Amalickiah has succeeded.
He got himself appointed head of the Lamanite army. He arranged the assassination of the Lamanite
king. He was able to marry the queen,
making him king of these Lamanites. He
was ready for his ultimate revenge.
Chapter 48
Amalickiah incites the
Lamanites against the Nephites—Moroni prepares his people to defend the cause
of the Christians—He rejoiced in liberty and freedom and was a mighty man of
God. About 72 B.C.
Amalickiah’s first act as king was to have men go throughout
the kingdom and have them stand on their towers and incite the people against
the Nephites. Speaking from towers was
common. “And it came to pass that [King
Benjamin] began to speak to his people from the tower” (Mosiah 2:8).
He was successful and the Lamanites were ready to go to
war. Amalickiah was king over the
Lamanites lands; he now wanted to rule over the Nephites as well. “We have learned by sad experience that it is
the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority,
as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” (D&C
121:39).
“When ambitious Nephite dissenters began to influence the
Lamanites, the aims of combat became more complicated. Not only did the
descendants of Laman and Lemuel still want to gain the overall governing power,
they also sought material benefits—wealth (for their rulers at least). While
the psychology of blood feud continued in the dissenters’ propaganda, which
they used to whip up the feelings of the reluctant Lamanite masses … that
extreme aim was tempered by those ambitious men’s desire to milk the Nephite
masses as a subject population rendering tribute. The prospect of obtaining
Nephite property and people as a source of wealth rose to form a major basis
for carrying on war.”[1]
Amalickiah was certain, because of the size of his army, he
would overpower the Nephites and bring them under his tyrannical rule. He was proof of the wisdom of King Mosiah – “For
behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and
what great destruction!” (Mosiah 29:17).
Amalickiah followed the example set by Zerahemnah and
appointed Zoramites as the chief captains. “And now, as the Amalekites were of
a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were, in and of
themselves, therefore, Zerahemnah appointed chief captains over the Lamanites,
and they were all Amalekites and Zoramites” (Alma 43:6).
“And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army of the
Lamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to their leader, whose name was
Jacob, desiring him that he would come out with his armies to meet them upon
the plains between the two cities. But
behold, Jacob, who was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army to meet
them upon the plains … And it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites did
march forth against Teancum, supposing by their numbers to overpower Teancum
because of the smallness of his numbers.
And as Teancum saw the armies of the Lamanites coming out against him he
began to retreat down by the seashore, northward” (Alma 52:20, 23).
“[T]he Zoramites and Lamanites joined forces. As feared,
this alliance proved disastrous. For many years to come, the Zoramites
continued to be a terrible threat to the Nephites—not only because of their
extreme hatred but also because the Zoramites knew “the strength of the Nephites,
and their places of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities” (Alma 48:5).[2]
[1] Last-Ditch
Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica Recalls the Book of Mormon, John L. Sorenson,
Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/2 (2000): 46-47.
[2] The
Zoramite Separation: A Sociological Perspective, Sherrie Mills Johnson, Journal
of Book of Mormon Studies 14/1 (2005): 85.
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