Alma 49-50

Reference Leader (Dissenter)Alma 43:5–8 ZerahemnahAlma 46:3–7 AmalickiahAlma 50:25–29 MoriantonAlma 61:8; 62:6 Pachus

The War Chapters

Alma 43-63

Tell us what nationality each leader was.

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)

(Cod

ex M

endo

za)

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 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.

Becan: An Early Fortified Maya City

The Art of War in Mesoamerica

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!

BOOK OF MORMON EVIDENCES

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 ApplicationAlma 49:5Alma 49:8Alma 49:18Alma 49:22Alma 50:1

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?

Alma 50:2-6

John Bytheway “Righteous Warriors”

(CD exerpt)

“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.”

Elder Ballard, “Let Our Voices Be

Heard,” Ensign Nov. 2003.

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.

To minimize the negative effect media can have on our families:

M. Russell Ballard, October 2003 General Conference

Alma 40-50