Archive for December 2006
The Book of Mormon tells the story of a wicked Nephite dissident named Amalickiah who was obsessed with gaining political power over the Nephites by whatever means was necessary. In Alma chapter 46, verse 4 we read: “And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king …”
Those familiar with the Book of Mormon narrative know that numerous wars followed this desire. After failing to achieve his means via the Nephite political system, Amalickiah fled to the Lamanites, took power over their armies and kingdom by murder and other devious means. He then sent the Lamanite armies to fight against the Nephites.
The Book of Mormon sums up Amalickiah’s overall influence by saying:
Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men. (Alma 46:9)
The Book of Mormon also tells the story of a Nephite general named Teancum who was angry at Amalickiah for causing so much dissension and war. On New Year’s Eve, Teancum slipped into the Lamanite camp, assassinated Amalickiah and then returned to the camp of his army.
We read:
And now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, behold, when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they found Amalickiah was dead in his own tent; and they also saw that Teancum was ready to give them battle on that day. (Alma 52:1)
Every time I read this passage, I think about the timing of this assassination. I don’t think it was a coincidence. On New Year’s Eve, Teancum must have determined that the greatest obstacle to the happiness and liberty of the Nephites was Amalickiah. He then personally took it upon himself to remove that obstacle. It was a decisive and symbolic act that demonstrated Teancum’s determination in his righteous cause. Notice that after achieving this feat, Teancum did not sit on his laurels or waste time celebrating. We read that on New Year’s day he was again prepared and ready to fight against the Nephite’s enemies.
As Teancum witnessed, there were others who were prepared to take up Amalickiah’s wickedness and continue the fight against the Nephites. Amalickiah’s own brother, Ammoron, became the new king of the Lamanites and continued the wars against the Nephites. Fittingly, Teancum assassinated Ammoron as well. Unfortunately, Ammoron’s servants were awakened in the process and Teancum was killed. We later read that Ammoron’s son Tubaloth, caused Lamanite armies to go against the Nephites and caused further chaos and devastation.
I find it appropriate now, at the end of this year and after the execution of Saddam Hussein, to ponder these scriptural passages. The Iraqi people have finally seen the permanent removal of a vicious evil man who for so many decades turned the Iraqi state into an institution of murder, war, theft and rape. His execution was a decisive way to end what has been a very difficult year. Still, there seem to be plenty of people who are eager to continue down Saddam’s ruinous path. We shouldn’t be surprised or overly discouraged. Saddam/Amalickiah is dead. There is still rampant evil in the world. Like Teancum we should stand ready to fight against those who pursue corrupt interests and actively seek to destroy the liberty and happiness of the human race.
On that note, Happy New Year.
Yesterday, as I was walking along Columbus Avenue (Upper West Side), I saw some artwork in a store window that made me cross the street to get a closer look. The artist’s name is Ed Heck. His artwork, which employs simple yet colorful line drawings/paintings, strikes me as a sort of cross between Bill Watterson and Keith Haring. Yet he has an individual unique style that is instantly recognizable. He has a website and I also found a useful article about him.
There are numerous giclee prints available. The giclee process is something I want to investigate further.
To friends and readers, I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas and happy holiday season. Below is a picture I took while doing my Christmas shopping.
In the third chapter of the Book of Mormon, we read about Nephi and his brothers making an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the brass plates with their family’s valuable treasures. Instead of negotiating, Laban sends his servants after the brothers to kill them. As the brothers flee, they are obliged to leave behind their valuable possessions, which fall into Laban’s hands. The brothers manage to elude Laban’s servants and hide in “the cavity of a rock.” At this point of the narrative we read that Laman and Lemuel become very angry with Nephi and Sam. Nephi does not provide much information about the actual verbal exchange. He only says that “Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.”
In reading this passage, it isn’t entirely clear whether Laman and Lemuel are administering a systematic beating or if they have lost control and are trying to kill Nephi and Sam. Because “a rod” (singular) is specifically mentioned, it seems that only one brother is wielding the weapon. Or perhaps they are taking turns using it. We might also ask whether this rod is something they had with them already or if it was a weapon of convenience. Admittedly it’s not a question the text will answer for us.
The use of a weapon does suggest that in attacking Nephi and Sam, Laman and Lemuel needed some additional leverage. Perhaps it was because two fighting against two was too even a match. Or perhaps Laman and Lemuel realized that Nephi was too big (having described himself as “large in stature”) for them to take on in mere hand-to-hand combat.
Regardless, we still need to figure out why Laman and Lemuel are so angry with Nephi and Sam. It makes sense that they would be extremely angry at Laban for trying to kill them. It also is logical that they would be frustrated and angry at having traveled such a distance, only to fail to achieve their purpose and lose their property. But why is their anger directed or re-directed at Nephi and Sam?
One possibility is that the loss of property signaled the end of “plan B.” It is probable that as they considered their options (not wanting to leave Jerusalem in the first place) that Laman and Lemuel had no intention of completing the journey in the wilderness. Rather, they secretly planned to abandon their family to its wanderings and return to Jerusalem to reclaim the home in Jerusalem and their valuable treasures. A plan along these lines would have been very attractive to them and there was the added benefit that they would no longer have to share the property with their bothersome father and brother. We shouldn’t forget that up to this point Laman and Lemuel are unmarried (though they soon will be). The incentives of returning to Jerusalem and striking out for business on their own would have been very high. Due to the property and possessions already mentioned, Laman and Lemuel would already start out wealthy.
However, after Laban steals their treasures and attempts to kill them, plan B is effectively dead. Assuming this scenario is true (it might not be) having had this option dangling so enticingly before them and then very suddenly seeing the plan completely destroyed would clearly have enraged Laman and Lemuel. Since it was Nephi’s idea to use their gold, silver and valuable things to purchase the brass plates, it was entirely Nephi’s fault that the plan B was no longer an option. So from that perspective, it was natural to make him suffer the consequences. The fact that the consequences became violent would only underscore how deeply Laman and Lemuel were disappointed.
We then read:
And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands. (1 Nephi 3:29)
This development (that an angel interrupts the beating and delivers a message) demonstrates that God was taking these circumstances extremely seriously. It may be an indication, first of all, that Laman and Lemuel were seriously intending to cause bodily harm or even kill Nephi and Sam. That is a serious problem by itself. But there may be another reason as well.
Let’s imagine that Laman and Lemuel had not administered a beating or that Nephi and Sam had enough strength to repel their brothers and preserve themselves from any serious bodily harm. Even then, God still might feel it necessary to send an angel with a message of assurance.
We could even conclude that interrupting the beating was simply a detail of the process and not the angel’s primary purpose in delivering the message.
The real problem is that after two failed attempts and no additional means, the most faithful perspective would have been severely tested. Without a divine assurance, even Nephi would have had to feel extremely discouraged. After all, they’ve tried twice already and failed. They no longer have valuable possessions to barter with. At this point Laban is trying to kill them. So all civil and legal means of communication have ended.
Brett asked me to add his Mormon Hacker blog at http://mormonhacker.blogspot.com to my aggregator. It’s been added.