Nephite splinter groups and Book of Mormon wars

A few years ago I started making an overview of all the wars in the Book of Mormon: When they occurred, who was involved, how it was initiated, etc. It was a bit difficult since there are so few details sometimes, like Enos just saying that "I saw wars between the Nephites and Lamanites in the course of my days." (Enos 1:24). I don't know exactly what I expected to get out of it, I just thought it could be interesting. Although I didn't really finish it, I made at least one observation that I thought was interesting: Every single war during the reign of the judges until the coming of Christ (Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi up to chapter 11) is initiated by Nephite dissenters and never the Lamanites. And these are a lot of wars too. Here is an overview:

87 B.C. - Amlici wants to be king, the Nephites vote against him, he gets mad and mixes goes to the Lamanites along with his followers. They go to war against the Nephites. See Alma 2.

81 B.C. - The Sons of Mosiah had been preaching among the Lamanites and had much success. Many Lamanites converted but none of the Nephite dissenters among them (Amalicites and Amulonites) except for one. Instead they stirred up the others that had not converted to anger against the converts and later the Nephites and went to war against them. See Alma 16 and 28.

74 B.C. - In the aftermath of the Zoramite mission, those who believe are cast out and those who don't believe are mad at the Nephites for giving them refuge and land. They mix with the Lamanites and go to war. See Alma 43-44.

73-57 B.C. - Amalickiah is another one who seeks to become king. When it doesn't work he goes to the Lamanites and eventually even becomes their king. But he is not happy with that and goes to war against the Nephites. There is at least one period of peace in-between, but all the wars going on in this period are initiated by Amalickiah and perpetuated by his brother, Ammaron, when he dies. This is a long one and is covered in Alma 46-62.

52 B.C. - We get little information about this one but enough to know that it is caused by Nephite dissenters stirring up the Lamanites to anger. See Alma 63:14-15

50 B.C. - We don't know much about the background for this war, just that the Lamanites came. But we learn that their armies were led by someone called Coriantumr who was a Nephite dissenter and that the king stirred them up. The Lamanite king at the time was Ammaron's son and Amalickiah's nephew, i.e. a Nephite by birth. See Helaman 1:14-34

38-30 B.C. - History repeats itself. Nephite dissenters go to the Lamanites, and manage after some persuation to stir them up to anger against the Nephites and go to war. They capture a lot of Nephite land, but give it back after a lot of them convert through miraculous events. See Helaman 4-5.

15-16 A.D. - This is the longest period without wars between Nephites and Lamanites in the reign of judges. But there has been much unrest at times and the Gadianton robbers have been established and have taken over much of the government and caused murders and plundering. It is hard to pinpoint a war in this period until 15-16 A.D. where more of a battle is described between the Nephites and the Gadianton robbers. Not surprisingly, the Gadianton robbers originate from Nephites. See 3 Nephi 2:17-18.

19-22 A.D. - Another battle with the Gadianton robbers. At this point, the terms "Nephite" and "Lamanite" seem to have little to do with who their forefathers were. "And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites" (3 Nephi 2:14). Considering all the Nephite dissenters who have joined the Lamanites before this, a genetic test would probably fail to determine who is who. See 3 Nephi 4. 

Depending on how we count, we have about 9 distinct wars in this period of judges. Every single one is initiated by people who were Nephites by birth. In fact, at least in two of these accounts, there were Lamanites who refused to go to war and had to be persuaded by Nephite dissenters. See Alma 47:2 and Helaman 4:3.

I guess Mormon was right:

And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things. (Alma 24:30)

What does it mean to "call upon" the name of God?

Calling upon the name of God is mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon.  One reference particularly stands out to me:

27 Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. (Helaman 3)

"Thus we may see" is typically Mormon's way of pointing out important lessons we should learn from the verses immediately preceding this kind of statement. So let's look at the verses leading up to this statement, along with a few verses which come after and offer additional insights about what lessons we can learn:

24 And it came to pass that in this same year there was exceedingly great prosperity in the church, insomuch that there were thousands who did join themselves unto the church and were baptized unto repentance.
25 And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure.
26 And it came to pass that the work of the Lord did prosper unto the baptizing and uniting to the church of God, many souls, yea, even tens of thousands.
27 Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.
28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out. (Helaman 3)

It seems this passage, in addition to revealing the underlying meaning of "call[ing] upon [the name of God]," also connects other phrases with making and keeping sacred covenants. I've highlighted these in various colors above.  Each of these can be connected to covenant symbols found in other parts of the Book of Mormon (especially on the small plates).

 "gate of heaven" -- 2 Nephi 9:41; 2 Nephi 31:9, 17-18; 2 Nephi 33:9

"lay hold upon the word of God" -- 1 Nephi 8:24, 30; 1 Nephi 11:24-25; 1 Nephi 15:24-25

"strait and narrow course" -- 1 Nephi 8:20

"right hand of God" -- Mosiah 5:9 ("for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ"); Mosiah 26:23-24 ("in my name they are called"); Alma 5:58 ("the word of God must be fulfilled"); Ether 12:4; Moroni 9:26

"kingdom of heaven" -- Alma 11:37; Helaman 5:32; 3 Nephi 14:21

"sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...to go no more out" -- Alma 7:25; 3 Nephi 4:30; Mormon 9:11-13; 1 Nephi 17:40

Variants:

"enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow" Jacob 6:11
"lay hold upon every good thing" -- Moroni 7:19-21, 25 (see this post for more detail about how "every good thing" relates to covenants)
"lay hold upon the gospel of Jesus Christ" -- Mormon 7:8

Conclusion

This is an excellent example of what I believe to be a pattern throughout the Book of Mormon -- covenants are spoken of through symbolic language rather than at the surface level.  It isn't until you attempt to connect one passage with others that you see numerous clear and consistent references to the importance of covenants.

Covenants, trees, and execution ceremonies

Each time I read through the Book of Mormon, I see certain verses with new eyes.  This is one of the many interesting and relatively unique aspects of the scriptures. Even though the words don't change, their meaning changes over time as my understanding deepens.

Take 3 Nephi 4, for example, where we find an account of the Nephites' struggle against the Gadianton robbers.

I've always found the description of the execution of Zemnarihah rather unusual, but now I see that this passage is packed with covenant language. Below I'll link to posts that discuss the covenant connotations of each set of highlighted words.

28 And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice, saying:
29 May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as this man hath been felled to the earth.
30 And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.
31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.
33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction. (3 Nephi 4)

preserve his people -- See this note about God preserving His people, especially the section about Jacob 5:11-12.

holiness of heart / hearts were swollen with joy -- This post discusses hearts. This post discusses swelling hearts and a connection to Old Testament covenant language.

rejoice -- Joy and rejoicing are intimately connected with covenant-making. See this post for an example of how this concept is intentionally woven into the narrative in Mosiah 18.

cry again with one voice -- This echoes the actions of King Benjamin's people after hearing his sermon and desiring to enter a covenant with God. (See Mosiah 4:2.) This post shows how "crying to God" is part of a divine pattern found in many places in the Book of Mormon.

protect this people -- Protection is a central blessing promised as a part of our temple covenants. This post outlines how the underlying words used to describe the Atonement symbolize divine protection.

call on the name of their God -- This post shows a few examples of Adam and Eve learning how to call upon the name of God in connection with covenants.

all as one -- This post explains how God the Father and Jesus Christ are one, and how they desire each of us to be one with them. Covenant people act with "one heart and one mind." (See Moses 7:18.)

singing -- Singing, especially in relation to praising God, has some pretty deep connections to being a covenant people. This post discusses some of that history.

gushing out of many tears -- Tears can be a symbol of gratitude and love of God.  See this post for an example, and this post for a longer discussion on "tears as rain upon the mountain."

goodness -- This post shows how "goodness" means more than we might think it does, and is connected to deliverance, too.

delivered -- Nephi uses the concept of deliverance in several clever ways. See here.  In this post, I connect the term "delivered" to covenants using examples from Alma's sermon in Ammonihah.


That is quite a bit of covenant language in one short passage. Since engaging in this effort to understand covenant symbols better, the context of this story no longer strikes me as weird. This army of robbers was dressed in such a way as to mock the symbols of the Nephites' covenant (see 3 Nephi 4:7).  The righteous Nephites fell to the earth (notice the contrast with Zemnarihah's later fate) and "did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies." (See 3 Nephi 4:8.) When that prayer was answered with great power, they naturally felt the strong desire to re-commit to their covenants.

A note about hanging Zemnarihah from the "top" of a tree

Not even this detail strikes me as odd, given the fact that I just recently studied Jacob 5.  Notice what the servant (Christ) tells the Lord of the vineyard (God the Father) about the wild branches and the Lord laments the state of his vineyard:

48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?

The solution to this problem involves pruning. Corrupted branches are cut off and cast into the fire.

Thus, when the leader of the covenant-mocking robbers is captured, he is hung from the top of a tree, then the tree is cut down, and the people immediately praise God for their deliverance and reiterate their covenants.

Conclusion

This obscure passage in 3 Nephi 4 make it clear to me that even almost 600 years after Lehi left Jerusalem, covenants were still a very essential part of Nephite culture, and we need to understand the symbols associated with that covenant in order to gain a realistic understanding of their worldview (not to mention the Book of Mormon itself).

Filled -- Part 3

In my studies about how "filled" is used in the scriptures, I have so far learned

• The Hebrew root sometimes links this term to an ordinance. It can also mean "complete" or "endowed", depending on the context
• The term is used in the Book of Mormon in the same manner for physical and spiritual nourishment indicating that the Spirit of the Lord fills our soul in similar ways to food filling our body
• The Book of Mormon also talks about a "place" inside of us that can be filled by the Spirit of the Lord or occupied by the Spirit of the Devil

Today, I will add two points to that list

• The Book of Mormon also teaches us that the place inside of us that can be filled with the Spirit of God is connected to the heart.

Here are some examples

And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire (Helaman 5:45)

because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts (Mosiah 5:2)

he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy (Mosiah 4:20)

And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof (Moroni 7:32)

Another observation

•  The Book of Mormon often describes the heart as swelling (metaphorically) as a result of this.

Again, some examples

And their hearts were swollen with joy (3 Nephi 4:33)

Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts (Alma 32:28)

Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit. (Alma 19:13) 

What does this all mean? I honestly still don't know if the filling is all just a metaphor or if there really is a space inside of us that can be literally filled somehow with the Holy Ghost. At least it shows certain patterns, phrases and metaphors consistently taught throughout the Book of Mormon.