Alma 49-50
Reference
Alma 43:5–8
Alma 46:3–7
Alma 50:25–29
Alma 61:8; 62:6
Leader (Dissenter)
Zerahemnah
Amalickiah
Morianton
Pachus
Tell us what nationality each leader was.
The War Chapters
Alma 43-63
(Codex Mendoza)
The Art of War in Mesoamerica
General Moroni ... “had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm shields, yea,
and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed in thick clothing – ”
(Alma 43:19)
The Art of War in Mesoamerica
Alma 49:18: Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security
by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness of the bank
which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been dug
round about, save it were by the entrance.
The Art of War in Mesoamerica
Becan: An Early Fortified Maya City
Becan began as a village at about
300 BC. By AD 100 a ditch was
constructed around the city. The
ditch was never filled with water.
Originally much deeper, the ditch is
now 45 feet wide and 12 feet deep.
The dirt from the ditch was piled to
create a fortified wall around the
city.
A significant battle scene (one in which the long-term survival of the
Nephite nation might have been at stake) is described in Alma 51 at the
end of the year: December. After heavy fighting and major marches,
both sides were very tired because of their "labors and heat of the day."
This takes place "in the borders on the beach by the seashore" (Alma
51:32).
Alma 51 shows that the land of the Book of Mormon peoples was not a
cold, snow-covered place in winter, as upstate New York was for young
Joseph Smith. If he made up the book based on what he knew, he would
have had fighting occur in the summer, not during winter. The Farm Boy
does it again!
Alma 47:7–19. Pretend you are Lehonti and as if Amalickiah were
Satan.
•What advantage does an army have if it is on higher ground than
its enemy?
•What are some tactics Satan uses to get us to come down from
higher ground?
Elder Robert D. Hales: “In the Book of Mormon, we read
about Lehonti and his men camped upon a mount. The
traitorous Amalickiah urged Lehonti to ‘come down’ and
meet him in the valley. But when Lehonti left the high
ground, he was poisoned ‘by degrees’ until he died, and his
army fell into Amalickiah’s hands (see Alma 47). By
arguments and accusations, some people bait us to leave
the high ground. The high ground is where the light is. … It is
the safe ground. It is true and where knowledge is”
(“Christian Courage: The Price of Discipleship,”
Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 74).
Places of Security
Alma 49:5
Alma 49:8
Alma 49:18
Alma 49:22
Alma 50:1
Application
Alma 50:2-6
1. Moroni “cut off all the strongholds of
the Lamanites.”
Application?
2. Moroni fortified a line, or border,
between the Nephites and the Lamanites.
Application?
3. Moroni’s armies built fortifications to
secure his people against their enemies.
Application?
John Bytheway
“Righteous
Warriors”
(CD exerpt)
Elder Ballard, “Let Our
Voices Be
Heard,” Ensign Nov. 2003.
“The family is the main target of
evil’s attack and must therefore be the
main point of our protection and
defense. When you stop and think
about it from a diabolically tactical
point of view, fighting the family makes
sense to Satan. … By attempting to
disregard the law of chastity, to confuse
gender, to desensitize violence, to
make crude and blasphemous language
the norm, and to make immoral and
deviant behavior seem like the rule
rather than the exception.”
To minimize the negative effect media can have on our families:
1. Hold family councils and decide what our media standards are going
to be.
2. Spend quality time with our children that we are consistently the
main influence in their lives
3. Make good media choices and set good examples for children.
4. Limit the amount of time watching TV or playing video games or
using the Internet each day.
5. Use Internet filters and TV programming locks.
6. Place TVs and computers in a much-used common room in the home.
7. Watch appropriate media and discuss how to make choices that will
uplift and build rather than degrade and destroy.
M. Russell Ballard, October 2003 General Conference
Alma 40-50