Alma 2

Alma 2:1

Verse Text

And it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:2

Verse Text

Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be king over the people.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:3

Verse Text

Now this was alarming to the people of the church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after the persuasions of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things must be established by the voice of the people.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:4

Verse Text

Therefore, if it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a wicked man, would deprive them of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the church of God.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:5

Verse Text

And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and wonderful contentions one with another.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:6

Verse Text

And thus they did assemble themselves together to cast in their voices concerning the matter; and they were laid before the judges.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:7

Verse Text

And it came to pass that the voice of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king over the people.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:8

Verse Text

Now this did cause much joy in the hearts of those who were against him; but Amlici did stir up those who were in his favor to anger against those who were not in his favor.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:9

Verse Text

And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did consecrate Amlici to be their king.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:10

Verse Text

Now when Amlici was made king over them he commanded them that they should take up arms against their brethren; and this he did that he might subject them to him.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:11

Verse Text

Now the people of Amlici were distinguished by the name of Amlici, being called Amlicites; and the remainder were called Nephites, or the people of God.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:12

Verse Text

Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons of war, of every kind.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:13

Verse Text

And thus they were prepared to meet the Amlicites at the time of their coming. And there were appointed captains, and higher captains, and chief captains, according to their numbers.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:14

Verse Text

And it came to pass that Amlici did arm his men with all manner of weapons of war of every kind; and he also appointed rulers and leaders over his people, to lead them to war against their brethren.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:15

Verse Text

And it came to pass that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the river Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war with the Nephites.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:16

Verse Text

Now Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to battle.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:17

Verse Text

And they began to slay the Amlicites upon the hill east of Sidon. And the Amlicites did contend with the Nephites with great strength, insomuch that many of the Nephites did fall before the Amlicites.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:18

Verse Text

Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to flee before them.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:19

Verse Text

And it came to pass that the Nephites did pursue the Amlicites all that day, and did slay them with much slaughter, insomuch that there were slain of the Amlicites twelve thousand five hundred thirty and two souls; and there were slain of the Nephites six thousand five hundred sixty and two souls.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:20

Verse Text

And it came to pass that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people should pitch their tents in the valley of Gideon, the valley being called after that Gideon who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword; and in this valley the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:21

Verse Text

And Alma sent spies to follow the remnant of the Amlicites, that he might know of their plans and their plots, whereby he might guard himself against them, that he might preserve his people from being destroyed.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:22

Verse Text

Now those whom he had sent out to watch the camp of the Amlicites were called Zeram, and Amnor, and Manti, and Limher; these were they who went out with their men to watch the camp of the Amlicites.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:23

Verse Text

And it came to pass that on the morrow they returned into the camp of the Nephites in great haste, being greatly astonished, and struck with much fear, saying:

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:24

Verse Text

Behold, we followed the camp of the Amlicites, and to our great astonishment, in the land of Minon, above the land of Zarahemla, in the course of the land of Nephi, we saw a numerous host of the Lamanites; and behold, the Amlicites have joined them;

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:25

Verse Text

And they are upon our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing before them with their flocks, and their wives, and their children, towards our city; and except we make haste they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our children be slain.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:26

Verse Text

And it came to pass that the people of Nephi took their tents, and departed out of the valley of Gideon towards their city, which was the city of Zarahemla.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:27

Verse Text

And behold, as they were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites and the Amlicites, being as numerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea, came upon them to destroy them.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:28

Verse Text

Nevertheless, the Nephites being strengthened by the hand of the Lord, having prayed mightily to him that he would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, therefore the Lord did hear their cries, and did strengthen them, and the Lamanites and the Amlicites did fall before them.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:29

Verse Text

And it came to pass that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword, face to face; and they did contend mightily, one with another.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:30

Verse Text

And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:31

Verse Text

Now when Alma had said these words he contended again with Amlici; and he was strengthened, insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:32

Verse Text

And he also contended with the king of the Lamanites; but the king of the Lamanites fled back from before Alma and sent his guards to contend with Alma.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:33

Verse Text

But Alma, with his guards, contended with the guards of the king of the Lamanites until he slew and drove them back.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:34

Verse Text

And thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west of the river Sidon, throwing the bodies of the Lamanites who had been slain into the waters of Sidon, that thereby his people might have room to cross and contend with the Lamanites and the Amlicites on the west side of the river Sidon.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:35

Verse Text

And it came to pass that when they had all crossed the river Sidon that the Lamanites and the Amlicites began to flee before them, notwithstanding they were so numerous that they could not be numbered.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:36

Verse Text

And they fled before the Nephites towards the wilderness which was west and north, away beyond the borders of the land; and the Nephites did pursue them with their might, and did slay them.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Alma 2:37

Verse Text

Yea, they were met on every hand, and slain and driven, until they were scattered on the west, and on the north, until they had reached the wilderness, which was called Hermounts; and it was that part of the wilderness which was infested by wild and ravenous beasts.

Evidence

Hermounts

Tyler Livingston wrote:

Hermounts is mentioned in Alma 2:37-38 and reads “Yea, they were met on every hand, and slain and driven, until they were scattered on the west, and on the north, until they had reached the wilderness, which was called Hermounts; and it was that part of the wilderness which was infested by wild and ravenous beasts.” “And it came to pass that many died in the wilderness of their wounds, and were devoured by those beasts and also the vultures of the air; and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the earth.”

Hugh Nibley made the connection between Hermounts in The Book of Mormon and Egypt[1]

But a connection can also be made between Mesoamerica and The Book of Mormon.
Hermounts was a place that was overrun with wild beasts, Mormon even thought it necessary to add “ravenous beasts”. Tehuantepec would seem to fit this description nicely, as the Nahuatl word for Tehuantepec literally means “hill of the Jag uar”, or hill of the wild beast. Lawrence Poulsen writes “The almost exact correlation in meaning for Tehuantepec and Hermounts suggests that the wilderness of Tehuantepec is an ideal candidate for the Book of Mormon wilderness of Hermounts. [2]” Another interesting point is that the jaguars, or “wild beasts” of Tehuantepec were known to be more ravenous than other jaguars. There is a legend about the hill which Tehuantepec is built contained “Jaguars of a particularly bloodthirsty type infested the hill, killing and terrorizing the inhabitants.[3]” It would make sense that Mormon made it a point to say that this area was “infested by wild and ravenous beasts” and “devoured” human flesh, if in fact, it was the same area.

The story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, as described by Brant Gardner, is one that doesn’t make much sense in the present form. But, when viewed through the lens of Mesoamerican culture, makes perfect sense. In this story, we have a group of people who converted to the Lord and then, because of their new religion, covenanted no longer to commit “murder” and buried their weapons of war in the ground.
Later, the Lamanites attacked the city in an effort to destroy the king and “place another in his stead.[4]” The Anti-Nephi-Lehies would not take up their arms they buried in the earth to defend themselves, and in consequence, many were slaughtered. The Lamanites were angry and redirected their warpath to the city of Ammonihah, which was a three days journey. It would seem to me that no matter how mad you were, you’d calm down after hiking through the jungles for three days, but do not and continue to Ammonihah and take captives [5]. It is interesting that this is the only place in The Book of Mormon where it is specifically mentioned that the Lamanites took captives. Usually the Lamanites destroy the city or place it under a tribute system.

When looked at in a Mesoamerican culture, this story makes perfect sense. Why did the Anti-Nephi-Lehies bury their weapons? There is a Mesoamerican tradition of caching goods you have given to the gods, when you make a commitment to the gods, you bury the offering in the earth. Most of the time when you cached an item in Mesoamerica, you broke it first. So they broke the weapons and buried them. Why didn’t they dig them up? They were broken. They were symbolically broken as a witness you were giving them over to God. [6]
In regards to the Lamanites, Brant Gardner relates:

“As part of the coronation of a new king in Mesoamerica “the king went to war to take captives for use in sacrificial rituals.”
“The attacking Lamanites have dethroned Lamoni’s brother (King Anti-Nephi-Lehi) and must install a new king. For this particular ritual they need sacrificial victims who have been taken in battle. The pacifism of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies has denied the right kind of captives; hence, the Lamanites have to find someone who will actually fight back and therefore set their sites on Ammonihah. But why Ammonihah?

Martin and Grube help us understand why the sneak attack on an unsuspecting Ammonihah would have been attractive to the Mesoamerican mind:

“Like many a Maya ruler, Bird Jaguar’s mystique was closely bound to his image as an indomitable warrior. His favorite military titles, ‘He of 20 Captives’ and ‘Master of Aj Uk,’ were seldom absent for his name phrase and much space was devoted to his various campaigns. Yet a modern understanding of these texts shows just how lowly most of these victims were. He made immense capital out of minor successes and Yaxchilan’s reputation was a ‘conquest state’ only reflects how beguiling his efforts have proved.”

The Lamanites were not full of blood lust as Mormon suggests. They were simply in dire need of war captives to make their coronation ceremony valid. To get them with as little risk as possible, they did what Bird Jaguar would later do—they looked for easy victims. Ammonihah looked like a quick easy conquest—far enough away to be unsuspecting.” [7]

Alma 2:38

Verse Text

And it came to pass that many died in the wilderness of their wounds, and were devoured by those beasts and also the vultures of the air; and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the earth.

Evidence

No evidence has yet been submitted for this verse.

Bibliography
1. “Hermounts in The Book of Mormon is the wild country of the borderlands, the hunting grounds, “that part of the wilderness which was infested by wild and ravenous beasts” (Alma 2:37). The equivalent of such a district in Egypt is Hermonthis, the land of Month, the Egyptian Pan—the god of wild places and things. Hermounts and Hermonthis are close enough to satisfy the most exacting philogist. The Egyptian Month of Hermonthis was an extremely popular figure in Lehi’s day, to judge by the great frequency with which his name occurs in composition of proper names in various forms:Montu, Mendes, Menti, etc; it is the Book of Mormon Manti, next to Ammon the commonest name element in the Nephite onomasticon.” (Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1967), 192) “Now where does the word Hermounts come from? This is certainly not a Latin word. It's not a Greek word, a Hebrew word, or a Semitic word. Where was it? It was the land on the borders that was infested at times by wild beasts, at certain seasons of the year. It was way up in the borders. They went way up there. So it is the Egyptian word hr-Mntw, obviously. Month or Monthis was the Egyptian Pan; he was the god of wild places, wild animals, and the wild country. Hr-Mntw was the outmost part of Egypt where the land was sometimes visited by lions and crocodiles and things like that. It was under cultivation, but it was a place that was in danger from animals. They called it hr-Mntw because it was Month's country, wild animal country.” (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, lecture 44, p. 242)
2. Dr. Poulsen adds “A line drawn from this wilderness to the headwaters of the Grijalva River intersects with the Grijalva River near the ruins of Santa Rosa and never comes near the Usamacinta River except at its headwaters. The probable identification of Tehuantepec with Hermounts gives strong support to Sorenson's identification of the Grijalva River as the Book of Mormon river Sidon.” (The light is better over here” Lawrence Poulsen, FARMS Review 19:2 pg
3. Miguel Covarrubias, Mexico south: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, (Routledge, 1986) pg. 153
4. Alma 24:20.
5. Alma 16:3-6.
6. Taken from a recent fireside given by Brant Gardner and published on FAIR’s Youtube site. Part 1 of 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSo4gUlXH0&feature=PlayList&p=91823FC24CEE9739&index=27; Brant Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on The Book of Mormon, (Greg Koffard Books, Salt Lake City, 2007) 4:358; Shirley Boteler Mock, “Prelude,” in “The Sowing and the Dawning: Termination, Dedication, and Transformation in the Archaeological and Ethnographical Record of Mesoamerica, edited by Shirley Boteler Mock (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998), 5.
7. Brant Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on The Book of Mormon, (Greg Koffard Books, Salt Lake City, 2007) pg 4:367
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License.