The children of Amulon and his brethren

I don't like to link to anti-church literature here, but suffice it to say that I read an article on one of the more well-known anti-church websites claiming that the Book of Mormon "text is filled with inconsistencies". Having written so much about the numerous examples of internal consistency, I become curious when such a claim is made. Not unexpectedly, the article fails completely to give these examples and it is tempting to write a full rebuttal, but I will not waste my time. But I just want to give one example of the failed critical argument here, because it demonstrates the complexity of the Book of Mormon and provides an example of an apparent weakness turning into a strength.

The article quotes Mosiah 25:12

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.

For those who don't remember, Amulon was the leader of the wicked priests of King Noah. They fled the land at King Noah's death and ruled over the people of Alma in the land Helam for a while. Like the verse says, they also kidnapped and married some of the daughters of the Lamanites.

The article comments:

The text does not say that the priests [Amulon and his brethren] had any children when they journeyed to Helam, but by the time Alma escaped, the priests not only had children, but they were apparently mature enough to decide that they wanted to join Alma's group in fleeing to Zarahemla

It also argues that the prophecies of Abinadi about the seed of the priests could not possibly be fulfilled since their children had joined the Nephites in Zarahemla as explained in Mosiah 25:12.

On the surface, it seems that the author has a valid point. But it is based on lack of detailed knowledge of the Book of Mormon text. The author assumes that the children of Amulon and his brethren that we read about in Mosiah 25:12, are children from the marriage with the daughters of the Lamanites. This is not the case. King Noah's priests already had wives and children (and concubines) before they fled the land and captured the Lamanite women. In Mosiah 19:11, we learn that when the Lamanites attacked, King Noah "commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee before the Lamanites". In verse 21 we learn that his priests were among them that had left their families and fled. 

Consequently, the children of Amulon and his brethren were among the people of Limhi, Noahs son, separated from their fathers. They were among the people who were slaves to the Lamanites and finally managed to escape and get back to Zarahemla. In the meantime, Amulon and his brethren, took the Lamanite's daughters as wives and presumably had new children. Abinadi's prophecies about the seed of the priests of Noah was of course directed at them.

Confused yet? Let's try to make an overview:

1. King Noah and his priests rule in wickedness
2. The Lamanites attack and the king and his priests leave their families and flee
3. King Noah's son, Limhi, rules as a tributary monarch in Lamanite captivity
4. The priests (Amulon and his brethren) kidnap some of the daughters of the Lamanites, marry them and probably have kids
5. Not long after, they find the people of Alma in the land of Helam and bring them into bondage
6. The people of Limhi manage to escape and flee to Zarahemla
7. Alma and his people manage to escape and flee to Zarahemla
8. In Zarahemla, the children of Amulon and his brethren want to be Nephites and not Amulonites

The critic misses the detail in #2 and assumes the kids from #4 end up in Zarahemla (#8), which admittedly would be strange, but certainly is not the case.

Conclusion: The Book of Mormon is complex! There are numerous such details in the text and it's hard to get a grip on those before you have read it a few dozen times and paid attention. This critic (who seems to be an ex-member) probably spent his youth in Sunday School, Seminary and Institute and had read the Book of Mormon multiple times, but still missed this detail. I don't think that is uncommon. What is uncommon, even remarkable, is that the 23 year old farmer with very little education dictated this text with all these details in essentially one draft without notes or manuscript. He apparently had full control over the details that the critic struggled with, even though the critic had the luxury of actually having the Book of Mormon text in front of them. Of course, I don't believe that Joseph Smith knew these details, I think the text was revealed to him and that the original author, Mormon, in this case, knew the details. But for the critics, this was Joseph Smith's invention, and the criticism backfires when it turns out that the ridiculed young farmer dictates a text so complex that the critics cannot keep track of the details.

May 11–17. Mosiah 18–24: “We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him”

Here are some additional resources for this week's lesson:


Mosiah 18 -- "Redeem his people" is a unique phrase, Covenant Symbols, "Before the foundation of the world"


Mosiah 19/Mosiah 22 -- Gideon


Mosiah 20/Mosiah 22/Mosiah 23 -- A note about going "up" and "down"


Mosiah 21 -- Another story told twice, Long Side Stories, "Dry Bones"


Mosiah 24 -- "Remember the captivity of our fathers," "Cunning,"  Physical and spiritual deliverance

Gideon, another example of internal consistency (and possibly Hebrew wordplay) in the Book of Mormon

If we simply compare all the mentions of the name Gideon in the Book of Mormon, we quickly discover that the name can either refer to a place or a person.  In this post, we'll compare these references to see if they are internally consistent. We'll also explore the meaning of the name, since it seems that Mormon enjoyed inserting Hebrew wordplay into the text of the Book of Mormon, particularly when first mentioning a new figure.

Gideon the Man

We first notice this name in the context of the wicked king Noah in the land of Nephi, in Mosiah 19:

4 And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he being a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.

It is remarkable to me that the first mention of the name Gideon introduces him in a way that fits the meaning of his name so well--Gideon means "hewer, feller, he that cuts down."

Gideon is instrumental in helping the Nephites who follow King Limhi escape from bondage. That plan is introduced by Gideon in Mosiah 22:3-9. They trick their guards into getting drunk and then sneak away in the night.

We don't encounter the name again for awhile, after that group has escaped bondage and returned to the land of Zarahemla. This time, he is older and is a teacher for the newly established church of God, but still bold and aggressive (from Alma 1):

7 And it came to pass as he was going, to preach to those who believed on his word, he met a man who belonged to the church of God, yea, even one of their teachers; and he began to contend with him sharply, that he might lead away the people of the church; but the man withstood him, admonishing him with the words of God.
8 Now the name of the man was Gideon; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage.
9 Now, because Gideon withstood him with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his sword and began to smite him. Now Gideon being stricken with many years, therefore he was not able to withstand his blows, therefore he was slain by the sword.

Live by the sword die by the sword, I guess.  Gideon as hewer and hewee?

Gideon the Place

In Alma 2:20, we first encounter Gideon as a place-name:

20 And it came to pass that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people should pitch their tents in the valley of Gideon, the valley being called after that Gideon who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword; and in this valley the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.

We learn in verse 17 that these battles are taking place on a hill east of the river Sidon. Keep that in mind.

Alma-2's highly successful mission to Gideon

Four chapters (and four years) later, Alma-2 has given up the judgment seat and devoted his time to the ministry.  He gives a masterful sermon (found in Alma chapter 5) to the people of Zarahemla, and then (in Alma 6) he continues his travels:

7 And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations he departed from them, yea, from the church which was in the city of Zarahemla, and went over upon the east of the river Sidon, into the valley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley that was called Gideon, being called after the man who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.

So by this time there is a city called Gideon in the valley called Gideon, and it is still east of the river Sidon. Of note, Alma establishes an "order of the church" for the people there (see Alma 8:1) and blesses them for their righteous choices (see Alma 7).

Korihor's highly unsuccessful mission to Gideon

The next significant mention of Gideon comes about 6 years later when we read about the anti-Christ preacher named Korihor (Alma 30).  He gets expelled out of the land of the people of Ammon and decides to try his luck in Gideon (from verse 21):

And he came over into the land of Gideon, and began to preach unto them also; and here he did not have much success, for he was taken and bound and carried before the high priest, and also the chief judge over the land.

He blasphemes in front of Giddonah, who delivers him to Zarahemla to meet with Alma.  It is worth noting that Zarahemla and Gideon are like twin cities, frequently mentioned in close proximity to each other.

Gideon in the war chapters

More than a decade (and 30 chapters) later, in the midst of a brutal war with the Lamanites, the chief judge Pahoran is ousted from Zarahemla by those Nephites who have allied with the Lamanites and re-established a king. (See this post for more details about that.) Where did Pahoran manage to flee?  Gideon. (See Alma 61:5.)

Moroni comes to the rescue in Alma 62. It is interesting to note that he is coming from the battle zones in the east and unites his armies with those of Pahoran in the valley of Gideon. Then the powerful combined army marches to Zarahemla and reclaims it. This fits the geography previously described--Gideon lies to the east of the river Sidon.

So what can we learn from all of this?  I see a few points worth mentioning.

1. The text of the Book of Mormon is complicated, intricate, and internally consistent. 
2. The author must have had notes. I do not believe the author of this text could have tracked all of these details across thousands of words and hundreds of unrelated names and details without notes.  There is no claim by witness to the translation process (friend or foe) that Joseph dictated from notes, made revisions to the text, or even had details read back to him.
3. Mormon was a fan of Hebrew wordplay.
4. Gideon was a real man and is presented in the text as faithful but aggressive/hot-tempered.
5. The valley named after him became an important city in the Nephite lands, and the text describes it consistently.