Mosiah 23:32


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Mosiah 23:32 

32 Now the name of the leader of those priests was Amulon.

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George Reynolds condenses their history:

“They were Nephites on their father's side and Lamanites on their mother's but by association and education were of the latter race. Many of them, however, were displeased with the conduct of their fathers and took upon them the name of Nephites and were considered among that people ever after. Of those who remained Amulonites many became followers of Nehor and were scattered in the lands of Amulon, Helam and Jerusalem all of which appear to have been limited districts in the same region of country. In the later years the sons of Mosiah and their fellow-missionaries preached to them but not one repented and received the gospel message; on the contrary, they became leaders in the persecutions carried on against the suffering people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi and were those who, with the Amalekites, slew the greater number of that unoffending people who suffered martyrdom. In the succeeding war with the Nephites (B.C. 81), when Ammonihah was destroyed, nearly all the Amulonites were killed in the battle in which Zoram, the Nephite general, defeated the Lamanites. The remainder of the Amulonites fled into the east wilderness where they usurped power over the people of Laman and in their bitter hatred to the truth caused many of the latter to be burned to death because of their belief in the gospel. These outrages aroused the Lamanites and they in turn began to hunt the Amulonites and to put them to death. This was in fulfillment of the words of Abinadi, who, as he suffered martyrdom by fire at the hands of Amulon and his associates, told them, ‘What ye shall do unto me, shall be a type of things to come’ by which he meant that many should suffer death by fire as he had suffered.” (A Dictionary of the Book of Mormon, pp. 59-60)

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I actually disagree with part of Reynolds' assessment. The children who rejected Amulon and became Nephites, were not half Lamanite. They were the children of Noah's priests BEFORE they ran off into the wilderness. These were among the children that Noah commanded his people to leave behind when the Lamanites attacked them (leading to Noah's death and Amulon's fleeing). Only later did Amulon and the other priests take Lamanite wives.

I generally agree with the rest of his premise.

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I actually disagree with part of Reynolds' assessment. The children who rejected Amulon and became Nephites, were not half Lamanite. They were the children of Noah's priests BEFORE they ran off into the wilderness. These were among the children that Noah commanded his people to leave behind when the Lamanites attacked them (leading to Noah's death and Amulon's fleeing). Only later did Amulon and the other priests take Lamanite wives.

I generally agree with the rest of his premise.

Thanks, Ram. I started writing exactly this, but before finishing it, I had to run off to an early-morning meeting. Glad someone else has noticed this.

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Perhaps you two could explain to me so I understand better. In the reference book I have "Book of Mormon Reference Companion" it does state that after their defection to the Lamanites that some of the children of the Amulonites renounced their fathers and took up them the name of Nephi.

I think I'm confused on the chronological order. Could this not have been the generation of children that came about because of the kidnapping of the 24 Lamanite women? So in my mind I could see how they would be half Lamanite. Though I'm still not getting the half Nephi part though.

Thanks for your help.

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Perhaps you two could explain to me so I understand better. In the reference book I have "Book of Mormon Reference Companion" it does state that after their defection to the Lamanites that some of the children of the Amulonites renounced their fathers and took up them the name of Nephi.

I think I'm confused on the chronological order. Could this not have been the generation of children that came about because of the kidnapping of the 24 Lamanite women? So in my mind I could see how they would be half Lamanite. Though I'm still not getting the half Nephi part though.

Thanks for your help.

"Nephite" is used as a convenient political identifier throughout the Book of Mormon, encompassing people who considered themselves from various clans or social sects and called themselves Lamanites, Lemuelites, Ishmaelites, Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, and people of Mulek (and possibly others not mentioned). The word also appears to mean a third group: Lehites who were not Lamanites. The three senses are:

1. Children (descendants) of Nephi

2. Children of Lehi who stayed with Nephi (Jacobites, Josephites, Lamanites, etc.)

3. All those who supported Nephi (including Zoramites and, later, Mulekites)

Note that when groups rebelled against the Nephites, they often rejected the label "Nephite" and called themselves by another name, often "Lamanite".

Noah's priests may or may not have been Nephite by ancestry. But when they fled the land of Zeniff and were hunted by their former subjects, they were no longer seen as or considered Nephites. Their children -- the ones they left behind to be slaughtered by the Lamanites along with their wives -- still identified themselves as, for example, "children of Amulon". Soon after their reunification with the main body of Nephites in Zarahemla, this group formally renounced their ancestral ties with their fathers, asking to become Nephites in name and rejecting their fathers altogether. In an ancient society, this would be a momentous proclamation. You never turn your back on your ancestry without real reason. Makes me wonder if the full extent of the treachery of Amulon and his "brethren" was not really known until that point.

The important verse is Mosiah 25:12, which reads:

And it came to pass that those who were the children of Amulon and his brethren, who had taken to wife the daughters of the Lamanites, were displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and they would no longer be called by the names of their fathers, therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi, that they might be called the children of Nephi and be numbered among those who were called Nephites.

Note that the part in red above does not specify the children of the Lamanite wives; rather, it specifies the children of the priests of Noah, and identifies them by their infamous act of kidnapping the Lamanite girls. This is why their children no longer wished to be identified with them, and instead took upon them the general name of "Nephite", without respect to their immediate fathers.

The only other reading for this verse is to suppose that the children of the priests up and left their Lamanite homes and traveled to the land of Zarahemla -- without the Book of Mormon bothering to mention this little fact -- showed up at king Mosiah's doorstep, and said, "We don't like our fathers, so we want to abandon our mothers and family, adopt alien Nephite customs that we have been taught all our lives are awful and stupid, and live among people a hundred miles from our homeland whom we don't know and who probably don't like us." In my estimation, this is nonsensical.

In fact, we learn the fate of the descendants of Noah's priests and the kidnapped Lamanite girls in Alma 25, telling what happened a generation later. In verse 4, we learn:

And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were slain by the hands of the Nephites;

The surviving remnant fled, then began putting to death the Lamanites who wanted to be peaceful with the Nephites. The result, in verses 8 and 9:

Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness. And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites.

This is, I believe, the last we hear of Amulon and his descendants.

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Vort has it exactly right. The faithful children of Amulon and his brethren (who abandoned their first wives and children and later captured new Lamanite girls for wives), were sickened by the idea that first they were abandoned by their fathers to death at the hand of the invading Lamanite army, and then later to be replaced so easily by Lamanite women and children.

They saw righteous men stay behind with their wives and children, when the Lamanites invaded. They saw Limhi and his people suffering for the sins of Noah, Amulon and their brethren. Then in Zarahemla, they heard Alma recount how Amulon and the others had raised new families, deceived Alma's people, and tried to make slaves of them.

All of these evidences would definitely cause the children to renounce their fathers, and take upon themselves a new tradition with the Nephites.

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Thanks to both of you. Vort, it helped with the scripture from Chapter 25. Since my OP was concerning one scripture in Chapter 23, it really didn't give the entire history. Now seeing that in future chapters makes much more sense.

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Those using their parents' copy of George Reynolds' commentaries must realize that they are based on very old scholarship. Lots has come out regarding the BoM since he wrote. It is a good thing to at least supplement his writings with newer scholarship that reviews many things he did not even conceive in his day.

I suggest the same for those still quoting out of "Answers to Gospel Questions" or "Mormon Doctrine". A lot of revelation, research and science has occurred since they were written. We need to know what they understood, but also understand the new stuff, as well. Otherwise, we cannot grow.

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