Nehor ()"Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners ...

-ified from «nē´hōr» was the name of the

Nephite 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 ...

founder of an apostate sect mentioned in the

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 date ...

, around 90 BC (). In opposition to the Church of God headed by

Alma the Younger According to the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma () was a Nephite prophet often referred to as Alma the Younger to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as Alma the Elder. These appellations, "the Younger" and "the Elder ...

, Nehor zealously preached the following doctrines: #Priests and teachers should be paid for their preaching and hold a privileged status (). #There will be a universal salvation for all mankind. (, , ). #There is no need for repentance. () Nehor's style of evangelizing was confrontational and led to violence. He began arguing with a man named Gideon, who was a member of the Church of God. During the exchange, Nehor became angry and killed Gideon with a sword (). Nehor was then taken to face murder charges before

, High Priest of the Church of God, but also Chief Judge of the land. Alma condemns Nehor to death for the murder of Gideon and accuses him of priestcraft (). Before his execution, Nehor was taken to the top of hill Manti and "caused" to recant his teachings before suffering an "ignominious death" (). Later groups of Nehor adherents built synagogues and formed the cities 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 ...

and Jerusalem (, ). 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 the ...

, for example, lived among the Lamanites and were granted freedom of religion from the Lamanite king (). The followers of Nehor have a far reaching impact on events during the life of Alma the Younger and his children. The divisions created by Nehor's sect deepened after his execution and lead to his followers violently persecuting the Church of God. These divisions were later used by

Amlici According to the Book of Mormon, the Amlicites () were a break-off group of Nephites in the Book of Alma, in 87 B.C. Origins After the murder of Gideon mentioned in the book of Alma and the execution of Nehor, the man who introduced priestcraft to ...

to gain power and force a popular election to anoint himself king. After losing the election he rallied his followers called "Amlicites", allied with the

Lamanites The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamani ...

, and started a civil war resulting in the death of tens of thousands. The Amlicites joined with

Amulonites According to the Book of Mormon, the people commonly referred to as the Amulonites () were composed of the priests of king Noah and the daughters of the Lamanites, whom the Amulonites took to wife by force. They are named after Amulon, their leade ...

and

Zoramites In the Book of Mormon, the Zoramites () were one of three major Nephite sects, existing during the administration of Alma the Younger as the High Priest over the Church of God (). Zoram, the leader of this group, is first mentioned in as being th ...

, who were other renegade Nephites, in an effort to destroy the Nephite nation — but they ultimately failed. Another group of Nehor adherents, who remained loyal to the Nephite government, lived in the city of

where the Chief Judge of the city ordered the burning of sacred books and the massacre of women and children who believed in their words (). The city was subsequently destroyed by the Lamanites.

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