15 And it came to pass
that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the river
Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war
with the Nephites.
16 Now Alma, being the
chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with
his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his
armies, against the Amlicites to battle.
17 And they began to
slay the Amlicites upon the hill east of Sidon. And the Amlicites did contend
with the Nephites with great strength, insomuch that many of the Nephites did
fall before the Amlicites.
18 Nevertheless the
Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with
great slaughter, that they began to flee before them.
19 And it came to pass
that the Nephites did pursue the Amlicites all that day, and did slay them with
much slaughter, insomuch that there were slain of the Amlicites twelve thousand
five hundred thirty and two souls; and there were slain of the Nephites six
thousand five hundred sixty and two souls.
20 And it came to pass
that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people
should pitch their tents in the valley of Gideon, the valley being called after
that Gideon who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword; and in this
valley the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.
21 And Alma sent spies
to follow the remnant of the Amlicites, that he might know of their plans and
their plots, whereby he might guard himself against them, that he might
preserve his people from being destroyed.
22 Now those whom he
had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites were called Zeram, and Amnor,
and Manti, and Limher; these were they who went out with their men to watch the
camp of the Amlicites.
23 And it came to pass
that on the morrow they returned into the camp of the Nephites in great haste,
being greatly astonished, and struck with much fear, saying:
24 Behold, we followed
the camp of the Amlicites, and to our great astonishment, in the land of Minon,
above the land of Zarahemla, in the course of the land of Nephi, we saw a
numerous host of the Lamanites; and behold, the Amlicites have joined them;
25 And they are upon
our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing before them with their flocks,
and their wives, and their children, towards our city; and except we make haste
they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our
children be slain.
26 And it came to pass
that the people of Nephi took their tents, and departed out of the valley of
Gideon towards their city, which was the city of Zarahemla.
27 And behold, as they
were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites and the Amlicites, being as
numerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea, came upon them to destroy
them.
28 Nevertheless, the
Nephites being strengthened by the hand of the Lord, having prayed mightily to
him that he would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, therefore the
Lord did hear their cries, and did strengthen them, and the Lamanites and the
Amlicites did fall before them.
29 And it came to pass
that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword, face to face; and they did contend
mightily, one with another.
30 And it came to pass
that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying:
O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands
to save and preserve this people.
31 Now when Alma had
said these words he contended again with Amlici; and he was strengthened,
insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword.
32 And he also
contended with the king of the Lamanites; but the king of the Lamanites fled
back from before Alma and sent his guards to contend with Alma.
33 But Alma, with his
guards, contended with the guards of the king of the Lamanites until he slew
and drove them back.
34 And thus he cleared
the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west of the river Sidon,
throwing the bodies of the Lamanites who had been slain into the waters of
Sidon, that thereby his people might have room to cross and contend with the
Lamanites and the Amlicites on the west side of the river Sidon.
35 And it came to pass
that when they had all crossed the river Sidon that the Lamanites and the
Amlicites began to flee before them, notwithstanding they were so numerous that
they could not be numbered.
36 And they fled
before the Nephites towards the wilderness which was west and north, away
beyond the borders of the land; and the Nephites did pursue them with their
might, and did slay them.
37 Yea, they were met
on every hand, and slain and driven, until they were scattered on the west, and
on the north, until they had reached the wilderness, which was called
Hermounts; and it was that part of the wilderness which was infested by wild
and ravenous beasts.
38 And it came to pass
that many died in the wilderness of their wounds, and were devoured by those
beasts and also the vultures of the air; and their bones have been found, and
have been heaped up on the earth. (Alma 2:15-38).
Civil war has begun. The battle began at the river Sidon.
Alma was at the had of his army, leading them into battle with the Amlicites.
The battle was brutal. The Amlicites had a strong army. They
inflicted many casualties. Even so, the Lord was with the Nephites. They were
strengthened by him and successfully beat back the attack. The Amlicite army
fled. The Nephite army pursued them and the battle continued. In the end,
12,532 Amlicites died in the battle. The Nephites lost 6,526 of their army.
When the Nephite army could no longer pursue the fleeing
Amlicites, they made camp in the valley of Gideon. Alma’s first act was to send
spies to follow the Amlicites. They wanted to learn their plans.
They learned the Amlicite army had joined with a large Lamanite army. “The long middle section of the Book of Mormon chronicles a
series of wars between Nephites and Lamanites … [I]n these wars, when Lamanites
attack the Nephites, it is often because ambitious Nephites have manipulated
them into doing so. After the Nephites defeat Amlici and his army, he flees to
the Lamanites and returns with a huge Lamanite army added to the remnants of
his own (Alma 2:24).”[1]
The combined army was attacking the Nephites, who were
fleeing towards Zarahemla for safety. The spies warned Alma, “except we make
haste they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and
our children be slain” (Alma 2:25). The army returned to Zarahemla.
As the Nephite army was crossing the river Sidon, the
Lamanite/Amlicite army attacked. Describing the size of the army, Mormon writes
the army was “numerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea” (Alma
2:27).
Before entering battle, the Nephites prayed, asking the Lord
to strengthen them and deliver them from their enemies. The Lord heard their
prayers and the Lamanites and the Amlicites were defeated by the Nephites.
While the battle was going on, Alma fought with Amlici. Alma
had asked the Lord to “have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an
instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people” (Alma 2:30). The Lord
was with Alma and he killed Amlici.
Alma also confronted the Lamanite king, but he fled and sent
his guards to fight in his place. Alma and his guards contended with the king’s
guards. He eventually killed them and drove them back.
The bodies of the Lamanites who had been slain were thrown
into the river Sidon. This gave the Nephites room to move forward and fight the
Lamanites and Amlicites on the other side of the river. In response, the
Lamanites and Amlicites fled from the Nephite army even though they had
superiority in numbers.
The Nephites followed them and fought them once again. They
were defeated, driven and scattered to the west and north part of the land.
They reached a wilderness area called Hermounts which was infested with wild
animals.
Many died in the wilderness. Their remains were consumed by
carnivores in the area as well as vultures. Mormon tells us “their bones have
been found, and have been heaped up on the earth” (Alma 2:38).
[1] The
Spirituality of the Outcast in the Book of Mormon, Todd M. Compton, Maxwell Institute website.
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