Alma vs Amlici in the Battle at the River Crossing
This is Alma the Younger. He was elected Chief Judge of the Nephite Nation. A wicked man wanted to re-establish a kingdom. The father of Alma's friends, namely King Mosiah, had eliminated the monarchy in favor of a republican form of government. So the Nephites elected judges. And Alma the Younger was elected to be the Chief Judge. The Chief Judge was kind of like a president or prime minister.
It appears that at the start of this republic they had their Chief Judge lead the army as well. Later on, the Nephites had more specialized military leaders... like Captain Moroni.
Amlici wanted to reinstate the monarchy with HIM as king. Amlici was a wicked man and he wanted to take away the people's freedoms. Amlici also wanted to destroy the church. Allowing a king was put to a vote by the people and the people said "no king." But Amlici and his followers still anointed him king and basically, this led to civil war against the supporters of the republic.
Alma led his people into battle against Amilici and the followers of Amilici. There was a battle on a hill by the capital city of Zarahemla and Amlici's forces were defeated and fled. Then the remaining Amlicites joined up with an army of Lamanites. Nephite spies found out about the combined armies of Lamanites and Amlicites and that they were attacking and approaching the Nephite capital of Zarahemla.
The Nephite army, under the command of Alma, quickly headed home. On the way, they were attacked as they crossed the river... probably the River Sidon. From what I can gather, (from the account in Alma chapter 2 in The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Christ)... during the battle, Alma was injured, but being a great man of faith he asked God to strengthen him and he was able to slay Amlici. Alma's army, made up of faithful and righteous men, defeated the combined Lamanite and Amlicite armies. The result was a decisive victory for Alma and his people.
Soon after the Lamanites sent another army but Alma, with his wound, could not go at the head of the armies. The Nephites were strengthened in both battles and defeated the Lamanites again. From then on the Cheif Judge must have appointed a man to be the military leader.
The drawing is of only Alma and Amlici with a couple of their guards. The battle actually involved thousands of soldiers on both sides. It is important to note that the Nephites were greatly outnumbered, but the Nephites prayed to the Lord and received the strength to defeat their enemies.
The dead were around 6000 Nephites and around 12,000 Lamanites in the battle on the hill by Zarahemla. The casualties in the other battles were too great to count.
Some good people did die in this war, but the Book of Mormon tells us that good people who die are received into the arms of Jesus. But the Lord also strengthened the good people so that they could defeat their wicked enemies.
The drawing can be found, in printable form, by clicking on the button labeled . . . . Religious.
This is a re-posting of the original post.
This is a re-posting of the original post.
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