Alma
49:3 the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt
Less
than nine years had passed since the greatest military victory in recent
Lamanite history. The battle at the city of Ammonihah must have become
legendary among Lamanite soldiers. The city was the site of the wicked Nephites
who imprisoned Alma and Amulek and burned the believing women and children
(Alma 14). As a punishment, the city was completely destroyed in one day (Alma
16:9-11). Unaware of the hand of the Lord in their earlier success, the Lamanites
must have thought that this newly rebuilt city would again yield a spectacular
military victory.
Alma
49:6 they supposed that they should be privileged to
come upon them as they had hitherto done
Hugh
Nilbey
“Turn to Alma 49:6. There's no better known maxim
than that generals always plan the next war in terms of the last war. They
always fight the last war because that's where their experience is. That's
where they can correct their mistakes. They talk it over and endlessly argue
what they would have done, what this person should have done and that person
should have done. The English are great on that. That's exactly what happened
here. Notice this neat touch here in the verse 6: ‘…they
supposed that they should be privileged to come upon them as they had hitherto
done; yea, and they had also prepared themselves with shields, and with
breastplates [they were getting ready for the other war, the war that
they had hitherto been victorious in]; and they had
also prepared themselves with garments of skins, yea, very thick garments to
cover their nakedness.’ Notice, they had matched the Nephites' armor
(see Alma 43:19-21). All the things they had hitherto done they were doing now,
but that wasn't enough because Moroni was ahead of them. Moroni was a real military
genius.” (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Lecture 68, p. 138)
Alma
49:10 Amalickiah…did care not for the blood of his
people
Hugh
Nibley
“King Amalickiah had stayed back at his base,
confident of a quick and easy victory. ‘He did not
care for the blood of his people’ (Alma 49:10)—Moroni actually cared far
more for it than he did! ‘His chief captains,’ furious
at their rebuff at the city of Ammonihah, promptly lunged for the important
city of Noah…The only trouble was that thanks to Moroni the city was fortified
and waiting, and ‘they were again disappointed’
(Alma 49:13-17). The supreme test of generalship, we are told, is to have the
enemy play your game, making just the moves you want him to make under the
impression that he is being very smart on his own. Moroni did just that, and
the attack on the city of Noah ‘was according to his
desires’ (Alma 49:15). He had devised a new and ingenious type of
defense for the city gate, which proved a death-trap for the Lamanites…and
their savage and repeated assaults on the impregnable gate became simply
suicidal, and finally ‘their chief captains were all
slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain’ (Alma
49:21-23).” (Since Cumorah, p. 309)
Alma
49:14-25 Lessons from the Battle at the City of Noah
Moroni
had reinforced the cities of Ammonihah and Noah to such an astonishing degree
that the Battle at the City of Noah was over before it started. Moroni’s
diligent preparations, in a manner which had never
been known among the children of Lehi (v. 8), had outwitted the enemy
again.
In
our personal fight against evil, the same principle applies. We, too, can win
the battle before it even starts by preparing ourselves spiritually and making
certain decisions before we are ever confronted with the opposition. How many
times have our youth been taught that it is much easier to make the decision
not to use drugs or alcohol long before the opportunity presents itself? So it
is with the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity, and many other principles.
Figuratively
speaking, to win the battle before it even starts, we must build forts of
security (v. 13). We must strengthen our weakest areas, knowing as the Lord has
said, if they humble themselves before me, and have
faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them (Ether
12:27). We must dig deeper ditches, build taller banks, and reinforce them with
our strongest defenses. “The Lamanite attack on the
city of Ammonihah reminds us that, like an enemy army, Satan will quietly try
to dig down our defenses when he is not allowed direct access to our hearts.”
(Kathleen S. McConkie, Ensign, Jan. 1992, “Defending Against Evil”)
But
if we arm ourselves with the armor of righteousness, preparing ourselves as
Moroni did, we will be able to slay the devil and his angels with an immense slaughter (v. 21). There will still
be a battle, for Satan will do all he can to tempt, destroy, and seduce.
Inevitably, there will still be battle wounds, many
of which [are] very severe (v. 24).
But if the vital decisions and preparations have been made beforehand, we will
not be slain by the fiery darts of the wicked
one (DC 27:17). Instead we will thank the Lord
[our] God, because of his matchless power in
delivering [us] from the hands of [our]
enemies (v. 28).
Alma
49:27 he did curse God, and also Moroni, swearing
with an oath that he would drink his blood
Amalickiah’s
wicked oath taking makes a mockery of the true purpose of solemn oaths and
sacred covenants. In the oath taking society in which Amalickiah lived, to
forswear, or break, an oath was a serious offense. An oath should never be made
if the individual was incapable of making it good. Furthermore, an individual
with integrity would rather die than break such an oath. Although Amalickiah
lacked any integrity, this is exactly what happened to him. He was killed in
his sleep by Teancum without ever having had the privilege of drinking Moroni’s
blood (see Alma 51:33-34).
Alma
49:30 Corianton had repented and joined his brothers in declaring the word
When
Alma took time to teach his sons on an individual basis, Corianton received
much more attention than his older brothers. Instead of preaching the gospel,
he had been chasing the harlot Isabel and justifying his actions by questioning
the justice of God (Alma 39-42). Here, we learn that he had repented to become
a useful servant of the Lord—much like his father had done years before him.
“Tucked in the ongoing story of the Nephite wars we
find a reference to the change that Corianton made in his personal life. Peace
was in the land again and the people prospered ‘because
of their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word of God, which was
declared unto them by Helaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his
brethren’ (Alma 49:30). Notice who was back on his mission again.
Hurrah! Through a parent-child interview, Alma brought about a transformation
in the life of his beloved son, and this united family of missionaries and
Nephite ministers made an incredible difference in the society in which they
lived. It was as if they first ‘taped together’ the home and then the world
began to take care of itself.” (Douglas E. Brinley & Daniel K Judd, Eternal
Families, “The Parent’s Role”)
“Corianton's sins were grievous. And yet we have every reason to believe that
Alma's preaching touched the soul of his errant son, that Corianton ‘crossed himself’ (see Alma 39:9), repented, and
returned to the ministry…
“Elder Orson F. Whitney held out this hope for
the parents of wandering or wayward children:
‘You parents of the wilful and the wayward: Don't give them up. Don't
cast them off. They are not utterly
lost. The shepherd will find his
sheep. They were his before they were
yours- long before he entrusted them to your care; and you cannot begin to love
them as he loves them. They have but
strayed in ignorance from the Path of Right, and God is merciful to
ignorance. Only the fulness of
knowledge brings the fulness of accountability. Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more
charitable, than even the best of his servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is
mightier in power to save than our narrow finite minds can comprehend.’ (CR,
April 1929, p. 110.)” (McConkie & Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book
of Mormon, vol. 3, p. 320)