Where we are
Alma 23 is one of the Book of Mormon's most quietly extraordinary chapters. The great king's proclamation in Alma 22 has done what the proclamation said it would do. The missionaries have gone from city to city; the message has been preached; thousands have believed. The chapter is the after-action report. Seven specific cities are named, and one statement, more than any other in the chapter, sets it apart in the canon: as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.
That sentence is not a small claim. The Book of Mormon has, by this point in its narrative, recorded extensive Nephite apostasies. The Nephite history is a history of cycles: belief, prosperity, pride, apostasy, war, humbling, repentance, belief again. The Lamanite mission of Alma 17–22 produces a different kind of conversion — one that holds. The chapter is the canon's most striking text on the doctrine that a real conversion, anchored in the witness of the Spirit and sealed by a definite covenant, can be permanent.
The chapter has four movements: (1) the king's proclamation to allow free preaching, and the lifting of the threat of death (vv. 1–3); (2) the report of the cities converted and the never did fall away clause (vv. 4–8); (3) the seven cities named, with the exceptions of the Amalekites and Amulonites (vv. 9–14); (4) the new name — Anti-Nephi-Lehies — and the peace that follows (vv. 15–18).
Five verses carry most of the weight: v. 3 (the king's proclamation that they should not lay their hands on Aaron and his brethren… that they should have free access to their houses); v. 6 (the never did fall away clause); v. 7 (the explicit they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion); v. 14 (the Amalekites and Amulonites were not converted, save only one); v. 17 (the new name — Anti-Nephi-Lehies — and the explicit they were friendly with the Nephites).
The proclamation and the free preaching (verses 1–3)
Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land. Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their sanctuaries. — Alma 23:1–2
The list is the king's full guarantee. Eight specific protections, each pegged to a violence the missionaries had recently suffered. They had been bound — see Alma 17:20, 22:14. They had been imprisoned — Aaron at Middoni. They had been spit upon and smitten — the Amalekite synagogue. They had been cast out of synagogues — Jerusalem, Ani-Anti. They had been scourged. They had had stones cast at them. The proclamation reverses, point by point, the entire catalog of suffering Alma 17–21 had described. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on what a government can do to make space for the gospel, and what protections are required for missionary work to function in a society previously hostile to it, is in this enumeration.
The phrase free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their sanctuaries is the political payload. Not just freedom from violence — affirmative access. The missionaries can enter homes, temples, and sanctuaries throughout the land. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that the Lord's work needs not only the absence of opposition but the positive grant of access is in this clause.
And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness. — Alma 23:3
The king names his motives plainly. He wants the word of God to go forth without obstruction. He wants his people convinced about the wicked traditions of their fathers — the foundational Lamanite lie that the Nephites were the children of a deceiver. He wants them convinced that all the peoples are brethren. He wants them to keep what is in essence a short summary of the Mosaic moral law — no murder, no theft, no plunder, no adultery. The chapter is one of the Book of Mormon's clearest texts on what a converted king does with his throne: he uses it to make a path for the gospel and to undo the lies that have made his people enemies of their kin.
The phrase the wicked traditions of their fathers will recur as a refrain through the rest of the Sons-of-Mosiah arc. The Lamanite-Nephite enmity has not been founded on any real grievance for many generations; it has been founded on the inheritance of a lie. The chapter is the Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that traditional enmities, once their lie is exposed, can be dissolved by the gospel.
The report and the never did fall away clause (verses 4–8)
And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success. — Alma 23:4
Aaron is now doing what Ammon did at Ishmael, but on the scale of an empire. The form is the same Mosian protocol — believers gathered, priests and teachers consecrated, churches established. The chapter is repeating the same form the Book of Mormon has been describing since Alma the Elder at the Waters of Mormon (Mosiah 18). The form does not change. The scale, in this chapter, becomes continental.
And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites; and they were taught the records and prophecies which were handed down even to the present time. — Alma 23:5
Thousands. The chapter does not pretend it was hundreds. Mormon-the-editor has counted, and the number is in the thousands. The conversion is at the scale of nations. The chapter is also careful to specify what they were converted to: not to Nephite ethnicity but to the traditions of the Nephites, and behind those, to the records and prophecies. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that scriptural literacy is what makes the gospel permanent across generations is in this verse. The Lamanites are not being converted to a personal experience alone. They are being given the records.
And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them — yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. — Alma 23:6
The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the permanence of a real conversion. The construction is solemn: Mormon swears the claim by the formula as the Lord liveth. He puts his editorial credibility behind it. Every one of these Lamanite converts held. Never did fall away.
The verse is striking because the Book of Mormon's habitual pattern is the opposite. The Nephite history runs in cycles. Conversion is followed, in nearly every generation, by drift, apostasy, and disaster. But this verse names a generation that broke the cycle. The doctrine being preserved here is not a casual observation. It is a claim about what is possible. A real conversion, sealed by a definite covenant — and the chapter is about to show us that covenant — can hold. The Lamanite converts of Alma 23 are the Book of Mormon's clearest demonstration of the doctrine that perseverance is possible.
For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. — Alma 23:7
The verse names the covenant. They did lay down the weapons of their rebellion. The verb is the same verb that will return in Alma 24 — they buried their weapons. The verse is the Book of Mormon's first explicit mention of the disarmament that will be the central act of the Anti-Nephi-Lehi covenant. It is the seed of the slaughter at Idumea. It is also one of scripture's most concentrated phrases on what real conversion does to a man's instinct for violence: the weapons of his rebellion are laid down. The Christological echo is exact: blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matt. 5:9). The Anti-Nephi-Lehies, in this verse, become children of God in the Sermon-on-the-Mount sense, before the Sermon is preached.
Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord: — Alma 23:8
The list is coming.
The seven cities named (verses 9–14)
The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael; And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Middoni; And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi; And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Shilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom. — Alma 23:9–12 (cluster)
Seven specific cities. Each named. Each gathered into the body of converts.
- The land of Ishmael — Lamoni's land. The conversion of Alma 18–19.
- The land of Middoni — Antiomno's land. The site of Aaron's prison.
- The city of Nephi — the great king's own seat. The conversion of Alma 22.
- The land of Shilom — adjacent to Nephi, see Mosiah 7–22.
- The land of Shemlon — also in the upland Lamanite country.
- The city of Lemuel — named for Lemuel, son of Lehi, the brother of Laman.
- The city of Shimnilom — a less-attested Lamanite city.
The number is worth pausing on. Seven is the canonical scriptural number of completeness. The Book of Mormon does not, in most of its narrative, foreground numerology. But the seven cities here are exactly seven, and that is the count Mormon-the-editor preserves. The chapter is one of the most carefully numbered short passages in the book.
The seven cities also represent the full geographical sweep of the Lamanite territory south of the narrow neck. Ishmael in one direction, Middoni in another, Nephi at the center, Shilom and Shemlon and Lemuel and Shimnilom spread across the upland. The chapter is showing the reader that the proclamation has reached not just the capital but the periphery. The full Lamanite homeland is now, in significant part, converted.
And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were converted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites. — Alma 23:13
The verse reminds the reader of two things. First, the list is the cities, not the individuals — but every named city is in. Second, they were all Lamanites. Not Amalekites; not Amulonites; not Nephite immigrants. The conversion is among the Lamanites by blood. The next verse will name the exceptions.
And the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities. — Alma 23:14
Save only one. The Book of Mormon will not let us forget the exception. There was a single Amalekite who was converted. The chapter does not name him, and we do not meet him in the text. But Mormon-the-editor goes out of his way to record that the rejection of the Amalekites and Amulonites was not absolute. One soul came in.
The pattern of one saved from a larger rejection is a pattern scripture knows well. Lot is the one saved from Sodom. Rahab is the one saved from Jericho. The repentant thief is the one saved on Golgotha. The chapter preserves a similar marker for the Sons-of-Mosiah mission. The Amalekites and Amulonites collectively did not believe. Save only one. The Lord knows the name. The chapter is content to leave it unnamed.
The rest of the verse names the corollary. The hardened Amalekites and Amulonites hardened the hearts of the Lamanites wherever they dwelt. The chapter is making the same point Alma 21:3 made: apostate Israelites are more dangerous to a region than mere absence of conversion would be. The cities the Amalekites and Amulonites inhabited became, by their presence, the cities that did not convert. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that a small group of committed unbelievers can hold an entire region against the gospel is in this verse.
The new name and the peace (verses 15–18)
Therefore, as I said unto you, that as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. — Alma 23:15 (cluster with Alma 23:6–7, repeated for emphasis)
Mormon repeats himself. The never did fall away clause comes around again. The repetition is deliberate. The editor wants the reader to hold the claim in the foreground as he turns to the new name.
Now, this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of the brethren in the land of Ishmael. And now I, the writer, return again to the account of Ammon and Lamoni; for behold, it came to pass — — Alma 23:15 (paraphrastic; cf. 23:15)
And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished. And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites. — Alma 23:16–17
The new name is Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The naming is one of the most-discussed in Latter-day Saint scriptural commentary. The anti- in the name is not the modern English against; it is a transliteration of the older sense — in the place of, or belonging to, or of the family of. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies are of Nephi and Lehi — the family of Nephi and Lehi. They are taking the name of their covenant ancestors. They are saying, in a name, that they are no longer the rebellious Lamanites but the restored Lehites and Nephites.
The renaming follows a scriptural pattern. Abram becomes Abraham; Jacob becomes Israel; Saul becomes Paul. A new identity in the covenant gets a new name. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the corporate version of the same pattern — an entire people renamed at the moment of covenant — is in this verse. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies are the renamed people.
And it came to pass that they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with them, and the curse of God did no more follow them. — Alma 23:18
The chapter closes with three signs of the conversion's depth. They became industrious. They became friendly with the Nephites. The curse no longer followed them.
The curse reference is the Book of Mormon's reference back to 2 Nephi 5:21 and Alma 3 — the curse that fell on the Lamanites at the time of their rebellion against Nephi. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that the curse was conditional and could be removed by conversion is in this verse. The curse did no more follow them. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies are not under the curse any longer.
The phrase they did open a correspondence with them is also worth pausing on. The Lamanite-Nephite enmity, which had been the political fact of the Book of Mormon for five hundred years, is suddenly turning into a correspondence. The two peoples are writing to each other. The Book of Mormon's clearest text on the doctrine that the gospel ends the political enmity it inherits is the verse 18 correspondence.
The chapter's architecture
Four movements. The proclamation. The conversion report and the never did fall away. The seven cities. The new name and the peace.
The chapter is built around one short sentence. As many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. Mormon-the-editor places that sentence at the center of the chapter and circles back to it. The whole chapter is structured to make the sentence stand out. The chapter is the Book of Mormon's clearest single demonstration that real conversion can hold — that perseverance to the end is not only possible but historically attested in a whole generation of converts.
The chapter is also the introduction of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies as the Book of Mormon's clearest example of a corporate covenant. They are not just individual converts who happen to live in the same region. They are a covenant people. They have a name. They have laid down their weapons. They have established a peace with the Nephites. They have entered a new corporate identity that supersedes their old tribal one. The chapter teaches, by example, that the gospel produces not only converted individuals but converted peoples.
The chapter is the textual hinge into Alma 24. The Amalekites and Amulonites, named in verse 14 as the exception to the conversion, will be the engine of the Lamanite assault that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies will face. The peace of Alma 23 will be tested in Alma 24. The weapons that have been laid down will not be picked up again — and 1,005 of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies will die for the discipline they have just covenanted to keep. The chapter that ended in peace is setting up the chapter that ends in martyrdom. Both chapters are the same story.