Anti-Nephi-Lehies Weapons of War, Not Just Laid Down....BURIED!

Our story continues with the Anti-Nephi-Lehies who had just laid down their weapons of war.  They would fight no more against their brethren.

The Amalekites, Amulonites and Lamanites who were in the lands all around were stirred up in great anger toward this people who had changed so completely.

Their hatred was so extreme that they began to rebel against their King.  Remember this King was King Lamoni's Father.  The HEAD King of Kings, so to speak.  They did not want him as their King any longer.  Weapons and arms were soon coming against the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.




Artist: James H. Fullmer
 

The King conferred the Kingdom over to his son.  He re-named his son Anti-Nephi-Lehi.  (I wonder if the son was thrilled with the name change?  But I digress.....)  This good old King who had changed his ways completely, embraced the gospel himself and allowed his people to freely choose the gospel if they desired it, died in that same year. 

If we are talking heroes, this Lamanite King had become one of the best.  The old King died as the Lamanites were making their final preparations for war.  

When Ammon and his brothers and all those who had come to do missionary work, saw the nightmare that was about to happen, they came back to the land of Ishmael to meet in council with King Lamoni and also with his newly appointed brother, King Anti-Nephi-Lehi.  They wanted to help.  They wanted to help defend against the brutal army that was coming soon with no mercy in sight.

"Now there was not ONE soul among all the people who had been converted to the Lord that would take arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not."  Alma 24:6  

King Anti-Nephi-Lehi spoke to his people.  He thanked God for the Nephites, the sons of Mosiah and others who had come to preach repentance. He had gratitude for those who had convinced them of the wicked traditions of their fathers.    He thanked God for the spirit that had been given so that their hearts would be softened.  He was thankful for the open correspondence they now had with the Nephites, who were truly their brethren in the gospel.  The King went on to say:

"I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.....Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren....Let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins."  excerpts from Alma 24:10-13

The King continued his heartfelt speech.  He gave one more piece of counsel to his people:

"And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall "go" to our God and shall be saved."  Alma 24:16

As the King finished, all of the people there gathered their swords.  They had previously laid down their weapons of rebellion vowing to never use them again.  Now they were taking an even bigger step.  The King had asked them to commit further.  They would not only lay down their weapons, but they would bury them deep in the earth never to retrieve them again. 

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"They took their swords, and all the weapons which had been used for the shedding of man's blood, they did bury them deep in the earth."  Alma 24:17

This they did as a testimony to God.  They vowed and promised that rather than shed blood of their brothers, they would give up their own lives.  Rather than take from their brother, they would give to him.  They would not be idle any more.  They promised to labor abundantly with their hands for the rest of their lives.

"And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war for peace. "Alma 24:19

While the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were burying their weapons, vowing to do good to their brethren, the Lamanites were continuing their preparations in the opposite direction.

They had an agenda.  Their purpose was to destroy the king, to place another in his stead and to ultimately destroy the Anti-Nephi-Lehies out of the land.

When the Anti-Nephi-Lehies realized that the Lamanites were truly coming against them, what do you think they did?  What would you do?  Would they race back and un-bury their weapons?  Would they run for cover?  Would they denounce their new religion?  

What they did next was the reason I think they are heroes of epic proportions....

"Now when the people saw that they [Lamanites] were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.  And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God."  Alma 24:21-22

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I can scarely imagine the scene.  Rather than retreating, they laid on the earth, praying and rejoicing in their God and were massacred as they did it.   I wonder how those that were doing the killing felt about this?

"....When the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword--Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done."  Alma 23-24

The scene of 1,005 dead innocents must have been so disturbing that many of these hard and fierce Lamanites stopped.  They stopped the killing and they repented of what they had done.  They threw down their weapons and would not take them up again.  The Scriptures say they were "stung" for the murders which they had committed.

"The people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved." Alma 24:26

On that dramatic day, over a thousand Lamanites were brought to the knowledge of the truth!

"Thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people"  Alma 24:27

Some of the Lamanites were most angry because they had slain their own brethren.  In this anger they turned their vengeance upon those who they thought had created all of their problems to begin with.....the NEPHITES.   They took their armies and fought many battles with the Nephites in which they were driven and slain.

So many had suffered so much loss and so many trials.   Sometimes in the depths of despair, as is often the way of human nature, they began to be stirred up to remember the words of Aaron and his brothers who had preached to them.  Many converted to the ways of the Lord.   Many more did join with this people of God.  They too did bury their weapons of war, as their brothers before them had done.  They walked in the ways of the Lord and observed to keep the commandments of God.

A happier group of people you couldn't find than Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni and their brothers in the gospel.  They did rejoice for the success which they had among the Lamanites.  It had been a long 14 years but the Lord had granted unto them their greatest desires.  He had kept them safe as he had promised their father, Mosiah. 

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies had grown in converts, the sons of Mosiah were thrilled with their success.  There were however some that didn't share the love.  Some were extremely angry.  Their quest for revenge would not stop.  They turned their attention and their weapons once again toward the Anti-Nephi-Lehies vowing to destroy again. 

It had become a vicious cycle, but Ammon wouldn't have it.  He and his brothers had a plan.....

PRINCIPLE POWER:

In this section of the Book of Mormon, what principles did you discover?  Here are a few of my own thoughts....

1.  Just as the Anti-Nephi-Lehies buried their weapons of war, we should bury our weapons of rebellion.  They did not just 'lay them down'.  They buried them deep in the earth.  As was mentioned in the last post, it's important to get rid of the weapons that we use to keep us from progressing spiritually. These weapons can range from pride to disobedience to judgement of others, to anything that keeps us from the Lord and our Heavenly Father.  As natural men and women, we carry these weapons of rebellion with us each day.   The trick is to lay them down, which to me, means to recognize first that we're even carrying them!  The next step as King Anti-Nephi-Lehi directed to his people, would be to bury them deep in the earth.   To me in order to liken this to myself, that means to completely free ourselves from whatever that weapon is that is impeding our spiritual growth.   Definitely easier said than done.  Some of our weapons of rebellion are hard to release.  We can use the Anti-Nephi-Lehies as our example.  They buried them and NEVER looked back.

Challenge:

A great family night or class activity might be to get a big pot of dirt (or an area of the garden) and have each family member write down their personal weapon of rebellion that they are going to "bury" never to dig back up again. They could seal up their 'weapons' in an envelope and bury them deep in the soil. This activity would be a tangible reminder of what the "Anti-Nephi-Lehies" accomplished and would further turn our hearts to our Savior as we get rid of our own personal weapons of rebellion.


2.  Can I show my complete love and devotion to my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ by following and abiding by the rules they have set down for me?  Can I remember my covenants and promises like the Anti-Nephi-Lehies did?


3.  I love this simple verse from Alma 24:27 "Thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people"   Can I look at my own life and see how the Lord is working and has worked in many ways for my salvation?

Anti-Nephi-Lehies...A New Name & A New Way of Life

 

Sometimes just one person can be a hero.  Other times, a group can do something so incredible that they are together classified as heroes. 

No finer group of heroes could there be than the Lamanites who were converted by the sons of Mosiah.  These people were FULLY converted to the Lord.  So converted that they NEVER did fall away from the Gospel.  They were ALL in! 

They were so righteous in fact that they laid down all of their weapons.  Every weapon that they had used to murder and fight and defend.  These weapons that were so comfortable in their hands, that they had probably used since their late youth.   How difficult must it have been for them to completely and utterly change their entire way of life!  No more murders or fighting!  Their 'weapons of rebellion' were laid down as it says in Alma 23:7.   They would no longer fight against God or against any of their brethren.  I can't think of a better definition of the word 'hero' than these converts.

I have often pondered about these Lamanite 'weapons of rebellion'.  How could I liken them somehow to my own life.  How can we liken these old Lamanite weapons to what we are experiencing today?

What rebellious weapons do we each have in our own personal arsenals that feel difficult if not impossible to lay down?

• What weapons do we lean on each day instead of turning to the Lord and our Heavenly Father? 
• What weapons do we use to fight against God on a daily basis? 
• Is one of our weapons that we choose to immerse our minds in inappropriate things via media, television, etc. 
• Maybe our weapon of choice is pride.  In that we think that everything should be OUR way, instead of HIS way?  
• Do we pull our swords of rebelliousness out at every turn? 
• What about not being quite able to submit ourselves and become compliant to all the ways of the Lord? 

Don't each of us have different weapons of rebellion in our own lives that we need to 'lay down' just as the converted Lamanites did.

As we continue our discussion of these heroes, seven entire cities/lands were converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ all because four young men (Ammon, Aaron, Omner & Himni) decided to change their own lives in a big way.  With this change of heart they gave up everything comfortable to preach and teach the Word of God to their (then) enemies.   Now enemies NO more.  An amazing number became converted to the ways of the Lord forever.

1. The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of ISHMAEL were converted.

2. The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of MIDDONI were converted.

3. The people of the Lamanites who were in the city of NEPHI were converted.

4. The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of SHILOM were converted.

5. The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of SHEMLON were converted.

6. The people of the Lamanites who were in the city of LEMUEL were converted.

7. The people of the Lamanites who were in the city of SHIMNILOM were converted.

What a leap of faith this must have been for these convert heroes.  To give up everything they had known their entire lives for the truth that they had just been taught.

The King (Lamoni's father) and those who had been converted wanted to be known by a new name.  One that would set them apart from their unconverted brethren.  The King consulted with Aaron and many of the priests concerning the name that they should take upon themselves.

"And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites." Alma 23:17

For many years I wondered about this name, why would these people want to be 'anti' anything?  In further study, the "Book of Mormon Reference Companion" (Dennis L. Largey General Editor) states in regard to the name Anti-Nephi-Lehies:  "The name "Anti" of "Anti-Nephi-Lehies" may be a reflex of the Egyptian nty "he of, the one of".  Thus rather than having the sense "against" it has the meaning "the one OF Nephi and Lehi."   Ahh....their new name meant they were one WITH their brethren in the Gospel, not against them!

These people were very industrious.  They became friendly with the Nephites and opened communication with them!  The Lord's hand has caused miracles to happen in the lives of these people.  Remember a few years earlier they were dire enemies AGAINST everything Nephite!

Picture this group of new converts, without weapons, without hatred, full of the love of their Heavenly Father, full of repentance, with hope and wonder of a new future.    Maybe now this group of heroes could rest and find a little peace.

There were, however, many unconverted Lamanites, very near, that were not feeling this urge for peace.  They were feeling just the opposite. Full of anger and hostility, they turned their rage and weapons toward the easiest target they could find.....the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

Would the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in fear, pick up their weapons to fight again?  Would they be so afraid that they would have no choice but to buckle to the demands of their unrighteous brethren?  Where could they turn for help? 

Sometimes being fully converted to the Gospel and to the Lord, Jesus Christ, is not an easy road.  This group of heroes was new to it all.  How would they handle the biggest challenge of their new repentant lives?

PRINCIPLE POWER:

What principles did you discover in this section of the Book of Mormon?  Here's a few of my thoughts:

1.  Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ can work miracles with our lives, if we are willing to be pliable and do what is asked of us.  The Sons of Mosiah listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  They had a BIG dream to preach the Gospel to their enemies.  They and their families had faith that they would be safe and have success...and that is exactly what happened!  Nothing is impossible with help of our Savior and Father in Heaven!

2.  It took great courage for the Anti-Nephi-Lehies to put down their weapons of rebellion.  What weapons of rebellion do I hold in my personal arsenal?  Am I willing to release and let go of them and never lift them again?

3.  Do I have the courage to change my ways.  Do I have the strength and courage to turn my heart, mind and strength to the Lord Jesus Christ and to my Heavenly Father never wavering in my commitment?

The Lamanite King's Request of Aaron

What would the old Lamanite King request of Aaron?  This could have gone ALL bad...but instead another tender mercy!

The request made by the Lamanite King was the following..."I insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been somewhat troubled in mind because of the generosity and the greatness of the words of thy brother Ammon; and I desire to know the cause why he has not come up out of Middoni with thee." Alma 22:3



image from www.lds.org

His request to Aaron was simple. "Where is your brother, Ammon?" Awesome! 

Aaron has a great reply. "Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way" Alma 21:4. 

The King was intrigued by Aaron's choice of words. "What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is the thing which doth trouble me." Alma 22:6

The King was also concerned about repentance and salvation.  Aaron began to teach and preach to the aged King. The King was receptive to his words. Can you imagine how Aaron must have felt? Such joy and probably relief! The King was teachable as he said "If now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe".  Alma 22:7

Aaron's heart rejoiced.  He began a great teaching discussion speaking of everything from the creation of Adam, the fall of Adam, the plan of redemption, Jesus Christ, faith, repentance, the atonement, resurrection and basically the whole plan of salvation from beginning to end.

After Aaron spoke these powerful words, the King wondered..."What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? What shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy." Alma 22:16

Talk about a golden contact!!  

Aaron said with great conviction, "If thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest." Alma 22:16  

As Aaron said these words, the King did exactly what he was asked to do. He bowed down right then and there before the Lord on his knees and actually went a little further and laid down upon the earth and cried mightily saying:

"O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God, and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day." Alma 22:18

As the King said these words...he was struck as if he were dead.  Uh, oh...sound familiar? Here we go again.

In another deja vu moment, the servants ran and told the King's wife. She came in and saw the King laying on the ground as if he were dead and saw Aaron and his brothers standing as though they were the cause of the fall. She put 'two plus two' together assuming that Aaron had killed the King. She was very angry with them and commanded that her servants should take Aaron and his people and kill them.

The servants saw what had actually happened and so they would not do as the Queen asked because they saw the power with which Aaron spoke. As the Queen saw the fear of the servants, she began to fear too. So she told her servants to go find some other people that they would kill Aaron and his people.  She wasn't letting this go!

As Aaron realized the determination of this Queen and the hardness of the Lamanite people which he had seen first hand, he made a split second (smart!) decision.  Aaron put forth his hand and raised the King from the earth and said unto him. "STAND" And he stood upon his feet, receiving his strength." Alma 22:22.   WOW....another blessed miracle for a son of Mosiah.

Artist: James H. Fullmer
 

As the King stood he began to minister to his wife and the servants. The whole household was converted unto the Lord. Did that last sentence soak in?  Yes....the WHOLE household was converted unto the Lord!

A large group gathered together at the King's residence and many murmurings began among them. The King stood forth in front of them and caused that Aaron and his people should preach the word of God unto them. The king went further.

He caused a proclamation to be sent throughout the land, among all the people in the vast Kingdom that he ruled over. This proclamation said that no one could lay their hands on Ammon, Aaron, Omner or Himni, nor any of their brethren as they went forth preaching the word of God, in whatever place they should be in any part of their land. The proclamation went further.

It stated that no one could bind them, cast them into prison, spit upon them, hit them, or even cast them out of their synagogues. They couldn't scourge them or hit them with stones.  The brothers could have FULL access to their houses, their temples and their sanctuaries. They were basically given free and safe reign to preach the word of God and the gospel to whoever and wherever the Lord sent them!  Another tender and gigantic mercy of the Lord!

Aaron and his brethren went from city to city, from house to house, establishing churches, consecrating priests and teachers throughout the Land of the Lamanites. Thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, to believe in the traditions of the Nephites and taught the records and prophecies which had been handed down from generation to generation of Nephites.

"....Through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them--yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, NEVER DID FALL AWAY." Alma 23:6   They NEVER did fall away.

They became a righteous people...and all of this because four brothers decided to leave the comfort of their homes and go to a strange land of enemies to preach the Gospel in full faith.....no matter what the consequences.

PRINCIPLE POWER:

What principles did you discover in this section of the Book of Mormon?  Here are a few to consider:

1. Don't be afraid to approach someone about the Gospel. Aaron approached the powerful King because the Spirit directed him to. When the Spirit directs me, do I hesitate, ignore or listen and act?

2. Heavenly Father will always hear our prayers. Always. Even when you don't think he is listening. He is. The Spirit has taught this to me over and over in my life. Pray. Even when you don't want to, or don't think it will matter. It will matter and He will be there.

3.  Through all the hard work, road blocks, setbacks and tribulation that happened to Aaron and his brethren, great miracles were had.  In my mind, the greatest being the group of amazing Lamanites who embraced the gospel and NEVER did fall away from it.  Sometimes the greatest blessings come AFTER the trials.  I wonder if Aaron realized when he was sitting in prison being tormented that his greatest accomplishments would soon occur!  We need to look beyond our trials and disappointments.  Have faith in the Lord and our Heavenly Father and look to them for guidance.  The greatest things will happen after the trial of our faith!

4.  Tender mercies came abundantly to Aaron and his brothers.  Tender mercies can and do come to each one of us.  Sometimes we just don't realize it.  We think it's a 'coincidence' or just 'good luck'.  I testify that as we write down tender mercies that occur in our own lives, the spirit of the Lord will testify to each of us that they are NOT coincidence or luck.  They are gifts from the Lord.

Challenge:  For 30 days, put a pad of post-its by your bathroom mirror.  Each day, reflect and write each tender mercy that comes into your life on a post-it and attach it to your mirror.  You will be able to see the hand of the Lord working miracles in your life.  Sometimes we are so busy we don't recognize or realize it until it's spelled out in front of us!