Antichrist
In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ is someone recognized as fulfilling the Biblical prophecies about one who will oppose Christ and substitute himself in Christ's place. The term is found five times in the New Testament in the First and Second Epistle of John; the Antichrist is announced as the one "who denies the Father and the Son."The similar term pseudokhristos or "false Christs" is found in the Gospels. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus alerts his disciples not to be deceived by the false prophets, which will claim themselves as being Christ, performing "great signs and wonders". Two other images associated with the Antichrist are the "little horn" in Daniel's final vision and the "man of sin" in Paul the Apostle's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. In Islamic eschatology, Al-Masih ad-Dajjal is an anti-messiah figure, who will appear to deceive humanity before the second coming of "Isa", as Jesus is known by Muslims; the concept of an antichrist is absent in traditional Judaism, although in some medieval texts the symbolic figure Armilus appears.'Antichrist' is translated from the combination of two ancient Greek words αντί + Χριστός.
In Greek, Χριστός means the word Christ derives from it. "Αντί" means not only anti in the sense of “against” and “opposite of”, but “in place of". Therefore, an antichrist opposes Christ by substituting himself for Christ. Whether the New Testament contains an individual Antichrist is disputed; the Greek term antikhristos originates in 1 John. The similar term pseudokhristos is first found in the New Testament, but never used by Josephus in his accounts of various false messiahs; the concept of an antikhristos is not found in Jewish writings in the period 500 BC–50 AD. However, Bernard McGinn conjectures that the concept may have been generated by the frustration of Jews subject to often-capricious Seleucid or Roman rule, who found the nebulous Jewish idea of a Satan, more of an opposing angel of God in the heavenly court insufficiently humanised and personalised to be a satisfactory incarnation of evil and threat; the five uses of the term "antichrist" or "antichrists" in the Johannine epistles do not present a single latter-day individual Antichrist.
The articles "the deceiver" or "the antichrist" are seen as marking out a certain category of persons, rather than an individual. Little children, it is the last hour: and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh now there are become many Antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the one who denies the Father and the Son. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist. Attention for an individual Antichrist figure focuses on the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians. However, the term "antichrist" is never used in this passage: As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you and sisters, not to be shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is here.
Let no one deceive you in any way. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. For the mystery of lawlessness is at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed, and the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, lying wonders, every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Although the word "antichrist" is used only in the Epistles of John, the similar word "pseudochrist" is used by Jesus in the Gospels: For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible the elect; the only one of the late 1st/early 2nd century Apostolic Fathers to use the term is Polycarp who warned the Philippians that everyone who preached false doctrine was an antichrist.
His use of the term Antichrist follows that of the New Testament in not identifying a single personal Antichrist, but a class of people. Irenaeus wrote Against Heresies to refute the teachings of the Gnostics. In Book V of Against Heresies he addresses the figure of the Antichrist referring to him as the "recapitulation of apostasy and rebellion." He uses "666", the Number of the Beast from Revelation 13:18, to numerologically decode several possible names. Some names that he loosely proposed were "Evanthos", "Lateinos". In his exegesis of Daniel 7:21, he stated that the ten horns of the beast will be the Roman empire divided into ten kingdoms before the Antichrist's arrival. However, his readings of the Antichrist were more in broader theological terms rather than
Korihor
Korihor is an anti-christ described in Alma 30 in the Book of Mormon. Korihor is directly referred to in the Book of Mormon as an Anti-Christ, because he claimed there will be no Christ. Korihor was able to preach his views to the people because of the land's freedom of religion; these teachings alarmed the clerical government in Zarahemla, who felt that his views were dangerous to their society, as people had begun to ignore the laws of the land. He attempted to preach to the people of Ammon, he tried preaching in Gideon and he was arrested. Korihor was turned over to higher authority and got into an argument with the chief judge and governor, Alma regarding the existence of God. Alma responded to Korihor's arguments. Korihor demanded that Alma show him a sign from God or he, would not believe in God; this culminated in Korihor being miraculously rendered deaf and mute, upon which Korihor confessed, in writing:... I always knew, but behold, the devil hath deceived me. And he said unto me: There is no God.
Korihor begged for forgiveness, but Alma, sensing that Korihor would go back to his wicked ways, cast Korihor out. Korihor became a beggar and was trampled to death by the Zoramites, a group who had separated themselves from the main Nephite society. Korihor's statements provide explicit arguments for atheism, which have been categorized as arguments for agnosticism, secular humanism, relativism; because of the direct treatment that Korihor gives the topic of atheism, his words have been cited by skeptics as exemplary, while devotees cite his teachings in an attempt to inoculate their audiences against similar heresy. Korihor's argument was two-fold. First, that "ye cannot know of things which ye do not see", from which he extrapolated that there is no fairness or unfairness, no crime or sin, no cause for shame, no eternal consequence of actions. In the absence of sin, the need for an atoning sacrifice and the ordinances and religious participation to connect people to that atoning sacrifice are obviated, followers are instead encouraged to "look up with boldness", "enjoy their rights and privileges", "make use of that, their own".
Second, Korihor hypothesizes that the only reason for perpetuation of orthodox beliefs is "a foolish and vain hope" on the part of believers, and, on the part of priests and teachers, a desire "to usurp power and authority over " and "keep them down as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands". Hugh Nibley relates the name to Egypt, states: "The first high priest was called Korihor, his son was called Piankhi - two Book of Mormon names."Nibley relates Korihor's name to Kherihor, a high priest at Thebes. Welch, John; the Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press. ISBN 0842527125. OCLC 232358237. Lund, Gerald N.. "An Anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon--The Face May Be Strange, but the Voice Is Familiar". In Nyman, Monte S.. The Book of Mormon: Alma, the Testimony of the Word. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. P. 107–28. ISBN 0-8849-4841-2. Korihor on FAIR
Plates of Nephi
According to the Book of Mormon, the plates of Nephi, consisting of the large plates of Nephi and the small plates of Nephi, are a portion of the collection of inscribed metal plates which make up the record of the Nephites. This record was abridged by Mormon and inscribed onto gold plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon after an angel revealed to him the location where the plates were buried on a hill called Cumorah near the town of Palmyra, New York. Palaeographic study of the plates is not possible. According to the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi: "I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands. Nephi's father, was a prophet who, after prophesying of the destruction of Jerusalem, left with members of his extended family around 600 BC and was directed to the New World. Nephi was commanded to make two sets of plates: A small set of plates "for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people," and "the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people."
These plates, as well as other records made and found by Nephi's people were handed down from generation to generation. After Nephi had begun the large plates, he was instructed by the Lord to make another set of plates to record "the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them." These smaller plates were kept by Nephi's descendants until about 150 BC, when the prophet Amaleki delivered the plates to Benjamin, king of Zarahemla, who "put them with the other plates, which contained records, handed down by the kings". Amaleki's last writing was the statement that the small plates were full and from this point there were no further additions to the small plates. Mormon did not abridge the small plates of Nephi but he did include them in the records he gave to his son Moroni; the first six books of the Book of Mormon, from First Nephi to Omni are said to be a translation of the small plates of Nephi. Joseph Smith said the large plates of Nephi were continually maintained until about AD 385, when the prophet Mormon, seeing that the destruction of the Nephite nation was imminent, abridged the large plates of Nephi.
This abridgement, with additions by Mormon's son, was part of the set of gold plates Moroni delivered to Joseph Smith. The books within the Book of Mormon from The Words of Mormon to Fourth Nephi, are taken from Mormon's abridgment of the large plates. Although the large plates were intended for the more secular history of the Nephites, it is obvious from the version available in the Book of Mormon that there was a good deal of spiritual content as well, including sermons and moral lessons; some periods of time are covered in more detail than others, in particular a series of wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites in the Book of Alma. Whether the uneven coverage is a reflection of the original record or is an artifact of Mormon's abridgement is not clear from the text. While recording his own history, Nephi mentioned "the record, kept by my father" in a few places. Nephi mentioned that he had made an abridgement of the record of his father at the beginning of his own record. While translating the gold plates, Joseph Smith reluctantly allowed his associate, Martin Harris, to take the entirety of the translation to that point, 116 manuscript pages, to show to Harris's wife and her family, to convince them that his financial support of Smith was worthwhile.
Although charged to ensure its safety, Harris lost the manuscript. The lost portion, part of the large plates of Nephi, contained Nephi's record of his father, Lehi's, ministry and was known as The Book of Lehi. Joseph Smith recorded, in the Doctrine and Covenants, sections 3 and 10, that the Lord instructed him not to re-translate the portion of the book, lost but to continue forward. In place of the lost Book of Lehi, the translation from the small plates of Nephi was used, which covered the same time period. Both Nephi and Mormon recorded that the small plates were made for a "wise purpose", known to the Lord; the aforementioned sections of the Doctrine and Covenants state that the loss of the Book of Lehi was foreseen by the Lord and that it was for this purpose that the small plates were provided. The Plates of Laban, Sword of Laban, the Plates of Nephi, Plates of Ether, other records engraven on metal plates, at least one record engraven upon stone were passed down from generation to generation.
Each generation had one caretaker, responsible for these items records. Here is the list of caretakers, according to the Book of Mormon: Nephi, son of Lehi — The first caretaker of: Small and Large Plates of Nephi Plates and Sword of Laban — Retrieved by Nephi and his brothers in the First Book of Nephi chapters 3 & 4 Record of Lehi Jacob, son of Lehi — Nephi's brother Enos, son of Jacob Jarom, son of Enos Omni, son of Jarom Amaron, son of Omni Chemish, son of Omni — brother of Amaron Abinadom, son of Chemish Amaleki, son of AbinadomJaredite Record — During the time of Mosiah, the Nephites fled to the land of Zarahemla and discovered the Mulekites who had found a stone tablet with writing on it. Mosiah interpreted the writings by the power of God, it turned out to be a record of the people of Jared, more recorded in the Book of Ether. Amaleki was the last to writ
Jesus
Jesus referred to as Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, is described as the most influential person in history. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. All modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed although the quest for the historical Jesus has produced little agreement on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how the Jesus portrayed in the Bible reflects the historical Jesus. Jesus was a Galilean Jew, baptized by John the Baptist and began his own ministry, he preached orally and was referred to as "rabbi". Jesus debated with fellow Jews on how to best follow God, engaged in healings, taught in parables and gathered followers, he was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, turned over to the Roman government, crucified on the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, the community they formed became the early Church.
The birth of Jesus is celebrated annually on December 25th as Christmas. His crucifixion is honored on his resurrection on Easter; the used calendar era "AD", from the Latin anno Domini, the equivalent alternative "CE", are based on the approximate birthdate of Jesus. Christian doctrines include the beliefs that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles, founded the Christian Church, died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve atonement for sin, rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, from where he will return. Most Christians believe; the Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead either before or after their bodily resurrection, an event tied to the Second Coming of Jesus in Christian eschatology. The great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of the Trinity. A minority of Christian denominations reject Trinitarianism, wholly or as non-scriptural. Jesus figures in non-Christian religions and new religious movements.
In Islam, Jesus is considered one of the Messiah. Muslims believe Jesus was a bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin, but was not the son of God; the Quran states. Most Muslims do not believe that he was crucified, but that he was physically raised into Heaven by God. In contrast, Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, was neither divine nor resurrected. A typical Jew in Jesus' time had only one name, sometimes followed by the phrase "son of <father's name>", or the individual's hometown. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth". Jesus' neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as "the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon", "the carpenter's son", or "Joseph's son". In John, the disciple Philip refers to him as "Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth"; the name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The Greek form is a rendering of the Hebrew ישוע, a variant of the earlier name יהושע, or in English, "Joshua", meaning "Yah saves".
This was the name of Moses' successor and of a Jewish high priest. The name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus; the 1st-century works of historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote in Koine Greek, the same language as that of the New Testament, refer to at least twenty different people with the name Jesus. The etymology of Jesus' name in the context of the New Testament is given as "Yahweh is salvation". Since early Christianity, Christians have referred to Jesus as "Jesus Christ"; the word Christ was a office, not a given name. It derives from the Greek Χριστός, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh meaning "anointed", is transliterated into English as "Messiah". In biblical Judaism, sacred oil was used to anoint certain exceptionally holy people and objects as part of their religious investiture. Christians of the time designated Jesus as "the Christ" because they believed him to be the Messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
In postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of "Jesus Christ". The term "Christian" has been in use since the 1st century; the four canonical gospels are the foremost sources for the message of Jesus. However, other parts of the New Testament include references to key episodes in his life, such as the Last Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23. Acts of the Apostles refers to the early ministry of its anticipation by John the Baptist. Acts 1:1 -- 11 says more about the Ascension of Jesus. In the undisputed Pauline letters, which were written earlier than the gospels, the words or instructions of Jesus are cited several times; some early Christian groups had separate descriptions of the life and teachings of Jesus that are not included in the New Testament. These include the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 2200 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. According to Smith's account and the book's narrative, the Book of Mormon was written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates. Smith said that the last prophet to contribute to the book, a man named Moroni, buried it in the Hill Cumorah in present-day Manchester, New York before his death, returned to Earth in 1827 as an angel, revealing the location of the plates to Smith, instructing him to translate the plates into English for use in the restoration of Christ's true church in the latter days. Critics claim that it was authored by Smith, drawing on material and ideas from contemporary 19th-century works rather than translating an ancient record.
The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve, the nature of the Christian atonement, redemption from physical and spiritual death, the organization of the latter-day church. The pivotal event of the book is an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Americas shortly after his resurrection; the Book of Mormon is the earliest of the unique writings of the Latter-day Saint movement, the denominations of which regard the text as scripture, secondarily as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The archaeological and scientific communities do not accept the Book of Mormon as an ancient record of actual historical events; the Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in most versions, divided into chapters and verses. It is written in English similar to the Early Modern English linguistic style of the King James Version of the Bible, has since been or translated into 111 languages.
As of 2011, more than 150 million copies of the Book of Mormon had been published. According to Joseph Smith, he was seventeen years of age when an angel of God named Moroni appeared to him and said that a collection of ancient writings was buried in a nearby hill in present-day Wayne County, New York, engraved on golden plates by ancient prophets; the writings were said to describe a people whom God had led from Jerusalem to the Western hemisphere 600 years before Jesus' birth. According to the narrative, Moroni was the last prophet among these people and had buried the record, which God had promised to bring forth in the latter days. Smith stated that this vision occurred on the evening of September 21, 1823 and that on the following day, via divine guidance, he located the burial location of the plates on this hill. Smith's description of these events recounts that he was allowed to take the plates on September 22, 1827 four years from that date, was directed to translate them into English.
Accounts vary of the way. Smith himself implied that he read the plates directly using spectacles prepared for the purpose of translating. Other accounts variously state. Both the special spectacles and the seer stone were at times referred to as the "Urim and Thummim". During the translating process itself, Smith sometimes separated himself from his scribe with a blanket between them. Additionally, the plates were not always present during the translating process, when present, they were always covered up. Smith's first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold", they were described by Martin Harris, one of Smith's early scribes, as "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires." Smith called the engraved writing on the plates "reformed Egyptian". A portion of the text on the plates was "sealed" according to his account, so its content was not included in the Book of Mormon. In addition to Smith's account regarding the plates, eleven others stated that they saw the golden plates and, in some cases, handled them.
Their written testimonies are known as the Testimony of Three Witnesses and the Testimony of Eight Witnesses. These statements have been published in most editions of the Book of Mormon. Smith enlisted his neighbor Martin Harris as a scribe during his initial work on the text. In 1828, prompted by his wife Lucy Harris requested that Smith lend him the current pages, translated. Smith reluctantly acceded to Harris's requests. Lucy Harris is thought to have stolen the first 116 pages. After the loss, Smith recorded that he had lost the ability to translate, that Moroni had taken back the plates to be returned only after Smith repented. Smith stated that God allowed him to resume translation, but directed that he begin translating another part of the plates. In 1829, work resumed on the Book of Mormon, with the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, was completed in a short period. Smith said that he returned the plates to Moroni upon the publication of the book; the Book of Mormon went on sale at the bookstore of E. B.
Grandin in Palmyra, New York on March 26, 1830. Today, the building in which the Book of
Amalickiah
In the Book of Mormon, Amalickiah was a Nephite leader of a movement to reestablish a king himself, as the king of the Nephites. When he failed to gain power through a popular uprising he dissented to the Lamanites becoming their king and using them as a means to gain power over the Nephites, he was killed during the ensuing war. The Amalickiahite movement arose during a power vacuum following the separation of church and state and by the transfer of leadership of the church from Alma the Younger to his son Helaman. Helaman succeeded his father as High Priest over the Nephite Church but did not have any political authority, his father was the last High Priest who held the post of Chief Judge of the Nephites. Alma the Younger had found that the church suffered from neglect due to his political duties and so resigned the latter office. Amalickiah is described as a large and strong man, an eloquent speaker, he may have been a lower judge, for many of his followers held that office. It is noted that he was a member of the Nephite Church, that the lower judges were members themselves.
They were upset with the reforms or "regulation" of the church established by Helaman following the last war with the Lamanites. They were angry over the preaching by Helaman and his high priests — So angry that they were willing to kill Helaman and all those that held an opposing view. Captain Moroni learned of the Amalickiahites' rebellion, rallied the Nephite people against it, he raised the Title of Liberty over the capital, over every city of the land where the rebellion was taking place. Those that followed the Title of Liberty and the reformed church called themselves Christians; the rebels were soon outnumbered in their hopes for power broken. Amalickiah led his followers away into the wilderness to join the Lamanites when he realized his political campaign had failed. Moroni did not want their enemy to gain any further strength. Moroni's army defeated the rebels, but Amalickiah and a small band of trusted followers escaped to the land of Nephi. Amalickiah and his men went to the court of the Lamanite king and persuaded him to issue a call to arms against the Nephites.
However, this proved unpopular with the majority of warriors, the Lamanites having just lost a costly war against the Nephites. Amalickiah got appointed to command the loyalists, he is ordered to compel the rest of the warriors into the army to fight for the king. The rebels outnumbered the loyalist army. Knowing he would fail to press the warriors into the army, he came up with plan to use his greatest strengths: flattery and treachery. Setting up camp at the base of a large hill where the rebels were in their defensive position, he secretly sent word to the rebel leader Lehonti that he will betray the loyalists into the rebels' hands if he is made second in command of the rebel army. Lehonti agrees, Amalickiah sets his own men as guards, allowing the rebel army to approach and surround the loyalist camp; when the loyal warriors woke to see themselves in a hopeless position, they begged Amalickiah to allow them to surrender and join the rebels to save their lives. Amalickiah gains standing with the rebels, "saves" his men, becomes second-in-command of the combined Lamanite army.
This was not enough for Amalickiah. He poisoned Lehonti while the army is marching to the capital; when Lehonti died on the march, command fell to Amalickiah. At the capital the Lamanite king got word that his army is approaching with general Amalickiah at the head; the king was pleased and, went to meet him. As the king neared, the henchmen of Amalickiah went before him bowing to the king; the king raised his arm beckoning them to rise. As the first henchman does he thrust it up into the chest of the king, he fell. The servants of the king turned to run away. Amalickiah's henchmen shouted to the army. Amalickiah led the warriors to the fallen king and feigns heartache at such treachery, he goaded to go and slay the king's servants. Despite pursuit, the servants tell the tale of Amalickiah's deceit. Meanwhile, as commander of the army, Amalickiah goes to the court to tell the queen the awful news. After telling of the treacherous attack by the king's servants, he brings forth his assassins who swear that the servants fled because of their perfidity.
Amalickiah woos the grieving queen. Soon he marries her to become the next king of the Lamanites; as the new king Amalickiah proceeded to aggravate the Lamanites to war against the Nephites. Staying behind with his new queen, he sent his armies to attack the Nephites under the command of Nephite dissenters, their plan was to attack those cities that had shown to be weakest. For them, Captain Moroni had fortified all the Nephite cities, in case of such a sneak attack; the Lamanites proceeded to assault the walls of these "weak" cities, never once managing to slay a single Nephite in the process, while losing many men and all their chief captains who led the forlorn hope. They returned to relate the tale of bad news to their king. King Amalickiah, was not to be deterred; as the Nephites were dealing with king-men, Amalickiah saw his advantage, began to capture Nephite cities on the eastern coast, well away from Captain Moroni and his main army. After taking seven cities, however, he was met by Te
Book of Mosiah
The Book of Mosiah is one of the books which make up the Book of Mormon. The title refers to a king of the Nephites at Zarahemla; the book covers the time period between ca 130 BC and 91 BC, except for when the book has a flashback into the Record of Zeniff, which starts at ca 200 BC, according to footnotes. Aside from stating that it was abridged by Mormon, the text says nothing about its authorship. Royal Skousen, a professor of linguistics at Brigham Young University, said contextual evidence indicated that the beginning of the original Book of Mosiah were lost in the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript lost by Martin Harris, meaning what is now known as the first chapter of Mosiah was the third chapter. According to original research by John Sawyer and John W. Welch, the term mosiah was an ancient Hebrew term; the key meaning of the word mosiah was "savior." King Benjamin had three sons, Mosiah and Helaman. The king made sure, they studied the prophesies recorded on them. He had them learn the writings on the plates of brass which were taken from Laban, which were the only way the Nephites knew the commandments of God given to Moses.
Benjamin tells his sons that the plates are the only thing keeping the Nephites from dwindling in unbelief like the Lamanites. Came the time when King Benjamin had to decide which of his three sons would receive his kingdom, he settled on Mosiah, told his son to gather the people together at the temple so he could make the announcement. But that would be just a formality. Benjamin gave his son the actual reins of power immediately. Additionally he passed on to Mosiah the plates of Nephi, the brass plates, the sword of Laban, the Liahona. King Benjamin's discourse in chapters 2 through 5 is considered by many Book of Mormon readers to be a significant piece of the Book of Mormon; the king spoke of his life in service to the people, how he labored with his own hands that the people would not be unduly burdened with taxes. Yet he does not bring this up to boast, only to affirm that he has been in the service of God; the King served God by serving his fellow human beings. He brings this to their mind as an example.
If he, their king, labored to serve the people the people ought to labor to serve one another. And if he, their earthly king, merits any thanks from the people, how much more does God their heavenly king merit thanks from them, yet if the people served God with all their power, they would remain in reality unprofitable servants, because God causes them to exist from instant to instant. The only thing God requires from them in payment for creating the people and keeping them alive is for them to keep his commandments, he speaks of an angelic visitation and prophecies of Jesus Christ, his birth, identifying his mother as being named Mary, his ministry and miracles, his suffering and resurrection. He speaks of Jesus as being the judge, of his atonement as the means to overcome sin and the tendencies of the natural man in order to become a holy person, he emphasizes the importance to have faith in Jesus and to repent in order to become a child of Jesus Christ through His atonement. He decrees that his son Mosiah is the new king.
The book changes time narration as it reflects on events that are now being unfolded. The Nephites wanted to know what had happened to some of them who had taken a trip back to the land of Nephi in an attempt to reclaim it. Mosiah sends a small group on an expedition to find out; some of this small group is met by guards and taken to prison and brought before a king named Limhi. Limhi tells this group their story and shows the Record of Zeniff, the leader of the first group to try to reclaim the land of Nephi; this story within a story encompasses chapters 9 through 22. Zeniff, whose original mission was to spy on the Lamanites, saw the good among them and desired that they not be destroyed; this led to a conflict in his party. He and those who were not killed in the conflict, returned to Zarahemla, he became over-zealous to inherit the land of his fathers so he gathered others and they went to take the land, but they were struck with famine because they were slow to remember God. They come to a city, Zeniff and four of his men went to the king.
He made a deal with the king of the Lamanites to have a piece of the land of Nephi. He becomes king of this Nephite colony, they prevailed at that time. Zeniff passes rule to his son Noah. Noah is a wicked king, he is one of the more favorite villains among Book of Mormon readers. He collects exorbitant taxes from his people to build a palace and he and his ministers live a life of comfort and self-indulgence, his wicked ways lead the whole colony into wickedness. Along comes a man named Abinadi, he is a holy man, a prophet, he begins to preach that they must repent. He speaks against prophecies that he will be killed if he doesn't repent. Abinadi is arrested and brought before King Noah where he gives what is considered a important discourse in the Book of Mormon. Abinadi asks the ministers what they preach and they respond that they preach the Law of Moses. Abinadi tells them that they ought to teach the Law of Moses, but rebukes them for not obeying it themselves, including the Ten Commandments, which he quotes to them.
Abinadi continues to explain that the Law of Moses is a teaching method to prepare people for the coming of Jesus Christ. He speaks of the atonement, faith and redemption through Je
Works related to Book of Alma at Wikisource