20 And it came to pass that their brethren, the
Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the
purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of
destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.
21 Now when the people saw that they were coming
against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them
to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in
this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay
them with the sword.
22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did
slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they
have gone to dwell with their God.
23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren
would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand
or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even
in the very act of perishing under the sword—
24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear
from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for
those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of
the things which they had done.
25 And it came
to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them
again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they
came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms
were lifted to slay them.
26 And it came to pass that the people of God were
joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had
been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what
they were saved.
27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them;
but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus
we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.
28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites
who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest
number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.
29 Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord,
there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of
Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.
30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a
people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great
knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into
sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes
worse than though they had never known these things.
Alma 24:20-30
Shortly after burying their
weapons of war, the Lamanites who rejected the sons of Mosiah began preparing
for war. The ultimate goal was to kill
King Anti-Nephi-Lehi and replace him with a new a king. They also wanted to destroy the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi. “Like their biblical
counterparts, the Amalekites in Alma’s narrative led massacres of unsuspecting
people. In these attacks, the Amalekites and their supporters killed thousands
of converted Lamanites in the land of Nephi.”[1]
As the Lamanite army
approached, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies met the invading army. They lay themselves flat on the ground before
the advance army and began call on the Lord’s name. “Now this people again refused to take their
arms, and they suffered themselves to be slain according to the desires of
their enemies” (Alma 27:3).
[W]hen
we read of the atrocities encountered by the missionary sons of Mosiah among
the Lamanites—including the slaughter of the 1,005 Anti-Nephi-Lehies (see Alma
24:21–22)—perhaps we will be more likely to notice that Alma’s mention of the
true villains is in line with the book’s structure: “The greatest number of
those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites
[Amlicites] and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of
the Nehors.” And among the converts to the truth “were none who were Amalekites
[Amlicites] or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were
actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel” (Alma 24:28–29).[2]
One has to wonder what manner
of men would kill unarmed men, women, and children. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies were offering no
resistance. The slaughter continued. “For
behold, they had rather sacrifice their lives than even to take the life of
their enemy; and they have buried their weapons of war deep in the earth,
because of their love towards their brethren” (Alma 26:32).
The hearts of many who were
participating in the slaughter were softened.
They repented of their actions and threw down their swords. They would never take up their swords again,
“for they were stung for the murders which they had committed” (Alma 24:25).
They joined those laying on the ground, “relying upon the mercies of those
whose arms were lifted to slay them” (Alma 24:25).
As we read, 1,005 were
martyred by the attacking Lamanites. The
number of those who repented, threw away their weapons, and joined the
Anti-Nephi-Lehies numbered more than those who died.
The Lord has told us the
rewards awaiting the martyr.
- “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come” (Isaiah 57:1).
- “Behold, blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up unto this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments. For those that live shall inherit the earth, and those that die shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them; and they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them” (D&C 59:1-2).
- “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).
All who were martyred were
righteous. Many came to a knowledge of
truth. The Lord works many ways to bring
salvation to His people. “For my
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith
the LORD. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Alma would tell his son, Helaman, “Now ye may suppose that this is
foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things
are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth
confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great
and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise
and bringeth about the salvation of many souls” (Alma 37:6-7).
Those responsible for the
slaughter were Amalekites and Amulonites, those who were after the order of
Nehor. The descendants of Laman and Lemuel did not kill a single
Anti-Nephi-Lehi.[3]
[I]t’s
important to understand exactly who the Ammonites were. We know that they were
Lamanites, and we also know that, unlike other groups who also carried the
designation “Lamanite,” they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel (Alma
24:29). We also know that they were the Lamanites who were converted by the
sons of Mosiah in the period stretching approximately from 91 B.C. to 77 B.C.
(Alma 17:4, 6).[4]
Mormon highlights an
important principle. Once we have the
light give us by the Spirit of God, and have a knowledge of truth and fall
away, you will be in a state that is worse than those who have never known the
Gospel. The scriptures make this clear.
- “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).
- “Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites—drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God” (Alma 47:36).
- “But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me” (2 Nephi 31:14).
[1] Moses,
Captain Moroni, and the Amalekites, Matthew Roper, Volume 32 Number 4 –
2012, accessed June 20, 2015.
[2] Alma’s
Enemies The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites,
Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, pg.114 Volume 14, number 1, 2005.
[3] “And
the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the
Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites
in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages
and all their cities” (Alma 23:14).
[4] Were
the Ammonites Pacifists, Duane Boyce, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies,
Vol. 18 Number 1, 2005, pg. 34.
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