pgs. 326 and 327...and thus Amalickiah, by his fraud, gained the hearts of the people.

4 Now behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very ^asubtle man to do evil therefore he laid the plan in his heart to ^bdethrone the king of the Lamanites.

5 And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called ^aOnidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms.

6 And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them, being fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would ^anot be subjected to go against the Nephites.

7 And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to battle.

8 Now it was not Amalickiah’s intention to give them battle according to the commandments of the king; but behold, it was his intention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their head and dethrone the king and take possession of the kingdom.

9 And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their tents in the valley which was near the mount Antipas.

10 And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him.

11 And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount. And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And it came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third time.

12 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti’s camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him.

13 And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti’s hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second ^aleader over the whole army.

14 And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti.

15 And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded, they plead with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with their brethren, that they might not be destroyed. Now this was the very thing which Amalickiah desired.

16 And it came to pass that he delivered his men, ^acontrary to the commands of the king. Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired, that he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king.

17 Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader.

18 And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer ^apoison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.

19 Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief commander.

20 And it came to pass that Amalickiah marched with his armies (for he had gained his desires) to the ^aland of Nephi, to the city of Nephi, which was the chief city.

21 And the king came out to meet him with his guards, for he supposed that Amalickiah had ^afulfilled his commands, and that Amalickiah had gathered together so great an army to go against the Nephites to battle.

22 But behold, as the king came out to meet him Amalickiah caused that his servants should go forth to meet the king. And they went and ^abowed themselves before the king, as if to reverence him because of his greatness.

23 And it came to pass that the king put forth his hand to raise them, as was the custom with the Lamanites, as a token of peace, which custom they had taken from the Nephites.

24 And it came to pass that when he had raised the first from the ground, behold he stabbed the king to the heart; and he fell to the earth.

25 Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah raised a cry, saying:

26 Behold, the servants of the king have stabbed him to the heart, and he has fallen and they have fled; behold, come and see.

27 And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies should march forth and see what had happened to the king; and when they had come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah pretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain.

28 And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the king.

29 Now when the ^aservants of the king saw an army pursuing after them, they were frightened again, and fled into the wilderness, and came over into the land of Zarahemla and joined the ^bpeople of Ammon.

30 And the army which pursued after them returned, having pursued after them in vain; and thus Amalickiah, by his ^afraud, gained the hearts of the people.

31 And it came to pass on the morrow he entered the city Nephi with his armies, and took possession of the city.

32 And now it came to pass that the queen, when she had heard that the king was slain—for Amalickiah had sent an embassy to the queen informing her that the king had been slain by his servants, that he had pursued them with his army, but it was in vain, and they had made their escape—

33 Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto Amalickiah, desiring him that he would spare the people of the city; and she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also desired him that he should bring ^awitnesses with him to testify concerning the death of the king.

34 And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that slew the king, and all them who were with him, and went in unto the queen, unto the place where she sat; and they all ^atestified unto her that the king was slain by his own servants; and they said also: They have fled; does not this testify against them? And thus they satisfied the queen concerning the death of the king.

Something about this chapter reminds me of a Shakespearean play. Maybe it's the poisoning and the deceit. Satan is the master of deceit. His way is to promise whatever is necessary to lure victims into traps. In this chapter Amalickiah uses deceit when he promises Lehonti that he will become a leader of the Lamanite armies as long as he keeps Amalickiah second in command. But then Amalickiah poisoned Lehonti by degrees when he didn't need him anymore. It's a good reminder to all of us that we need to be careful who we trust and we can't underestimate the influence Satan can have on others.

pgs. 324 and 325...not so much with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared...

22 Now this was the covenant which they made, and they ^acast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We ^bcovenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression.

23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a ^aremnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of ^bJoseph, whose ^ccoat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.

24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a ^aremnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a ^bpart of the ^cremnant of the coat of Joseph was ^dpreserved and had not decayed. And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a ^eremnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.

25 Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken unto God.

26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob.

27 And now who knoweth but what the remnant of the seed of Joseph, which shall perish as his garment, are those who have dissented from us? Yea, and even it shall be ourselves if we do not stand fast in the faith of Christ.

28 And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words he went forth, and also sent forth in all the parts of the land where there were dissensions, and gathered together all the people who were desirous to maintain their liberty, to stand against Amalickiah and those who had dissented, who were called Amalickiahites.

29 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah saw that the people of Moroni were more numerous than the Amalickiahites—and he also saw that his people were ^adoubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which they had undertaken—therefore, fearing that he should not gain the point, he took those of his people who would and departed into the ^bland of Nephi.

30 Now Moroni thought it was not expedient that the Lamanites should have any more ^astrength; therefore he thought to cut off the people of Amalickiah, or to take them and bring them back, and put Amalickiah to death; yea, for he knew that he would stir up the Lamanites to anger against them, and cause them to come to battle against them; and this he knew that Amalickiah would do that he might obtain his purposes.

31 Therefore Moroni thought it was expedient that he should take his armies, who had gathered themselves together, and armed themselves, and entered into a covenant to keep the peace—and it came to pass that he took his army and marched out with his tents into the wilderness, to cut off the course of Amalickiah in the wilderness.

32 And it came to pass that he did according to his desires, and marched forth into the wilderness, and headed the armies of Amalickiah.

33 And it came to pass that Amalickiah ^afled with a small number of his men, and the remainder were delivered up into the hands of Moroni and were taken back into the land of Zarahemla.

34 Now, Moroni being a man who was ^aappointed by the chief judges and the voice of the people, therefore he had power according to his will with the armies of the Nephites, to establish and to exercise authority over them.

35 And it came to pass that whomsoever of the Amalickiahites that would not enter into a covenant to support the ^acause of freedom, that they might maintain a free ^bgovernment, he caused to be put to death; and there were but few who denied the covenant of freedom.

36 And it came to pass also, that he caused the ^atitle of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites.

37 And they began to have peace again in the land; and thus they did maintain peace in the land until nearly the *end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges.

38 And Helaman and the ^ahigh priests did also maintain order in the church; yea, even for the space of four years did they have much peace and rejoicing in the church.

39 And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly ^abelieving that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus they went out of the world rejoicing.

40 And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many ^aplants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of ^bdiseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate—

41 But there were many who died with ^aold age; and those who died in the faith of Christ are ^bhappy in him, as we must needs suppose.

* VERSE 37 (72 B.C.).

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 47

Amalickiah uses treachery, murder, and intrigue to become king of the Lamanites—The Nephite dissenters are more wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites. 72 B.C.

1 Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had ^afled with him into the wilderness; for, behold, he had taken those who went with him, and went up in the ^bland of Nephi among the Lamanites, and did ^cstir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi, insomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again to go to battle against the Nephites.

2 And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth among them they were exceedingly afraid; yea, they ^afeared to displease the king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites lest they should lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would not, or the more part of them would not, obey the commandments of the king.

3 And now it came to pass that the king was wroth because of their disobedience; therefore he gave Amalickiah the command of that part of his army which was obedient unto his commands, and commanded him that he should go forth and ^acompel them to arms.

OK, I guess this is as good a time as any for a "green" post. (Spencer, don't roll your eyes!) We all know our earth is amazing. We all know that it needs to be respected. We all know it is a gift to all of us from our loving Heavenly Father. So why do we treat our earth so poorly?

I live in a beach town and recently it was reported in our city newspaper that EVERY DAY there are over 1000 pieces of littler picked up along our beaches. 85% of them were Styrofoam or plastic which, of course, are toxic to the ocean ecosystem. It makes me so sad to think of how we are trashing our oceans. And that is just one of many sad environmental situations.

So, what does this have to do with Alma 46? In verse 40 we are told that "the plants and roots which God has prepared did remove the cause of diseases." To me this is a testament that our earth has so much to offer. Much more than we are probably aware of today. I'm not suggesting that we disrespect medicine as it is today. I am extremely thankful for modern medicine and the incredible advances that have been made for all of us. I just feel like we could all, as a society, acknowledge the resources of our earth with more respect and also more awareness. They are such an amazing blessing from a Father in Heaven who loves us so much.

pgs. 322 and 323...in memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children...

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 46

Amalickiah conspires to be king—Moroni raises the title of liberty—He rallies the people to defend their religion—True believers are called Christians—A remnant of Joseph shall be preserved—Amalickiah and the dissenters flee to the land of Nephi—Those who will not support the cause of freedom are put to death. Between 73 and 72 B.C.

1 And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the ^awords of Helaman and his brethren were gathered together against their brethren.

2 And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them.

3 Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was ^aAmalickiah.

4 And Amalickiah was desirous to be a ^aking; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower ^bjudges of the land, and they were seeking for power.

5 And they had been led by the ^aflatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people.

6 Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were ^ahigh priests over the church.

7 And there were many in the church who believed in the ^aflattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they ^bdissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great ^cvictory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their ^ddeliverance by the hand of the Lord.

8 Thus we see how ^aquick the children of men do ^bforget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do ^ciniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.

9 Yea, and we also see the great ^awickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.

10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to ^adestroy the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of ^bliberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the ^crighteous’ sake.

11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the ^achief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.

12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—^aIn memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his ^abreastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the ^btitle of liberty) and he ^cbowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of ^dChristians remain to possess the land—

14 For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church.

15 And those who did belong to the church were ^afaithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ ^btook upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or ^cChristians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.

16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the ^afreedom of the land might be favored.

17 And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was ^asouth of the land ^bDesolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the ^cnorth and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of ^dliberty.

18 And he said: Surely God shall not ^asuffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own ^btransgressions.

19 And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, waving the ^arent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice, saying:

20 Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and ^aenter into a covenant that they will ^bmaintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.

21 And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running ^atogether with their armor girded about their loins, ^brending their garments in token, or as a ^ccovenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be ^dashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments.

The fight for Liberty as declared by Moroni began before we came to earth and continues on the earth today. Ezra Taft Benson explained this in a conference talk in 1962 when he said:

“Human liberty is the mainspring of human progress.

“The one great revolution in the world is the revolution for human liberty. This was the paramount issue in the great council in heaven before this earth life. It has been the issue throughout the ages. It is the issue today. . . .

“In that sacred volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, we note the great and prolonged struggle for liberty. We also note the complacency of the people and their frequent willingness to give up their liberty for the promises of a would-be provider.

“The record reveals that a man ‘of cunning device . . . and . . . many flattering words,’ . . . sought . . . ‘to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them. . . .’ (Alma 46:10.)

“Then Moroni, the chief commander of the armies, dramatically ‘. . . rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

“‘. . . (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, . . .’ (See ibid., 46:12–13.)

“This great general, Moroni, like the prophets whose words are recorded in the Book of Mormon, spoke of the Americas as a chosen land—the land of liberty. He led the people in battle who were willing to fight to ‘maintain their liberty.’

“And the record states: ‘. . . that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, . . . and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites.’ (Ibid., 46:36.) . . .

“While this incident occurred some seventy years B.C., the struggle went on through one thousand years covered by this sacred Book of Mormon record. In fact, the struggle for liberty is a continuing one—it is with us in a very real sense today right here on this choice land of the Americas” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1962, pp. 14–15).

pgs. 320 and 321...when Alma had done this he departed out of the land of Zarahemla...and was never heard of more...

20 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of death should ^acease again among the people. And he took the weapons of war from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a ^bcovenant with him of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.

21 Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the greatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly great, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites.

22 And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the ^asea.

23 And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moroni, returned and came to their houses and their lands.

24 And thus *ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was written upon the plates of Nephi.

* VERSE 24 (73 B.C.).

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

The account of the people of Nephi, and their wars and dissensions, in the days of Helaman, according to the record of Helaman, which he kept in his days. Comprising chapters 45 to 62 inclusive.

CHAPTER 45

Helaman believes the words of Alma—Alma prophesies the destruction of the Nephites—He blesses and curses the land—Alma is taken up by the Spirit, even as Moses—Dissension grows in the Church. 73 B.C.

1 Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again ^adelivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did ^bfast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy.

2 And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma came unto his son Helaman and said unto him: Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee concerning those ^arecords which have been kept?

3 And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I ^abelieve.

4 And Alma said again: Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall come?

5 And he said: Yea, I believe all the words which thou hast spoken.

6 And Alma said unto him again: Will ye ^akeep my commandments?

7 And he said: Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart.

8 Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall ^aprosper thee in this land.

9 But behold, I have somewhat to ^aprophesy unto thee; but what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make known; yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled; therefore write the words which I shall say.

10 And these are the words: Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in ^afour hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in ^bunbelief.

11 Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become ^aextinct—

12 Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into the works of darkness, and ^alasciviousness, and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the ^bfourth generation shall not all pass away before this great iniquity shall come.

13 And when that great day cometh, behold, the time very soon cometh that those who are now, or the seed of those who are now numbered among the people of Nephi, shall ^ano more be numbered among the people of Nephi.

14 But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and dreadful day, shall be ^anumbered among the ^bLamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even ^cuntil they shall become extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this prophecy shall be fulfilled.

15 And now it came to pass that after Alma had said these things to Helaman, he ^ablessed him, and also his other sons; and he also blessed the earth for the ^brighteous’ sake.

16 And he said: Thus saith the Lord God—^aCursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do ^bwickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the ^cblessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the ^dleast degree of allowance.

17 And now, when Alma had said these words he blessed the ^achurch, yea, all those who should stand fast in the faith from that time henceforth.

18 And when Alma had done this he ^adeparted out of the land of Zarahemla, as if to go into the land of ^bMelek. And it came to pass that he was never heard of more; as to his death or burial we know not of.

19 Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the ^aSpirit, or ^bburied by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial.

20 And now it came to pass in the *commencement of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Helaman went forth among the people to declare the ^aword unto them.

21 For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances which had been among the people, it became expedient that the ^aword of God should be declared among them, yea, and that a ^bregulation should be made throughout the church.

22 Therefore, ^aHelaman and his brethren went forth to establish the church again in all the land, yea, in every city throughout all the land which was possessed by the people of Nephi. And it came to pass that they did appoint ^bpriests and ^cteachers throughout all the land, over all the churches.

23 And now it came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the churches that there arose a ^adissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his brethren;

24 But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great ^ariches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to ^bwalk uprightly before God.

* VERSE 20 (73 B.C.).

In this chapter we bid farewell to Alma. When we first met him in the Book of Mormon he was a rebellious young man causing his father all sorts of problems. Now, all these years later, he has shown his devotion to the Lord in countless ways and his faithfulness is truly remarkable. It seems to me like he must have known that he was about to leave his people because he made sure Helaman understood his duties and recorded his last prophecy. He also cursed and blessed the land that it would be destroyed when wickedness became "fully ripe." I am so curious about where he went and what happened to him. Wherever he is now I hope he knows how much he is appreciated for his amazing contribution to humanity as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

pgs. 318 and 319...God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion...

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 44

Moroni commands the Lamanites to make a covenant of peace or be destroyed—Zerahemnah rejects the offer, and the battle resumes—Moroni’s armies defeat the Lamanites. About 74—73 B.C.

1 And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace from them. And Moroni said unto ^aZerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah, that we do ^bnot desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do not desire to slay you.

2 Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the ^ayoke of bondage. But this is the ^bvery cause for which ye have come against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.

3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us ^abecause of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.

4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are ^afaithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, ^aby our faith, by our religion, and by our ^brites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our ^cwives and our children, by that ^dliberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—

6 Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye ^adeliver up your weapons of war unto us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will ^bspare your lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against us.

7 And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and ^ainflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we will see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who shall be brought into bondage.

8 And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these sayings he came forth and delivered up his ^asword and his cimeter, and his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are our weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not suffer ourselves to take an ^boath unto you, which we know that we shall break, and also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer that we may depart into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our swords, and we will perish or conquer.

9 Behold, we are ^anot of your faith; we do not believe that it is God that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your ^bbreastplates and your shields that have preserved you.

10 And now when Zerahemnah had made an end of speaking these words, Moroni returned the sword and the weapons of war, which he had received, unto Zerahemnah, saying: Behold, we will end the conflict.

11 Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken, therefore as the Lord liveth, ye shall not depart except ye depart with an oath that ye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our hands we will spill your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the conditions which I have proposed.

12 And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his soldiers.

13 And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice:

14 Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace.

15 Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the scalp which was upon the sword, that were struck with fear; and many came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and entered into a ^acovenant of peace. And as many as entered into a covenant they suffered to ^bdepart into the wilderness.

16 Now it came to pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he did stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend more powerfully against the Nephites.

17 And now Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness of the Lamanites; therefore he commanded his people that they should fall upon them and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them; yea, and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their might.

18 But behold, their naked skins and their bare heads were exposed to the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea, behold they were pierced and smitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the Nephites; and they began to be swept down, even as the soldier of Moroni had prophesied.

19 Now Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to be destroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their lives, that they ^anever would come to war again against them.

Captain Moroni holds his ground in this encounter with Zerahemnah. He is not willing to lower his expectation of a covenant of peace. He doesn't accept a half-hearted surrender which he could see was probably just a trick. He stays strong in fighting until he wins. He is definitely no nonsense and makes no apologies for his willingness to defend liberty.

pgs. 316 and 317...they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children...

25 Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched over into the land of Manti.

26 And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the Lamanites.

27 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.

28 And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come.

29 And now, as Moroni knew the ^aintention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren, or to ^bsubject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land;

30 And he also knowing that it was the ^aonly desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their ^bliberty, and their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by ^cstratagem; therefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to take.

31 Therefore, he divided his army and brought a part over into the valley, and ^aconcealed them on the east, and on the south of the hill Riplah;

32 And the remainder he concealed in the west ^avalley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti.

33 And thus having placed his army according to his desire, he was prepared to meet them.

34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites came up on the north of the hill, where a part of the army of Moroni was concealed.

35 And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into the valley, and began to cross the river Sidon, the army which was concealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name was ^aLehi, and he led his army forth and encircled the Lamanites about on the east in their rear.

36 And it came to pass that the Lamanites, when they saw the Nephites coming upon them in their rear, turned them about and began to contend with the army of Lehi.

37 And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more dreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for their ^anakedness was exposed to the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their cimeters, which brought death almost at every stroke.

38 While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their ^abreastplates, and their armshields, and their head-plates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites.

39 And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because of the great destruction among them, even until they began to flee towards the river Sidon.

40 And they were pursued by Lehi and his men; and they were driven by Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they crossed the waters of Sidon. And Lehi retained his armies upon the bank of the river Sidon that they should not cross.

41 And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the ^avalley, on the other side of the river Sidon, and began to fall upon them and to slay them.

42 And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of Manti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni.

43 Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning.

44 And they were inspired by the ^aZoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.

45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a ^abetter cause, for they were not ^bfighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their ^cliberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

46 And they were doing that which they felt was the ^aduty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: ^bInasmuch as ye are not guilty of the ^cfirst offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall ^adefend your families even unto ^bbloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.

49 And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they ^acried with one voice ^bunto the Lord their God, for their ^cliberty and their freedom from bondage.

50 And they ^abegan to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon.

51 Now, the Lamanites were more ^anumerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the bank by the river Sidon.

52 Therefore the armies of Moroni encircled them about, yea, even on both sides of the river, for behold, on the east were the men of Lehi.

53 Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the river Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on the west of the river Sidon, that they were encircled about by the Nephites, they were struck with terror.

54 Now Moroni, when he saw their ^aterror, commanded his men that they should stop shedding their blood.

This reading points out that the Lord does support war when it is in the defense of freedom. In fact many times he expects the righteous to stand up to evil. This was explained well by Bruce R McConkie in Mormon Doctrine where he wrote:

“Self-defense is as justifiable where war is concerned as where one man seeks to take the life of another. . . . Righteous men are entitled, expected, and obligated to defend themselves; they must engage in battle when there is no other way to preserve their rights and freedoms and to protect their families, homes, land, and the truths of salvation which they have espoused”

It's hard for me to ever want to support war. But I do see how it is necessary to defend our rights. It is just so sad when I think how poorly humans can treat each other.

pgs. 314 and 315...the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of Moroni...

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 43

Alma and his sons preach the word—The Zoramites and other Nephite dissenters become Lamanites—The Lamanites come against the Nephites in war—Moroni arms the Nephites with defensive armor—The Lord reveals to Alma the strategy of the Lamanites—The Nephites defend their homes, liberties, families, and religion—The armies of Moroni and Lehi surround the Lamanites. About 74 B.C.

1 And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also, himself, could not ^arest, and he also went forth.

2 Now ^awe shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word, and the truth, according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the ^bholy order of God by which they were called.

3 And now ^aI return to an ^baccount of the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites, in the *eighteenth year of the reign of the judges.

4 For behold, it came to pass that the ^aZoramites became Lamanites; therefore, in the commencement of the eighteenth year the people of the Nephites saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; therefore they made preparations for war; yea, they gathered together their armies in the land of Jershon.

5 And it came to pass that the Lamanites came with their thousands; and they came into the land of ^aAntionum, which is the land of the Zoramites; and a man by the name of ^bZerahemnah was their leader.

6 And now, as the ^aAmalekites were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were, in and of themselves, therefore, Zerahemnah appointed chief ^bcaptains over the Lamanites, and they were all Amalekites and ^cZoramites.

7 Now this he did that he might preserve their ^ahatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into subjection to the accomplishment of his designs.

8 For behold, his ^adesigns were to ^bstir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into ^cbondage.

9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their ^awives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their ^brights and their privileges, yea, and also their ^cliberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.

10 For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should ^aworship God in ^bspirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would ^cdestroy.

11 Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their ^abrethren, who were the ^bpeople of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon—and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it—therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed.

12 And the Nephites would not suffer that they should be destroyed; therefore they gave them lands for their inheritance.

13 And the people of Ammon did give unto the Nephites a large portion of their substance to ^asupport their armies; and thus the Nephites were compelled, alone, to withstand against the Lamanites, who were a compound of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, and all those who had dissented from the Nephites, who were Amalekites and Zoramites, and the ^bdescendants of the priests of Noah.

14 Now those descendants were as numerous, nearly, as were the Nephites; and thus the Nephites were obliged to contend with their brethren, even unto bloodshed.

15 And it came to pass as the armies of the Lamanites had gathered together in the land of Antionum, behold, the armies of the Nephites were prepared to meet them in the ^aland of Jershon.

16 Now, the leader of the Nephites, or the man who had been ^aappointed to be the ^bchief captain over the Nephites—now the chief captain took the command of all the armies of the Nephites—and his name was Moroni;

17 And Moroni took all the command, and the government of their wars. And he was only twenty and five years old when he was appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites.

18 And it came to pass that he met the Lamanites in the borders of Jershon, and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of ^aweapons of war.

19 And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had ^aprepared his people with ^bbreastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing—

20 Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their ^aswords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their ^bstones and their slings; and they were ^cnaked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites;

21 But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields—therefore, they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites.

22 Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the Nephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore they departed out of the land of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round about in the wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that they might come into the land of ^aManti and take possession of the land; for they did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know whither they had gone.

23 But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp; and Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should ^ainquire of the Lord ^bwhither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

24 And it came to pass that the ^aword of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might come over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack upon the weaker part of the people. And those messengers went and delivered the message unto Moroni.


In our reading of Alma so far we have learned about several groups of people. Two of these groups were the Zoramites (the apostates who had the Rameumptom tower) and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's (the Lamanite converts who escaped to the land of Zarahemla after joining the church.) These two groups are beginning a war against each other and so we begin the "war chapters" of Alma. The war chapters are a little notorious for being long and hard to get through but I recently read this list of the things we learn from these chapters and it is leading me into this with a different perspective. Here is the list of questions we will find the answers to as listed in Your Study of the Book of Mormon Made Easier by David J. Ridges:

1. Under what conditions is it appropriate for a nation to go to war?
2. In times of relative peace is it okay to produce and stockpile weapons in case of attack?
3. What should be done about individuals of military age and capability who enjoy the freedoms of a country but refuse to go to war to defend those privileges?
4. What should a commander in chief do about government leaders and groups who refuse to support the defense effort?
5. Is it ever proper to go after the leaders of enemy forces as part of a defense strategy?
6. What if an enemy force surrenders but has no intention to sign and keep a peace treaty?