Chapter 24
The Lamanites come
against the people of God—The Anti-Nephi-Lehies rejoice in Christ and are
visited by angels—They choose to suffer death rather than to defend
themselves—More Lamanites are converted. About 90–77 B.C.
1 And it came to pass
that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land
of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of
Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted
and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the
Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.
2 And their hatred
became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel
against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king;
therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
3 Now the king
conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
4 And the king died in
that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war
against the people of God.
5 Now when Ammon and
his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the
Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and
there Ammon met all his brethren; and from thence they came to the land of
Ishmael that they might hold a council with Lamoni and also with his brother
Anti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the
Lamanites.
6 Now there was not
one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would
take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any
preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should
not.
7 Now, these are the
words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my
beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the
Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of
our wicked fathers.
8 And behold, I thank
my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts,
that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.
9 And behold, I also
thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our
sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.
10 And I also thank my
God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of
these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and
murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts,
through the merits of his Son.
11 And now behold, my
brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of
all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have
committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we
could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—
12 Now, my best
beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have
become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our
brethren. (Alma 24:1-12)
Those who had not taken upon themselves the name
Anti-Nephi-Lehi stirred up the people against them. These people were the
Amalekites, the Amulonites, and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon.
The people of Amulon were those who descended from King Noah’s
wicked priests. “And it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of
the king of the Lamanites; therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted unto
him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over his people,
yea, even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the land of
Shilom, and in the land of Amulon” (Mosiah 24:1).
Even after more than 50 years, the people of Amulon still
harbored the hatred for the Nephites taught to them by their fathers, the evil
priests.
“We know very little about the Amalekites. But Amaleki is a
Nephite name (Omni 1:12, Mosiah 7:6), and the Amalekites are linked with the Nephite/Lamanite
Amulonites (Alma 24:1). They live among the Lamanites, yet are distinguished
from them (Alma 21:16). Probably, they were Nephites who intermarried with
Lamanites.”[1]
Their hatred was so strong they began to rebel and demand he
should no longer be king. They began to prepare to attach the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
Now the king
conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
Lamoni’s father had conferred the kingdom upon his son. He
was called by the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi. Lamoni’s father died shortly after.
Ammon and his brethren saw the preparation the Lamanites
were making to destroy the Lamanite believers. They held council in the land of
Midian. Lamoni and his brother were a part of this council.
None of the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi would take up arms
against their brethren. The king also commanded them they should not take up
arms. He spoke to the people.
He gave thanks to God that the Nephites came and preached
the gospel to them. He was grateful they were convinced the traditions of their
fathers were wrong.
Here, again, we see the importance of the records and brass
plates to the Nephites. “I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things,
which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and
understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes,
that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been
like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these
things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the
traditions of their fathers, which are not correct” (Mosiah 1:5).
He thanked God has used the Spirit to soften their hearts. Because
of this, they had “opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites”
(Alma 24:8). “And they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they
were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with
them, and the curse of God did no more follow them” (Alma 23:18).
He expressed his thanks that God allowed them to repent of
their many sins and murders. He has taken away their guilt through His Son. “To
the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled
against him” (Daniel 9:9).
“[W]e need to remember that Christ came to remove guilt by
forgiving those who repent (see Alma 24:10). He came to bring peace to the
troubled soul. ‘Peace I leave with you,’ He said. ‘My peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27). Through the miraculous Atonement He
urges us to take my yoke upon you, … and ye shall find rest unto your souls’
(Matthew 11:29).
“As the power of the Atonement begins to work in our lives,
we come to understand that the Savior has already born the burden of our guilt.
O that we may be wise enough to understand, to repent as necessary, and to let
go of our guilt.”[2]
The king calls them “the most lost of all mankind” (Alma
24:11). Even so, they were able to repent of their sins. God took their sins
away from their hearts.
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah
53:4-6).
The Ammonites were a people who had been motivated by hatred
and who had committed murder in both aggressive, large-scale wars and in
attempts to plunder gold and silver from the Nephites. Yet despite this history
of violence, they had won forgiveness (Alma 24:10–13).”[3]
[1] The
Spirituality of the Outcast in the Book of Mormon, Todd M. Compton, Maxwell
Institute website.
[3] Were
the Ammonites Pacifists? Duane Boyce. Journal
of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 18/1 (2009): 42.
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