Chapter 25
Lamanite aggressions spread—The seed of the priests of
Noah perish as Abinadi prophesied—Many Lamanites are converted and join the
people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi—They believe in Christ and keep the law of Moses.
About 90–77 B.C.
1 AND behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites
were more angry because they had slain their brethren; therefore they swore
vengeance upon the Nephites; and they did no more attempt to slay the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi at that time.
2 But they took their armies and went over into the
borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land
of Ammonihah and destroyed them.
3 And after that, they had many battles with the
Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain.
4 And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost
all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they
were slain by the hands of the Nephites;
5 And the remainder, having fled into the east
wilderness, and having usurped the power and authority over the Lamanites,
caused that many of the Lamanites should perish by fire because of their
belief—
6 For many of them, after having suffered much loss
and so many afflictions, began to be stirred up in remembrance of the words
which Aaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore they
began to disbelieve the traditions of their fathers, and to believe in the
Lord, and that he gave great power unto the Nephites; and thus there were many
of them converted in the wilderness.
7 And it came to pass that those rulers who were the
remnant of the children of Amulon caused that they should be put to death, yea,
all those that believed in these things.
8 Now this martyrdom caused that many of their
brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the
wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren
and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness.
9 And behold they are hunted at this day by the
Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi
were brought to pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who
caused that he should suffer death by fire.
10 For he said unto them: What ye shall do unto me
shall be a type of things to come.
11 And now Abinadi was the first that suffered death
by fire because of his belief in God; now this is what he meant, that many
should suffer death by fire, according as he had suffered.
12 And he said unto the priests of Noah that their
seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and
that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no
shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were
verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they were hunted, and they
were smitten.
13 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw
that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own
land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land
of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
14 And they did also bury their weapons of war,
according as their brethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and
they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments
and his statutes.
15 Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was
expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all
fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law
of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the
law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those
outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.
16 Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the
law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in
Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation,
relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come.
17 And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and
Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they
had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them
according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in
every particular.
Alma 25:1-17
The Lamanites have ceased
killing the Ammonites.[1] They became angry they had killed their own
people, so they swore vengeance upon the Nephites. They took the armies into the land of
Zarahemla. They attacked the city of
Ammonihah.[2] They destroyed the city in short order.[3]
They continued fighting the
Nephites. They had little success, being
driven and slain by the Nephites armies.
Among the dead were most of the seed of the wicked priests of Noah.[4] They fled into the east wilderness. The remainder of the descendants of the
priests were put to death by fire, fulfilling the words of Abinadi.[5]
The Lamanites suffered severe
losses and afflictions during the war. Many
started to remember the teachings of Aaron and his brethren.[6] They questioned and no longer accepted the
traditions of their fathers.[7] They turned to the Lord and were converted in
the wilderness.
“So Lamanite aggression was
not only longstanding, but it also occurred simultaneously with the missionary
efforts of the sons of Mosiah. That those who later became converted were
integrally involved in these attacks is certain (see again Alma 25:6 for an
explicit mention of this), especially in light of the preeminent position that
king Lamoni’s father held among the Lamanites during at least part of the time
that the Lamanites were launching these wars.”[8]
Among the survivors were the
rulers of the Lamanites.[9] They were descended from the Noah’s wicked
priests. Hating the believer, they
caused them to be executed. Those who
were martyred would receive great joy with their (and our) Savior. “He that
findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall
find it”
(Matthew 10:39).[10]
“Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
(Matthew 5:10).[11]
The martyrdom of the
believers angered many of the Lamanites.
They began to hunt those who were descendants of the wicked
priests. As they found them, they
executed them. The survivors fled east
into wilderness.
Mormon breaks into the
narration to tell us that, half a millennia later, the descendants of the
wicked priests were still being hunted.
When found, they were executed by burning at the stake. This fulfilled Abinadi’s words, “But this
much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a
shadow of things which are to come” (Mosiah 13:10). Abinadi prophesied the descendants of the
priests would have many put to death by fire.
They would be scattered “even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven
and slain by wild beasts” (Alma 25:12).
The time came when the
Lamanites realized they were not able to defeat the Nephites. The returned to the lands of Ismael and
Nephi. Many joined the
Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
While
genetics generally determine descent among the Nephites, it is not the sole
criterion. A practice similar to adoption is also recognized. For example, the
children of the priests of King Noah are so ashamed of their fathers’
wickedness that they repudiate their ancestry and begin to call themselves
after and trace their descent from Alma, who had spiritually liberated them
(Mosiah 25:12). Similarly, Lamanites who convert to the gospel of Jesus Christ by
the teachings of the sons of Mosiah adopt the complementary self-identifiers
“anti-Nephi-Lehi” and “people of Ammon” (Alma 23:16–17; 24:1–2). Other Lamanite
converts are also called by these terms (Alma 25:13).[12]
Those that joined the
Anti-Nephi-Lehies accepted their covenant with the Lord and buried their
weapons of war. The new additions became
a righteous people, obeying the Lord and his commandments.[13]
Like the Nephites, the
Lamanites kept the law of Moses, as it was not fulfilled.[14] Even so, they looked forward to the coming of
Christ.[15] The law of Moses was a type of His coming. “In latter days, the Lord has emphasized again
how, in the words of the Book of Mormon, our ‘outward performances’ (Alma
25:15), are defiling or edifying. What we say and how we act will create an
atmosphere welcoming or hostile to the Holy Ghost.”[16]
The sons of Mosiah rejoiced
with the brethren for their success among the Lamanites. They had prayed[17]
and the Lord had granted the desires of their hearts and fulfilled His word in
every way.
[1] “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”
(Alma 24:24).
[2] “And
behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah,
and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the
Lord God will destroy them” (Alma 8:16).
[3] “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” (Alma 16:9).
[4] “And
Amulon and his brethren did join the Lamanites, and they were traveling in the
wilderness in search of the land of Nephi when they discovered the land of
Helam, which was possessed by Alma and his brethren” (Mosiah 23:35).
[5] “Behold,
even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall
cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of
death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their
God” (Mosiah 17:15).
[6] “Now
Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ,
and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no
redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ,
and the atonement of his blood” (Alma 21:9).
[7] Do
ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the
traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts
delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest
iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the
beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember
that this was their language” (Alma 26:24).
[8] Were
the Ammonites Pacifists? Duane Boyce, Journal of the Book of Mormon and
Other Restoration Scripture, 18/1 (2009): 36.
[9] “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” (Alma 24:29).
[10] “He
who
seeketh to save his life shall [GR sacrifice] it: and he that loseth
his life for my sake shall find it” (JST Matthew 10:39).
[11]“It
has been suggested that when Jesus extolled the blessed state of those who were
‘presecuted for righteousness sake’ (Matthew 5:10), He was really saying ‘for
the sake of the Righteous One’ – meaning Himself. In Hebrew, the difference between zedeq (righteousness) and zadiq (righteous one) is very
small. Either way, disciples are bid to
follow Jesus because He is both the Righteous One and the embodiment of
righteousness. (The Life and Teachings of
Christ – From Bethlehem to the Sermon on the Mount, A Reading on the Sermon on
the Mount – A Restoration Perspective, Andrew C. Skinner.)
[12] The
Covenant of the Chosen People: The Spiritual Foundations of Ethnic Identity in
the Book of Mormon, Steven L. Olsen, Journal of the Book of Mormon and
Other Restoration Scripture 21/2 (2012): 22.
[13] “Oh,
how merciful is our God! And now behold,
since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us,
and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept
bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall
be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords
in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us
clean thereby” (Alma 24:15) & “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)
[14] “Wherefore,
the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently,
exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the claw of Moses, and the intent
for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and
believe in him to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them”
(Jarom 1:11).
[15] “Yet
the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people, and he appointed
unto them a law, even the law of Moses. And many signs, and wonders, and types,
and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets
spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and
understood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing except it were through
the atonement of his blood” (Mosiah 3:14 - 15).
[16] “The
Tongue of Angels,” Elder Robert S. Wood, October 1999 General Conference,
accessed June 22, 2015.
[17] “And
it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they
fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of
his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an
instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren,
the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness
of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct. And it came to pass
that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be
comforted. And they were comforted. And
the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and
establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions,
that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an
instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls” (Alma
17:9-11).
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