Alma 24:3 the king conferred the kingdom upon his
son…Anti-Nephi-Lehi
The king, Anti-Nephi-Lehi,
is seldom talked about or discussed. We see in this chapter that he is the
moral and spiritual leader of his people, as well as the king. Apparently, he
is respected enough that the people are willing to be called by his name. He
articulates the argument for laying down their swords with the covenant to shed
innocent blood no more. Remarkably, the people seem to agree with his argument
wholeheartedly. All we know of him can be found in this chapter, but his speech
to his people (verses 7-16) demonstrates a spirit of gratitude, repentance and
revelation.
Alma 24:5 that they might hold a council…what they should do to
defend themselves
In the tradition of Limhi,
Ammon and his brethren gather with their converts to find a way out of their
predicament. The usual options in such a situation are to fight or run. Ammon,
Aaron, and their companions must have been completely taken by surprise by the
unorthodox approach of passive resistance.
Alma 24:6 there was not one soul…that would take up arms against
their brethren
When a huge Lamanite army is
making preparations of war, planning to attack you and your families, it would
take an incredible amount of courage to do nothing. If they don’t fight, they
have nothing to look forward to except a wholesale slaughter. Yet, perfect love casteth out all fear (Moroni 8:16),
and they were apparently ready to meet their Maker if it came to that.
Alma 24:7 I thank my God…that [he]…has
in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us
First of all, it is
important to point out that these are not the words of Ammon or Lamoni. Rather,
they are the words of the new king, Anti-Nephi-Lehi, as he expresses his
gratitude to the Nephite missionaries.
Only the converts to the
gospel can fully appreciate the love they have for the missionaries that
brought them the message of salvation. Often, they are loved like members of
the family. The Lord teaches us that the love between missionary and convert is
eternal, And if it so be that you should labor all
your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul
unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
(DC 18:15). The following story is illustrative of this great love.
LeGrand Richards
“I
used to enjoy very much hearing President Grant tell of the Scandinavian
Brother who came over to Utah. He had not been taught much about the gospel;
all he knew was that it was true. The bishop went to him and taught him the law
of tithing. He paid his tithing. He taught him about fast offering. He paid his
fast offering. He taught him about ward maintenance (budget) and he paid that.
Then the bishop went to him to get a donation to help build the meeting house.
The man felt that ought to come out of the tithing, but before the bishop was
through with him, he paid his contribution toward the meeting house. Then the
bishop went to him to get his son to go on a mission. The good brother said, ‘That
is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. He is the only child we have, and
his mother can’t miss him.’ Then the bishop countered, ‘Brother so and so, who
do you love in this world more than anyone outside of your immediate family?’
He thought a few minutes and said he guessed he loved that Mormon Elder who
came up to the land of the midnight sun and taught him the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Then the Bishop countered, ‘Brother so and so, how would you like
someone to love your boy just like you love that young Mormon Elder’ The
brother said, ‘Bishop, you win again. Take him. I will be glad to support him
in the mission field.’” (Just To Illustrate, p. 52)
Alma 24:10 he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders
The Lord has said, Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have
forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come (DC 42:18).
Obviously, this means that an individual who commits murder can never receive
forgiveness for that sin. Yet, Anti-Nephi-Lehi explains that he and his people
had received remission of sins—even of the murders
which we have committed. But how could they receive remission of sins
for murder? Well it is helpful to understand what Anti-Nephi-Lehi is calling
murder. He is referring to the warlike nature of his people, that as soldiers
in the Lamanite armies, they had killed many Nephites. With the understanding
that the Nephites were innocent, he is likening this military act to the crime
of murder—although it is not exactly the same thing. It is much different to kill
someone as a member of an army than it is to kill someone in cold blood, with
premeditation. Thus we see that the king is using the word “murder” as a
hyperbole. Had the people been guilty of murder as we understand the term, they
could not have been forgiven.
Alma 24:11-14 it has been all that we could do…to repent of all our sins
One of the most difficult
steps of repentance is to feel that the Lord has forgiven you. Here we see the
spirit of revelation in the words of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. After quite a struggle,
they had received confirmation by the Spirit that God had taken away their
sins. Apparently, it did not come easily, as they
were the most lost of all mankind.
Having struggled so hard to obtain
forgiveness from the Lord, they did not want to jeopardize their hard-fought
innocence. The king says, the great God has had
mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea,
and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our
souls. The content of verse 13 implies that if they had again turned to
a violent lifestyle, that the Lord might not forgive them for their previous
actions. This is according to the following principle, And
now, verily I say unto you…unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins
return (DC 82:7). Hence the words of the king, perhaps,
if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through
the blood of the Son of our Great God.
Alma 24:17 they took their swords…and they did bury them up deep in
the earth
“It
is entirely possible that this interesting incident could have served as the
source of the ‘bury-the-hatchet’ tradition of showing peace, which was a common
practice among some of the tribes of American Indians when Columbus and other
white men came to their lands.” (Daniel Ludlow, A Companion to Your
Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 210)
Spencer J. Condie
“Following
Nephi’s counsel to ‘liken all scriptures unto us,’
we can use the conversion of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies as a metaphor for our own
lives. When we become truly converted, the testimony of our conversion may well
be borne in our burying deep in the earth our sharp tongues in lieu of sharp
swords. Our post-conversion sanitary landfill might also be used to discard our
hot tempers, our evil speech patterns, our penchant for off-color jokes, our
ethnic epithets, our greediness, unkindness, and lack of compassion.” (Your
Agency: Handle With Care, p. 140)
Alma 24:18 they would labor abundantly with their hands
Spencer W. Kimball
“If
you would look for valor, stamina, and steadfastness, recall the experiences of
the converts of Ammon and his brethren. Here were red men degenerated,
untrained, and primitive who accepted the gospel and quickly changed to sober,
industrious, God-fearing people. The transition was soon made from skins and
loin cloths to clothes of linen; from hunting and fishing, to agricultural
work; from war and bloodshed, to peaceful pursuits; from paganism and idolatry
to the worship of the Living God. They were called the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, and
were so devout and sincere in their professions that they buried their weapons
and declared unalterably against war.” (Conference Reports, Apr. 1949,
p. 109)
Alma 24:19 they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the
weapons of war, for peace
This short phrase is one of
the tiny testimonies to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Imagine Mormon
abridging the record of Alma. He is engraving on plates, without an eraser. He
accidentally writes, they buried their weapons of
peace. Rather than pound the inscription out of the golden plate, he
modifies the phrase—as if to say, “this is what I meant to say”—and writes, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace. Such
is the difficulty of engraving a record on metal plates.
Alma 24:21 they…prostrated themselves before them to the earth
The question is worth
asking, “could I be as strong as these new converts?” “Could I lay down,
peacefully praying to God while an enraged army attacked and commenced
slaughtering my friends and family?” “Am I ready to die for the cause of
truth?” These are the questions which we must ask ourselves. If we expect the
Lord to bless us with the ultimate blessing, all that the Father has (DC
84:38), we have to being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice—all that we
have, even if it means laying our own lives on the altar of sacrifice.
“In
1979…I was serving as president in the Mexico City North Mission…A (community)
meeting was called…at which Church members were given the following options:
denounce the Church, leave the village, or be killed (not an idle threat). The
members, particularly the women, said they knew the Church to be true and would
not denounce it. They also indicated they had worked just as hard as the rest
of the community to secure their homesteads, and they would not leave. Boldly
stepping forward, they told their taunters if they were going to kill them to
get on with it. The moment grew tense as machetes were raised, then finally
lowered while the Latter-day Saints stood up for that which the Spirit had
testified to them to be true. These Saints eventually learned, as most of us
do, that it is harder to live the gospel day by day than to die for it in an
instant, but their early commitment came because the Spirit had touched their
hearts and changed their lives.” (John B. Dickson, Ensign, Feb. 1995, p.
7 as
taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K.
Douglas Bassett, p. 289)
Spencer W. Kimball
“What
a monster is prejudice! It means
pre-judging. How many of us are guilty
of it? Often we think ourselves free of
its destructive force, but we need only to test ourselves. Our expressions, our voice tones, our
movements, our thoughts betray us…
“(Speaking
of prejudice against the American Indian) I ask you: Do not scoff and ignore
these Nephite-Lamanites unless you can equal their forebears in greatness and
until you can kneel with those thousands of Ammonite Saints in the sand on the
field of battle while they sang songs of praise as their very lives were being
snuffed out by their enemies. Could you
look heavenward, smiling and singing, while the bloodthirsty demons slashed
your body with sword and scimitar?
Perhaps the children of the Ammonites are with us.” (Conference
Report, Apr. 1949, pp. 106-7)
Alma 24:25 they threw down their weapons of war…for they were stung
for the murders which they had committed
L. Tom Perry
“The
message of this story is not that all members of the Church should conscientiously
object to war. There is also a Book of Mormon story about Captain Moroni
raising the ‘title of liberty’ as the leader
of the true believers in Christ (see Alma 46:11-14). Moroni made impassioned
speeches and wrote spirited letters to his Nephite brethren about protecting
their liberty, lands, wives, children, and peace (see Alma 48:10). It was the
Anti-Nephi-Lehies' unique history that caused them to make a unique covenant
with the Lord that they felt an obligation to honor. When they honored their
covenant they were blessed, and their brethren, the Lamanites, were also
blessed.
“While
the message of the story is not to insist on universal pacifism, we do learn
that by not returning aggressions from others we can have a profound effect on
them. Literally, we can change their hearts when we follow Christ's example and
turn the other cheek. Our examples as peaceable followers of Christ inspire
others to follow him.” (Living With Enthusiasm, p. 128)
Alma 24:26-27 the people of God were joined that day by more than the
number who had been slain
We should still remember the
righteous in Ammonihah who were similarly killed. Alma’s comment at the time
was, behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself,
in glory (Alma 14:11). And so it was with the martyrs of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi, we have no reason to doubt but what
they were saved.
Through mortal eyes, the
death of 1005 innocent, helpless, righteous souls is a tragedy and a travesty.
To the Lord God, it is according to his work and his glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man
(Moses 1:39), For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts (Isa 55:9). This is a great example of how the Lord uses a
tragedy to save souls. Often, the spiritual benefits of tragedy and trials are
not as immediately evident as they are in this remarkable story.
Thus we see that death is a
tragedy to the mortal man but not to the Lord. The spiritually minded
understand the word of the Lord when he said, fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the souls: but rather
fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt
10:28).
Gordon B. Hinckley
“Notwithstanding
the evil and the tragedy, I see a silver thread shining through the dark and
bloody tapestry of conflict. I see the finger of the Lord plucking some good
from the evil designs of the adversary.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1968, p. 21 as taken from Latter-day
Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 289)
Alma 24:30 after a people have been once enlightened…and then have
fallen away
As the saying goes, “you can
leave the Church, but you can never leave it alone.” So it is with an apostate,
they can try all they want to ignore the kingdom of God but they will
inevitably find themselves fighting against the Church and kicking against the
pricks. Peter explained it as follows:
‘For if after they have
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the
latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
For it had been better
for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have
known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
But it is happened unto
them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit
again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.’ (2 Pet 2:20-22)
The
words of Paul are also instructive:
‘For it is impossible
for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the
good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall
away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.’ (Heb 6:4-6)
Joseph Smith
“Strange
as it may appear at first thought, yet it is no less strange than true, that
notwithstanding all the professed determination to live godly, apostates after
turning from the faith of Christ, unless they have speedily repented, have
sooner or later fallen into the snares of the wicked one, and have been left
destitute of the Spirit of God, to manifest their wickedness in the eyes of
multitudes. From apostates the faithful have received the severest
persecutions. Judas was rebuked and immediately betrayed his Lord into the
hands of his enemies, because Satan entered into him. There is a superior
intelligence bestowed upon such as obey the Gospel with full purpose of heart,
which, if sinned against, the apostate is left naked and destitute of the
Spirit of God, and he is, in truth, nigh unto cursing, and his end is to be burned.
When once that light which was in them is taken from them, they become as much
darkened as they were previously
enlightened, and then, no marvel, if all their power should be enlisted against
the truth, and they, Judas like, seek the destruction of those who were their
greatest benefactors.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 67.)
Joseph Smith
“After
a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has
got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny
Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan
of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he
begins to be an enemy. This is the case with many apostates of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“When
a man begins to be an enemy to this work, he hunts me, he seeks to kill me, and
never ceases to thirst for my blood. He gets the spirit of the devil-the same
spirit that they had who crucified the Lord of Life-the same spirit that sins
against the Holy Ghost. You cannot save such persons; you cannot bring them to
repentance; they make open war, like the devil, and awful is the consequence.”
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 358)
Joseph Fielding Smith
“The
testimony of the Spirit is so great, and the impressions and revelations of
divine truth so forcefully revealed that there comes to the recipient a
conviction of the truth that he cannot forget. Therefore, when a person once
enlightened by the Spirit so that he receives knowledge that Jesus Christ is
the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, then turns away and fights the Lord
and his work, he does so against the light and testimony he has received by the
power of God. Therefore, he has resigned himself to evil knowingly. Therefore
Jesus said there is no forgiveness for such a person.” (Answers to Gospel
Questions, vol. 4, p. 92)
Neal A. Maxwell
“Then
there are the dissenters who leave the Church, either formally or informally,
but who cannot leave it alone. Usually anxious to please worldly galleries,
they are critical or at least condescending towards the Brethren. They not only
seek to steady the ark but also on occasion give it a hard shove! Often having
been taught the same true doctrines as the faithful, they have nevertheless
moved in the direction of dissent (see Alma 47:36). They have minds hardened by
pride (see Daniel 5:20).” (Men and Women of Christ, p. 4)