Moroni's Wrath and Teancum's Courage

Book of Mormon Notes - Friday, October 27, 2023, Alma 51

More dissensions and divisions arose among the Nephites. This time, a group of people of supposedly noble birth, king-men as they were called, began to oppose the chief judge Pahoran, clamoring to change the law in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a ^bking over the land. Those who opposed the king-men called themselseve freemen. When the voice of the people decided in favor of the freemen, there was much rejoicing among the people of liberty and the brethren of Pahoran. Pahoran retained the judgment seat and the king-men were silenced, at least for a time.

Who were these king-men? What kind of aristocrats were they?

Now those who were in favor of kings were those of ^ahigh birth, and they sought to be ^bkings; and they were supported by those who sought power and authority over the people. (Alma 51:8)

Even though the Nephite government was organized into the system of judges, with a chief judge ruling together with lesser judges, and even though the system was also democratic, there were still those who considered themselves to be aristocrats by birth. Apparently these haughty Nephites of high birth who wanted a king and who sought to be kings were not content with the righteous government that King Mosiah had established, nor were they content with the liberty that Moroni and his soldiers had fought so valiantly to preserve and to enhance. The king-men were self-appointed elites who desired to rule and claimed a right to rule because of their supposed high birth.

The king-men were not alone, however, because there were many others who sought power and authority over the people who supported the king-men. This was a major problem because the Nephites could only be destroyed from within. Lincoln’s warning about the United States of America might have applied to the Nephite nation as well:

How then shall we perform it?--At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?-- Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!--All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

The Nephites were, especially under the reign of the judges and the protection of Moroni, a nation of freemen. But the king-men threatened to cause a civil war and to destroy the Nephite nation from within. The internal dissensions made the Nephites much more vulnerable to external attacks:

But behold, this was a critical time for such contentions to be among the people of Nephi; for behold, Amalickiah had again ^astirred up the hearts of the people of the Lamanites against the people of the Nephites, and he was gathering together soldiers from all parts of his land, and arming them, and preparing for war with all diligence; for he had ^bsworn to drink the blood of Moroni. (Alma 51:9)

In my estimation, Lincoln’s “Lyceum Address” and this episode with the king-men among the Nephites serve as warnings to those of us who live in the United States of America today. Spy balloons, porous and open borders, and illegal immigration become greater problems when the United States are roiling with internal dissensions. And the elites, the king-men of our time, exacerbate the internal rot that makes us an easier prey for external enemies, whether it be China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, or any of the numerous nations that look upon the West (not without reason) as the hot-bed of decadence.

Thus while the king-men were busy opposing the freemen and free government, Amalickiah and his vast armies were ready and eager to pounce. Not only that, but the king-men were actually gleeful about the impending invasion. These king-men hated their own country, as well as the liberty of the freemen, because of their lust for power. What might Mormon have hoped for his latter-day audience, namely us, to understand about this episode in Nephite history? Are there king-men among us today? How did Moroni feel about these king-men, and how should we feel about any king-men among us?

And it came to pass that when Moroni saw this, and also saw that the Lamanites were coming into the borders of the land, he was exceedingly wroth because of the ^astubbornness of those people whom he had labored with so much diligence to preserve; yea, he was exceedingly wroth; his soul was filled with anger against them. (Alma 51:14)

Notice that Moroni didn’t complain about “polarization” or exhort his people to greater “civility”. He was exceedingly, and righteously wroth. His soul was filled with anger. Furthermore, Mormon didn’t regard Moroni’s wrath and anger as a defect in his character. In fact, Mormon wished that all men had been, were, and ever would be like unto Moroni. Therefore, while we must certainly make every effort to be true peacemakers and promote civility, Mormon shows us that the proper disposition of the soul toward self-appointed elites who seek power and authority over the people and gleefully welcome the destruction of their own country is exceeding wrath and anger.

Of course it is wrong to justify unrighteous anger by an appeal to Moroni or to Jesus among the money changers in the Temple, but it seems to me that Mormon wanted us to pay close attention to Moroni’s response to the king-men. Moroni was ready, like Jesus in the Temple (John 2:13-17, Matthew 21:12-17), to clean house. Whereas the Lord merely made a ^ascourge of small cords to drive out the money changers, Moroni petitioned the governor of the land for power to compel those dissenters to defend their country or to put them to death. And this was the right thing to do in this situation:

For it was his first care to put an end to such contentions and dissensions among the people; for behold, this had been hitherto a cause of all their destruction. And it came to pass that it was granted according to the voice of the people.

And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his army should go against those king-men, to pull down their pride and their nobility and level them with the earth, or they should take up arms and support the cause of liberty. (Alma 51:16-17)

As much as we need more civility and more peacemakers today, we certainly need more Moronis. Mormon didn’t abridge this portion of the Nephite record merely to show his son Moroni how to be a good Nephite general, although that was probably part of his training. After our Founding Fathers, Lincoln, and many others have labored with so much diligence to promote and preserve the liberty that we now enjoy, the proper disposition of the soul toward the stubbornness of latter-day king-men (and everything that calculates to destroy the United States of America) must be the same as Chief Captain Moroni’s disposition toward these ancient king-men.

Moroni and his armies hewed down 4,000 of these prideful, stubborn, and ungrateful ^adissenters, while others were taken and ^bcast into prison. The rest were compelled to yield to the standard of liberty. Mormon’s lesson?

And thus Moroni put an end to those king-men, that there were not any known by the appellation of king-men; and thus he put an end to the stubbornness and the pride of those people who professed the blood of nobility; but they were brought down to humble themselves like unto their brethren, and to fight ^avaliantly for their freedom from bondage. (Alma 51:21)

Meanwhile the Lamanites had invaded and captured several Nephite cities, even certain cities that were named after the great leaders of the Nephites: the cities of Moroni, ^bNephihah, and ^cLehi. The Lamanites also took control of the cities of ^dMorianton, Omner, ^eGid, and ^fMulek, all of which were on the east borders by the seashore. This was like Hitler invading Poland. And Amalickiah and his armies would have kept invading and seizing more cities had it not been for the noble warrior Teancum. Every time I think of Teancum I love him just as much, or if possible, even more than Moroni.

Teancum and his troops halted the advance of Amalickiah and his armies. Teancum and his noble men, Mormon informs us, “were great warriors”. They exceeded the Lamanites “in their strength and in their skill of war”. They were like the ancient Greeks who fought valiantly in the Trojan war - like Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax, Agammemnon, Menelaus, Nestor, etc. The contrast between the true nobility of Teancum and his valiant warriors on the one hand, and the false nobility of the king-men on the other is stark and put into greater relief by Mormon, especially when we contemplate Teancum’s noble and heroic deeds:

And it came to pass that when the night had come, Teancum and his servant stole forth and went out by night, and went into the camp of Amalickiah; and behold, sleep had overpowered them because of their much fatigue, which was caused by the labors and heat of the day.

And it came to pass that Teancum stole privily into the tent of the king, and ^aput a javelin to his heart; and he did cause the ^bdeath of the king immediately that he did not awake his servants.

And he returned again privily to his own camp, and behold, his men were asleep, and he awoke them and told them all the things that he had done.

And he caused that his armies should stand in ^areadiness, lest the Lamanites had awakened and should come upon them.

And thus endeth the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus endeth the days of Amalickiah. (Alma 51:33-37)

Just try to imagine the courage of this valiant Nephite warrior. After so many battles, including the battle in which he slew the Nephite dissenter Morianton, and after many Nephite cities had been captured, Teancum was just as angry with Amalickiah, and rightfully so, as Moroni was with the king-men. With the true spirit of liberty, real spiritedness, and adrenaline coursing through his veins, and with great courage, Teancum was ready to take on Amalickiah and the entire Lamanite army by himself. As bold and as daring as he was, however, Teancum was also stealthy and wise. After sneaking into the tent of the king, he thrust a javelin into his heart so that Amalickiah died without making a peep. Then Teancum escaped and prepared his army for Lamanite retaliation.

This great act of courage ranks high even among the greatest acts of courage that are recorded in scripture, such as David’s defiance of the giant Goliath and Nephi’s defiance of the wicked Laban in order to obtain the Brass Plates. The Lord was with Teancum. The Lord guided Teancum and added His power and direction to Teancum’s javelin. The servant who accompanied Teancum was also incredibly brave.

But what does any of this have to do with us in our everyday lives? Most of us will never sneak into enemy territory in order to assassinate a tyrant. Most of us will probably never even touch a javelin, let alone thrust one into a tyrant’s heart. Perhaps there are a few readers of the Book of Mormon whom Mormon foresaw who would benefit from Teancum’s example in their own efforts to depose tyrants. But for most of us, perhaps Mormon wanted us to take a portion of Teancum’s courage into our own hearts in order to accomplish the small and simple things, our everyday duties, those things that David O. McKay described as follows:

Every noble impulse, every unselfish expression of love; every brave suffering for the right; every surrender of self to something higher than self; every loyalty to an ideal; every unselfish devotion to principle; every helpfulness to humanity; every act of self-control; every fine courage of the soul, undefeated by pretense or policy, but by being, doing, and living of good for the very good’s sake—that is spirituality... Spirituality, our true aim, is the consciousness of victory over self and of communion with the Infinite. Spirituality impels one to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one’s faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life’s sublimest experiences. Being true to self and being loyal to high ideals develops spirituality. The real test of any religion is the kind of man it makes. Being “honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men” [see Articles of Faith 1:13] are virtues which contribute to the highest acquisition of the soul. It is the “divine in man, the supreme, crowning gift that makes him king of all created things.”

Perhaps these are the things that will prepare us for whatever proverbial javelins we must wield in the future.