Alma 24:20-30

20  And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

21  Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

22  And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

Alma 24:20-22 (Emphasis mine)

The other Lamanites were ready to overthrow the king and place one of their choosing in his place.  They also wanted to destroy the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

They were ready for war.  They went on the attack and expected a major battle.  They were surprised by the response.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies went out, lay on the ground, and began praying to the Lord.  Seeing this, the armies attacked them and killed 1,005, meeting no resistance. 

Mormon then breaks in to tell us that they are blessed for the sacrifice.  They have returned to God.

I wonder what manner of men were these Lamanites.  They willingly attacked and killed defenseless people.  Hugh Nibley offers an explanation.

“They offer no opposition. It begins to hurt the consciences of the leaders on the other side and make them sick. As a result they get mad at these people, ‘Won't you resist? Dammit, why don't you fight?’ They get mad enough to slaughter them. It's a paradox here because they didn't want to slaughter them; they forced them to do it. ‘Why do you force us to do this dirty thing?’ This happens at the beginning of the next chapter. ‘Those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren.’ “ [1]   (Emphasis mine)

23  Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—

24  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.

25  And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

26  And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

27  And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

Alma 24:23-27 (Emphasis mine)

I remember first reading these scriptures and feeling anger that these innocent people were brutally murdered.  Why had the Lord allowed this?  Then I continued reading.

Seeing that they praised God even as they were being slaughtered, the Lamanites stopped.  Many realized what they had done, and immediately repented of their actions.  They threw down their weapons and refused to use them again. 

We’re read that more people joined the Anti-Nephi-Lehies then were slain.  Their numbers increased.

Mormon then tells us that not a wicked man died.  All were righteous people.  Then he concludes “…thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.” (verse 27). 

28  Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.

29  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.

30  And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.

Alma 24:28-30 (Emphasis mine)

The Nephite dissenters make an appearance again.  They stirred up the people to attack the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.  Interestingly, none of these dissenters were among the converted.  Only the descendants of Laman and Lemuel were converted.

Then, Mormon emphasizes an important truth.  Once people have experienced the truth, and then fall away into sin and transgression, their hearts become harder and they are even less willing to listen to the words of the Lord.  It would have been better for them to never have known these things.

I’ll close with some words from Hugh Nibley.

“… This was murder they were doing. I mean when you take life it's murder no matter what you call it. Then more of them were joining the church than those who were slain. ‘Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites’ … Only the actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel were converted.” [2] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 27, 2011.

[2] Ibid.

Alma 23:8-18

8  Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord:

9  The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael;

10  And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Middoni;

11  And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi;

12  And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom.

13  And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were converted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites.

Alma 23:8-13 (Emphasis mine)

Here we have a list of places where Aaron and his brethren had success preaching the gospel.  Not only did they have amazing success, there was an unexpected result.  The Lamanites put down their weapons of war.  They decided they must fully cease being a violent people.  This would not be consistent with their new lives.

14  And the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities.

15  Therefore, we have named all the cities of the Lamanites in which they did repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, and were converted.

16  And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.

17  And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites.

18  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 23:14-18 (Emphasis mine)

The only place they failed was where the Nephite dissenters lived.  With one exception, they rejected the gospel.  Not only did the dissenters reject Aaron and his brethren, they convinced the Lamanites around them to reject them.

Returning to the righteous Lamanites, they realized that they had made a huge change.  They felt they were no longer Lamanites and needed a new name.  They eventually called themselves the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

Hugh Nibley explains the meaning of the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi. 

“They were named Anti-Nephi-Lehies. You know that Nephi-Lehi means a combination of Nephi and Lehi, and anti means ‘combination, face-to-face, meeting.’ … his anti means so many things. We get it in the Book of Mormon a good deal—Antiomno and things like that … It means ‘a face-to-face meeting, a joining together with somebody.’ We are going to find later on about an Anti-Christ, who is a person who pretends to be Christ, who matches Christ, who pretends to take the place of Christ. It's not somebody who opposes Christ, but somebody who pretends to be Christ … So they were set apart, but they began to be an industrious people—getting to work at last.” [1]  (Emphasis mine)

The curse that had followed the Lamanites through their history ceased.  The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi were freed from that curse.  What exactly does this mean?

“Some cursings are given first as warnings rather than a more severe immediate chastisement (2 Ne. 1:21, 22); and, like blessings, they sometimes require a long time for their full consequences to be realized. After being invoked, cursings may often be lessened or lifted entirely by subsequent righteousness. Mormon describes an experience of the Lamanites: ‘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).” [2]   (Emphasis mine)

Mormon also tells us that they became an industrious people.  Lindon Robison explains:

“Still, Book of Mormon evidence shows that it was not the free-market system that induced lazy Lamanites to work hard; it was their conversion to the gospel and the development of an attitude of caring.

“Nephi taught his people to be industrious and to work with their hands (2 Nephi 5:17). After hearing the gospel taught by Ammon and his brothers, the converted Lamanites, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, became a very industrious people (Alma 23:18). Moreover, the righteous leaders of the Book of Mormon taught through example to till the earth and to support themselves so they would not be a burden for others (Mosiah 6:7).” [3] (Emphasis mine)

23  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 22, 2011,

[2] Cursings, Sherwin W. Howard, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 22, 2011,

[3] Economic Insights from the Book of Mormon, Lindon J. Robison, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 22, 2011,