Lesson 31: Firm in the Faith of Christ
Purpose
To help class members see how the Nephites’ attitudes and actions in times of war can serve as a pattern for dealing with our earthly conflicts and the battle against Satan.
Scriptures
Read, ponder, and pray about the following scriptures:
Alma 43–44. Led by Zerahemnah, the Lamanites come to battle against the Nephites, seeking to bring them into bondage. The Nephites, led by Moroni, fight to defend their families and their liberty. The Nephites prevail because they are “inspired by a better cause” and because they exercise faith in Jesus Christ.
Alma 45:20–24; 46. Amalickiah desires to be king and causes dissension among the Nephites. Captain Moroni raises the “title of liberty” to inspire the people, and they covenant to follow God. Amalickiah and a few of his followers join the Lamanites.
Alma 47–48. Through treachery, Amalickiah becomes king of the Lamanites. He incites the Lamanites to fight against the Nephites. Captain Moroni prepares the Nephites to defend themselves righteously.
Alma 49–52. War continues between the Nephites and the Lamanites. The king-men desire to set up a king over the Nephites, but they are defeated. Teancum kills Amalickiah, who is succeeded as king of the Lamanites by his brother Ammoron.
Recommendation for Lesson
Here’s what I think should be discussed in this lesson:
Why Study the War Chapters? This is a common question asked by members. These chapters are very important to our understanding of the Book of Mormon.
The Lord’s Law of War. When the Nephites were righteous, they followed this and were delivered from their enemy. When they were wicked, they failed to follow this and were defeated. A good discussion question would be: Should we follow this Law of War today?
Moroni1. He is the key character in the war chapters. Without this great warrior and man of God, the Nephites would have suffered defeat in these great wars. It will help to better understand the man and see, how in spite of our faults, we can still be faithful and serve the Lord.
The War Chapters. Go through and pick, what you as the teacher believe are the most important scriptures for your class to know and understand.
Enjoy teaching these great chapters and learning about one of the greatest men of God in the scriptures. (Personal note: Alma2 is my hero in the Book of Mormon. Moroni1 is second only to him.)
Why Study the War Chapters?
· Why would Mormon include so much information about war?
· In the Book of Alma, war is a frequent topic.
o We have the War of Amlici in chapters 2-3.
o The War of the Ammonite Secession is covered in chapter 28.
o Twenty of the last twenty-two chapters of Alma involve three wars.
· Some reasons:
o In [Mormon’s] view, war was not to be explained merely in terms of political, economic, or racial causes and effects, but was rooted in moral, spiritual, and social problems and unrighteousness.[1]
§ And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea, we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake unto Lehi, saying:
Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
And we see that these promises have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destructions.
And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites. (Alma 50:19 - 22)
o At times, Mormon saw war as a means of divine deliverance for the Nephites. [2]
o Mormon shows us that the final war fulfilled prophecies of destruction of the nation.[3]
o The implications of Mormon's accounts of war are clear: the people who occupy those lands today are under the same conditions as the earlier inhabitants; they are subject to the same principles of divine retribution, either deliverance or destruction by war. [4]
o It is doubtful that any person can fully understand the entire Book of Mormon without some knowledge of warfare.[5]
o God commanded Nephi to keep not just one, but two sets of records: one of his sacred revelations and ministry, the other (recorded equally by way of commandment) of "the wars and contentions of [his] people" (1 Nephi 9:4).[6]
o Few … generations passed without involvement in a major war.[7]
o The authors of the Book of Mormon took war and its social and spiritual ramifications very seriously.[8]
o Several of its prophets and heroes were military men.[9]
o In its emphasis on warfare, the Book of Mormon accurately reflects the grim reality of history.[10]
The Lord’s Law of War
· War is acceptable to the Lord under certain circumstances:
o War can never be offensive (Alma 43:46).
o There must be two offenses by the enemy (“Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies”) (Alma 43:46).
o War must be to defend themselves, their families, their lands, their country, their rights, and their religion (Alma 43:47). (See also Alma 46:12 - And it came to pass that he 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.)
o War must end when enemy gives up their arms and surrenders.
o God would let them know when to go to war (48:16).
§ He will deliver them.
o Taking of prisoners is acceptable.
§ Must be released at end of war.
o Example – Nephite battle with the Gadianton Robbers in 3 Nephi:
§ Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands. But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands. (3 Nephi 3:20 – 21/Emphasis mine)
· See Quote #1
· See Quote #2
Moroni1
Moroni1 is an interesting and complex man.
He was made Chief Commander of the Nephites army at a young age, 25 (43:16). He was almost immediately thrown into a situation where the Nephites were at war. He was more than up to the challenge and successfully defeated the Zoramite/Lamanite army.
The First and Second Amalickiahite Wars truly tested his abilities. He would go from extremes. He would have adequate supplies and men; later he would not have adequate supplies (food, water, etc.) and men. In spite of all the challenges he faced, he is able to achieve victory.
He dies a young man, in his early 40’s (63:1-3; 57 B.C.; He was appointed Chief Commander in 74 B.C.). There is only one mention of his being injured in battle (53:35), but it’s hard to believe that was the only time he was wounded in battle. His years of battle in these brutal wars had to take a physical toll on him, leading to his early death.
There are eight epistles in included in the Book of Mormon. Two are from Moroni1, one to Ammoron (Amalickiah’s brother) and one to Pahoran, the chief judge.
Moroni1 is a man of contrasts. He will do whatever it takes to defeat the enemy, fighting many bloody wars that result in thousands of casualties. Yet, on the other hand, he does all he can to avoid bloodshed. He told Zerahemnah that he did not desire bloodshed when asking for his surrender. But, he made it clear he would destroy him and his army if they refused his terms.
Ha is willing to take prisoners and kill the enemy. When the enemy was overwhelmed and willing to accept his terms of surrender (turn over the arms to the Nephites and covenant never to attack the Nephites again), he let them go in peace, releasing his POWs.
He was a religious man who is shown praying to the Lord once (46:13-14). We only have one account of him going to the prophet and asking for his help (Alma2, 43:23-24). In his defense, it would have been …n hard to send someone to consult with Helaman2 because of the distance and nature of the war.
On the other hand, he does what he does in the name of the Lord. His Title of Liberty mentions God (“in memory of God, our religion” 46:12). He makes it clear he does what he does in God’s name (44:3-5; 46:23-25; 48:11-16; 54:6, 9, 21).
Moroni1 was easy to anger and let his anger control his responses (44:17; 46:11; 51:13-14; 54:13, 15; 55:1; 59:13).
In his two epistles, we have examples of him letting his anger control what he writes.
· To Ammoron: “But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you concerning these things in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a child of hell…” (Alma 54:11)
· His response to Ammoron’s epistle, eventually agreeing to his proposed prisoner exchange: “Now it came to pass that when Moroni had received this epistle he was more angry, because he knew that Ammoron had a perfect knowledge of his fraud; yea, he knew that Ammoron knew that it was not a just cause that had caused him to wage a war against the people of Nephi. And he said: Behold, I will not exchange prisoners with Ammoron save he will withdraw his purpose, as I have stated in my epistle; for I will not grant unto him that he shall have any more power than what he hath got” (Alma 55:1 - 2).
· To Pahoran, not knowing the king-men were in rebellion against the government: He condemns the for not provide needed supplies, accuses them of neglect and asking what caused their thoughtless state, the blood of thousands shall be on their heads, crying to God for vengeance, for all we know, you’re traitors to your country, if we don’t get support, we will overthrow the government and put in righteous leaders (Alma 60:2, 6-7, 10, 114, 18, 24-25, 29-30, 33).
Moroni1 was a complicated man. In spite of his failings, he was a man of God. He was a military genius and a great leader of men. Mormon respected him so much, he named his son after him, Moroni2.
Mormon’s description of him helps us clearly to know what type of man he was. (Note: This is the only place, outside of Christ’s teaching to the Nephites, the phrase “yea, verily, verily I say unto you” is used. This makes Mormon’s description all that more powerful as he is using a term usually reserved for use by God.)
Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.” (v. 17-18).
The War Chapters
Chapters 43-44
Summary
The Zoramite War
Source: Alma 43-44.
Date: 18th Year of the Reign of the Judges (74 B.C.).
Location: Between Antionum and Jershon, northeast of Zarahemla.
Causes: After the Zoramites separated from the Nephites, they entered into a correspondence with the Lamanites. War was precipitated after many of the Zoramite working class defected from the city of Antionum, having been converted by Alma and given refuge in Jershon.
Tactics: Buildup of troops on the border between the lands of Antionum and Jershon, followed by Lamanite attempt to flee, Nephite pursuit, and battle at the river Sidon.
Results: Important use of innovative armor; Zoramite men all took an oath of peace never to attack Nephites again.[11]
Cast of Characters
Amalekites – Nephite dissenters, the same group as the Amlicites, whom Alma encountered earlier in his career (see Alma 2–3), followers of Nehor (Alma 21:2).
Ammonites – Anti-Nephi-Lehies, Lamanites converted by Ammon, covenanted with the Lord to never take up arms (Alma 23:7, 17).
Helaman2 – Leader of the church; high priest (45:20).
Lehi2 – A Nephite general (43:35).
Moroni1 – Chief Captain of the Nephite armies (43:16).
Zerahemnah (an Amalekite) – Leader of the Lamanites (43:5).
Zoramites – Nephite dissenters; became Lamanites (Alma 30:59).
Mormon Turns to An Account of Wars (1-3)
· Alma2 and his sons continue to preach the gospel.
· Mormon tells he “shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word, and the truth, according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation” (v. 2).