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Annotations |
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Chapter 44
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1 And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a
pace from them. And Moroni said unto Zerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah, that we
do not desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do
not desire to slay you.
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2 Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that
we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to
the yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come
against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.
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3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye
behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should
understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in
Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.
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4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye
see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are
faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the
Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into
transgression and deny our faith.
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Sometimes when the problem of evil is expressed,
apologists will argue that God allows evil to be perpetrated because he
values moral agency so much that he will not intercede on behalf of the
victim out of respect for the agency of the perpetrator.
Hopefully most will find this idea of unwillingness to intercede repugnant
without further explanation. However, for those needing more explanation,
notice that this verse actually affirms that God will intercede to prevent
wickedness.
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5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that
all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power
over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by
our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our
children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea,
and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all
our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—
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6 Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the
desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto
us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will
go your way and come not again to war against us.
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7 And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands,
and I will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the
wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we will
see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who shall be
brought into bondage.
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8 And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard
these sayings he came forth and delivered up his sword and his cimeter,
and his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are our
weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not suffer
ourselves to take an oath unto you, which we know that we shall break, and
also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer that we may depart
into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our swords, and we will
perish or conquer.
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Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18
The only pre-Columbian weapon I can find that was similar
to a sword was the macuahuitl which was made with a plank of wood similar in
shape to a cricket bat with obsidian blades mounted on the edges. It is
similar enough to a sword that it is often referred to as the Aztec sword.
However, the macuahuitl does not seem to fit the Book of
Mormon time frame. “Some groups of Central Mexico, principally in the
transition between the Early and the Late Post-Classic, probably
developed this weapon” (emphasis added, Dr. Marco Antonio Cervera Obregón, “The
macuahuitl: an innovative weapon of the Late Post-Classic in Mesoamerica”,
Arms & Armour, Vol.3, Nov. 2, 2006, p. 146, article from a research journal).
The Post-Classic period is between 900 CE and the Spanish conquest.
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9 Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that
it is God that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is
your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is
your breastplates and your shields that have preserved you.
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
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10 And now when Zerahemnah had made an end of speaking
these words, Moroni returned the sword and the weapons of war, which
he had received, unto Zerahemnah, saying: Behold, we will end the conflict.
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
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11 Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken,
therefore as the Lord liveth, ye shall not depart except ye depart with an
oath that ye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our
hands we will spill your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the
conditions which I have proposed.
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12 And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah
retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed
forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold,
one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by
the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it
fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the
midst of his soldiers.
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
Also, some LDS apologists argue that these swords and cimeters were weapons
of stone or some other material besides metal because they realize arguing
metal swords makes no sense because there was no iron smelting in the
Americas at that time.
Verses 12 and 13 present a problem for this argument. Weapons of non-metal
material would be very unlikely to cut so fine as to remove a scalp as
described here.
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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:
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
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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.
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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.
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
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16 Now it came to pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly
wroth, and he did stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend
more powerfully against the Nephites.
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17 And now Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness
of the Lamanites; therefore he commanded his people that they should fall
upon them and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them;
yea, and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their might.
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
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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.
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Annotation for Alma 44:8-10, 12-13, 15, 17-18 above
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19 Now Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to
be destroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant
and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their
lives, that they never would come to war again against them.
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20 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of
death should cease again among the people. And he took the weapons of war
from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with him of
peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.
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21 Now the number of their dead was not numbered because
of the greatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly
great, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites.
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22 And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into
the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of
the sea.
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23 And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moroni, returned
and came to their houses and their lands.
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24 And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the
judges over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was
written upon the plates of Nephi.
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