Book of Mormon Evidence: Nephite Teachings among the Lamanites

Alma told his son Helaman that Nephite scriptures—both on the plates of brass and the plates of Nephi—had a significant impact on Lamanite conversions. He stated:

Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect traditions of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer. (Alma 37:9)

Evidence for the accuracy of Alma’s observation can be found in the words of Lamanites who had been converted to the gospel message, including statements made by King Lamoni, Lamoni’s father, King Anti-Nephi-Lehi, and the prophet Samuel.

God as the Great Spirit

When King Lamoni was told of Ammon’s exploits in protecting his flocks, Lamoni thought, “Surely, this is more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth send such great punishments upon this people, because of their murders?” (Alma 18:2). The narrator explains, “Now this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he had received of his father, that there was a Great Spirit. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit, they supposed that whatsoever they did was right” (Alma 18:5).

Rather than refuting this limited view of God, Ammon and his missionary companions instead built upon it. For instance, when Ammon first began teaching Lamoni, Ammon asked if Lamoni believed in God, but Lamoni said that that he did not understand what that meant. Then Ammon asked him, “Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? And he said, Yea. And Ammon said: This is God” (Alma 18:24–28). When Ammon’s brother Aaron asked Lamoni’s father, “Believest thou that there is a God?” Lamoni’s father responded, “If now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe” (Alma 22:7). Then the king asked if God was “that Great Spirit,” which Aaron affirmed.

This merger of ideas—where the Lamanite conception of deity was expanded and clarified by Nephite missionaries—is later reflected in a name-title for deity used by King Anti-Nephi-Lehi. He spoke of “My God” (Alma 24:7, 9–10) and “our God” (Alma 24:15–16), but also “my great God” (Alma 24:8, 10), “the great God” (Alma 24:14), and Jesus as the “Son of our great God” (Alma 24:13). Thus, we can see that the “great” appellation previously seen in the title “Great Spirit” was soon given instead to the Nephite deity, producing the repeated rendering of “great God.” The distinctive title is used only five times in the Book of Mormon, each time by King Anti-Nephi-Lehi in Alma 24.1

Lamoni also testified to his father that Ammon and his brethren were “holy prophets of the true God” (Alma 20:15), reflecting his newer understanding of deity contrasted with earlier false views. Interestingly, the prophet Samuel may have reflected his Lamanite cultural background when he later combined both ideas, mentioning “Our great and true God” (Helaman 13:18).2  

God Is the Creator of All Things

The sons of Mosiah were grandsons of King Benjamin, whose final recorded speech had an enduring impact on Nephite society for generations.3 This can be seen in the words of an angel who appeared to King Benjamin, stating, “And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning (Mosiah 3:8). After rehearsing the words of the angel to his people, the king taught, “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth” (Mosiah 4:9).

When Ammon and his brother Aaron taught King Lamoni and his father, they seem to have drawn upon their grandfather’s words. Ammon asked Lamoni, “Believest thou that there is a God?” (Alma 18:24). When Lamoni needed clarification, Ammon rephrased the original question: “Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in earth?” (Alma 18:28).

Further support for the use of Benjamin’s words can be seen in the conversation between Aaron and King Lamoni’s father. Aaron asked him, “Believest thou that there is a God?” Lamoni’s father responded, “And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe” (Alma 22:7). Aaron then explained, “Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?” (Alma 22:10). Lamoni’s father responded, “Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things” (Alma 22:11).

Samuel the Lamanite, another heir to the Nephite religious tradition, also appears to have been familiar with these teachings, as he testified of the coming of “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning” (Helaman 14:12). This happens to be a 21-word verbatim match with the name-title given earlier by King Benjamin in Mosiah 3:8.4

A Portion of the Spirit

Before he was taught the gospel, King Lamoni wondered how Ammon could have such great power and knowledge without being the Great Spirit. Ammon explained that he was only a man but that God in his great mercy could bless those who serve him with great gifts when necessary. Ammon explained, “And a portion of his Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge” (Alma 18:35). This fulfilled a joint prayer from Ammon and his brethren, asking that God would “grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them” on their mission to the Lamanites (Alma 17:9).  

Lamoni’s brother, King Anti-Nephi-Lehi, later used this same phrase when he said, “I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts” (Alma 24:8). The fact that this rare phrase shows up in these three locations within the Book of Mormon hints at the continuity of teachings, where Anti-Nephi-Lehi likely picked up on a doctrinal concept that was used earlier by Ammon and his brethren.  

The Merits of the Son of God

Lehi taught his son Jacob, “No flesh can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8). Nephi later explained that followers of Christ must rely “wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save” (2 Nephi 31:19). Aaron later taught King Lamoni’s father that “since man had fallen, he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth” (Alma 22:14).

King Anti-Nephi-Lehi later reminded his people that God had “taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son” (Alma 24:10). Samuel the Lamanite likewise taught the Nephites that those who believe on the name of Christ “may have a remission of sins through his merits” (Helaman 14:13).

Thus, once again, a valuable and scripturally rare teaching was apparently introduced to the Lamanites by Nephite missionaries.5 Recognizing that they couldn’t atone for their own sins and instead had to rely on the “merits” of Christ would have been a powerful message of hope for these Lamanite converts, many of whom had committed grave transgressions (Alma 24:11).6

Believe, Bow Down, and Give All 

In order to (1) avoid being cast out of God’s presence at the last day, the prophet Nephi taught that one should (2) believe in God, (3) humbly bow before him, and (4) pray with all of one’s might, mind, and strength (2 Nephi 25:28–29). This cluster of ideas later turns up in the account of King Lamoni’s father. After he expressed concern about (1) being cast off at the last day, he (2) formally and repeatedly expressed his belief in God, (3) bowed down before the Lord in humble prayer, and (4) was willing to give up all that he possessed and all his sins to obtain eternal life (Alma 22:6–18). These textual correspondences are color-coded in the chart below:

Although most of these parallels are fairly straightforward and obvious, further explanation may be warranted regarding one matter. It might be assumed that praying unto the Lord with “all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul” (2 Nephi 25:29) is fundamentally different from the willingness of Lamoni’s father to “give up all that I possess” and “give away all my sins” (Alma 22:15, 18). It must be remembered, however, that prayer in ancient times was often associated with altars and was connected to the principles of sacrifice and consecration. And in that context, various forms of complete devotion and unconstrained sacrifice could provide a meaningful connection.7

Moreover, it is interesting that in Mormon’s summary of the the missionary work of the sons of Mosiah, he reports that many Lamanites “were brought before the altar of God, to call on his name and confess their sins before him” (Alma 17:4). Whether the altar here is meant figuratively, literally, or perhaps both, we see that the Lamanite conversions were indeed connected with altar-related prayers.

After All We Can Do

Perhaps in connection with the same principle of consecration mentioned above, Nephi taught, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). This gospel doctrine seems to have been significant in the conversion of the Lamanites and their leaders, as can be seen in the words of King Anti-Nephi-Lehi who urged his people to be faithful to their covenants:

And now behold my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before god that he would take away our stain …. It has been all we could do to get our stains taken away from us (Alma 24:11, 15).

This language, which is unique to Nephi and the converted Lamanite king, suggests that Nephi’s words, as conveyed through the sons of Mosiah, influenced the Lamanite understanding of God’s grace and mercy. It is not just the nearly verbatim match in phrasing, but also the similar context of repentance that suggests Nephi as the source material here.  

Knowing and Not Knowing God

At the beginning of his record, Nephi wrote with sadness that Laman and Lemuel “knew not the dealings of the God who created them” (1 Nephi 2:12) and would not inquire of God because they assumed “the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:9). Later on, we learn in the account of Alma and his people that the Lamanites “were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi” (Mosiah 24:5).

Thus, we can see how the Lamanites’ lack of familiarity with God was ascribed to the fact that they hadn’t been adequately taught, due to the rebellion of their ancestors.8 This specific problem is remedied in the accounts of the Lamanite conversions. For instance, when being taught by Aaron, King Lamoni’s father bowed down before the Lord and declared, “O God … wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee” (Alma 22:18). Notice that in these accounts, it isn’t just knowing about God. Rather the phrasing, in each case, entails coming to know God himself.

Conclusion

Although surely incomplete, the passages surveyed above show that key Nephite teachings and doctrines, as conveyed through missionaries like Ammon, seem to have become important to later Lamanite converts. In some cases, we can see how Lamanite preconceptions were logically adapted, such as their veneration of a “Great Spirit” being redirected to the true and “great God” of Israel. In other instances, the converted Lamanites appear to have latched on to teachings from earlier Nephite prophets that were particularly relevant to their circumstances. 

Collectively, these repackaged Nephite doctrines, given by converted Lamanites, prove the accuracy of Alma’s claim that the Nephite scriptures played a vital role in the conversion of the Lamanites (Alma 37:9). Yet detecting these doctrinal influences and tracing them back to their source is no easy matter, especially without the aid of modern search engines. Overall, these are the types of believable doctrinal developments and nuanced intertextual relationships that one might expect of an authentic historical record. In contrast, these consistencies may be difficult to ascribe to Joseph Smith’s creative literary talent in 1829.9