THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE soN OF ALMA
CHAPTER 23
Religious freedom is proclaimed—The Lamanites in seven lands and cities
are converted—They call themselves Anti-Nephi-Lehies and are freed from
the curse—The Amalekites and the Amulonites reject the truth. [Between
90 and 77 B.C.]
1 BEHOLD,
now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation
among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or
Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go
forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in
any part of their land.
2 Yea, he
sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them
to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit
upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor
scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, [ Man how detailed do you have to get that he has to spell out everything that they should not do to them. Shows how deep the hatred goes I guess - that anything was ok to do to a Nephite. ] but that they
should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and
their sanctuaries.
3 And thus
they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for
the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household;
therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people,
that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go
forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced
concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might
be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to
murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to
commit any manner of wickedness. [ The King of the Laminites repeats almost exactly the five public laws found in King Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah 2:13, namely that people should not (1) murder, (2) plunder, (3) steal, (4) commit adultery, or (5) any manner of wickedness. These laws (1) protect life, (2) prohibit violence and lawlessness, (3) secure property against secret taking, (4) respect marriage and family, and (5) honor religion and righteousness. ]
4 And now
it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation,
that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city, and from one
house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating
priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach
and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have
great success.
5 And
thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands
were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites; and they
were taught the records and prophecies which were handed down even to
the present time.
6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed,
or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the
preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation
and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in
them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites
as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto
the Lord, [ What
does it mean to be converted? How do we know when we are? ] never did
fall away. [ Note those that
were converted never did leave the church – they always kept their testimony. Shows us something of their character I think. ]
7 For
they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their
rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither
against any of their brethren.
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.
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; [ "and
he called their names" How could Joseph
Smith have known? When a child is born, we say
in English that his father and mother "called him X" or "named
him X." The same is true in naming places, for example, "He called
his ranch Pleasant Valley." But Hebrew expresses it quite differently: "He
called the name of his son X." In Hebrew, it is the name that is "called," not
the child or the place. Perhaps the best-known example from the Bible
is the one found in Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (The Maxwell Institute
- Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes) The unusual name Anti-Nephi-Lehi has perplexed Book of Mormon readers, especially in trying to make sense of the presence of Anti- in this name.2 It often causes confusion, because it looks like the Greek preposition (anti–) commonly used today to mean “opposed to; against." In light of the context, it would not make sense for these recent converts to declare themselves to be against Nephi and Lehi. Alternatively, if the name element Anti- derives from the Egyptian relative adjective nty, which means “the one who,” “that,” or “which,” then the name would mean just the opposite; roughly, “that-which(-is-of-)Nephi-Lehi” or “the-one-who(-is-of-)Nephi-Lehi.” ] Anti-Nephi-Lehies [ We do not really know what anti means. That is one of the things I want to look up in the Nephite dictionary when we finally get it. This name may simply have designated “descendants of Lehi who are not descendants of Nephi,” or as we might say “non- Nephite Lehites.” But a better possibility is that it comes from the Egyptian nty, which means “the one who,” or “of,” or “part of.” In other words, these people wanted to be known as descendants of Lehi who were part of the Nephite religious order. ] and they
were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites.
18 And
they began to be a very industrious people; [ Difference between the people of the Lord is that they tend to want to work for what they get, not be idle, lazy, and steal and live on the backs of those who do work. ] 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.