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“They
Did Obey . . . Every Word
of Command with Exactness”
Alma 53–63
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Lesson
32
Summary |
Scripture
Summary: |
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.]
Ammoron and Moroni negotiate for the exchange of prisoners—Moroni
demands that the Lamanites withdraw and cease their murderous attacks—Ammoron
demands that the Nephites lay down their arms and become subject to the
Lamanites. [About 63 B.C.] |
Moroni
refuses to exchange prisoners—The Lamanite guards are enticed to become
drunk, and the Nephite prisoners are freed—The city of Gid is taken
without bloodshed. [About 63 B.C.]
Helaman sends an epistle to Moroni recounting the state of the war with
the Lamanites—Antipus and Helaman gain a great victory over the
Lamanites—Helaman’s two thousand stripling sons fight with miraculous
power and none of them are slain. [About 66—62 B.C.]
Helaman recounts the taking of Antiparah and the surrender and later the
defense of Cumeni—His Ammonite striplings fight valiantly and all are
wounded, but none are slain—Gid reports the slaying and the escape of
the Lamanite prisoners. [About 64—63 B.C.]
Helaman, Gid, and Teomner take the city of Manti by a stratagem—The
Lamanites withdraw—The sons of the people of Ammon are preserved as they
stand fast in defense of their liberty and faith. [About 63 B.C.]
Moroni asks Pahoran to strengthen the forces of Helaman—The Lamanites
take the city of Nephihah—Moroni is angry with the government.
Moroni complains to Pahoran of the government’s neglect of the armies—The
Lord suffers the righteous to be slain—The Nephites must use all of
their power and means to deliver themselves from their enemies—Moroni
threatens to fight against the government unless help is supplied to his
armies.
Pahoran tells Moroni of the insurrection and rebellion against the
government—The king-men take Zarahemla and are in league with the
Lamanites—Pahoran asks for military aid against the rebels. [About 62
B.C.]
Moroni marches to the aid of Pahoran in the land of Gideon—The king-men
who refuse to defend their country are put to death—Pahoran and Moroni
retake Nephihah—Many Lamanites join the people of Ammon—Teancum slays
Ammoron and is in turn slain—The Lamanites are driven from the land, and
peace is established—Helaman returns to the ministry and builds up the
Church. [About 62—57 B.C.]
Shiblon and later Helaman take possession of the sacred records—Many
Nephites travel to the land northward—Hagoth builds ships, which sail
forth in the west sea—Moronihah defeats the Lamanites in battle.
[Between 56 and 53 B.C.]
Moroni commands the Lamanites to make a covenant of peace or be destroyed—Zerahemnah
rejects the offer, and the battle resumes—Moroni’s armies defeat the
Lamanites. [About 74—73 B.C.]
Helaman believes the words of Alma—Alma prophesies the destruction of
the Nephites—He blesses and curses the land—Alma is taken up by the
Spirit, even as Moses—Dissension grows in the Church. [73 B.C.]
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. [Between 73 and 72 B.C.]
Amalickiah uses treachery, murder, and intrigue to become king of the
Lamanites—The Nephite dissenters are more wicked and ferocious than the
Lamanites.
Amalickiah incites the Lamanites against the Nephites—Moroni prepares
his people to defend the cause of the Christians—He rejoiced in liberty
and freedom and was a mighty man of God.
The invading Lamanites are unable to take the fortified cities of
Ammonihah and Noah—Amalickiah curses God and swears to drink the blood
of Moroni—Helaman and his brethren continue to strengthen the Church.
[72 B.C.]
Moroni fortifies the lands of the
Nephites—They build many new cities—Wars and destructions befell the
Nephites in the days of their wickedness and abominations—Morianton and
his dissenters are defeated by Teancum—Nephihah dies and his son Pahoran
fills the judgment-seat. [About 72—67 B.C.]
The king-men seek to change the law and
set up a king—Pahoran and the freemen are supported by the voice of the
people—Moroni compels the king-men to defend their liberty or be put to
death—Amalickiah and the Lamanites capture many fortified cities—Teancum
repels the Lamanite invasion and slays Amalickiah in his tent. [About 67
B.C.]
Ammoron succeeds Amalickiah as king of
the Lamanites—Moroni, Teancum, and Lehi lead the Nephites in a
victorious war against the Lamanites—The city of Mulek is retaken, and
Jacob the Lamanite is slain. [About 66—64 B.C.]
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Supplemental
Holy Land
and Jewish
insights:
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Spiritual "High Ground:" The
fortification that Moroni built sound very familiar to a "Tel" in the
Land of Israel. Both fortifications had sloping walls that were difficult to
climb and exposed the enemy who had to fight "uphill." Defense of the
city was from the top downward. The spiritual connection to this physical
description is to always stay on the high ground, a natural defense from below.
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Love Your Enemies: In the Dead Sea Scrolls the Essenes, moved
away from wickedness and established a singular community of
righteousness. Their organization had a shadow of biblical
organization. Their leader, the "Teacher of Righteousness"
had two assistants. There was also a council of "Twelve
Overseers." They had an order following the ‘righteous king’
which is said in Hebrew, "Melech Zedek." The Dead Sea
sect shunned others, and probably evoked one of the Savior’s
comments in the Sermon on the Mount.
"Ye have heard that it hath
been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you .
. ." (Matthew 5:43-46)
"The earliest ethical teachings are commandments in the
Bible: to do justice, to avoid bribery, gossip, robbery,
oppression, to protect the weak --- the widow, the orphan, the
slave, the stranger; to be kind to animals. Man is obliged to
overcome his normal feelings and to obey these commands --- even
with respect to his enemy." (Encyclopedia
Judaica Jr.)
Eternal Binding Promises:
The covenant made by the fathers of the "two-thousand
stripling warriors" was so binding and sacred that, even in
peril, Moroni did not let them assist in defense of their people.
The concept of oaths and covenants reaches back to the Land of
Israel and even before that to our very pre-existence.
"Our very presence in this
world is the result of a covenant we have made and a promise of
and the result of faithfulness. Our baptism is a covenant in which
the Lord promises us celestial life if we live celestial laws. To
fail to do so we are cheating both him and us, but more especially
ourselves. This is true also of other ordinances. We receive the
higher priesthood with an oath and a covenant with the Father,
which covenant ‘He cannot break neither can it be moved,’ but
we may break it and fail, and in so doing we break a vow and are
dishonest with ourselves and him. Our free agency permits our
doing what we wish to do, but it does not immunize us from the
results of our failures." (The
Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.504)
Oaths and Vows:
". . . each representing a
different class of ‘sworn statement.’ The oath . . . is
limited to sworn statements . . . (in) judicial
proceedings, while the vow . . . refers to all types of sworn
statements made outside the courtroom." "Today in courts
in most countries, it is common practice to ‘swear in’ all
witnesses. Jewish law never adopted this custom, preferring to
accept testimony without the administration of an oath, as long as
there were at least two witnesses who corroborated each other's
testimony, as well as other supportive evidence. Testimony given
under oath was, in fact, considered to be a particularly weak . .
. only accepted when there was a complete lack of something better
. . . the judicial oath was administered, . . . used in civil
cases and then not to the witnesses but to the defendant, or less
often, to the plaintiff. In capital cases, a judicial oath was
never administered, since it was assumed that no one charged with
a capital crime could be believed, even under oath." (Encyclopedia
Juaica Jr.)
Value of a Vow:
In contrast to the judicial oath, the ‘vow’ has very wide
application. It consists of a fully verbalized statement made by
an adult (not a minor) that he (or she) takes upon himself a
specified obligation (such as giving a definite sum of money to
charity) or that he denies to himself the enjoyment of a given
object, person or experience (such as eating a particular type of
food). If the vow is made voluntarily, without any compulsion from
anyone else, it is fully binding, and only with great difficulty
can it be declared void.
". . . The rabbis tolerated
vows only when they were taken in order to get rid of bad habits
and encourage one to do good; otherwise they emphasized that one
should strive for the desired ends without the aid of vows." (Encyclopedia
Juaica Jr.)
Negotiation or Compromise?
As I read about the negotiations Moroni had with other Nephite and
Lamanite leaders, I am struck with questions. When it comes time for
negotiations, how much do we compromise? Where do we draw the line?
Again, recent Israeli negotiations have drawn an entire nation (as
well as other nations) into the same debate. It is clear to see that
Moroni had the powerful gift of God, a prophetic gift that was used
in righteousness to lead the people.
Jewish Hawaiians? The
brief mention of Hagoth leading an entourage to another land brings
a memory of my visit to a conference of ethnic Hawaiian Latter-day
Saints. I had the opportunity of presenting a bridge between Judah
and Joseph as I showed Jewish culture and tradition with Mormon
similarities. The meeting was emotionally and spiritually fired as
the Hawaiians showed their culture and tradition which reflected
similarities to Jewish marriage, burial practices, greetings and
dietary customs. This connected Hagoth, his Nephite and Lamanite
linewith the history reaching back to the land of Israel.
Polynesian Ancestry Includes Book
of Mormon People: This can
be traced back at least to 1851, when George Q. Cannon taught it as
a missionary in Hawaii (he was later a counselor in the First
Presidency). President Brigham Young detailed the belief in a letter
to King Kamehameha V in 1865. Other Church leaders have since
affirmed the belief, some indicating that among Polynesian ancestors
were the people of Hagoth, who set sail from Nephite lands in
approximately 54 B.C. (cf. Alma 63:5-8). In a statement to the
Maoris of New Zealand, for instance, President Joseph F. Smith
said,
"I would like to say to you
brethren and sisters . . . you are some of Hagoth's people, and
there is NO PERHAPS about it!’ (Cole and Jensen, p. 388.) In the
prayer offered at the dedication of the Hawaii Temple, President
Heber J. Grant referred to the ‘descendants of Lehi’ in Hawaii
(IE 23 [Feb. 1920]:283)." (Encyclopedia
of Mormonism, Vol.3, POLYNESIANS)
www.HolyLandsRevealed.com
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