Alma 16:1-12

Chapter 16

The Lamanites destroy the people of Ammonihah—Zoram leads the Nephites to victory over the Lamanites—Alma and Amulek and many others preach the word—They teach that after his resurrection Christ will appear to the Nephites. About 81–77 B.C.

1 AND it came to pass in the eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month, there having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having been no wars nor contentions for a certain number of years, even until the fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry of war heard throughout the land.

2 For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city.

3 And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness.

4 Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.

5 Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.

6 And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the matter.  And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti.  And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.

7 And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river Sidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon.

8 And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive.  And they were brought by their brethren to possess their own lands.

9 And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness.

10 But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcases were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness.

11 Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were covered with a shallow covering.  And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years.  And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate.

12 And the Lamanites did not come again to war against the Nephites until the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.  And thus for three years did the people of Nephi have continual peace in all the land.

Alma 16:1-12

It had been a time of peace in the land of Zarahemla, but that suddenly changed.  The Lamanite armies attacked Ammonihah, killing the people and destroying the city.[1] “The prescribed mode of execution for an apostate city was by ‘the sword, destroying it utterly.’ This is the only place in the law of Moses where slaying by the sword is required. When the day of judgment came upon Ammonihah, the Lamanites did ‘slay the people and destroy the city’ (Alma 16:2), presumably by the sword, their primary weapon of hand-to-hand combat.”^[2]

By the time the Nephites could raise a large enough army, Ammonihah was destroyed.  “[An] interesting feature of Nephite armies is that, for the most part, they seem to have been formed from a militia mobilized from the general population (see Alma 16:3) and were not part of a standing army.”[3]

Not all the residents of Ammonihah were killed.  The Lamanites took many prisoner.

The army’s mission change from one of defending a Nephite city to a rescue mission.  They were going to release those taken prisoner by the Lamanites.

The leader of the army was a man named Zoram.  His first act was to, along with his two sons, consult with Alma, asking him to inquire of the Lord as to where they should go looking for the captives.

Alma inquired of the Lord.  In answer, to his prayer, he told Zoram to cross the river Sidon to the borders of the land of Manti.  There, the Lord will deliver the Lamanites as well as those taken captive.

Zoram followed Alma’s instructions.  He came upon the Lamanite armies and scattered the armies into the wilderness.  They were also able to rescue the captives.

When Zoram went out, he said it was to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness. His whole purpose was to get them back, and he did get them back (see Alma 16:6—8). Incidentally, in talking about the defense, the best position, remember that all Book of Mormon wars take place on Nephite property, not on Lamanite. They rarely invade the other. The Nephites are rarely the aggressors, in that sense.[4]

The great city of Ammonihah, the one that couldn’t be destroyed, had been utterly devastated.   No one was left alive.  Alma’s warnings and prophecy were fulfilled.^[5] It took one day devastate the city.  Bodies were left, scattered throughout the city.  Wild animals came and ate the bodies. 

Eventually, bodies were heaped on the earth and covered with a layer of dirt.  The scent of decay lingered.  It was so bad, people avoided the land.  It became known as the Desolation of Nehors.

The next three years were spent in peace.

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[1] Fulfilling Alma’s prophecy – “But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be prolonged in the land, for the Lamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord” (Alma 9:18).

[2] Reexploring the Book of Mormon – The Destruction of Ammonihah and the Law of Apostate Cities, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 7, 2015.

[3] Warfare in the Book of Mormon – Nephite Captains and Armies, A. Brent Merrill, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 7, 2015.

[4] Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints – Warfare and the Book of Mormon, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 7, 2015.

[5] Fulfilling Alma’s prophecy – “But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be prolonged in the land, for the Lamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce anger of the Lord” (Alma 9:18).