THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE soN OF ALMA
CHAPTER 53
The Lamanite prisoners are used to fortify the city Bountiful—Dissensions among the Nephites give rise to Lamanite victories—Helaman takes command of the two thousand stripling sons of the people of Ammon. [About 64 B.C.]
[ What did Mormon see in our day that would have caused him to include these verses? see Verses 10-15 The law of Justification and its consequences.
part 2 see Verses 16-21 Know What is True, Being True to What You Know
At the time that Mormon was writing this these letter's would have been some 300 years old. They would most likely have suffered horrible decay, unless they were some how made part of the plates, as Mormon quotes directly from them in a verbatim manner. so, one might speculate the appearance and persistence of letter writing is indicative of some kind of institutional shift in the Nephite culture so that it became commonplace where previously it was uncommon. Another thing suggesting a kind of institutional shift in writing is Helaman's having the engraved scriptural record being written down and sent among all the Nephites (cf. 63:12). This is the first explicit mention of widespread public access to the Scriptures. There are implicit statements prior to this (cf. Jacob 7:23, Alma 13:20, Alma 14:1, Alma 14:8, Alma 17:2, Alma 33:3), but it is never clear how widespread or public the access was to the written scriptures. ]
1 AND it came to pass that they did set guards over the prisoners of the Lamanites, and did compel them to go forth and bury their dead, yea, and also the dead of the Nephites who were slain; and Moroni placed men over them to guard them while they should perform their labors.
2 And Moroni went to the city of Mulek with Lehi, and took command of the city and gave it unto Lehi. Now behold, this Lehi was a man who had been with Moroni in the more part of all his battles; and he was a man like unto Moroni, [ Suggesting that he was a man that Moroni could trust. ] and they rejoiced in each other’s safety; yea, they were beloved by each other, and also beloved by all the people of Nephi.
3 And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had finished burying their dead and also the dead of the Nephites, they were marched back into the land Bountiful; and Teancum, by the orders of Moroni, caused that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land, or the city, Bountiful.
4 And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch; and they cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers; and thus they did cause the Lamanites to labor until they had encircled the city of Bountiful round about with a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceeding height.
5 And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in this city they did guard the prisoners of the Lamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands. Now Moroni was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it was easy to guard them while at their labor; [ People at work are less likely to cause trouble, they are too tired at the end of the day, and even the next day, and it is easier to watch over someone when they have a task to do. ] and he desired all his forces when he should make an attack upon the Lamanites.
[ Or he did not want to waste the energy of his men performing a lot of extra labor to guard the prisoners of to fortify the city. ]
6 And it came to pass that Moroni had thus gained a victory over one of the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites, and had obtained possession of the city of Mulek, which was one of the strongest holds of the Lamanites in the land of Nephi; and thus he had also built a stronghold to retain his prisoners.
7 And it came to pass that he did no more attempt a battle with the Lamanites in that year, but he did employ his men in preparing for war, yea, and in making fortifications to guard against the Lamanites, yea, and also delivering their women and their children from famine and affliction, and providing food for their armies.
8 And now it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites, on the west sea, south, while in the absence of Moroni on account of some intrigue amongst the Nephites, which caused dissensions amongst them, had gained some ground over the Nephites, yea, insomuch that they had obtained possession of a number of their cities in that part of the land.
9 And thus because of iniquity amongst themselves, yea, because of dissensions and intrigue among themselves they were placed in the most dangerous circumstances. [ How do we weaken ourselves as a church or community when we have intrigue within? What does that mean? What is the lesson for use here ? ]
10 And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of Ammon, [ His way of saying pay attention to what I am about to say. I have something that does not fit in the flow of things here but I think that it is importnat information to the overall story. He wants us to understand the background. These were the anti-nephi-lehites. ] who, in the beginning, were Lamanites; but by Ammon and his brethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been converted unto the Lord; and they had been brought down into the land of Zarahemla, and had ever since been protected by the Nephites.
11 And because of their oath they had been kept from taking up arms against their brethren;[ This is part of the back story that Mormon wants us to understand here, we need to understand as it has direct barring on the reason why they would not fight. Alma 24. ] for they had taken an oath that they never would shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have perished; yea, they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into the hands of their brethren, had it not been for the pity and the exceeding love which Ammon and his brethren had had for them. [ So Ammon who was one of the missionaries that taught them is now bring the people, the converts to his home town and in doing so pledging to protect them at the peril of his own life as well as the life of his own children(who might be called into battle to protect them). ]
12 And for this cause they were brought down into the land of Zarahemla; and they ever had been protected by the Nephites.
13 But it came to pass that when they [ The anti-nephi-lehites. ] saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to [ How hard would it be to sit back and let someone else fight your battles, when you were able? So here we have a group of otherwise covenant keeping people asking themselves is keeping my covenant fair, is it causing others to bear a burden that is not theirs, nor should it be? Am I a bad person or am I possibly breaking other covenants by keeping this covenant? Am I disloyal to my country by keeping this covenant? I think that this is what may be implied by the us of the word compassion here. Maybe in the name of compassion we should reconsider this covenant. It is a discussion here on the love for others verses a covenant they have made. There is a lot here to consider. ] take up arms in the defence of their country. [ Notice it is now their country. ]
14 But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, [ I suppose they could have successfully argued that now was the time to break the oath that they had made, because this time it was in defense. Would they have been justified in doing so? Is a contract ever to be broken? Do we in society today just walk away from contracts and covenants as though they were of little value, only words that do not mean anything. Whether it be divorce, bankruptcy, sports contracts... ] they were overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman [ This is the sign of true leadership, he gets a whole group of people to change course or at least keep them on the proper course. Meekness, gentleness and love unfeigned - he is trying to help them keep their covenants. What logic did Helaman employ to persuade the people to keep their covenants? see Alma 56:8. ] and his brethren, for they were about to break the oath which they had made. [ I call this the Law Of Justification - sometimes life deals us a set of circumstances so unthinkable that we consider the ramifications of breaking a covenant- for example “I did not ever consider what I would do when I covenanted to pay an honest tithe of 10% of my income if I lost my job, put my son in the hospital and wrecked both family cars in the same month. Surely the Lord does not expect me to pay this month". How could the people have justified the breaking the oath and taking up arms? Surely the Lord would not require the people to continue to keep their covenant to not bear arms when their very lives were at stake? Or would he? ]
15 And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls; [ Why would Helaman have feared that if they broke this covenant the might loose their souls? What is the problem with breaking oaths and covenants? What happens when we break one covenant? makes it easier to break another until we are without bounds What is the lesson for us in our day regarding covenant breaking? ] therefore all those who had entered into this covenant were compelled [ This wasmore than a suggestion to them - they were compelled to do so. ] to behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their dangerous circumstances at this time.
16 But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; [ Kind of interesting here. The parents did not have their children make the same covenants that they had made. In addition, the parents would have most likely not taught these young men about war and the weapons used in war. So war and the weapons of war would have been very strange to these young men. They would have been the least likely to be prepared for war because of the culture that they were raised in. ] therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites.
17 And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, [ Why do you think the sons of Helaman were so valiant in the war efforts? Because they had seen first hand how their parents decided to keep their covenants at the very peril of their own life - So if their parents believed in covenants then so should they, to the point that it made it easier to give their very life if they had to for the liberty of their parents - they did it with their own will - they were not compelled to fight. Why are commitments we choose to make of our own will more enduring than those we are encouraged or induced to make by other people? ] yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage. [ Interesting also to note that once these young men had made this covenant, they never had to be reminded of it. No verse in these chapters implies that any leader ever had to remind them that they had promised to fight. Why are we different why do we need to be reminded from the pulpit to pay our tithing, serve missions, complete our home teaching and give a generous fast offering. Why do we, who have entered into a covenant, need to be reminded? Why do we need to be pushed to do what we have agreed to do? Does how we keep our covenants reflect out commitment?
Once there was a bishop who would go to the train station every morning before work to watch the train pull out of the station. Someone asked him the reason for this rather peculiar behavior and he said that he went down to the railroad station every morning because it made him feel so good to see something move on its own power without him having to push it. (Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, p. 248) ]
Once there was a bishop who would go to the train station every morning before work to watch the train pull out of the station. Someone asked him the reason for this rather peculiar behavior and he said that he went down to the railroad station every morning because it made him feel so good to see something move on its own power without him having to push it. (Sterling W. Sill, The Upward Reach, p. 248) ]
18 Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who entered into this covenant and took their weapons of war to defend their country. [ Interesting to note that the "Temple of the Warrior"s, at Chichen Itza, Mexico has 200 columns in it, which is also called the plaza of a thousand columns. ]
19 And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader. [ How does the choice of the leader effect the result? What qualities should we look for in a leader? Helaman was the leader of the Church—the Prophet. Why would the decision to follow a prophet into battle increase their effectiveness? What kind of behavior would you expect from a person in our day who has chosen the prophet as his/her leader? What other kinds of leaders might we choose to follow that would weaken us in the spiritual battles we fight? The story is told in the early days of the Church—particularly, I think, at Kirtland—where some of the leading brethren in the presiding councils of the Church met secretly and tried to scheme as to how they could get rid of the Prophet Joseph’s leadership. They made the mistake of inviting Brigham Young to one of these secret meetings. He rebuked them, after he had heard the purpose of their meeting. This is part of what he said: “You cannot destroy the appointment of a prophet of God, but you can cut the thread that binds you to the prophet of God and sink yourselves to hell.” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.334; CR April 1963, p. 81.)]
20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant [ Brave, courageous willing to fight, to stand up in times of trial and pressure. What do we learn about being valiant from the scriptures - see D&C 76:79? one quality of those who inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom is that they were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus. What does it mean to be valiant? If we use these young men as a standard of being valiant what do we need to do to be considered valiant? The stripling warriors were valiant in at least four ways. 1) Courage probably does not mean the absence of fear, but the willingness to proceed in spite of it. 2) The strength of mind to endure the trails that we have and excel in them - the strength to commit, 3) and the word activity suggests that they were “anxiously engaged” in the cause of the freedom of the Nephites. When things needed to be done, they did them, without waiting for commands or directions. 4) They we true, consistent, faithful, they could be counted upon. ] for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. [ What does this say for the character of these young men? It's one thing to know the Church is true. It's another thing to have the courage to choose to be true to what you know to be right. To know the Church is true is to be convinced. To be true to what you know is to be converted. ]
21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him. [ What does it mean to walk uprightly before God, and what privileges accompany those who do so? D&C 121 wherein we are told that if we abide by certain requirements, our confidence will wax strong in the presence of God. We will be confident enough to stand upright in his presence. We will be confident enough to ask for want we need knowing that he will grant our request. How would it be to be in battle with that kind of confidence? ]
22 And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling [ What does stripling even mean? According to Websters 1828 version: “Stripling” refers to a teenage boy at a very particular time in his physical development. You know when a teenage boy of 14-16 years suddenly grows 18 inches in what seems like 2 weeks? It’s a super awkward time physically because they are suddenly much taller and they’re sort of graceless in the way they carry themselves. At this stage of life they are lanky and a little clumsy. so, when one thinks of Helaman’s “young men,” even the new mission age is too old. And while they may have been strong and physically active, as “striplings”, they wouldn’t have near enough testosterone to amass the bulky physique we see in depictions. These kids were hardly growing facial hair. They were for all intents and purposes Teachers aged young men. Think about that for a second. ] soldiers, to the support of the people in the borders of the land on the south by the west sea.