Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
, the people commonly referred to as the Amulonites () were composed of the priests of
king Noah
According to the Book of Mormon, King Noah was a wicked monarch best known for burning the prophet Abinadi at the stake. King Noah, described in the Book of Mosiah, is said to have presided over a wicked kingdom guided by false priests. Noah s ...
and the daughters of the Lamanites, whom the Amulonites took to wife by force. They are named after
The Amulonites (existing from about 147 BC to about 87 BC) were relatively few but nevertheless acted as a catalyst for war between the Lamanites and
Nephites
According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, po ...
. They worked tirelessly to "stir up the unconverted Lamanites to war against their converted brethren, and then against the Nephites. (Alma 25:2 The Amulonites seem to only be included in the record as an example of what not to do. Without the Amulonites, the Lamanites would not have attacked the Nephites as many times as they did, nor would the people of Ammon or
Anti-Nephi-Lehies
According to the Book of Mormon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies () were an ethnic group of Lamanites formed around 90 BC, after a significant religious conversion. They made a covenant that they would not participate in war, and buried their weapons. Eventu ...
have left their lands to find a better life.
Time line
Origins
During the invasion of the Lamanites at the end of the reign of Nephite king Noah, Amulon and the other priests of Noah fled to escape being executed by the people. Being too ashamed to return to the city and "Fearing that the people would slay them", Amulon and his fellow priests did not return to the city of Nephi and left their wives and children in the city.
In the wilderness it appears that the priests had wandered into the Land of Shemlon, where the daughters of Lamanites gathered together to make themselves merry. From a hidden location, the priests "laid and watched them". They waited until there were only a few that gathered to dance, then the priests burst out from where they were hiding and carried off the daughters, which numbered twenty-four.
The Lamanites became convinced that the people of
Limhi
In the Book of Mormon, Limhi () was the third and final king of the second Nephite habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeded his father, Noah. Led by Ammon (a mulekite) Limhi escaped from the Lamanites with his people to the land of Zar ...
had stolen their daughters and so went to war against the people of Limhi. But after being driven back the Lamanites, Limhi and Gideon inform the king of the Lamanites that the priests of Noah had fled and that they may be responsible disappearance of their daughters.
Later the Lamanites found the Amulonites in the land of Amulon. Amulon, who is mentioned as the Amulonites' leader, gained compassion from the Lamanites by pleading for the lives of his people using their wives, who were in reality those daughters of the Lamanites who were abducted. The people commonly referred to as the Amulonites are composed of the priests of King Noah and the daughters of the Lamanites. ( Mosiah 23:31-34) From that period the Amulonites were joined in purpose with the Lamanites and were referred to using the Lamanite title from then on.
Other appearances
In the time that the
sons of Mosiah
According to the Book of Mormon, Mosiah II (), King Benjamin's son and Mosiah I's grandson, was king of the Nephite nation from about 124 BC to 91 BC. The Book of Mosiah is named after Mosiah II. Mosiah was also a prophet and is described by Ammo ...
were preaching to the Lamanites, the Nephites were considered more wicked than the Lamanites, and their religious manner was patterned after the order of
Anti-nephi-lehies in the Book of Mormon), the Lamanites rebelled against the king of all the Lamanites. This was done to take arms against the
Ammonites
Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttl ...
, and slay many believers among them.
After the Ammonites fled into Nephite lands, the Amulonites, along with the
Amalekites
Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or th ...
, went to war against the Nephites, resulting in the destruction of the city of
Ammonihah
Ammonihah () is a city mentioned in the Book of Mormon that is governed by a class of lawyers and judges who lead an aristocratic and materialistic social order. When the Book of Mormon prophet Alma visits Ammonihah as part of a ministerial tour ...
.
But being driven back with a great slaughter, the armies of the Lamanites fled the field of battle but had suffered greatly in the battle. In fact, of the Amulonites it is said of the battle "slain almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren".
Alma
Alma or ALMA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film
* ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922
* ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017
* ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
25:4
In the retreat of the Lamanites the Amulonites had usurped "power and authority" over the Lamanites due to the increased amount of Lamanites converting to the gospel. Many Lamanites were caused to be put to death by fire. (Alma 25:5-7) This act apparently turned the Lamanites against the Amulonites.(Alma 25:8) Thus the Amulonites became a hunted people and this fulfilled a prophecy uttered by
Abinadi
According to the Book of Mormon, Abinadi () was a prophet who lived on the American continent about 150 BC. In the Book of Mormon account, Abinadi visited the court of King Noah at Lehi-Nephi, and pleaded for them to repent of their iniquity and ...
, see Alma 25:9-12.
After these events, the Amulonites cease to be mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
The children of Amulon vs. the children of the Amulonites
There are two groups considered to be the children of the Amulonites and Amulon (their leader).
* Children of Amulon and his brethren were the children through their Nephite wives before the priests of Noah were separated from the Nephites.
* The children of the Amulonites spoken of after the priests of Noah were separated from the Nephites, were children through their wives who were Lamanite Daughters.
See Mosiah 25:12.
References
{{reflist
External links
* History recap of the Amulonite
* Essay comparing the United States Constitution with the religious climate at the time of the Amulontie
* An in depth verse by verse look at Alma 2
* Write up on Alma 21 and later chapter
* Second look at the Amulonite destruction Book of Mormon peoples