamanite a cultural, not a racial, one. Does
this also apply to the dark skin? Note that the dark skin is never mentioned
alone but always as attending a generally depraved way of life, which also is
described as the direct result of the curse.[4]
Those who rejected the Lamanites and their traditions, but
also accepted the records of the Nephites.
“Nephite identity, for instance, rested not merely on their rejection of
Lamanite tradition but on their acceptance of the records and tradition of
their fathers (Alma 3:11).”[5]
[1] Alma's
Enemies: The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites, J.
Christopher Conkling, Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23, 2015.
[2] The
Covenant of the Chosen People: The Spiritual Foundations of Ethnic Identity in
the Book of Mormon, Steven L. Olsen, Maxwell Institute, accessed January
23, 2015.
[3] The
Charge of "Racism" in the Book of Mormon, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell
Institute, accessed January 23, 2015.
[4] Lehi
in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites – Desert Ways
and Places, Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23, 2015.
[5] Traditions
of the Fathers, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23,
2015.
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