How can the book of mormon provide peace and meaning to those in military service. The book records the first 39 years of what the nephites termed the reign of the judges, a period in which the nephite nation adopted a constitutional theocratic government in which the judicial and executive branches of the government were combined. First presenting the chapter heading from the scriptures, the author then follows with quotes and commentary. What was one of the main causes of warfare in the book of mormon. Book of mormon stories the ethics of war and peace worlds. They think the war chapters are dry and not applicable. As is true today, warfare in the ancient world took on ideological importance for both sides of a conflict. Lessons from the war chapters in the book of mormon kindle edition by bytheway, john. Jan 11, 2014 in october 20, the authors conducted a data analysis comparing the book of mormon to over 100,000 books from the pre1830s era. The book of mormon teaches that war is a result of iniquity. Youth and adults alike will find the discussion, commentary, and application provided by this work to be extremely useful. Reminding us that earthly wars occur as parts of an ongoing war between good and evil, the author narrows our focus to alma 43 to 62. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Then read moroni chapter 10, the last chapter of the book of mormon.
Why are there so many war chapters in the book of mormon. Its his swansong and, i think, one of the most beautiful passages of scripture. The big lds quiz a multiple choice game with new questions added regularly. Mormon devoted about onethird of his abridgment and all of his own book directly or indirectly to military matters. And it can be a battle for average readers to get through them. So much of the book of mormon is about wars because conflict was so prevalent among the nephites and lamanites. Much more than simply reporting these wars like a modern journalist, mormon infused moral and theological. Disposable economic resources were often largely devoted to maintaining a military force. The grim reality for ancient peoples was that religious, political, and cultural ideologies. Aug 03, 2016 the book of mormon is a book saturated with warfare. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning. May 02, 2018 mormon leads the nephite armies in their final war mormon 16, moroni 9 coriantumr leads the jaredite armies in their final war ether 15 just as ive done with other types of content, i have tried to learn lessons from these chapters that i can apply in my daily life from these stories.
The writers of the book of mormon took war and its results seriously, and finally the nephite civilization was destroyed by war. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. In fact, over fifty chapters of the book of mormon highlight skirmishes and battles. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the.
Wars and destructions were brought upon the nephites because of the contentions, murderings, idolatry, whoredoms, and abominations which were among themselves, while those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the lord were delivered at all times from captivity, death. Mormon inserts his explanation about the large and small plates about 380 ad. Aug 31, 2012 the book of mormon war stories read as mythic narratives with brave heroes and cunning villains, clear lines dividing the good from the bad and the oppressed from the oppressor. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning tools. I have made an effort to add scripture references to each paragraph, when applicable, including chapter and verse. Alma is the longest book in the book of mormon and consists of sixtythree chapters, taking up almost a third of the volume. The jaredites book of ether came to the new world at the time of the tower of babel. Some people wonder why the book of mormon contains so much about war. Many chapters in the book of mormon refer to the peoples bondage and deliverance both spiritual and physical.
My top 10 chapters in the book of mormon the gospel home. Book of mormon challenge the best book of mormon quiz on the web. At this point in the book of alma, chapters 4362, mormon alerted the reader that he would return to an account of the wars. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. Aug 06, 2016 the insertion of these seven chapters of fatherly counsel effectively disrupts the chronological flow of the story, separating the cause and effect of the war chapters. I have read the war chapters in the book of mormon many times before but had never quite considered the experience of the nephites story so personally as i was experiencing in the lord of the rings story. The nephites gather to the land of cumorah for the final battles mormon hides the sacred records in the hill cumorahthe lamanites are victorious, and the nephite nation is destroyedhundreds of thousands are slain with the sword. Questions cover a broad range of lds doctrine and life. Out of the top matches, we discovered a book called the late war between the united states and great britain, a scriptural style account of the war of 1812 published in new york in 1816. Just as the bibles present chapter and verse notation system is a later addition of bible publishers to books that were originally solid blocks of undivided text, the chapter and verse markers within the books of the book of mormon are conventions, not part of the original text. Each chapter takes one or more chapters of moronis writings from mormon.
How do the events of mormons life shape the entire book. Power in the book of mormon lessons from the war chapters. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. How do the events of mormons life shape the entire book of.
Why does the book of mormon, especially the book of alma, contain so many accounts of war, and what use are they for us. Book of mormon in north america maps book of mormon evidence. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 1999, chart 142. Joel, i didnt get the war chapters until my 4th or 5th reading of the book of mormon. Nibley students are aware of a myriad of short allusions and. There is war between the lamanites and zeniffs people. The lord of the rings story gave me an epic visualization and i. They were instructed to build eight barges in which to sail to america. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Book of mormon central archive finding the prince of peace in the war chapters.
Book of mormon, history of warfare in the encyclopedia of. Dec 15, 2014 this book shatters the myths that surround the romanticism of war, confounds the war hawks who beat its rhythmic drums, and lays down gods law as outlined in the doctrine and covenants and the book of mormon. Book of mormon stories the ethics of war and peace. Let us know if youd like to receive your own digital copy of the book of mormon, andor if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well. For many readers, their least favorite part of the book of mormon is the war chapters. The title refers to alma the younger, a prophet and chief judge of the nephites. Mormon may have included so many war chapters because it was a topic of deep, personal interest to him. Warfare in the book of mormon book of mormon central.
Aug 31, 2008 the book of mormon is written to all to the convincing of the jew and gentile that jesus is the christ, the eternal god, mormon tells us this on the title page of the book of mormon. Peace within the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. President ezra taft benson 18991994 stated that from the book of mormon we learn how disciples of christ live in times of war in conference report, oct. Despite the relative simplicity of these narratives, however, there is something to be learned from the book of mormon on issues of war and peace. War in the book of mormon introduction the millennial star. While the book of mormon war chapters teach us principles that can help guide us in actual temporal warfare including justification for war between nationsand i would suggest contention between individuals, these chapters also teach us principles in spiritual warfare against satans hosts. Captain moroni and preparation for war confronting evil. Then, more and more light on dawned me each time i read it. The war chapters series 3 book series kindle edition. Zeniff leads a group from zarahemla to possess the land of lehinephithe lamanite king permits them to inherit the land mosiah, chapters 922. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This byu fantasy map is given to students of the book of mormon in seminary and institute. Book of mormon, history of warfare in the encyclopedia.
Book of mormon themed dungeons and dragons campaign. The war chapters series is an epic, fictional series of novels blending the compelling history found in the war chapters of the book of mormon with the tactical and military insight of author jason mow. The book of mormon is a sacred 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 approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. In my book of mormon class, we have been talking about the war chapters, in alma 4356. Its time for our quadrennial effort to determine why on. Book of mormon battles matching game its a classic. Book of mormon central, why are there so many war chapters in the book of mormon. The war chapters of alma 4363 alone include more than 50 pages approximately 10 percent of the entire book of mormon. Purpose of the war chapters in the book of mormon byu. I think im on my 9th or 10th reading of the book of mormon. Mormon again leads the nephite armies in battles of blood and carnage the book of mormon shall come forth to convince all israel that jesus is the christ the lamanites shall be a dark, filthy, and loathsome people they shall receive the gospel from the gentiles in. Being familiar with the jaredites tragic tale of complete annihilation, mormon would have been keenly aware that his people. The book of alma is the longest of all the books of the book of mormon, consisting of 63 chapters.
Twenty chapters of bytheways book cover these twenty chapters of alma in a straightforward manner. Sadly, much of the nephite thousandyear history is about war. Finally, this book endeavors to expound on the war chapters for the intent that they were given. The authors and abridgers of the book of mormon saw our day and were. Finally there is a book that combines the epic grandeur of the lord of the rings with the compelling story in the war chapters of the book of mormon and is meant to inspire and instruct men, women, boys and girls in our spiritual battle against evil. From struggling seed, the church has risen to branching maple. The book of mormon nephites parallel the history of the hopewell culture beginning in 600 bc in florida and ending in 400 ad in new york. Lessons from the war chapters in the book of mormon bytheway, john on.
Oct 06, 2016 while the book of mormon war chapters teach us principles that can help guide us in actual temporal warfare including justification for war between nationsand i would suggest contention between individuals, these chapters also teach us principles in spiritual warfare against satans hosts. The book of mormon contains the purported stories of three different groups which sailed to the americas. Many chapters in the book of mormon deal with war, and for several reasons. An analysis of alma 44 finding the prince of peace in the war chapters. See book of mormon central, what do the jaredites have to do with the reign of the judges. How did democracy help the nephites conquer their enemies. Five compelling archeological evidences for the book of mormon. In this very long block of chapters and also in the next, we will be covering the whopping total of twentyone chapters that comprise the last third of the book of alma. At this point in the book of alma, chapters 4362, mormon alerted the reader that he would return to an. Mormon again leads the nephite armies in battles of blood and carnage the book of mormon shall come forth to convince all israel that jesus is the christ the lamanites shall be a dark, filthy, and loathsome people they shall receive the gospel from the gentiles in the latter days. John bytheway has highlighted lessons from the war chapters in the book of mormon, alma 4362, delving for application to our personal warfare against satan. We follow moroni though tragedy and triumph, helping all readers to gain a deeper understanding of why mormon said of him. Book of mormon come follow me alma 4363 war chapters.
I consider this book to be one of the finest treatments of the war chapters in the book of mormon now available. The grim reality for ancient peoples was that religious, political, and cultural ideologies were frequently enforced through war. This section in the book of mormon is often called the war chapters. In its emphasis on warfare, the book of mormon accurately reflects the grim reality of early history.
Lessons from wars in the book of mormon book of mormon. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading righteous warriors. The inevitability of war was a fundamental concern in virtually all ancient civilizations. This is the last thing moroni wrote before hiding the plates up. Mormon 5 1993 this volume covers the war chapters in alma 4562, and nibley uses his own experiences as an intelligence officer in world war ii to illustrate his points from the book of mormon. Heres a collection of articles about the war chapters and how the lessons they teach can have a huge impact in our lives. Read mormon chapter 8 in which moroni talks about what happened after the last battle and what will happen with the record. Lessons from the war chapters power in the book of mormon. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not.
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