A note on idolatry and culture

Idol worship in the Old Testament

When Moses received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, the first two dealt with idol worship.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20)

These are also the two commandments that the Israelites struggled with the most, as far as I can tell. Already while Moses received these commandments, the Israelites made and worshiped a golden calf. As soon as they started settling in the promised land, many of the Israelites started worshiping the local deities of the other nations there, despite the numerous warnings they had received in advance.

This is puzzling to us. Why would making and bowing down to a carved image be so tempting and so difficult to abstain from? To answer this question, I think it is important to understand the ancient Near Eastern culture. The gods (with plural ‘s’ since the monotheism of Israel was unique) had a central role in every community, for good or bad. Whenever something good happened, it was by divine favor, and whenever something went wrong, a petty god had been offended. The NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible states:

The polytheism of the ancient world was not just a matter of numbers. In the ancient world identity was found in one’s community rather than in one’s individuality. Like people, gods found their identity in relationship to the group to which they belonged. Each god had a constellation of attributes, just as people have different skills and abilities. As in human communities, the community of the gods called for hierarchy. So the pantheon of the gods was characterized by a hierarchy (cosmic gods, national gods, city patrons, clan deities, ancestral deities) and by differentiation (according to their jurisdiction, manifestations and attributes). Given this cultural reality, we can surmise that it was very difficult for the Israelites to adjust to a single God spanning all levels of hierarchy and all categories of jurisdiction.

So one explanation is the difficulty of Israel to adjust to a single God. This is certainly not a challenge for us, at least in a literal sense. We may of course have many so-called idols in the form of money, status, luxury items, sports, etc. This is often the modern-day Sunday School application of the ancient problem of idol worship and certainly one way to update an ancient and obsolete problem to our time. But I think there are also other underlying factors that help explain why bowing down to an image was so natural and attractive to an ancient Israelite, that I will get back to.

As I am studying the Old Testament cover to cover this year, I also read the parts that are often omitted from the church curriculum. By all means, I don't blame those who make the church manuals. First of all, there would be 18-19 chapters to study every week. Second, the poor Sunday School teachers would have to grapple with what to us is very strange behavior by ancient Israelites, and try to explain that to a group of people puzzled by what they have read during the week. Anyway, I have gotten a stronger sense of how different things were back then. Still, if you and I were born in Palestine around 1300 BC with our exact same genes, we would obviously think and act like most people did at the time. It would be hard to argue against that. It is the society and culture in which we have been raised that make the ancient Near Eastern culture seem so foreign and strange. But it has been quite rewarding for me to try to understand how people were thinking and acting and what underlying values and motives their behavior was based on, rather than just dismissing them as weird.

There is no doubt that these people in return would find modern people, especially in the Western World, really strange. Our actions would simply not make sense to them. A couple of examples would be

• Our culture of expressive individualism would seem extremely weird, selfish and even narcissistic to an ancient faithful Israelite. How could true believers of God be so self-centered?
• Our sexualized society would be shocking to an ancient faithful Israelite. Even if the modern day heathens treat the topic of sex very casually, show much skin at the beach, etc., surely true believers of God should know better and distance themselves from this far more than they actually do?

Similarly, we ask how people who had at least heard of and perhaps even seen the miracles of God leading them into the promised land could possibly start worshiping graven images? But the examples listed above would probably be just as strange to them as idolatry seems to us. Here is a common denominator that I have reflected on: It is done because it is considered normal. Normal is by definition what everybody else is doing. We don't even think about the examples I listed above and how peculiar they are compared to virtually the entire history of the human race. Because this is the normal worldview and behavior in the society that we find ourselves in right now. It was the same for Israel. They did not drive out all the inhabitants of the promised land. They lived among or close to other nations and they all had multiple gods that they worshiped, that they relied on for crop yields, weather, offspring, warfare, etc. The Israelites were the weird ones who only had one god. They relied on him alone for all of these things, but whenever they felt that He did not hear them, many of them resorted to other gods. To them, that was the only alternative. If the crops yields were too meager, what else was there to do?

It is easy for us to feel both morally and intellectually superior to ancient Near Eastern people. But we determine morality by our moral codes that are in fact quite different from these ancient societies. But for believers in the one true God it should be the same because the gospel is everlasting, right? Not quite, I would argue. Culture definitely influences our norms and our emphasis on some moral codes or commandments over others. How about intellect? Isn't idol worship kind of stupid? We obviously have the advantage of education, access to information and knowledge that people anciently could not even dream of. But if I were to be born in an ancient Israel society with the same cognitive abilities, I am pretty sure that I would not be any more successful there than I am here. A better approach than becoming arrogant is trying to understand ancient cultures. At least for me, that has been greatly rewarding.

Idol worship in the Book of Mormon

Idolatry is mentioned in the Book of Mormon, but is less prevalent than in the Old Testament. The word, "idol" appears 13 times, but almost half of those are from Isaiah quotes. The word "idolatry" appears 8 times. It is usually just mentioned as a vice among the wicked without giving details or including specific stories involving idol worship. It does make sense that the Nephites are a little less influenced by it than the Israelites. Lehi and Nephi surely did not bring that tradition across the sea. It would rather have come from other people living in the Americas already, of which the Book of Mormon tells us virtually nothing. But I believe that especially the Lamanites mingled with them.

Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance. (Alma 17:15)

We learn that "many" Lamanites worshiped idols, which implies that not all did, like Israel's neighbors. Also, the general physical separation and distance between Nephites and Lamanites, at least after Mosiah-I's exodus, perhaps contributed to somewhat less influence. Still, some problems with idolatry among the Nephites at times is also evident.

And now behold, he had got great hold upon the hearts of the Nephites; yea, insomuch that they had become exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and did trample under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver. (Helaman 6:31)

Now it came to pass that after the end of Korihor, Alma having received tidings that the Zoramites were perverting the ways of the Lord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of the people to bow down to dumb idols, his heart again began to sicken because of the iniquity of the people. (Alma 31:1)

As mentioned, we know little about what exactly the idolatry of the Lamanites and apostate Nephites looked like. For the Nephites, it often seems connected to riches and pride. The concept is generalized by Jacob

30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also...

37 Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them. (2 Nephi 9)

Conclusion

The modern Western world is vastly different from any previous society in the history of mankind. But apart from the societal influences, which obviously play a very large role, we still may not have changed that much as people. We tend to habitually do whatever is considered normal and find people with a different worldview and behavior weird and perhaps even morally and intellectually inferior. But they just do the same as we do in a sense. For ancient Israelites, the commandment to have no other gods before Yahweh was arguably the hardest one, because it represented a drastic change from the rest of the world they knew. The Nephites also tended to devolve into this in periods of wickedness, but perhaps to a lesser degree, which can possibly be explained by less influence. As human beings then and now, we are very easily influenced by whatever others are doing and we don't like to stand out as different. Sometimes, God commands us to do just that. Those commandments are often the hardest to obey.

"An instrument in the hands of God"

This is a short follow-up note on my series of posts on the phrase "stretch forth thine hand" (which begins here). One main lesson from that study was that prophets are messengers from God calling a covenant people to repent. As we learned from the account of Enoch (discussed in part 4), Enoch feels the same things God feels and emulates actions described by God during his grand vision.

A related phrase which caught my attention during the course of this study is "an instrument in the hands of God."  This is unique to the Book of Mormon, but it shows up several times.  With only one exception (which will be discussed below), every time the word "instrument" is used in the Book of Mormon it is in connection with "an instrument in the hands of God."

Here are the verses where it is used.  Notice how consistent the context is -- each instance refers to leading/delivering a people or bringing them to repentance. I love the description of the purpose of the instrument (highlighted in green below).  If you ever want a succinct summary of why God sends prophets/messengers to earth, this is a nice list.

24 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness; nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you. (2 Nephi 1)

 

24 And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren. (2 Nephi 3)

 

10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth. (Mosiah 23)

 

36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer. (Mosiah 27)

 

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. (Alma 1)

 

30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people. (Alma 2)

 

9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.

11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls. (Alma 17)

 

3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

...

15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. (Alma 26)

 

9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. (Alma 29)

 

14 And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon, and they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and children, and their lands. (Alma 35)

 

'keli' -- an article, utensil, vessel (כְּלִי)

The Hebrew word for 'instrument' is 'keli,' derived from the verb meaning 'to be completed.' Of note, the tools described in the Old Testament intended for use in the temple are also called 'instruments,' along with many other objects.

The lone exception in the Book of Mormon of the word 'instrument' being used in a context other than "an instrument in the hands of God" is from 3 Nephi 22:16 (quoting Isaiah 54:16):

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

This verse sheds a little light on the topic by reminding us that we can become useful helpers in bringing about God's eternal purposes for His children. This happens only as we devote ourselves to Him and align our will with His.

In the context of the "two ways" this means that we either become instruments in the hand of God or we end up worshipping the things which our own hands have made.

Collectivism in the Book of Mormon

I am currently reading a book called "Misreading scripture with western eyes". It shows how we often misunderstand scripture because we read it through the lens of our culture which is very different from the culture of those who wrote it. The authors are Christian but not LDS so I am interested to see how this also might apply to the Book of Mormon. One chapter discusses the modern western individualist culture versus the eastern collectivist culture.

Here are a few examples from the Bible that I have never considered: The Christmas story has been Westernized. We imagine (and illustrate in paintings and school plays) Joseph and Mary and possibly a donkey trudging alone up to Jerusalem in the quiet of the night. This is very unlikely. A passage from the book explains:

Since we know from prophecy that Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem, we don’t ask the obvious question: why in the world would a guy drag his pregnant wife across the country? We assume the Romans must have required it (within the will of God, of course). Sure, the Romans required a census, but they allowed a large window of time for people to register. It wasn’t in Rome’s best interest to suddenly require everyone in the empire to travel to their ancestral homeland during one weekend. It seems clear in the text that Mary and Joseph were traveling during festival time—that’s why all the inns were full. Bethlehem was what we might call a bedroom community, or suburb, for Jerusalem. Joseph, unlike many Galileans, was apparently a regular attender of Judean festivals. This might explain why Joseph wanted to visit Jerusalem when he did. But why take Mary when she was “great with child”? It wasn’t ignorance; ancients knew how to count to nine. The reason is simple: if Joseph was of the lineage of David, then so were all his relatives. So were all of Mary’s relatives. Moreover, in antiquity one’s relatives were the birthing crew. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem when they did because everybody else was going.

This goes without saying for the gospel writers. In the modern West, we emphasize each individual being of equal importance. It is not obvious to us that a lot of people who are not mentioned in the story are also there. Another example is Paul's letter-writing. A passage from the book states:

Ancient letter-writing was different in just about every way. Ancients had no writing desks. Authors commonly stood and dictated while a scribe sat with a sheet of parchment balanced on his knee or in his lap. Paul would not have locked himself away in some private room to write. (It would have been too dark anyway.) He more likely would have sat in a public place: the breezy, well-lit atrium of a prosperous home like Lydia’s, or in an upstairs balconied apartment. Family and friends walking by would have stopped to listen (ancients read out loud) and to offer advice (it shows you care).

These are interesting perspectives that make sense only when I better understand the cultural differences. I have been thinking of similar examples in the Book of Mormon where people are not as alone as we think they are when we (mis)read it through modern western eyes. Take the sons of Mosiah who went to preach to the Lamanites. Were there four people making the journey to the Lamanites, preaching the gospel there for 14 years? We know it wasn't. It is not emphasized much in the text but there were definitely more:

And thus they departed into the wilderness with their numbers which they had selected, to go up to the land of Nephi, to preach the word of God unto the Lamanites. (Alma 17:8)

We even get two of their names in Alma 20:2, Ammah and Muloki. So this is not a very obscure fact, on a close reading we understand that there probably was a sizeable group going up to the Lamanites. But it is mentioned only in passing, focusing on certain characters, just like the Christmas story for obvious reasons focuses on Mary and Joseph and not all their relatives. So we should not be surprised if people who are not central to the story sometimes are not mentioned at all. I think this might be the case with the Lehite exodus. Once Nephi mentions in passing that he has sisters (See 2 Nephi 5:6). It is not obvious that he made a conscious effort to inform the reader about that detail, probably because he did not really think it was too important. Informing about family matters was not the point of his writings unless it served the purpose of teaching the reader about God's ways, which is illustrated in the conflicts with his brothers.

Learning about a typical Jewish household in Lehi's time, it is reasonable to assume that there were many more people journeying to the promised land than the ones we know by name from the Book of Mormon. These households would usually consist of three generations. We know from 1 Nephi 7 when they get Ishmael and his houshold that he had two sons who also had families. They were all part of the same household. (See 1 Nephi 7:5-6). In addition, an ancient Jewish household would include debt servants, slaves, concubines, resident aliens, sojourners, day laborers and orphans. Even though I think we may safely assume that Lehi had no concubines, I find it likely that he had servants and maids. This was not frowned upon in ancient Israel like it is in the modern West, as even the Bible clearly shows. Besides, Lehi was definitely rich, something that would increase the size of his household.

When the Lord spoke to Lehi in a dream and told him to flee Jerusalem and travel into the wilderness to a promised land, I find it likely that he brought everyone along. This was probably something that went without saying for Nephi, but it is not obvious to us before we learn more about ancient Israelite culture.

There is no spiritual lesson or gospel principles hidden in this, just an interesting tidbit. But it might be part of the explanation for how the Nephites seem to have become so many so fast (like having wars with the Lamanites while Nephi was still alive).

 

Internal consistency -- Lamanite cities

We should seek and rely on a personal, spiritual witness of the Book of Mormon, independently of scholarly research and secular approaches. But when critics manage to lure away faithful members with their arguments, countering those also has its place. My assertion is that the Book of Mormon is more complex than most people realize. There are intricate, internally consistent details, that we normally don't think about. Critics do not factor those into their theories of Book of Mormon origins, but they cannot be ignored. We have given numerous examples before on this blog. Each example may not be too convincing on its own, but there are literally hundreds and combined they make it difficult to believe that Joseph Smith could remember so many details without notes or manuscript.

Here is another example. In the "war chapters" in Alma we get a lot of details about the geography of the Nephite lands. Earlier in Alma, where the mission of the sons of Mosiah among the Lamanites is recounted, we also get the names of several Lamanite cities. To make up some strange city names does not have to be too difficult, even when doing it with your face in a hat, unless you have to remember them and bring them up again at some later point and avoid contradictions. But this is exactly the case.

This is what the Book of Mormon tells us about Lamanite lands: It is (ironically) called the land of Nephi. At least, that is what the Nephites call it, perhaps the Lamanites themselves used another name, but the Book of Mormon is written by Nephites. The historical background is found in 2 Nephi 5 and The Book of Omni. An interesting side note is that Joseph Smith had not yet dictated these chapters at the time he gave the information about Lamanite geography in Alma. 

In 2 Nephi 5, Nephi and those who want to come with him, separate from Laman and Lemuel and those who are hostile towards Nephi. They establish themselves in the land of Nephi and live there for 400 years. But Nephi's brother, Jacob, prophesies

And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they [the Lamanites] shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away the righteous out from among you. (Jacob 3:4)

In Omni, Mosiah-1 is warned and flees the land of Nephi with those who want to follow him. The more wicked part of the Nephites had already been destroyed at that point (Omni 1:5). Later (in the Book of Mormon but earlier in the dictation sequence), in Mosiah 9, we read that Zeniff wants to go back to inherit the land of Nephi, but now there are Lamanites living there. Naturally, they took the land of Nephi in possession when the Nephites had either fled or been destroyed, just like Jacob had prophesied.

When the sons of Mosiah later go on a mission there to preach the gospel to the Lamanites, we learn some of their city names. Some are found at various places in the text. In Alma 23:9-12, we get a list of cities in which Lamanites converted:

9 The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael;
10 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Middoni;
11 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi;
12 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom.

7 cities altogether. Most of these are not names that Joseph Smith could have just thrown out there because they have been mentioned before. The first one mentioned is Ishmael. This is where Ammon went in the beginning of the story.

And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being called after the sons of Ishmael, who also became Lamanites. (Alma 17:19)

The king in Ishmael, Lamoni, became converted along with basically his whole kingdom. So it is natural that this is first on the list.

Middoni is next. This city is mentioned in chapters 19 and 20 as the place where Ammon's brothers were cast into prison. Lamoni was a friend of the king in Middoni and went with Ammon there and set them free. We don't read more details but we know this happened after Lamoni's conversion so perhaps he influenced the king and that later caused much conversion in this city as well. 

Next in the list is the city of Nephi. This is first mentioned in Alma 22:1. 

Now, as Ammon was thus teaching the people of Lamoni continually, we will return to the account of Aaron and his brethren; for after he departed from the land of Middoni he was led by the Spirit to the land of Nephi, even to the house of the king which was over all the land save it were the land of Ishmael; and he was the father of Lamoni.

When Aron preaches to Lamoni's father in the land of Nephi (who probably lives in the city of Nephi, since these "lands" were city states), he is also converted with his whole house. So it is natural that the city of Nephi is also on this list. There is another subtle detail that I highlighted. Why is he king over all the land except the land of Ishmael? Two chapters earlier, an encounter between Ammon and Lamoni's father resulted in him promising this:

I will grant unto you that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no more (Alma 20:26)

So when we later read about Lamoni's father who is king over all the land, there is now one exception, and the text references back to that detail.

Shilom and Shemlon are next on the list and never mentioned in the account of the mission of the sons of Mosiah. We have to go all the way back to Mosiah 24:1 for the last mention of these lands, where they are presented as Lamanite territory. 

Lemuel and Shimnilom are the only cities we have not read about before and therefore in theory could have been just thrown into the mix without disrupting internal consistency. But all the other 5 lands/cities have already been introduced in the text and had to match the fact that they were Lamanite cities with potential converts.

There are also a few Lamanite cities/lands that have been introduced in the text but are not on the list of Lamanite cities with converts in Alma. For instance, in Alma 21:2, we read about a city called Jerusalem (named after the city of their forefathers). This is a city with many Amulonites and Amalekites and synagogues after the order of Nehor to which they belonged. Since, for the most part, those born as Lamanites converted and not Amulonites and Amalekites, it is not unexpected that this city is excluded from the list.

The point is: Those who say that Joseph Smith just made it all up, need to explain how he could get all these details straight with his face in a hat. It is not trivial.

Moroni's "covenant of peace" -- part 2 (sending forth angels)

In my last post, I outlined an example of what I call the covenant worldview on display in Alma 44.

There's a little more to the story which I'd like to share in this post, which relates to the principle of mercy. The Doctrine & Covenants summarizes this principle very nicely:

42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son.

43 And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;

44 And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not;

45 For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey. (D&C 29)

In short, we are destined to die at the end of the probationary phase known as mortality, but we are given a promise that divine messengers will show us the way to avoid spiritual death at the day of judgment.

These angels come in various forms (Hebrew malak simply means messenger). All the way back in Genesis 3:24 we are told that cherubim (a Hebrew transliteration referring to "probably an order of angelic beings", derived from an ancient Akkadian word for "an intercessor," NIDOTTE Vol. 2, p. 717)

Notice how even in the war chapters of Alma, this principle is on display. I always found this part of the story quite confusing, but now I see its purpose clearly:

13 And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice:
14 Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace.
15 Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the scalp which was upon the sword, that were struck with fear; and many came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a covenant they suffered to depart into the wilderness. (Alma 44)

The imagery of a soldier holding aloft his sword and warning the wicked must have been too close to the "angels will declare repentance and redemption" message for Mormon to avoid weaving that core concept into the narrative. And so the soldier "stretche[s] forth" his sword to the people and says "with a loud voice" that they must -- in a way -- repent and enter into a covenant of peace or be destroyed.

It works, only for some.

Those who died were "not numbered because of the greatness of the number" (verse 21) and they were "cast ... into the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the sea" (verse 22).

Verse 18 contains several more covenant allusions:

18 But behold, their naked skins and their bare heads were exposed to the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea, behold they were pierced and smitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the Nephites; and they began to be swept down, even as the soldier of Moroni had prophesied.

The soldier had spoken through the spirit of prophecy that those who would not enter into the covenant would be destroyed, and they were.  The word of God is often referred to as a sword which is quick, powerful, sharp, and able to divide asunder (see D&C 6:2, 11:2, 12:2, 14:2, 33:1).

The enemies of the Nephites were not able to withstand the swords because of their naked skins and bare heads. Compare D&C 27:15-18, especially verse 18.

Similar to the story of Ammon defending King Lamoni's flocks in Alma 17, I believe this was a real event recounted by a faithful historian who never missed an opportunity to put the covenant worldview on display.

The harvest of the Sons of Mosiah

I was surprised to find that, except for quoting Isaiah, the word 'harvest' is only found twice in the Book of Mormon. The first time is in Alma 17:13, when the Sons of Mosiah are going on a mission to preach the gospel to the Lamanites.

13 And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken.

The second time is when Ammon is looking back on their mission, rejoicing in their success in Alma 26. They did meet again at the close of their harvest and Ammon is referring to their harvest in verse 7. In verses 5-7 he uses agricultural imagery that seems to be drawn from ancient Israelite culture.

5 Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.

6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.

7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.

Similar metaphors are found in Joel 3:13

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

and Micah 4:12

But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

Notice also how Ammon says that the sheaves shall be gathered when the storms and whirlwinds come. These are ancient Israelite metaphors associated with scattering. For instance, in Zechariah 7:14

But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not.

See also similar statements in Habakkuk 3:14 and Isaiah 41:16 for instance. Ammon argues that since the sheaves are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, they will be gathered when the winds come, instead of scattered like Israel of old. Ammon certainly knew of the Lord's promises to the Lamanites pertaining to the latter-day gathering, in addition to making a case for the converts at his time.

Another connection I noticed is a few verses later in Alma 26, where Ammon describes the change that happened to the Lamanite converts.

13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?

14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell.

15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.

The language is very similar to Alma-2's description of the change that happened to the "fathers" of the Nephites in Zarahemla

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.

8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.

9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved. (Alma 5)

At this point, Ammon had met Alma again and might have even read the account of his preaching in Zarahemla. Still I sense use of symbolism that is much older and speculate about similar content and a common source on the brass plates, even though I have no other evidence to back that up.