Alma 47
Amalickiah Galvanizes the Lamanites to War
Alma 47:1–3
1 Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had fled with him into the wilderness; for, behold, he had taken those who went with him, and went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites, and did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi, insomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again to go to battle against the Nephites.
2 And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth among them they were exceedingly afraid; yea, they feared to displease the king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites lest they should lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would not, or the more part of them would not, obey the commandments of the king.
3 And now it came to pass that the king was wroth because of their disobedience; therefore he gave Amalickiah the command of that part of his army which was obedient unto his commands, and commanded him that he should go forth and compel them to arms.
Mormon had left the story of Amalickiah with his flight to the Lamanites. After that mention, Mormon turned to the aftermath of the story. At this point, he returns to Amalickiah, but to the story of Amalickiah among the Lamanites. Amalickiah manages to do just as Moroni had feared. He stirred up the Lamanites to make war on the Nephites.
There is no indication of how Mormon got the information about these actions, specifically that the Lamanites “feared to go top battle against the Nephites lest they should lose their lives.” From a purely historical standpoint, that seems somewhat unlikely and is certainly something that the Nephites would have said about the Lamanites, but much less likely to have been a Lamanite reason.
Regardless of the reasoning or methods, Amalickiah manages to become a commander of part of the Lamanite overking’s army.
Alma 47:4–6
4 Now behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very subtle man to do evil therefore he laid the plan in his heart to dethrone the king of the Lamanites.
5 And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms.
6 And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them, being fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites.
As with the verses from the beginning of this chapter, it is unknown how a Nephite record obtained all these details. Certainly, some were learned after the fact, perhaps by spies or deserters. What becomes interesting is that, even if we cannot be sure of motivations, it is clear that the Lamanites were not immune to defections of their own. Just as some Nephites left the political designation of Nephite, so too did some of the Lamanites leave their cities and allegiances and create new ones. In this case, there is a new king.
This new king had his own army, and they placed themselves on a hill which was clearly defensible. The idea of making a stand on a hill was clearly known to Book of Mormon peoples, as both the Jaredites and Nephites also did that.
Amalickiah Gains Control over Lamanite Armies
Alma 47:7–9
7 And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to battle.
8 Now it was not Amalickiah’s intention to give them battle according to the commandments of the king; but behold, it was his intention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their head and dethrone the king and take possession of the kingdom.
9 And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their tents in the valley which was near the mount Antipas.
It is certain that it is possible to assault and take a heavily defended hill. However, especially in the days of hand-to-hand combat, it was a deadly affair. Amalickiah decided not to do that. What he does, however, has the first appearance of a typical response which is to lay siege to the defended position.
Alma 47:10–13
10 And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him.
11 And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount. And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And it came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third time.
12 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti’s camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him.
13 And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti’s hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army.
If Mormon was perhaps bothered that Chief Captain Moroni had used a stratagem in battle (see Alma 43:30), he was certainly appalled at Amalickiah’s duplicity. The amazing thing is that Lehonti accepted Amalickiah’s offer. Somehow, Amalickiah made himself appear to be sincere and honest. Although, how one might consider a general who turns on his own army to be honest, is unknown.
Mormon includes this story both to show how Amalickiah gained the influence he ultimately did, and also to demonstrate the untrustworthy and evil nature of the man.
Alma 47:14–16
14 And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti.
15 And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded, they pled with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with their brethren, that they might not be destroyed. Now this was the very thing which Amalickiah desired.
16 And it came to pass that he delivered his men, contrary to the commands of the king. Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired, that he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king.
Amalickiah has designs much greater than simply leading an army. He has desires of dethroning the Lamanite king and is preparing to do so by amassing an even larger army than he had before. In addition to the army that he previously led, he now has control over one that was already in conflict with, and opposed to, the Lamanite king.
Amalickiah Becomes King of the Land through Deception
Alma 47:17–20
17 Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader.
18 And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.
19 Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief commander.
20 And it came to pass that Amalickiah marched with his armies (for he had gained his desires) to the land of Nephi, to the city of Nephi, which was the chief city.
Mormon supplies the bit of information that his readers will need to understand Amalickiah’s next move. By custom, when the leader died, the second in command rose to full command. Therefore, Amalickiah murders Lehonti. Of course, if he had done so blatantly, he might have been executed, so Amalickiah elected to use poison gradually over time. Lehonti died and Amalickiah was not suspected.
Having acquired the leadership of the enlarged army, Amalickiah makes his next move and marches to the chief city, the city of Nephi.
Alma 47:21–24
21 And the king came out to meet him with his guards, for he supposed that Amalickiah had fulfilled his commands, and that Amalickiah had gathered together so great an army to go against the Nephites to battle.
22 But behold, as the king came out to meet him Amalickiah caused that his servants should go forth to meet the king. And they went and bowed themselves before the king, as if to reverence him because of his greatness.
23 And it came to pass that the king put forth his hand to raise them, as was the custom with the Lamanites, as a token of peace, which custom they had taken from the Nephites.
24 And it came to pass that when he had raised the first from the ground, behold he stabbed the king to the heart; and he fell to the earth.
Amalickiah continues to gain power through deceit and murder. When he brings his army to the king, the king suspects nothing. The king would not go out without guards, so they accompanied him, but they were doubtless not on high alert. The murder occurs when Amalickiah’s servants have bowed down. That put them in a vulnerable position, which demonstrated their lack of harmful intent, at least according to custom.
When the king puts forth his hand to raise them, the first of Amalickiah’s servants kills the king by taking advantage of both surprise and the fact that the king’s arm was probably in a position where he could not easily defend himself against a strike.
Alma 47:25–28
25 Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah raised a cry, saying:
26 Behold, the servants of the king have stabbed him to the heart, and he has fallen and they have fled; behold, come and see.
27 And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies should march forth and see what had happened to the king; and when they had come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah pretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain.
28 And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the king.
The only people who would have seen what happened to the king were either the king’s guards or Amalickiah’s people. The guards knew that Amalickiah’s people had killed the king, and also knew that they were standing not far from a very large army. Being only an honor guard, they were outnumbered and fled.
Whether or not they had fled, Amalickiah’s army would have been ready to either blame them or kill them, whichever served them best. In this case, the guards fled, and Amalickiah takes advantage of that flight to use it to declare their guilt in killing the king. Therefore, Amalickiah arranged for the king’s murder, but also managed to be seen as a hero in the aftermath.
Alma 47:29–31
29 Now when the servants of the king saw an army pursuing after them, they were frightened again, and fled into the wilderness, and came over into the land of Zarahemla and joined the people of Ammon.
30 And the army which pursued after them returned, having pursued after them in vain; and thus Amalickiah, by his fraud, gained the hearts of the people.
31 And it came to pass on the morrow he entered the city Nephi with his armies, and took possession of the city.
The guards escaped the Nephites. There must have been a story of how they arrived, the tale they told, and the asylum they requested. That isn’t the story Mormon was interested in. Mormon indicates only that they are sent to the people of Ammon, who themselves were refugees from the Lamanite lands. It is possible that some of the story of Amalickiah would have been transmitted by the guards, but the very fact that they went unafraid to meet Amalickiah suggests that the only story they knew of him was his last act of treachery, and not his previous ones.
The result of Amalickiah’s machinations was that he entered the city of Nephi and became the de facto leader. He was supported by a large army against the citizens of the city who had no reason to doubt his version of the story of the death of their king.
Alma 47:32–36
32 And now it came to pass that the queen, when she had heard that the king was slain—for Amalickiah had sent an embassy to the queen informing her that the king had been slain by his servants, that he had pursued them with his army, but it was in vain, and they had made their escape—
33 Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto Amalickiah, desiring him that he would spare the people of the city; and she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also desired him that he should bring witnesses with him to testify concerning the death of the king.
34 And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that slew the king, and all them who were with him, and went in unto the queen, unto the place where she sat; and they all testified unto her that the king was slain by his own servants; and they said also: They have fled; does not this testify against them? And thus they satisfied the queen concerning the death of the king.
35 And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time.
36 Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites—drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.
The final consolidation of Amalickiah’s power came when he took the previous queen as his wife. Thus, even as a former Nephite, Amalickiah was now married into Lamanite royalty, and could rule by force of his armies and also by the traditions of the royal line.
Mormon’s conclusion to this section of the story is that all of those who had been dissenters from the Nephites became even more firm in their hatred of the Nephites than before. This story is a prime example of Mormon’s contention that the most dangerous enemies are apostate Nephites, at least until the Gadiantons enter the picture.
There is no chapter break at this point in the 1830 edition.
