7 And it came to pass
as he was going, to preach to those who believed on his word, he met a man who
belonged to the church of God, yea, even one of their teachers; and he began to
contend with him sharply, that he might lead away the people of the church; but
the man withstood him, admonishing him with the words of God.
8 Now the name of the
man was Gideon; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in
delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage.
9 Now, because Gideon
withstood him with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his
sword and began to smite him. Now Gideon being stricken with many years,
therefore he was not able to withstand his blows, therefore he was slain by the
sword.
10 And the man who
slew him was taken by the people of the church, and was brought before Alma, to
be judged according to the crimes which he had committed.
11 And it came to pass
that he stood before Alma and pled for himself with much boldness.
12 But Alma said unto
him: Behold, this is the first time that priestcraft has been introduced among
this people. And behold, thou art not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast
endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were priestcraft to be enforced
among this people it would prove their entire destruction.
13 And thou hast shed
the blood of a righteous man, yea, a man who has done much good among this
people; and were we to spare thee his blood would come upon us for vengeance.
14 Therefore thou art
condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our
last king; and it has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people
must abide by the law.
15 And it came to pass
that they took him; and his name was Nehor; and they carried him upon the top
of the hill Manti, and there he was caused, or rather did acknowledge, between
the heavens and the earth, that what he had taught to the people was contrary
to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious death.
16 Nevertheless, this
did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there
were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching
false doctrines; and this they did for the sake of riches and honor.
17 Nevertheless, they
durst not lie, if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished;
therefore they pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law
could have no power on any man for his belief.
18 And they durst not
steal, for fear of the law, for such were punished; neither durst they rob, nor
murder, for he that murdered was punished unto death (Alma 1:7-20).
As Nehor was going around preaching to his followers, he met
a man who belonged to the church of God. The man he met was Gideon. We first
read about Gideon as an enemy to King Noah.
“And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon,
and he being a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his
sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.
“And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when
the king saw that he was about to overpower him, he fled and ran and got upon
the tower which was near the temple.
“And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the
tower to slay the king, and the king cast his eyes round about towards the land
of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of
the land.
“And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul,
saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy
us; yea, they will destroy my people.
“And now the king was not so much concerned about his people
as he was about his own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare his life” (Mosiah
19:4-8).
“[W]hen we meet
Gideon again, Mormon recasts his role by describing him as ‘he who was an
instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of
bondage’ (Alma 1:8). Mormon believes, although he does not explicitly tell his
readers, ‘Although we may attribute our successes to our own intelligence and
daring, we nevertheless owe everything to God.’ He is teaching us how to see
here, suggesting that there is more to understand about how God operates in
human lives.”[1]
Nehor “began to contend with him sharply, that he might lead
away the people of the church; but the man withstood him, admonishing him with
the words of God” (Alma 1:7).
Failing to convince Gideon, Nehor was angry. He took out his
sword and attacked Gideon. Gideon, “being stricken with many years,” was unable
to fend off his blows. Nehor killed him.
Nehor was taken by church members to face Alma and be judged
for his crimes. Nehor “pled for himself with much boldness” (Alma 1:11). He
failed to convince Alma. “Behold, this is the first time that priestcraft has
been introduced among this people. And behold, thou art not only guilty of
priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were priestcraft
to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction” (Alma
1:12).
Further Alma reminded him he had killed a righteous man. If
Alma spared Nehor, Gideon’s “blood would come upon us for vengeance” (Alma
1:13).
Nehor was condemned to die according to Nephite law. “Therefore,
it came to pass that they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout
the land, to cast in their voices concerning who should be their judges, to
judge them according to the law which had been given them; and they were
exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them”
(Mosiah 29:39). “[I]t has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this
people must abide by the law” (Alma 1:17).
Nehor was taken to the hill Manti. He acknowledged that he
had taught the people false doctrine. He then “suffered an ignominious death”
(Alma 1:15).
“The concept of having a condemned man confess his sins
before being executed is intriguing. Since the man is doomed, why would he
cooperate with the authorities by detailing his crime? With no hope of leniency
for confessing, what could he possibly gain? The answer may lie in the
regulations followed by Jewish religious authorities in the time of Christ. One
of the tractates of the Mishnah describes in detail the procedures used by the
Sanhedrin in capital cases, from the value of eyewitness testimony to the
various means of execution. A major provision concerning confession is
described thus:
“When he [the condemned man] was
about ten cubits from the place of stoning they used to say to him, ‘Make thy
confession,’ for such is the way of them that have been condemned to death to
make confession, for every one that makes his confession has a share in the
world to come… (M Sanhedrin 6.2)
“The Mishnah makes it clear that although the confession
would not alter the decision of the court, it would be taken into consideration
in the final judgment that would be made by God.”[2]
Priestcraft continued to spread throughout the land. Those “who
loved the vain things of the world … went forth preaching false doctrines” (Alma
1:16).
Those practicing priestcraft and teaching false doctrine
dared not lie. The law required that liars be punished. So, they pretended they
believed what they taught. The law had no power to punish anyone for their
beliefs. “Now there was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly
contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring
men on to unequal grounds” (Alma 30:7).
“For many reasons (not the least of which was to ensure
broad popular support for the new regime), the new law had promised that
everyone would have ‘an equal chance,’ granting all people ‘liberty’ but also
making them accountable (Mosiah 29:38–39). This guarantee was actualized
initially in the legal maxim that ‘the law could have no power on any man for
his belief’ (Alma 1:17), and eighteen years into the reign of judges it was
stated, ‘There was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary
to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to
unequal grounds … If [a man] believed in God it was his privilege to serve him;
but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him’ (30:7–9). More
than creating social or economic equality, the law of Mosiah made all people
under its jurisdiction equal in the sense that they could not be punished for
what they believed.”[3]
[1] Another
Testament of Jesus Christ: Mormon’s Poetics, Heather Hardy, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies,
Volume 16, Number 2, 2007: 22-23.
[3] The Legal
Cases in the Book of Mormon, The Trial of Korihor, Maxwell Institute
website.
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