EJ&T: What to do with people who believe in other gods

Don't let people who believe in other gods live in your land.

They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. Exodus 23:33

Conquer people who believe in other gods and destroy their religious property.

But thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. Exodus 23:24

Ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. Exodus 34:13

Thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. Deuteronomy 7:5

Ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein ... But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them. Numbers 33:41-56

Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Deuteronomy 12:2-3

Don't make any treaties with people who worship another god.

Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. Exodus 23:12

Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. Exodus 34:12

Stone to death anyone who worships another god.

If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. Deuteronomy 17:2-7

If your family or friends try to get you to worship another god, stone them to death.

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. Deuteronomy 13:6-10

Don't pity your family and friends as you stone them to death.

Maimonides #37: Not to love the idolater
Maimonides #38: Not to cease hating the idolater

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. Deuteronomy 13:6-10

Don't try to prevent your family and friends from being stoned to death.

Maimonides #39: Not to save the idolater
Maimonides #40: Not to say anything in the idolater's defense
Maimonides #41: Not to refrain from incriminating the idolater

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. Deuteronomy 13:6-10

If God gives you a city and some of the inhabitants believe in other gods, kill all the people in the city, along with all of their animals. Then burn the city for God.

If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. Deuteronomy 13:12-15

Alma 48: More Fighting!

After Amalickiah was so successful becoming king of all the Lamanites, he decided to continue his conquest and try to become king of the Nephites, too. He ordered men to speak from the Lamanite towers, to try to get them angry and ready to fight the Nephites. It's not too hard to convince the Lamanites to fight the Nephites, and pretty soon he had a willing and ready army.

And now it came to pass that, as soon as Amalickiah had obtained the kingdom he began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers, against the Nephites. Alma 48.1 

And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch that in the latter end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far, yea, having been made king over the Lamanites, he sought also to reign over all the land, yea, and all the people who were in the land, the Nephites as well as the Lamanites. 48.2

Therefore he had accomplished his design, for he had hardened the hearts of the Lamanites and blinded their minds, and stirred them up to anger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host to go to battle against the Nephites. 48.3 

Amlickiah appointed some Zoramite captains, because they tended to know the strengths and weaknesses of the Nephites the best. They also knew where their forts were (here he calls forts "places of resort", but later it is clarified).

After appointing captains, they rallied their troops and headed toward the land of Zarahemla.

And thus he did appoint chief captains of the Zoramites, they being the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites, and their places of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities; therefore he appointed them to be chief captains over his armies. 48:5 

And it came to pass that they took their camp, and moved forth toward the land of Zarahemla in the wilderness. 48:6

But while Amlickiah was busy gaining power and control over the armies of the Lamanites, Moroni had been preparing for war, and strengthening his own army. He was busy building small forts, and building walls of stone to encircle their cities, and all around the borders of the land. Pretty much the Great Wall Of China.

Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God. 48:7 

Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land. 48:8 

And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites. 48:9

Moroni was a pretty amazing guy. He was strong, had perfect understanding, he wasn't cruel, and he worked hard for his people. He was firm in his faith and had sworn an oath to defend his people, and even to the point of bloodshed if necessary.

And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; 48:11 

Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. 48:12 

Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood. 48:13

If all men were like Moroni, well, then the devil would just have to go home and sit in his hole because he wouldn't sway men's hearts at all. Moroni was as good as Ammon, or Mosiah, or Mosiah's sons. Shoot, all of those guys were just so great.

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. 48:17 

Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God. 48:18

But that Helaman guy, and his brothers, they were pretty great, too.

Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words. 48:19

But, as happens, they had to fight the Lamanites. They just didn't have a choice. They fought reluctantly with them for many years.

But, as I have said, in the latter end of the nineteenth year, yea, notwithstanding their peace amongst themselves, they were compelled reluctantly to contend with their brethren, the Lamanites. 48:21 

Yea, and in fine, their wars never did cease for the space of many years with the Lamanites, notwithstanding their much reluctance. 48:22

They were sorry that they had to fight and kill the Lamanites, but they really didn't have any choice. They had to send the Lamanites "unprepared to meet their God", otherwise their wives and children would have been massacred.

Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all—they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God. 48:23 

Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by joining the Lamanites. 48:24

EJ&T: Other gods

Have no other gods before Yahweh.

Maimonides #2: Not to even think that there are other gods besides Him

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Deuteronomy 5:7

Don't bow down to other gods.

Maimonides #27: Not to worship idols in the manner they are worshiped

Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them. Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods. Exodus 23:24

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 26:1

Don't serve other gods.

Thou shalt not ... serve them [other gods]. Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9

Ye shall not go after other gods. Deuteronomy 6:14

Thou shalt not ... go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:14

Neither walk after other gods. Jeremiah 7:6

Don't make any molten gods.

Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. Exodus 34:17

Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods. Leviticus 19:4

Don't make gods of silver or gold.

Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. Exodus 20:23

Don't mention the names of any of the other gods.

Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Exodus 23:13

Neither make mention of the name of their gods. Joshua 23:7

Don't revile the gods.

Thou shalt not revile the gods. Exodus 22:28

EJ&T: Commandments about swearing

Swear.

Thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness.. Jeremiah 4:2

Swear to God.

He that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth. Isaiah 65:16

Swear by God's name.

Maimonides #213: To swear in God's Name to confirm the truth when deemed necessary by court

Thou shalt ... swear by his name. Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20

Swear by my name. Jeremiah 12:16

Don't swear falsely in God's name.

Maimonides #209: Not to swear falsely in God's Name

Ye shall not swear by my name falsely. Leviticus 19:12

Don't swear by the name of any other god.

Neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them. Joshua 23:7

Don't swear at all.

Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Matthew 5:34-37

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. James 5:12

(For more on this, see Is it OK to swear?)

Alma 47: Amalickiah's Treachery

Remember Amlickiah from the last chapter? Well, you probably don't, because it's been a while since my last post. But he was the evil, large man who desired to be king. Well, he was no match for Moroni and his title of liberty, so he ran into the woods with some of his followers. Moroni chased after them, and took most of his followers captive, and forced them to convert or else he killed them.

Well, Moroni never managed to capture Amlickiah or his entourage -- they were already too far into the woods, I guess. This chapter follows Amlickiah's shenanigans in the woods, and among the Lamanites.

Amlickiah's first order of business was to dethrone the king of the Lamanites, so he could get the power for himself.

The current king of the Lamanites was having trouble controlling his people. He wanted to send his army to attack the Nephites, but only part of them would obey. He decided to give put Amlickiah in charge of the army. Little did he know, this was JUST what Amlickiah was after -- and it would ultimately be the undoing of the king.

Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had fled with him into the wilderness; for, behold, he had taken those who went with him, and went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites, and did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi, insomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again to go to battle against the Nephites. Alma 47:1 

And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth among them they were exceedingly afraid; yea, they feared to displease the king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites lest they should lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would not, or the more part of them would not, obey the commandments of the king. 47:2 

And now it came to pass that the king was wroth because of their disobedience; therefore he gave Amalickiah the command of that part of his army which was obedient unto his commands, and commanded him that he should go forth and compel them to arms. 47:3 

Now behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very subtle man to do evil therefore he laid the plan in his heart to dethrone the king of the Lamanites. 47:4

After Amalickiah got command of some of the army, he went to where the others were hanging out: a place called Onidah. They had appointed their own king at Onihad, and they had all gathered at the top of a hill called Antipas. We're not sure what the name of the king was, but the hill was called Antipas.

Amalickiah didn't want to fight them, he wanted to gain control of them. So he made camp at the bottom of the "mount Antipas".

And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms. 47:5 

And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them, being fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites. 47:6 

And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to battle. 47:7 

Now it was not Amalickiah’s intention to give them battle according to the commandments of the king; but behold, it was his intention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their head and dethrone the king and take possession of the kingdom. 47:8 

And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their tents in the valley which was near the mount Antipas. 47:9

Amalickiah sent up messengers to the king, asking for him to come down so he could speak to him. The king declined, 3 times, and then finally Amalickiah decided to walk up the damn mountain himself. Maybe if the king didn't have to travel so far he would talk to him.

He told the king to come down and speak with him, and to bring his guards if he had to.

And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him. 47:10 

And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount. And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And it came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third time. 47:11 

And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti’s camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him. 47:12

When Amalickiah finally got his audience with Lehonti, he told the king that what he wanted was  for his army to be captured in the night. He told the Lehonti to send his army down there at night and capture them, and that he would make it easy for them.

So that's what he did. Before the army even woke up, they were surrounded.

And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti’s hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army. 47:13 

And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti. 47:14

 Then the army did a curious thing. They didn't get angry at Amalickiah for selling them out, and instead they pleaded with him to let them become a part of the larger army that had just captured them. This seems doubly strange, because it doesn't seem like he would have the power in the situation anymore, without an army and everything. But this was all part of his crafty plan, as you'll soon see.

And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded, they pled with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with their brethren, that they might not be destroyed. Now this was the very thing which Amalickiah desired. 47:15 

And it came to pass that he delivered his men, contrary to the commands of the king. Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired, that he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king. 47:16

So, as it turns out, the Lamanites had a strange custom of appointing their second-in-command as chief leader if their chief ended up dying. And Amalickiah had the chief poisoned, so then he was quickly appointed chief. Well, that was easy! (Macbeth sure would have been a lot shorter if Joseph Smith had written it...)

Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader. 47:17 

And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died. 47:18 

Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief commander. 47:19

 So now that Amalickiah had control of the army, he marched back to the city of Nephi, and to the Lamanite king. When he got there, the king greeted him, pleased that he had rounded up such a large army to fight the Nephites. They all bowed to the king, and he reached down to raise them up, in a formal gesture that they had picked up from their time living with the Nephites.

 And it came to pass that Amalickiah marched with his armies (for he had gained his desires) to the land of Nephi, to the city of Nephi, which was the chief city. 47:20 

And the king came out to meet him with his guards, for he supposed that Amalickiah had fulfilled his commands, and that Amalickiah had gathered together so great an army to go against the Nephites to battle. 47:21 

But behold, as the king came out to meet him Amalickiah caused that his servants should go forth to meet the king. And they went and bowed themselves before the king, as if to reverence him because of his greatness. 47:22 

And it came to pass that the king put forth his hand to raise them, as was the custom with the Lamanites, as a token of peace, which custom they had taken from the Nephites. 47:23

But just then, BAM! One of Amalickiah's party stabbed the king in the heart, and then all of Amlickiah's servants started shouting that the kings own servants had stabbed him. They gathered an angry mob to chase down the poor innocent servants and ran them out of town into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that when he had raised the first from the ground, behold he stabbed the king to the heart; and he fell to the earth. 47:24 

Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah raised a cry, saying: 47:25 

Behold, the servants of the king have stabbed him to the heart, and he has fallen and they have fled; behold, come and see. 47:26 

And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies should march forth and see what had happened to the king; and when they had come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah pretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain. 47:27 

And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the king. 47:28 

Now when the servants of the king saw an army pursuing after them, they were frightened again, and fled into the wilderness, and came over into the land of Zarahemla and joined the people of Ammon. 47:29

So Amalickiah took control of the city, and then the entire kingdom. But he still had one thing to conquer: the king's wife. She asked him for three things: to spare the residents of the city, to come in unto her, and to bring some witnesses to back up his story. After doing all three, they were happily married, and Amalickiah's position as king of all the land was secure. He ruled over a pretty diverse kingdom. He was king of the Lamanites, the Lemuelites, the Ishmaelites, and all of the dissenters of the Nephites.

And now it came to pass that the queen, when she had heard that the king was slain—for Amalickiah had sent an embassy to the queen informing her that the king had been slain by his servants, that he had pursued them with his army, but it was in vain, and they had made their escape - 47:32 

Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto Amalickiah, desiring him that he would spare the people of the city; and she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also desired him that he should bring witnesses with him to testify concerning the death of the king. 47:33 

And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that slew the king, and all them who were with him, and went in unto the queen, unto the place where she sat; and they all testified unto her that the king was slain by his own servants; and they said also: They have fled; does not this testify against them? And thus they satisfied the queen concerning the death of the king. 47:34 

And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time. 47:35

The worst of these people, though, were the Nephite dissenters. You see, once you have knowledge of the Lord but don't follow him, you become even crazier than the regular wicked people: more hardened, impenitent, wild, wicked and ferocious -- drinking, indolence, lasciviousness...

Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites—drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.  47:36

I'm sure we'll hear more about these terrible people in the following chapters! Look for a new Book of Mormon blog post every Tuesday and Thursday from here on out, until I finish Alma.