AlmaChapter24

v1.7

1 And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.

2 And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

3 Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

4 And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God.

5 Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they might hold a council with Lamoni and also with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

6 Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.

7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—

12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.

14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

17 And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. Alma

18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

20 And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

21 Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—

24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.

25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.

29 Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.

Now the Amalekites and the Amulonites stirred up to anger against their brothers all the Amalekites, Amulonites, and Lamanites who lived in the land of Amulon, in the land of Helam, and in the land of Jerusalem, and in fact throughout all the surrounding land. These were the ones who had not been converted and had not taken on the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. Their hatred against them became so fierce that they began to rebel against their king, refusing to have him as their king; so they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

Now the king conferred the kingdom on his son, and he named him Anti-Nephi-Lehi. And the king died in the same year that the Lamanites began to prepare for war against the people of God.

When Ammon and his brothers and all those who had come up with him saw the Lamanites' preparations to destroy their brothers, they went to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brothers. From there they went to the land of Ishmael to hold a council with Lamoni and with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, to decide what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

Now among all the people who had been converted to the Lord, there was not one soul who would take up arms against their brothers. They would not even make any preparations for war; and their king commanded them not to.

These are the words he said to the people concerning the matter: "I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in his goodness sent our brothers the Nephites to us, to preach to us and to convince us of the error of the traditions of our wicked fathers. And I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, so that we have opened communication with these brothers, the Nephites. And I also thank my God that by opening this communication we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders we have committed.

"And I also thank my God, yes, my great God, that he has granted that we might repent of these things, and also that he has forgiven us of the many sins and murders we have committed, and has taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son. And now, my brothers, it has been all that we could do (for we were the most lost of all people) to repent of all our sins and the many murders we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts; it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God so that he would take away our stain.

"Now, my dearly beloved brothers, since God has taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brothers. I say to you, no: let us keep our swords from being stained with the blood of our brothers; for if we stain them again, perhaps they can never again be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which will be shed for the atonement of our sins.

"And the great God has had mercy on us and made these things known to us so that we would not be lost. He made them known to us beforehand, because he loves our souls as much as he loves our children. And so in his mercy he visits us by his angels, so that the plan of salvation may be made known to us as well as to future generations. Oh, how merciful is our God! And now, since it has been as much as we could do to have our stains taken away from us, and our swords made bright, let us hide them away so that they will stay bright. Let them be a testimony to our God at the last day, the day when we will be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brothers since he imparted his word to us and made us clean by it.

"And now, my brothers, if our brothers seek to destroy us, we will hide away our swords, and we will bury them deep in the earth, so that they will be kept bright at the last day, as a testimony that we have never used them. And if our brothers destroy us, then we will go to our God, and we will be saved."

When the king had ended these words, and all the people were gathered together, they took their swords and all the weapons that had been used for shedding human blood, and they buried them deep in the earth. They did this because in their eyes it was a testimony to God, and to all people, that they would never again use weapons to shed human blood. And they did it pledging and covenanting with God that rather than shed the blood of their brothers, they would give up their own lives; that rather than take from a brother, they would give to him; and that rather than spend their days in idleness, they would labor abundantly with their hands.

And so we see that when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and they would suffer even death rather than commit sin; and so we see that they buried their weapons of peace — or rather, they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

Then their brothers the Lamanites made preparations for war and came up to the land of Nephi, to destroy the king and put another in his place, and to destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land. Now when the people saw them coming against them, they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves on the ground before them, and began to call on the name of the Lord. They were in this posture when the Lamanites began to fall on them and to kill them with the sword. And so, without meeting any resistance, the Lamanites killed a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to live with their God.

Now the Lamanites saw that their brothers would not flee from the sword, and would not turn aside to the right or to the left, but would lie down and die, praising God even in the very act of dying under the sword. When the Lamanites saw this, they held back from killing them; and there were many whose hearts swelled within them for their brothers who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of what they had done. They threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them up again, for they were stung by the murders they had committed; and they lay down just as their brothers had, relying on the mercy of those whose arms were raised to kill them.

And the people of God were joined that day by more people than the number who had been killed; and those who had been killed were righteous people, so we have no reason to doubt that they were saved. And not one wicked man was killed among them; but more than a thousand were brought to the knowledge of the truth. So we see that the Lord works in many ways for the salvation of his people.

Now most of the Lamanites who killed so many of their brothers were Amalekites and Amulonites, and most of those belonged to the order of the Nehors. And among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were no Amalekites or Amulonites, and none of the order of Nehor; they were all actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

And so we can plainly see that after a people have once been enlightened by the Spirit of God and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and have then fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened. And so their state becomes worse than if they had never known these things.

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OriginalModern English
1

And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.

Now the Amalekites and the Amulonites stirred up to anger against their brothers all the Amalekites, Amulonites, and Lamanites who lived in the land of Amulon, in the land of Helam, and in the land of Jerusalem, and in fact throughout all the surrounding land. These were the ones who had not been converted and had not taken on the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

2

And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

Their hatred against them became so fierce that they began to rebel against their king, refusing to have him as their king; so they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

3

Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

Now the king conferred the kingdom on his son, and he named him Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

4

And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God.

And the king died in the same year that the Lamanites began to prepare for war against the people of God.

5

Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they might hold a council with Lamoni and also with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

When Ammon and his brothers and all those who had come up with him saw the Lamanites' preparations to destroy their brothers, they went to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brothers. From there they went to the land of Ishmael to hold a council with Lamoni and with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, to decide what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

6

Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.

Now among all the people who had been converted to the Lord, there was not one soul who would take up arms against their brothers. They would not even make any preparations for war; and their king commanded them not to.

7

Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

These are the words he said to the people concerning the matter: "I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in his goodness sent our brothers the Nephites to us, to preach to us and to convince us of the error of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

8

And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

And I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, so that we have opened communication with these brothers, the Nephites.

9

And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

And I also thank my God that by opening this communication we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders we have committed.

10

And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

"And I also thank my God, yes, my great God, that he has granted that we might repent of these things, and also that he has forgiven us of the many sins and murders we have committed, and has taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

11

And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—

And now, my brothers, it has been all that we could do (for we were the most lost of all people) to repent of all our sins and the many murders we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts; it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God so that he would take away our stain.

12

Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

"Now, my dearly beloved brothers, since God has taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brothers.

13

Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.

I say to you, no: let us keep our swords from being stained with the blood of our brothers; for if we stain them again, perhaps they can never again be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which will be shed for the atonement of our sins.

14

And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

"And the great God has had mercy on us and made these things known to us so that we would not be lost. He made them known to us beforehand, because he loves our souls as much as he loves our children. And so in his mercy he visits us by his angels, so that the plan of salvation may be made known to us as well as to future generations.

15

Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

Oh, how merciful is our God! And now, since it has been as much as we could do to have our stains taken away from us, and our swords made bright, let us hide them away so that they will stay bright. Let them be a testimony to our God at the last day, the day when we will be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brothers since he imparted his word to us and made us clean by it.

16

And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

"And now, my brothers, if our brothers seek to destroy us, we will hide away our swords, and we will bury them deep in the earth, so that they will be kept bright at the last day, as a testimony that we have never used them. And if our brothers destroy us, then we will go to our God, and we will be saved."

17

And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. Alma

When the king had ended these words, and all the people were gathered together, they took their swords and all the weapons that had been used for shedding human blood, and they buried them deep in the earth.

18

And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

They did this because in their eyes it was a testimony to God, and to all people, that they would never again use weapons to shed human blood. And they did it pledging and covenanting with God that rather than shed the blood of their brothers, they would give up their own lives; that rather than take from a brother, they would give to him; and that rather than spend their days in idleness, they would labor abundantly with their hands.

19

And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

And so we see that when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and they would suffer even death rather than commit sin; and so we see that they buried their weapons of peace — or rather, they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

20

And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

Then their brothers the Lamanites made preparations for war and came up to the land of Nephi, to destroy the king and put another in his place, and to destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

21

Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

Now when the people saw them coming against them, they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves on the ground before them, and began to call on the name of the Lord. They were in this posture when the Lamanites began to fall on them and to kill them with the sword.

22

And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

And so, without meeting any resistance, the Lamanites killed a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to live with their God.

23

Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—

Now the Lamanites saw that their brothers would not flee from the sword, and would not turn aside to the right or to the left, but would lie down and die, praising God even in the very act of dying under the sword.

24

Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.

When the Lamanites saw this, they held back from killing them; and there were many whose hearts swelled within them for their brothers who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of what they had done.

25

And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

They threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them up again, for they were stung by the murders they had committed; and they lay down just as their brothers had, relying on the mercy of those whose arms were raised to kill them.

26

And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

And the people of God were joined that day by more people than the number who had been killed; and those who had been killed were righteous people, so we have no reason to doubt that they were saved.

27

And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

And not one wicked man was killed among them; but more than a thousand were brought to the knowledge of the truth. So we see that the Lord works in many ways for the salvation of his people.

28

Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.

Now most of the Lamanites who killed so many of their brothers were Amalekites and Amulonites, and most of those belonged to the order of the Nehors.

29

Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

And among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were no Amalekites or Amulonites, and none of the order of Nehor; they were all actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

30

And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.

And so we can plainly see that after a people have once been enlightened by the Spirit of God and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and have then fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened. And so their state becomes worse than if they had never known these things.

OriginalModern English
1 And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren. 2 And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
1 Now the Amalekites and the Amulonites stirred up to anger against their brothers all the Amalekites, Amulonites, and Lamanites who lived in the land of Amulon, in the land of Helam, and in the land of Jerusalem, and in fact throughout all the surrounding land. These were the ones who had not been converted and had not taken on the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. 2 Their hatred against them became so fierce that they began to rebel against their king, refusing to have him as their king; so they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
3 Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi. 4 And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God.
3 Now the king conferred the kingdom on his son, and he named him Anti-Nephi-Lehi. 4 And the king died in the same year that the Lamanites began to prepare for war against the people of God.
5 Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they might hold a council with Lamoni and also with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.
5 When Ammon and his brothers and all those who had come up with him saw the Lamanites' preparations to destroy their brothers, they went to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brothers. From there they went to the land of Ishmael to hold a council with Lamoni and with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, to decide what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.
6 Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.
6 Now among all the people who had been converted to the Lord, there was not one soul who would take up arms against their brothers. They would not even make any preparations for war; and their king commanded them not to.
7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers. 8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites. 9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.
7 These are the words he said to the people concerning the matter: "I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in his goodness sent our brothers the Nephites to us, to preach to us and to convince us of the error of the traditions of our wicked fathers. 8 And I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, so that we have opened communication with these brothers, the Nephites. 9 And I also thank my God that by opening this communication we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders we have committed.
10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son. 11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—
10 "And I also thank my God, yes, my great God, that he has granted that we might repent of these things, and also that he has forgiven us of the many sins and murders we have committed, and has taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son. 11 And now, my brothers, it has been all that we could do (for we were the most lost of all people) to repent of all our sins and the many murders we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts; it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God so that he would take away our stain.
12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren. 13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.
12 "Now, my dearly beloved brothers, since God has taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brothers. 13 I say to you, no: let us keep our swords from being stained with the blood of our brothers; for if we stain them again, perhaps they can never again be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which will be shed for the atonement of our sins.
14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations. 15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.
14 "And the great God has had mercy on us and made these things known to us so that we would not be lost. He made them known to us beforehand, because he loves our souls as much as he loves our children. And so in his mercy he visits us by his angels, so that the plan of salvation may be made known to us as well as to future generations. 15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now, since it has been as much as we could do to have our stains taken away from us, and our swords made bright, let us hide them away so that they will stay bright. Let them be a testimony to our God at the last day, the day when we will be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brothers since he imparted his word to us and made us clean by it.
16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.
16 "And now, my brothers, if our brothers seek to destroy us, we will hide away our swords, and we will bury them deep in the earth, so that they will be kept bright at the last day, as a testimony that we have never used them. And if our brothers destroy us, then we will go to our God, and we will be saved."
17 And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. Alma 18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
17 When the king had ended these words, and all the people were gathered together, they took their swords and all the weapons that had been used for shedding human blood, and they buried them deep in the earth. 18 They did this because in their eyes it was a testimony to God, and to all people, that they would never again use weapons to shed human blood. And they did it pledging and covenanting with God that rather than shed the blood of their brothers, they would give up their own lives; that rather than take from a brother, they would give to him; and that rather than spend their days in idleness, they would labor abundantly with their hands.
19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.
19 And so we see that when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and they would suffer even death rather than commit sin; and so we see that they buried their weapons of peace — or rather, they buried the weapons of war, for peace.
20 And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land. 21 Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword. 22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.
20 Then their brothers the Lamanites made preparations for war and came up to the land of Nephi, to destroy the king and put another in his place, and to destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land. 21 Now when the people saw them coming against them, they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves on the ground before them, and began to call on the name of the Lord. They were in this posture when the Lamanites began to fall on them and to kill them with the sword. 22 And so, without meeting any resistance, the Lamanites killed a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to live with their God.
23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword— 24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done. 25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.
23 Now the Lamanites saw that their brothers would not flee from the sword, and would not turn aside to the right or to the left, but would lie down and die, praising God even in the very act of dying under the sword. 24 When the Lamanites saw this, they held back from killing them; and there were many whose hearts swelled within them for their brothers who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of what they had done. 25 They threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them up again, for they were stung by the murders they had committed; and they lay down just as their brothers had, relying on the mercy of those whose arms were raised to kill them.
26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved. 27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.
26 And the people of God were joined that day by more people than the number who had been killed; and those who had been killed were righteous people, so we have no reason to doubt that they were saved. 27 And not one wicked man was killed among them; but more than a thousand were brought to the knowledge of the truth. So we see that the Lord works in many ways for the salvation of his people.
28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors. 29 Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.
28 Now most of the Lamanites who killed so many of their brothers were Amalekites and Amulonites, and most of those belonged to the order of the Nehors. 29 And among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were no Amalekites or Amulonites, and none of the order of Nehor; they were all actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.
30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.
30 And so we can plainly see that after a people have once been enlightened by the Spirit of God and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and have then fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened. And so their state becomes worse than if they had never known these things.
1

And it came to pass that the Amalekites and the Amulonites and the Lamanites who were in the land of Amulon, and also in the land of Helam, and who were in the land of Jerusalem, and in fine, in all the land round about, who had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.

Now the Amalekites and the Amulonites stirred up to anger against their brothers all the Amalekites, Amulonites, and Lamanites who lived in the land of Amulon, in the land of Helam, and in the land of Jerusalem, and in fact throughout all the surrounding land. These were the ones who had not been converted and had not taken on the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

2

And their hatred became exceedingly sore against them, even insomuch that they began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king; therefore, they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

Their hatred against them became so fierce that they began to rebel against their king, refusing to have him as their king; so they took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

3

Now the king conferred the kingdom upon his son, and he called his name Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

Now the king conferred the kingdom on his son, and he named him Anti-Nephi-Lehi.

4

And the king died in that selfsame year that the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of God.

And the king died in the same year that the Lamanites began to prepare for war against the people of God.

5

Now when Ammon and his brethren and all those who had come up with him saw the preparations of the Lamanites to destroy their brethren, they came forth to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brethren; and from thence they came to the land of Ishmael that they might hold a council with Lamoni and also with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

When Ammon and his brothers and all those who had come up with him saw the Lamanites' preparations to destroy their brothers, they went to the land of Midian, and there Ammon met all his brothers. From there they went to the land of Ishmael to hold a council with Lamoni and with his brother Anti-Nephi-Lehi, to decide what they should do to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

6

Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.

Now among all the people who had been converted to the Lord, there was not one soul who would take up arms against their brothers. They would not even make any preparations for war; and their king commanded them not to.

7

Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

These are the words he said to the people concerning the matter: "I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in his goodness sent our brothers the Nephites to us, to preach to us and to convince us of the error of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

8

And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

And I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, so that we have opened communication with these brothers, the Nephites.

9

And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

And I also thank my God that by opening this communication we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders we have committed.

10

And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

"And I also thank my God, yes, my great God, that he has granted that we might repent of these things, and also that he has forgiven us of the many sins and murders we have committed, and has taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

11

And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—

And now, my brothers, it has been all that we could do (for we were the most lost of all people) to repent of all our sins and the many murders we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts; it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God so that he would take away our stain.

12

Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

"Now, my dearly beloved brothers, since God has taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brothers.

13

Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.

I say to you, no: let us keep our swords from being stained with the blood of our brothers; for if we stain them again, perhaps they can never again be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which will be shed for the atonement of our sins.

14

And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

"And the great God has had mercy on us and made these things known to us so that we would not be lost. He made them known to us beforehand, because he loves our souls as much as he loves our children. And so in his mercy he visits us by his angels, so that the plan of salvation may be made known to us as well as to future generations.

15

Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

Oh, how merciful is our God! And now, since it has been as much as we could do to have our stains taken away from us, and our swords made bright, let us hide them away so that they will stay bright. Let them be a testimony to our God at the last day, the day when we will be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brothers since he imparted his word to us and made us clean by it.

16

And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

"And now, my brothers, if our brothers seek to destroy us, we will hide away our swords, and we will bury them deep in the earth, so that they will be kept bright at the last day, as a testimony that we have never used them. And if our brothers destroy us, then we will go to our God, and we will be saved."

17

And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. Alma

When the king had ended these words, and all the people were gathered together, they took their swords and all the weapons that had been used for shedding human blood, and they buried them deep in the earth.

18

And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

They did this because in their eyes it was a testimony to God, and to all people, that they would never again use weapons to shed human blood. And they did it pledging and covenanting with God that rather than shed the blood of their brothers, they would give up their own lives; that rather than take from a brother, they would give to him; and that rather than spend their days in idleness, they would labor abundantly with their hands.

19

And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

And so we see that when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and they would suffer even death rather than commit sin; and so we see that they buried their weapons of peace — or rather, they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

20

And it came to pass that their brethren, the Lamanites, made preparations for war, and came up to the land of Nephi for the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead, and also of destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

Then their brothers the Lamanites made preparations for war and came up to the land of Nephi, to destroy the king and put another in his place, and to destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land.

21

Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

Now when the people saw them coming against them, they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves on the ground before them, and began to call on the name of the Lord. They were in this posture when the Lamanites began to fall on them and to kill them with the sword.

22

And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

And so, without meeting any resistance, the Lamanites killed a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to live with their God.

23

Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—

Now the Lamanites saw that their brothers would not flee from the sword, and would not turn aside to the right or to the left, but would lie down and die, praising God even in the very act of dying under the sword.

24

Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.

When the Lamanites saw this, they held back from killing them; and there were many whose hearts swelled within them for their brothers who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of what they had done.

25

And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

They threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them up again, for they were stung by the murders they had committed; and they lay down just as their brothers had, relying on the mercy of those whose arms were raised to kill them.

26

And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

And the people of God were joined that day by more people than the number who had been killed; and those who had been killed were righteous people, so we have no reason to doubt that they were saved.

27

And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.

And not one wicked man was killed among them; but more than a thousand were brought to the knowledge of the truth. So we see that the Lord works in many ways for the salvation of his people.

28

Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors.

Now most of the Lamanites who killed so many of their brothers were Amalekites and Amulonites, and most of those belonged to the order of the Nehors.

29

Now, among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were none who were Amalekites or Amulonites, or who were of the order of Nehor, but they were actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

And among those who joined the people of the Lord, there were no Amalekites or Amulonites, and none of the order of Nehor; they were all actual descendants of Laman and Lemuel.

30

And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.

And so we can plainly see that after a people have once been enlightened by the Spirit of God and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and have then fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened. And so their state becomes worse than if they had never known these things.