War Chapters of the BoM- Symbolic of the War in Heaven?

[JudoMinja]

I copied the below statement from Justice in another thread because I thought it would make a great discussion topic on its own. Thanks Justice! I have learned many things from the war chapters of the Book of Mormon and am so surprised I never saw this, as it is one of my favorite sections. I am curious to know if there are any other parallels we can see between these war chapters and the war in heaven.

From Justice:

OK. Now read Alma 43 and 44... and you will see all 3 groups from the pre-mortal existence.

Nephites represent "us" or those who came to earth to gain a body and dwell here... engaged in the war. Captain Moroni is symbolic of Jehova.

Lamanites represent those who sided with Lucifer and did not gain a body, but came to earth to dwell. Zerahemnah is symbolic of Lucifer.

The third group? The anti-Nephi-Lehis... those who were under covenant not to take up their weapons of war. These already made and kept their covenants (it appears).

Interesting what is said of Zerahemnah:

Alma 43:

8 For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage.

He usurped great power over the "Lamanites" because those are the ones who willingly followed him. He sought to gain power over those that wouldn't follow him willingly, or the Nephites, or he wanted to remove our choice or agency.

What a powerful one-line statmenet of Satan and his purpose.

There are many, many gems buried in these verses. Here's another near the end of the war:

Alma 44:

12 And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his soldiers.

As near as I can tell in the parallel, swords are words. Think about it while you read. Keep in mind who Moroni and Zerahemnah are symbolic of. Moroni's soldier has to be symbolic of Michael, the one who cast Lucifer from the spirit world to the earth without a body. His authority (hilt of his sword) was cast to earth... as was his scalp.

What could scalp represent? Well, the scalp is located on the crown of the head. I wonder what a crown would be symbolic of, and did Lucifer's fall to the earth?

Anyway, I'd be interested to see what others see in this war and how it relates to the war in heaven. I have found many, many parallels.

[Justice]

I have a 10 page document full of them, but I'm very curious to see what others come up with.

Thanks JudoMinja!

[Maya]

I dont really come up with anything... I just want to follow the discusition. I never was very intereted in the war part of the Bom. First time I almost skipped it. I am eager to learn how I can use even that part of the book in my life. :)

[tubaloth]

I guess the case could be made it follows the war in heaven. But I think its a more a general war between Good and Evil. The book of Mormon is showing us how to get to the promise land. Sometimes we have to be fortified in our weak places, before Evil comes over the wall.

[Justice]

Some of the greatest chapters found in the Book of Mormon are when Alma and his sons are preaching. Thousands upon thousands of Lamanites are usually converted when they preach.

To anyone studying chapters 43 and 44 looking for the importance of what the war(s) can teach us need look no further than here:

Alma 43:

1 And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth.

2 Now we shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word, and the truth, according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy order of God by which they were called.

3 And now I return to an account of the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges.

Here was another opportunity to include MORE of Alma and his sons preaching. What additional stories could have been included in the Book of Mormon if Mormon followed this mission of Alma and his sons?

Yet, Mormon feels it more important to return to the account of the wars. We could have a long discussion about how significant this is.

When our Stake split last year (2 years ago now), Elder Bednar presided. It only makes sense since the Stake he used to be President over was splitting. He held an adult Fireside Saturday night and spoke to the adults of the Stake. He opened his Book of Mormon and had everyone follow along. He made a comment that stuck with me.

He said the wars in the Book of Mormon were not included to give a body count or show us the bloodshed. They are included to teach us spiritual things.

This was intriguing to me. But, I just didn't see what he was talking about. Later the following year I read the Book of Mormon 4 times in 2 months. I'm sure you remember me mentioning this, and that I have my kids reading it once in 16 days.

The 3rd time through, when I came across the above passage it hit me like a ton of bricks. The red flag went up. WOW, I said, this is one of those times! So, I read chapters 43 and 44 over and over intently, then all of the sudden, it hit me.

All I'm saying is give it a chance. Pray about it. Study it. It's there. It really is.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Justice

[Justice]

How about this:

Alma 43:

44 And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.

If you read the verses before and after this verse, it's clear this is a symbol of Lucifer and his followers.

[JudoMinja]

I was reading that very chapter a couple weeks ago and remember thinking the same thing when I came across that verse. I also find it important to emphasis the lesson we can learn from the last line "and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger."

I think this shows us that anger can be very powerful and will drive people forward when faced with desperation. The Lamanites here were desperate to get out of the trap they had fallen into. Their very lives were at stake, and they knew they were bested. They'd been given the option to surrender but passed it up, and it was their anger that drove them forward.

I believe they were angry because they were too proud to admit their mistake, to proud to admit they'd been bested, to proud to humble themselves. In this state of mind, they were very destructive, very strong, yet it was NOT ENOUGH.

Anger is a tool Satan will use in an attempt to justify our pride. He wants us to believe that we can get through all things by relying on the strength of our own arms. He fuels our pride with anger, and with it we can accomplish much. But it is not enough. No matter how strong anger can make us, no matter how proud and capable we are, when we do not rely on the strength of the Lord we will fail.

This is a warning in two directions. We must watch ourselves- that we don't become angry, that we humble ourselves, that we rely on the strength of the Lord and not our own. And we must watch others- those who fuel themselves with anger are dangerous, and destructive, and prideful, and do not have sufficient faith in the Lord.

Another lesson I can think of from the war chapters, I remember learning from a lesson on CD by John Bytheway. He was speaking on Amalekiah- when he first fled Captain Moroni and met up with the Lamanites. He sought to make himself King of the Lamanites through his CUNNING. He stirred the King up to seek war with the Nephites. A certain number of the Lamanites refused the command of the King and banded together on a high hill (setting high standards for ourselves for protection).

The King sent Amalekiah with his army to kill these deserters. Instead, Amalekiah sought to bring them down through his CUNNING. He asked the leader of the group- can't remember his name at the moment- on the hill to come down, just to talk. He refused saying they were "fixed in their minds with a determined resolution." He asked again, and met the same resolve. He then went partially up the hill with a few guards and asked him to come down JUST A LITTLE (It's alright to have just one drink, right? It's alright to be just a little naughty, right? It's alright to ride the fence line, right?).

Amalekiah convinced the leader to have his army come down and surround his own during the night. Amalekiah would then surrender to him so long as he was made second in command. This sounded good to the leader. But once Amalekiah's plan had been completed and he was named second in command, he poisoned the leader BY DEGREES (The slippery slope of sin? Drugs? Pornography?).

This was put in the Book of Mormon to show us the way Satan will attempt to overcome us. He will work through his CUNNING. He will poison us BY DEGREES. He will tell us it's okay to do JUST A LITTLE. And once he has us dropping our guard, we are ensnared. We must stay on our hills, maintain our standards. They are for our protection.

[ConnieM]

I've never read these chapters with the thought of parallels like this in mind.

Alma 43:9 and 30 give us a reason why the Nephites were fighting, saying they wanted to preserve their rights and privileges and liberty and their church.

This is what the decision in Heaven was about. To keep our rights and privileges and liberty, our free-agency.

When the Nephites fought against the Lamanites, the Nephites were prepared and had breast plates, armshields and head-plates. So, with a lot of preparation and work they came to the fight, and still breast-plates were pierced and head-plates were smitten in two. Even with a lot of preparation, noone is safe. As we are now, even if we obey and prepare ourselves against the fight, reading scriptures, daily prayer etc, we still might fall.

The covenant of peace is very interesting if you think about the pre-existence... every soul who entered this covenant was free to depart into the wilderness, the alternative was dead. What do you think about this in combination with Satan's followers?

[RipplecutBuddha]

This is a great thread!! I have been told repeatedly that everything we read about in the BoM has a spiritual message. I never thought to apply that to the war chapters, though. Now I gotta start over and read them with this in mind.

THANKS A BUNCH!!!!! :)

[Justice]

VERY GOOD! Man, it's such a relief when someone "gets it" like you 2 have. This is the 3rd time I've tried posting this on these forums and it seems all I get is contempt!

Connie, my answer is I don't know. I also thought it was interesting that those of Lucifer's followers who entered this covenant of peace departed into the wilderness. I don't really know the symbolism for this yet. It could be that they were allowed to come to earth. If you read these chapters with Lehi and Nephi's dream of the tree of life, and relate the wilderness to the valley they wandered through in the mists of darkness, it could be related.

However, I don't know. Very good question though.

[pam]

I dont really come up with anything... I just want to follow the discusition. I never was very intereted in the war part of the Bom. First time I almost skipped it. I am eager to learn how I can use even that part of the book in my life. :)

I have this in my files. She once thought the same way as you:

“The morning was dark and cold, the children were half-asleep, and our reading in the Book of Mormon seemed endless. We were mired somewhere in the last half of the book of Alma and, frankly, we weren’t getting much out of it.

“Whenever we got into those detailed accounts of the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites, our enthusiasm for daily scripture study waned…And so, as the sleepy voices droned on, my mind began to wander. Why? Why did Mormon include so much detail about the wars? With all the wonderful spiritual events that must have taken place, why would he use so much valuable space on the plates to record military intrigue and battle strategy?

“The day’s reading session finally ended, but my search for an answer had just begun…the question continued to nag at me. It wasn’t until several weeks later that I found what was, for me, a key to the answer I sought. A friend was sharing her concern that perhaps her children would not remain righteous with all the worldly influences around them. ‘I’m really scared,’ she said. ‘It’s like a war out there.’ As she spoke, my mind filled with the unlikely scene of her children lined up on the front lawn in fierce battle against the heavily armed forces of the adversary.

“Then it hit me. That was it! This was the war that applied to me—not a war of swords and spears, but the eternal war for my soul and those of my family. Satan is waging an all-out war against truth and righteousness. His forces are everywhere, and we are involved in that war whether we like it or not. The danger is real, and the stakes are high. All around us we see the battle casualties, their lives ruined and their souls scarred. If we expect to avoid becoming casualties ourselves, we desperately need the Lord’s guidance—and there is no better place to find it than in that book of scripture prepared specifically for our day: the Book of Mormon!

“In great excitement I opened the book of Alma and began to read the main war chapters again. But this time, instead of skimming through the various battle accounts, I thought of the Lamanites, who were wicked at the time of these battles, as representing the forces of evil, with Satan at their head, and the Nephites, who were generally righteous at that time, representing the Saints of our day, struggling to protect themselves and their families. Suddenly the battlefield was no longer remote in time and place. This battle was my battle! The family under siege was mine!

“With this new insight, I found more than one hundred passages in the last twenty chapters of Alma alone that contain useful information about how Satan and his forces operate or that describe inspired strategies for defending ourselves against evil. Seemingly insignificant military details revealed valuable counsel when I simply asked the question ‘How does this apply to the war against evil today?’

“…No longer am I tempted to skip the war stories in the Book of Mormon or daydream my way through them. If I am to successfully defend my family in the great war with evil, I want to take advantage of every word of counsel from the Lord’s ‘combat manual’ for the latter days—the Book of Mormon.” (Kathleen S. McConkie, Ensign, Jan. 1992, “Defending Against Evil”)

[ConnieM]

Thanks Justice.

It is highly interesting because if that would be the case...

1. Satan and his followoers who are on this earth are bound to a covenant (not to start a fight against the spirits of heaven)

2. the followers of Satan who did not enter this covenant lost not only their first estate but also their lives?

That could mean that many spirits lost their privileges of the spiritual creation and went back to... their state of being before that.

I don't know, but it is definitely an interesting topic! :)

[JudoMinja]

Connie-

In a sense, the loss of their first estate WAS the loss of their lives. They don't get to come to earth. They don't get to receive a body. They will never progress. They will never grow. They will never again be in the presence of God. This death is much, much worse than mortal death.

Abraham used the word Intelligences in describing the spirits of heaven and stated that whatever intelligence we attain in this life will be taken with us in the next. I believe that God is the ultimate intelligence. He knows all, understands all. And our purpose of coming to earth is so that we can become like him. Receiving a body is part of it- because He has a body, and we must learn to overcome the flesh. The other part is learning as much as we can- soaking up the truth and learning to discern truth from lies.

Satan and his followers were halted in this pursuit of intelligence. They can never become like God.

As far as those who entered the covenant of peace and were allowed to go in the wilderness, I don't know if that means they were also allowed to come to earth to receive bodies or if it means they simply weren't cast out with Satan, or if they've just agreed not to take part in the war. That's something I hadn't thought of.

What I do know is should such a covenant be broken it would mean their lives. Giving your word was much more serious before our time. That was why it was so difficult for them to agree to make such a pact. They would not give their word if they knew they would end up breaking that word, even if they thought they MIGHT break that word. I think it was the same in the pre-existence.

[ConnieM]

VERY GOOD! Man, it's such a relief when someone "gets it" like you 2 have. This is the 3rd time I've tried posting this on these forums and it seems all I get is contempt!

I know what that feels like!

In a sense, the loss of their first estate WAS the loss of their lives. They don't get to come to earth. They don't get to receive a body. They will never progress. They will never grow. They will never again be in the presence of God. This death is much, much worse than mortal death.

Yes, right. The question is, if we compare Alma 43 and 44 to the War in Heaven, did the spirit children who fought with Satan in the pre-existence also die in a sense that they had to give up their spiritual body?

Abraham used the word Intelligences in describing the spirits of heaven and stated that whatever intelligence we attain in this life will be taken with us in the next.

That's another great topic. One of my favourite study topics of last year. Intelligence and intelligences. I wonder if there is already a thread to it... ?

As far as those who entered the covenant of peace and were allowed to go in the wilderness, I don't know if that means they were also allowed to come to earth to receive bodies or if it means they simply weren't cast out with Satan, or if they've just agreed not to take part in the war. That's something I hadn't thought of.

Mh, there were two sides... The defeated had two choices... either death or a covenant (but their leader didn't believe they could live up to it).

1. If death would have meant to be stopped in progress and to be cast out of the presence of God, it could mean the coming to earth without a body.

2. If death would have meant to stop to exist in the manner of a spiritual being, it could mean that those who followed and didn't enter this covenant of peace were disorganized in a sense that they lost their spiritual body and went back to matter/intelligence without any form or body.

This is getting to a very hypothetical point now. (I love it!)

If 1. is true:

In this case Satan's followers cannot progress. We know that without a body progress is a limited option. And cast out of the presence of God is what could be described with "thrown out of heaven".

The next question would be, for me, what happened to those who (might) have covenanted. Could it be that the ones who did make a covenant of peace were able to receive a physical body after all? Could that give light to another great topic as how Cain was able to come to the earth!?

If 2. is true:

Every spirit denying the covenant would have been disorganized and lost their spiritual body. This would also imply that Satan and his followers who are on this earth now are bound to a covenant...

What I do know is should such a covenant be broken it would mean their lives. Giving your word was much more serious before our time. That was why it was so difficult for them to agree to make such a pact. They would not give their word if they knew they would end up breaking that word, even if they thought they MIGHT break that word. I think it was the same in the pre-existence.

Isn't it said that giving one's word is not connected to such a strong impact anymore? I think as a Latter Day Saint our word needs to be just like the word of God in a sense that our Yes should be a Yes and our No a No. (This is another wonderful topic!!)

Sorry if I get too far off here. I really appreciate this thread! :)

[Justice]

There are many scriptures that say Satan sought to destroy the souls or spirits of men. This has to be taken in context. We are taught that a spirit (sometimes called soul in scripture) can never be destroyed.

Alma 42:

9 Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.

The word death is often called destroy in scripture, just as the terms are used synonymously above.

When the scriptures speak of the destruction of the soul it means separation from God. When the body dies it is because it was separated from the thing which gives it life, or from the spirit of a man. When the spirit dies it is because it is separated from the thing that gives it life, or our Father in Heaven and Jehova. So, death is but a separation.

God's plan is in place to grow and exalt His children. When separated from Him one can not grow or be exalted. It's progress is halted or damned, and not destroyed as in cease to exist. Thjis is why there is an eternal outer darkness for sons of perdition, because they can't cease to exist.

With this understanding it's easier to see what might be meant in those verses.

I think it means those who entered this covenant were allowed to come to earth because I relate that wilderness to the large field in Lehi's dream.

[ConnieM]

I think it means those who entered this covenant were allowed to come to earth because I relate that wilderness to the large field in Lehi's dream.

I agree with you.

Any ideas about the Waters of Sidon in Alma? What they could refer to?

Also, it is mentioned that the loss of people on both sides was immense. Thinking of the war in heaven, we know that one third went with Satan. That also is a great number of souls!

[Justice]

Well, the waters of Sidon is the turn-around point. It is probably much like the large river of water in Lehi's dream. It led to the tree of life, but also separated it from the large and spacious building. It seems to have separated those who chose mortality and a redeemer over those who didn't.

Speculation, obviously.

Also, the "1/3" of the hosts of heaven doesn't necessarily mean 1/3 in number. I believe it merely represented 1 of 3 sides. The number was great, for sure, and may have very well been 1/3 of the total or more.

Notice here in Alma 43 where it talks about how the war started:

(Sidenote: I had always heard that one day Father knew we couldn't progress any more so He sought to forward the plan. I don't buy that. It had to be something else, because some of His spirit children were "older" than others. Why did some get more "time" to progress before earth life? I always felt there was more to it)

Alma 43:

13 And the people of Ammon did give unto the Nephites a large portion of their substance to support their armies; and thus the Nephites were compelled, alone, to withstand against the Lamanites, who were a compound of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, and all those who had dissented from the Nephites, who were Amalekites and Zoramites, and the descendants of the priests of Noah.

14 Now those descendants were as numerous, nearly, as were the Nephites; and thus the Nephites were obliged to contend with their brethren, even unto bloodshed.

They weren't "obliged" to contend with them until they reached a significant number... nearly as large as they were. So, here are the 3 sides:

1. Those who covenated not to fight

2. Nephites

3. Lamanites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites, Amalekites, Zoramites, and the descendants of the priests of Noah

When in history have you ever seen a evil side of a war advance against the righteous side with significantly less people? Typically they are cowards and only advance when their numbers are "sufficient."

This theory makes MUCH more sense! Father had to initiate His plan and create the earth because sides were taken and choices were made! We were ready!

All it says is that the disenters were nearly as numerous as the Nephites. We don't know how many chose not to fight, but the remainder was split in about 1/2. It lends itself to being 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3 split... but from this, it all depends on how many entered a covenant of peace. I have yet to find any indication of how many this may have been.

Please share if you find something.

[pam]

I know what that feels like!

Yes, right. The question is, if we compare Alma 43 and 44 to the War in Heaven, did the spirit children who fought with Satan in the pre-existence also die in a sense that they had to give up their spiritual body?

That's another great topic. One of my favourite study topics of last year. Intelligence and intelligences. I wonder if there is already a thread to it... ?

Mh, there were two sides... The defeated had two choices... either death or a covenant (but their leader didn't believe they could live up to it).

1. If death would have meant to be stopped in progress and to be cast out of the presence of God, it could mean the coming to earth without a body.

2. If death would have meant to stop to exist in the manner of a spiritual being, it could mean that those who followed and didn't enter this covenant of peace were disorganized in a sense that they lost their spiritual body and went back to matter/intelligence without any form or body.

This is getting to a very hypothetical point now. (I love it!)

If 1. is true:

In this case Satan's followers cannot progress. We know that without a body progress is a limited option. And cast out of the presence of God is what could be described with "thrown out of heaven".

The next question would be, for me, what happened to those who (might) have covenanted. Could it be that the ones who did make a covenant of peace were able to receive a physical body after all? Could that give light to another great topic as how Cain was able to come to the earth!?

If 2. is true:

Every spirit denying the covenant would have been disorganized and lost their spiritual body. This would also imply that Satan and his followers who are on this earth now are bound to a covenant...

Isn't it said that giving one's word is not connected to such a strong impact anymore? I think as a Latter Day Saint our word needs to be just like the word of God in a sense that our Yes should be a Yes and our No a No. (This is another wonderful topic!!)

Sorry if I get too far off here. I really appreciate this thread! :)

http://www.lds.net/forums/lds-gospel-discussion/26820-intelligence-vs-intelligence.html

[Justice]

Also interesting is that the people of Ammon, or those who covenanted not to fight, were largely made up of those who were Lamanites and then converted. I'm not sure what this means, other than they were presented with the other option and made their choice already. This is symbolism that they did not need to make the choice again, and therefore all they needed was a body.

But, that they were once Lamanites is a mystery. Obviously, they weren't in the pre-mortal existence, but perhaps is reference to them having full knowledge of both sides (greater intelligence) and made a choice. So, we have to be careful understanding this imagery. Alma and Mormon are using actual events to teach of other things. So, symbols were definately used.

[Maya]

Have I ever said how much I appriciate your toughts Justice... well now you know

I need to read more and think...

[Maya]

I know what that feels like!

Yes, right. The question is, if we compare Alma 43 and 44 to the War in Heaven, did the spirit children who fought with Satan in the pre-existence also die in a sense that they had to give up their spiritual body?

That's another great topic. One of my favourite study topics of last year. Intelligence and intelligences. I wonder if there is already a thread to it... ?

Mh, there were two sides... The defeated had two choices... either death or a covenant (but their leader didn't believe they could live up to it).

1. If death would have meant to be stopped in progress and to be cast out of the presence of God, it could mean the coming to earth without a body.

2. If death would have meant to stop to exist in the manner of a spiritual being, it could mean that those who followed and didn't enter this covenant of peace were disorganized in a sense that they lost their spiritual body and went back to matter/intelligence without any form or body.

This is getting to a very hypothetical point now. (I love it!)

If 1. is true:

In this case Satan's followers cannot progress. We know that without a body progress is a limited option. And cast out of the presence of God is what could be described with "thrown out of heaven".

The next question would be, for me, what happened to those who (might) have covenanted. Could it be that the ones who did make a covenant of peace were able to receive a physical body after all? Could that give light to another great topic as how Cain was able to come to the earth!?

If 2. is true:

Every spirit denying the covenant would have been disorganized and lost their spiritual body. This would also imply that Satan and his followers who are on this earth now are bound to a covenant...

Isn't it said that giving one's word is not connected to such a strong impact anymore? I think as a Latter Day Saint our word needs to be just like the word of God in a sense that our Yes should be a Yes and our No a No. (This is another wonderful topic!!)

Sorry if I get too far off here. I really appreciate this thread! :)

Finally someones talking business here!

Back Yard Professors youtube about quontium theory (or how ever you say it) was really interesting to me and gave me thoughts like the one I marked red on the quotation. I suppose those that go to"hell" cant be resolved even though they would beg for it, but they have to have their body through out eternity.... real hell, when you dont want it.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Maya

[Justice]

Yep, I'm trying to wrap my brain around that one.

It's possible that a spirit who did not enter into this covenant is different from one who did, and therefore was sent "into the wilderness."

The gray area here is that Zarahemnah did not enter into this covenant, yet if he is symbolic of Lucifer then we know he came to earth.

Answers to stuff like this come slowly, if at all.

[Justice]

Also, the "1/3" of the hosts of heaven doesn't necessarily mean 1/3 in number. I believe it merely represented 1 of 3 sides. The number was great, for sure, and may have very well been 1/3 of the total or more.

I'm gonna have to think about it and read with that in mind (some no longer esist). It seems odd they only distinguish 3 sides most of the time if there were 4. My first thought is that if they entered into a covenant not to fight, and did not come to earth as mortals, that they remain spirits forver, yet didn't come to earth to continue the fight. Those who didn't enter the covenant are the ones on earth fighting as spirits. I haven't pinpointed what "wilderness" is yet. I think that'll be my next study.

There is no telling how much happened in the pre-mortal existence that has not been revealed.

[ConnieM]

Well, what if the spirits who did not enter the covenant went down to earth and fight their battle here and then end up in the outer darkness.

Could the spirits who entered into that "covenant of peace" get another chance and were (fully?) restored in their first estate? Could it be that they also went to earth with a physical body?

[Justice]

That they went to earth to gain a physical body is my first impression.

It was a "war" of words and it clearly describes those who changed their mind. Much like here, one can change sides and be the same as those who were on that side from the start.

Sure will be nice to know the answers one day. But, I believe the Book of Mormon gives us more answers than most realize.