ALMA 46-47!
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. Amalickiah uses treachery, murder, and intrigue to become king of the Lamanites—The Nephite dissenters are more wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites (ALMA 46-47 HEADNOTES).
The story in these chapters has a "major lesson" that is one of my favorites in all of the war chapters. Fasten your seatbelts, readers; we're going in.
Business philosopher Jim Rohn once taught, "If your name ever appears in a book, make sure that it's an example, not a warning" (The Art of Exceptional Living [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994], audiocassette). The name Amalickiah appears in the Book of Mormon as a warning, and it is forever associated with these chilling verses: "Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one. Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men" (Alma 46:8-9).
Amalickiah was slick. Just reading about this guy gives me the creeps. He was flattering, cunning, and treacherous, and he didn't mind killing people to get what he wanted. Amalickiah was a Nephite who caused all kinds of problems because of his political ambitions. (As mentioned before, Nephite apostates caused more problems for the Nephites than the Lamanites did.) Amalickiah just couldn't wait to be king, and he had the support of many of the lower judges who, unlike Captain Moroni, were also "seeking for power" (Alma 46:4).
Kings Are a Royal Pain
The Nephites had lived under the inspired system of judges for nineteen years, but now, some of the people wanted a change. Why would they want a change in the government? Was there something wrong with the judge system? No. It promoted freedom and liberty, and it controlled ambition with built- in checks and balances. But governments are only good when the people are good. As founding father John Adams observed, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (in America's God and Country, comp. William J. Federer [Coppell, Texas: FAME Publishing, 1994], 10-11).
Amalickiah and his followers were not moral or religious, as evidenced by the fact that they "would not hearken to the words of Helaman and his brethren" (Alma 46:1). Having Amalickiah as king of the Nephites would have been disastrous.
Observation: King Benjamin and King Mosiah were righteous kings, and when Jesus comes again we'll have a righteous king. But both the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament describe the problems of having a king. The ancient Israelites wanted a king, and when Samuel brought their request before the Lord, the Lord responded, "They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Samuel 8:7). Alma the Elder taught, "If it were possible that ye could always have just men to be your kings it would be well for you to have a king" (Mosiah 23:8). Alma, as you recall, served under wicked King Noah and was personally affected and nearly destroyed by his wickedness. The problem is, kings and their successors often become dictators. When the Jaredites arrived in the promised land, they wanted a king too, which caused the brother of Jared to make this prophetic observation: "Surely this thing leadeth into captivity" (Ether 6:23). Surely it did.
That's the problem—what if your king becomes unrighteous? What if he becomes a dictator? How do you kick him out? He probably won't want to leave, so he'll have to be forced out.
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Removing an unjust king is difficult, to say the least. Notice how much these verses from King Mosiah remind us of world events in the latter days.
And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood. For behold, he has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God;
And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he causeth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness (Mosiah 29:21- 23).
Does that remind you of a situation that's been in the news for the past couple of years? Perhaps that's why Hugh Nibley once said, "Wo to the generation that understands the Book of Mormon!" (An Approach to the Book of Mormon, in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, 3d ed., 14 vols. [Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah: Deseret Book and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988], 6:119).
Place Reminders of Your Covenants Everywhere
Captain Moroni was well aware of the risks of having a king. Responding to the movement of Amalickiah and his supporters, Moroni "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 called it "the title of liberty" (Alma 46:12-13).
Moroni understood perfectly the oft- repeated promise of the Book of Mormon that if the children of Lehi kept the commandments they would prosper in the land (1 Nephi 4:14). He knew that if their system crumbled, they would have no one to blame but themselves. Moroni proclaimed, "Surely God shall not suffer 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 transgressions" (Alma 46:18).
Captain Moroni went from place to place inviting the people to accept the title of liberty by covenant and to fight if necessary to maintain liberty in their lands. Meanwhile, "Amalickiah saw that the people of Moroni were more numerous than the Amalickiahites" (Alma 46:29). When Amalickiah read the headlines, he said, "We're outta here." He then took his followers and fled into the wilderness. Because Moroni knew that Amalickiah would strengthen the Lamanites, he ordered a pursuit. Unfortunately, Amalickiah escaped, but some of his followers were brought back and given the opportunity to "enter into a covenant to support the cause of freedom" (Alma 46:35). Oddly enough, a few actually refused, preferring to die rather than to maintain a free government—kind of a "Give me bondage or give me death" situation!
Captain Moroni "caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower" (Alma 46:36). Towers appear to be the modern media of that time, and they reminded the Nephites in all parts of the land of their covenants. Imagine what a different world we would have today if our media reminded us of our covenants rather than persuade us to abandon them.
Mini Lesson: We too can place reminders of our covenants everywhere. President Spencer W. Kimball counseled families to display pictures of the temple in their homes to remind youth of their goal to be temple worthy and to remind parents of their temple covenants. The way we dress, the way we talk, the modern media with which we surround ourselves should all be reminders and supporters of our covenants. As someone once said, "Be careful how you act—you may be the only standard work some people will ever read!"
They'll be Coming Down the Mountain When They Come
Amalickiah and his followers escaped into the land of Nephi (where the Lamanites lived) and immediately began to incite the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites, which is exactly what Moroni thought might happen. The king of the Lamanites was easily persuaded and made a proclamation that the armies of the Lamanites should prepare to attack the Nephites.
The larger part of the Lamanite army, however, was afraid of attacking the Nephites and ran away. Amalickiah was given charge of the smaller part of the army that was willing to attack the Nephites and was ordered to compel the rest of the army to fight. Those who didn't want to fight appointed a man named Lehonti to be their leader, and they "gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas" (Alma 47:7).
Amalickiah sent a secret embassy up the mountain to invite Lehonti to come down and speak with him, but Lehonti refused. Twice more Amalickiah invited Lehonti for a chat, but the people of Lehonti were "fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites" (Alma 47:6). Finally, when Amalickiah was convinced "that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount," he decided that he would go up, "nearly to Lehonti's camp" (Alma 47:12).
Okay, now listen with your spiritual ears. On his fourth try, Amalickiah invited Lehonti to come down "just a little" and to keep his guards with him if he felt unprotected. Lehonti finally agreed. Then, lying through his traitorous teeth, Amalickiah said, "Hey, I'm not really your enemy. I'm your friend." Amalickiah told Lehonti that he didn't want to battle with his reluctant armies. He had a better plan.
Amalickiah suggested that Lehonti bring his army down in the nighttime and surround Amalickiah's army while his men slept. Amalickiah said that when his army awoke and saw themselves surrounded, they would surrender, and the entire Lamanite army would be united again—just one big happy army. In exchange for his surrender, Amalickiah would be appointed "second leader," and Lehonti would take command of the entire force. The plan worked, and Amalickiah became second in command. However, Amalickiah's clever scheme was just getting started. He didn't tell the whole truth to Lehonti—he had only shared the first part of his plan.
Question: How does one who is second in command become first in command?
Answer: He removes the commander.
Oops! Lehonti should never have come down from his mountain. He was in grave danger, and he didn't even know it. The murderous "Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died" (Alma 47:18). Amalickiah pulled it off. He was now first in command of the entire Lamanite army.
But Amalickiah still had not completed his evil plans. He marched back to the king of the Lamanites with the entire army, and while the king was welcoming the servants of Amalickiah, one of them "stabbed the king to the heart" (Alma 47:24). Immediately Amalickiah's servants accused the king's own servants of committing the crime. Eventually Amalickiah won over the king's widow and became the king of the Lamanites! Can you believe this?
"And thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom" (Alma 47:35). Originally he wanted to rule over the Nephites. Now he was ruling over the Lamanites. But he wasn't done yet.
"Is There Not a Type in This Thing?"
Do you know what a scriptural type is? You've probably learned about it in seminary, but if you don't know yet, you will. Here's a quick example: Moses was a type of Christ. Moses led the children of Israel out of bondage, through the waters of the Red Sea, to mount Sinai, and to the promised land. Similarly Jesus led the children of Israel out of bondage (spiritual bondage), through the waters of baptism, to the mountain of the Lord (the temple), and into the celestial kingdom. The scriptures are full of types. In fact, Nephi taught that "all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of [Christ]" (2 Nephi 11:4).
When I first started studying the story of Amalickiah, I wondered if Amalickiah could be considered as a type of Satan. Now I've gone to the other extreme. I think that Amalickiah as a type of Satan is pretty hard to miss. Amalickiah's rise to power and his escape from Nephite society remind us of Satan's power play and expulsion in the premortal life. Satan's continued efforts to enslave and addict the children of God are like Amalickiah's plan to bring the Nephites into bondage. Additionally many of the same words used in the Book of Mormon to describe Satan are also used to describe Amalickiah. Some of the ways in which Amalickiah resembles Satan appear in the chart at right.
Perhaps the most compelling example of Amalickiah's devil-like role involved his subtle but deadly plan to persuade Lehonti to leave his place of safety. Amalickiah, like Satan, says, "Come down from your mountain and just talk to me." Lehonti led his armies to mount Antipas for refuge. Symbolically speaking, mountains are higher ground, often associated with temples and temple covenants. Ancient prophets were often told to go up into the mountains—kind of like meeting God halfway. Today temples are our refuge from the world.
Like Amalickiah, Satan urges us to come down from our mountains, or to leave our covenants. When we refuse Satan's invitations, "being fixed in [our] minds with a determined resolution" (Alma 47:6), he says, "Okay, bring your guards with you, and just come down a little." See how subtle he is? It's interesting that Amalickiah invited Lehonti down three times. Similarly, Satan tried to tempt Jesus in three different ways when the Savior was "led up of the Spirit into the wilderness," set "on a pinnacle of the temple," and taken to "an exceeding high mountain"—but Jesus never came down (Matthew 4:1- 11).
Brother S. Michael Wilcox commented on Amalickiah's (and Satan's) tactic of bringing his prey to lower ground while deceiving him into thinking that he was still in charge:
"You're in control! I only want to talk! You have your guards! You only have to come down a little bit!" Amalickiah assures his victim. Lehonti, feeling secure although undoubtedly mistrustful, made his first mistake: He descended from the heights of the mountain. In his own mind, however, he was still safe, because he was in control (Don't Leap with the Sheep [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2001], 35-36).
Once you've left your stronghold, Satan pacifies you with half-truths that hide his real intentions. Eventually he persuades you to come all the way down while maintaining the illusion that he's really not an enemy but a friend. Remember, Satan whispers, "I am no devil, for there is none" (2 Nephi 28:22).
When a Little Is a Lot
Eventually Satan's plan for the deceived becomes deadly as he poisons them, not all at once, but "by degrees." What a perfectly descriptive phrase! When Mormon abridged this story, he could have told us simply, "The servant of Amalickiah killed Lehonti," or "the servant of Amalickiah poisoned Lehonti." But Mormon gave us two extra words that speak volumes: Lehonti was poisoned "by degrees."
"By degrees" accurately describes Satan's strategy of incremental entrapment. I like to call it his "lie upon lie, decept upon decept" strategy of leading his captives "carefully down to hell" (2 Nephi 28:21). Giving an inch is still losing ground, and little compromises eventually become large concessions. Here's another scripture that describes how Satan's control grows stronger and stronger "by degrees": he "leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever"(2 Nephi 26:22).
What makes Satan's "by degrees" strategy so cunning is that his victims are often completely unaware that anything bad is happening. Their downfall is much like Lehonti's. He thought he was still in command until the very moment he was murdered.
Major Lesson: This one is terribly obvious. Don't come down from your mountain! The young women stand up each week and say, "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will 'stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.'" The young men say they will "become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live by its teachings." Satan wants us to come down from our mountain, so he repeatedly invites us to leave higher ground. If we won't come down all the way, he invites us to come down just a little.
Amalickiah was an enemy in disguise. Sometimes those who invite you down are pretending to be friends, but they should give you the creeps. If someone tells you that he's your friend but then asks you to compromise your standards just a little, the story of Amalickiah and Lehonti should come rushing to your mind. Lehonti probably said, "I know what I'm doing," not recognizing that he was being slowly poisoned by someone pretending to be on his side.
Have your parents or leaders ever said to you, "That person may be a bad influence on you"? It's hard to hear that kind of thing, isn't it? We might become a little defensive, and think, "Hey, I know what I'm doing." But do you know what? Your parents or leaders may be right. They may see you gradually changing even though you may not even see it happening. But maybe your clothes or the music you listen to or the movies you watch or the friends you hang out with are changing. Be aware that sometimes we can be blinded to something right in front of our noses. The adults in your life may see something you don't even recognize. They may see an Amalickiah trying to poison you "by degrees."
Yikes. Don't ever tell me we can't apply the war chapters to our lives. We can, and we should (and we will).
Well, back to the story. Believe it or not, Amalickiah became king of the Lamanites. He left a few dead people in his path, but he got what he wanted—the throne and the kingdom. Do you think that accomplishment satisfied his ambitions? No way. He was just getting started. In Amalickiah's case, the wicked just get wickeder (or, to put it properly, more wicked). So shields up, Book of Mormon explorers, we're moving on to Alma 48.
Lessons from Alma 46-47
Kings lead to bondage.
Place reminders of your covenants everywhere.
Don't come down from your mountain. "Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved" (D&C 87:8).
Beware of "little" temptations that trick you into thinking, "I'm still in control."
Beware of "friends" who tempt you.
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