Mosiah 7 - A Look back at Ammon, a Nephite Warrior

Our Gospel Doctrine class yesterday taught out of Mosiah 7-11. I was so fascinated by Ammon, head of the Nephite expedition to find out what happened to the People of Zeniff, I wanted to make a short mention of him here.

Ammon is a descendant of Zarahemla, in other words, he’s not a Nephite by lineal descent, only by assimilation. Add to that, Mormon refers to him as a “strong and mighty man.” If Hebrew is the language being spoken here, then this is an idiom. Its meaning: “a great warrior.” When I think of great warriors in our society, I immediately think of a Navy SEAL kind of person. When you think about what they were called upon to do, it should be evident why such men were chosen for the mission. I doubt they were civilians but in a real sense, trained military professionals given a mission by the King.

Consider the context of the time. They weren’t just going on an expedition to find someone, though they were. They were doing so by going into a foreign, hostile, nation. While the conflict wasn’t immediate and on going — they weren’t in what we’d call today a “shooting war.” Capture still meant at least imprisonment and possible death. Imagine sending a SEAL team deep into ISIS controlled lands to see if the residents of a city are still alive and extract them if necessary. Added to the complexity of the mission is the fact they are going without logistical support and without any certain idea of where to go. This is a recon mission into hostile territory where they must live off the land — all without being seen.

It makes Ammon’s lineage all that more interesting. Why of all people was he sent? What interest did an assimilated Nephite have in a bunch of Nephites who left his country probably before he was ever born? I don’t know, but he did. And so he went. He’s one of the people from the Book of Mormon I think I’d like to talk to some day.

Mosiah 5-8 - From Benjamin to Zeniff

Mosiah Chapters 5-8 is a transition piece that moves the narrative from King Benjamin’s eloquent address to the story of King Zeniff. I think, Mormon wrote about Zeniff because of the dynasty of religious leaders who arose from his people. I’m speaking of Alma and the five generations of prophet-leaders who are his descendants. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

For this entry, several things struck me. One is the Nephites considered life as slaves to Nephites a better  arrangement than what they had under the Lamanites. Under the Lamanites they had a 50% tax rate and they couldn’t leave. Tax day is coming. When you pay your taxes this year, keep in mind, the Nephites thought a 50 percent tax rate was worse than slavery.

Another is Ammon, the leader of the expedition to the land of Lehi-Nephi. He was not a descendant of Lehi but a Mulekite. I’m curious why he would be so interested about the Nephites? It begs the question and dovetails into my last observation on this section.

The people don’t weary Mosiah about the Nephites who left so many years ago until after Benjamin dies. I doubt their interest just flipped on at that time. So, why didn’t they do anything before he died? I don’t know, but there’s a lot going on here which we don’t know about.