| Book of Mormon |
Annotations |
|
Chapter 11
|
|
|
1 And now it came to pass in the seventy and second year
of the reign of the judges that the contentions did increase, insomuch that
there were wars throughout all the land among all the people of Nephi.
|
|
|
2 And it was this secret band of robbers who did carry on
this work of destruction and wickedness. And this war did last all that year;
and in the seventy and third year it did also last.
|
|
|
3 And it came to pass that in this year Nephi did cry unto
the Lord, saying:
|
|
|
4 O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be
destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine in
the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps
they will repent and turn unto thee.
|
Helaman 11:4-6
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.
Also, consider what this famine does. Who suffers as a
result of this famine pronounced by Nephi? It reminds me of God’s command to
Saul to destroy the Amalekites, ordering him to “slay both man and woman,
infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
|
|
5 And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi.
And there was a great famine upon the land, among all the people of
Nephi. And thus in the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and
the work of destruction did cease by the sword but became sore by famine.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:4-6 above
|
|
6 And this work of destruction did also continue in the
seventy and fifth year. For the earth was smitten that it was dry, and did
not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was
smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they
were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of
the land.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:4-6 above
|
|
7 And it came to pass that the people saw that they were
about to perish by famine, and they began to remember the Lord their God; and
they began to remember the words of Nephi.
|
|
|
8 And the people began to plead with their chief judges
and their leaders, that they would say unto Nephi: Behold, we know that thou
art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away
from us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our
destruction be fulfilled.
|
|
|
9 And it came to pass that the judges did say unto Nephi,
according to the words which had been desired. And it came to pass that when
Nephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves in
sackcloth, he cried again unto the Lord, saying:
|
|
|
10 O Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have
swept away the band of Gadianton from amongst them insomuch that they have
become extinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth.
|
Helaman 11:10-16
The author takes seven verses (eight sentences or 240 words) to say what
could easily have been said in one simple sentence. For example, “God, the
people repented, so please end the famine” (only 9 words which is a 96
percent reduction in verbiage from the original).
Does this seem like the work of a person engraving a record on metal plates?
I wouldn’t waste my time texting that let alone engraving it on metal plates.
As Jacob explained, “I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the
difficulty of engraving our words upon plates” (Jacob 4:1).
|
|
11 Now, O Lord, because of this their humility wilt thou
turn away thine anger, and let thine anger be appeased in the destruction of
those wicked men whom thou hast already destroyed.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:10-16 above
|
|
12 O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, yea, thy
fierce anger, and cause that this famine may cease in this land.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:10-16 above
|
|
13 O Lord, wilt thou hearken unto me, and cause that it
may be done according to my words, and send forth rain upon the face of the
earth, that she may bring forth her fruit, and her grain in the season of
grain.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:10-16 above
|
|
14 O Lord, thou didst hearken unto my words when I said,
Let there be a famine, that the pestilence of the sword might cease;
and I know that thou wilt, even at this time, hearken unto my words, for thou
saidst that: If this people repent I will spare them.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:10-16 above
Also, regarding the sword mentioned in this verse, 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.
|
|
15 Yea, O Lord, and thou seest that they have repented,
because of the famine and the pestilence and destruction which has come unto
them.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:10-16 above
|
|
16 And now, O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, and
try again if they will serve thee? And if so, O Lord, thou canst bless them
according to thy words which thou hast said.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:10-16 above
|
|
17 And it came to pass that in the seventy and sixth year
the Lord did turn away his anger from the people, and caused that rain should
fall upon the earth, insomuch that it did bring forth her fruit in the season
of her fruit. And it came to pass that it did bring forth her grain in the
season of her grain.
|
|
|
18 And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and
the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing; and they did no more
seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man
of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God.
|
|
|
19 And behold, Lehi, his brother, was not a whit behind
him as to things pertaining to righteousness.
|
|
|
20 And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi
began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places,
and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of
the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to
the sea east.
|
|
|
21 And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did
end in peace. And the seventy and seventh year began in peace; and the church
did spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of the
people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and
they did have exceedingly great peace in the land; and thus ended the seventy
and seventh year.
|
|
|
22 And also they had peace in the seventy and eighth year,
save it were a few contentions concerning the points of doctrine which had
been laid down by the prophets.
|
|
|
23 And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be
much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their
brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many
revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that
they did put an end to their strife in that same year.
|
|
|
24 And it came to pass that in the eightieth year of the
reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were a certain number of
the dissenters from the people of Nephi, who had some years before gone over
unto the Lamanites, and taken upon themselves the name of Lamanites, and also
a certain number who were real descendants of the Lamanites, being
stirred up to anger by them, or by those dissenters, therefore they commenced
a war with their brethren.
|
About 600 years after the Lehites leave Jerusalem, this
reference indicates that a certain number of “real descendants of the
Lamanites” are being stirred up to anger.
|
|
25 And they did commit murder and plunder; and then they
would retreat back into the mountains, and into the wilderness and secret
places, hiding themselves that they could not be discovered, receiving daily
an addition to their numbers, inasmuch as there were dissenters that went
forth unto them.
|
|
|
26 And thus in time, yea, even in the space of not many
years, they became an exceedingly great band of robbers; and they did search
out all the secret plans of Gadianton; and thus they became robbers of
Gadianton.
|
|
|
27 Now behold, these robbers did make great havoc, yea,
even great destruction among the people of Nephi, and also among the people
of the Lamanites.
|
Helaman 11:27-29
Verse 21 tells us that in the 77th year of the reign of the judges that there
was “exceedingly great peace” and the more part of all the people belonged to
the church. Just three years later, it goes from “exceedingly great peace” to
a situation where an entire army that tries to fight the evil forces is
driven off.
|
|
28 And it came to pass that it was expedient that there
should be a stop put to this work of destruction; therefore they sent an army
of strong men into the wilderness and upon the mountains to search out this
band of robbers, and to destroy them.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:27-29 above
|
|
29 But behold, it came to pass that in that same year they
were driven back even into their own lands. And thus ended the eightieth year
of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:27-29 above
|
|
30 And it came to pass in the commencement of the eighty
and first year they did go forth again against this band of robbers, and did
destroy many; and they were also visited with much destruction.
|
|
|
31 And they were again obliged to return out of the
wilderness and out of the mountains unto their own lands, because of the
exceeding greatness of the numbers of those robbers who infested the
mountains and the wilderness.
|
|
|
32 And it came to pass that thus ended this year. And the
robbers did still increase and wax strong, insomuch that they did defy the
whole armies of the Nephites, and also of the Lamanites; and they did cause
great fear to come unto the people upon all the face of the land.
|
|
|
33 Yea, for they did visit many parts of the land, and did
do great destruction unto them; yea, did kill many, and did carry away others
captive into the wilderness, yea, and more especially their women and their
children.
|
|
|
34 Now this great evil, which came unto the people because
of their iniquity, did stir them up again in remembrance of the Lord their
God.
|
Helaman 11:34-36
And, the societal flip-flopping between righteousness and horrible evil
continues from year to year.
|
|
35 And thus ended the eighty and first year of the reign
of the judges.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:34-36 above
|
|
36 And in the eighty and second year they began again to
forget the Lord their God. And in the eighty and third year they began to wax
strong in iniquity. And in the eighty and fourth year they did not mend their
ways.
|
Annotation for Helaman 11:34-36 above
|
|
37 And it came to pass in the eighty and fifth year they
did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness; and
thus they were ripening again for destruction.
|
|
|
38 And thus ended the eighty and fifth year.
|
|