Book of Mormon 31 - “Firm in the Faith of Christ”

Alma Chapters 43 to 52 are referred to as the War Chapters. I had the same question as I am sure many people have, why are there so many chapters devoted to warfare?  I found the answer in two places: Brother John Bytheway’s wonderfully inspiring Video 2006 Ed Week, Righteous Warriors: Lessons from the War Chapters; as well as Kathleen S. McConkie’s Defending against evil (Ensign, January 1992). Brother Bytheway specified that the Book of Mormon is written for our day, which is a day of wars and rumours of wars. We need to know how followers of Christ can be victorious in times of war, whether physical or spiritual. Sister McConkie suggested that we are fighting a war today “…not a war of swords and spears, but the eternal war for my soul and those of my family. Satan is waging an all-out war against truth and righteousness…If we expect to avoid becoming casualties ourselves, we desperately need the Lord’s guidance.”

I have added a link to Brother Bytheway’s video below, as it taught me so much. It showed me the spiritual lessons in these War Chapters and their importance to me, today, fighting my own war against Satan. It is fascinating to see that the enemies of Captain Moroni were all apostate Nephites or Mulekites, and not Lamanites! 

In Alma 43:4, it says, “It came to pass that the Zoramites became Lamanites.” I had to laugh at Brother Bytheway’s comment, “Did they take whiteout and change their pedigree charts?” It does suggest that our birth and lineage is not as crucial as our affiliation and belief.

The Lamanites and Nephites had such different motivations for fighting. In Alma 43:8, we read that the Lamanite’s motivation is to gain power over the Nephites and bring them into bondage. In Alma 43:9, we discover that the Nephite’s motivation is to protect their lands, families, and their liberty to worship God. In Alma 43:46-47, we understand that we are justified in entering a war, not causing a war, if we stay faithful and if we need to defend our lands, families, and religion.

In Alma 43, Moroni illustrates the principle of combining faith and works. In Alma 43:23, Moroni sends spies to watch the Lamanite camp (works) and “knowing of the prophecies of Alma”, sends other men to the prophet Alma, to enquire as to where his armies should go (faith). So, the great spiritual lesson here is to listen to the prophets, as they can tell us where the enemy will strike. An example of this was on August 19^th 1972. In the Church News, President Harold B. Lee warned that Satan’s greatest threat today is to destroy the family, to make a mockery of the law of chastity and the sanctity of the marriage covenant (cited in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, Ch. 20). In every conference, the Prophet Thomas S. Monson, gives us direction and alerts us to Satan’s threats and how to avoid them.

President Thomas S. Monson

At the end of Alma 43, the Nephites strike terror into the hearts of the Lamanites, even though the Lamanite army is twice the size of the Nephite army.  Moroni stops the battle and offers peace to Zerahemnah. In Alma 44, Moroni shows great benevolence to the Lamanites. He constantly demonstrates his faith and engenders faith in his men. The reason for the Nephite victory is their faith. In Alma 44:4, we read, “Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.” Therefore, the great spiritual message of Alma 44 is that faith is a power to be reckoned with, even in a time of war.

A similar message is found in Alma 45. In this chapter Alma prophesies of more trouble and then departs and is not seen again. Alma 45:21 tells us that it is expedient that the word of God be declared in times of war. This is a powerful spiritual message.

Alma 46 contains the spectacular account of the Title of Liberty. The Nephites are under a system of judges, but some people are not happy with this system. Leading the dissidents is Amalickiah, who wants to be king of the Nephites. Moroni warns the people that kings lead to bondage. He takes off his coat and writes on it (Alma 46:12), “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.” Moroni caused the Title of Liberty to be placed on every tower, in every Nephite city. This is a spiritual lesson for all of us. We need to place reminders of our covenants everywhere.

Captain Moroni by Walter Rane

In The Latter-day Saint Woman (Part A, Lesson 31), we read, “The pictures we use in our homes remind our families of what things are important. We can surround ourselves with pictures that remind us of our families, our ancestors, our religion, and our goals. These pictures could be of the Savior, the temple, or our Prophets.” I remember having this lesson in Relief Society many years ago. I was very grateful to my dear mum who found beautiful pictures of the Saviour and the New Zealand temple to hang in my home.

I was fascinated by a wonderful scripture at the end of Alma 46. Alma 46:40 reads, “And there were some who died from fevers…but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases.” I had never thought of the role God plays in providing healthcare! Throughout human history, knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs has helped human beings to survive. It is obvious where this knowledge came from!

Lahonti

Previously, Amalickiah and some of his followers had escaped into the wilderness. Alma 47 continues the story of Amalickiah. Amalickiah joins the Lamanites. In brief, he stirs up the Lamanite king against the Nephites. The people will not follow the king to war, so the king puts Amalickiah in charge of his army. The greater part of the army deserts, goes to a high mountain, and they appoint Lehonti as their leader. Amalickiah cannot fight the Nephites with his small army, so he hatches a plot. He tries to get Lehonti to leave the mountain and come down to talk to him. He tries three times, but Lehonti refuses. Eventually, he goes up the mountain, and tells Lehonti to come down just a little bit. He says to Lehonti that he is his friend and wants to serve under him. He tells Lehonti to bring his troops down, surround Amalickiah’s army, and then Amalickiah can surrender to him. His condition is that Lehonti makes Amalickian his second in command. This occurs and then a servant of Amalickiah administers poison by degrees and murders him. This allows Amalickiah to take over the army.

Brother John Bytheway compares Amalickiah to a type of Satan. (See chart below):

Amalickiah lures Lehonti by telling him to come down just a little and by claiming he is his friend and wants to serve him. Satan tells us, “Come down a little. I’m not your enemy. I’m your friend. Do you know who your enemy is? It’s that church. Man, you guys can’t do anything in your church.” Satan poisons us by degrees. The important spiritual message in Alma 47 is that we must not come down from our mountain!

Amalickiah goes back to the Lamanite king, gets his servant to stab the Lamanite king, blames the king’s own servants, marries the dead king’s widow, and becomes king of the Lamanites. In Alma 48:1, he appoints men to speak against the Nephites. Meanwhile, Moroni continues to prepare the minds of the people to be faithful to the Lord (see Alma 48:7). The most wonderful scripture, Alma 48:17, reads, “…if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” What a spiritual giant and what a wonderful leader! The lesson we learn from this chapter is the importance of taking care of the spiritual first, and then the temporal.

Amalickiah lying to the Queen of the Lamanites by Minerva Tichert

In Alma 49, the Lamanite army arrives in the Nephite lands. The captains are all Zoramites who had become Lamanites. These captains thought they had knowledge of Nephite cities and ways of fighting. However, they were very surprised to find that Moroni had prepared and fortified the Nephite cities, in a way that was completely new and innovative. In Alma 49:14, it states, “…the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni, become strong…” With the Lord’s help, weak things can become strong. President Harold B. Lee was once asked, “What is the most important commandment?” His answer, “It’s the one you’re having the most trouble with.” This made quite an impression on me. If I find a commandment difficult, it is the one I should be working on, and I can be successful with the Lord’s help. 

Moroni’s fortifications made the cities almost impenetrable: ditches, heaped earth, timbers on the heaped earth, pickets above, towers and watchmen. Who is our watchman? Our dear, beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson. A memorable spiritual message from Alma 49 is to be prepared and listen to the watchmen on the towers. Our General Conference is coming up once again, so it is time to listen to the watchmen!

Ammoron by JamesFullmer

In Alma 50 and 51, there is dissension between the people of Morianton and the people of Lehi. This is settled by Teancum and his men. Moroni is forced to divert his army to quell the uprise of the Kingmen in the cities. This allows the Lamanites some success in taking coastal cities from the Nephites. The lesson here is that the pride of the people nearly leads to their destruction. At the end of Alma 51, after a battle, Teancum sneaks into Amalickiah’s camp and kills him with a javelin. Ammoron, Amalickiah’s brother, is appointed to reign as the next Lamanite king.

Teancum slays Amalickiah by Brickey

The last chapter in these readings is Alma 52. The action here centres on the City of Mulek, a Nephite city in bondage to the Lamanites. Jacob, the Zoramite captain of the Lamanites, is sent a letter telling him to come out and meet the Nephites in battle on the plains, but he refuses. Another letter is sent, but is unsuccessful. Teancum and a small army lure the Lamanites out of the city. The Lamanites pursue Teancum’s army. Teancum’s men quicken their pace and lead the Lamanites towards Bountiful. While they are doing this, Moroni’s men retake the City of Mulek. As they approach Bountiful, Lehi’s army is lying in wait. When the Lamanites try to turn back to Mulek they discover they are surrounded by the Nephites and Moroni’s army is behind them. This is such an exciting story. When I first read it, I imagined it as an epic movie. But, what is the spiritual message here? Brother Bytheway suggested that strategies of war are similar to the strategies Satan uses on us: here’s a small temptation, leave your stronghold for just a second and then you can go right back. He lures you further and further away, making it harder and harder to go back. So, the message is never leave your stronghold, even for a second!