"Not one soul .. lost" versus "every living soul … destroyed"

We get a very interesting parallel in Alma 16 between the fate of the Nephite captives and the covenant-breakers of Ammonihah. In the process, we also learn about two other groups who facilitate the action of the story (the Nephite deliverers and the Lamanite armies).

8 And [the Nephite deliverers] came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were brought by their brethren to possess their own lands.

9 And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness. (Alma 16)

You won\’t be surprised to learn that when I read these verses, I see covenant metaphors throughout.

First of all, the Nephite captives are gathered in with their deliverers. This is such a potent and oft-repeated theme in the Book of Mormon it almost slips by unnoticed. \”Not one soul of them had been lost.\” We see this theme repeated with the stripling warriors as well.

The Nephite deliverers sought out the will of God through His prophet and followed his directions precisely (see verses 5-7).  As a result, they were able to \”[bring] their brethren to possess their own lands\” and \”not one soul of them had been lost.\” In the covenant metaphor, these deliverers are the angels. 

Next, the Lamanite armies, who had been holding the Nephite captives, were \”scattered\” and \”driven out of the land\” \”into the wilderness.\” Very clear covenant symbols here.

Finally, the people of Ammonihah, having recently \”cast out\” or killed every last believer from their midst, had been destroyed in a day, an outcome they had (ironically) refused to believe (see Alma 9:4) possible.

The rest of the description of the fate of these people is gory and bleak. 

• \”Desolate\”
• \”every living soul … was destroyed\”
• \”carcasses mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness\”
• \”dead bodies heaped up upon the face of the earth\”
• \”covered with a shallow covering\”
• \”remained desolate\”

As Stisa and I communicated about these verses (we frequently compare notes), he pointed out two details that are pretty fascinating: 

1. The contrasting fates of the covenant-breakers and captive Nephites mirror the Two Ways. 
• The Way of Life through Jesus Christ leads us to be gathered into to a land of promise.
• The way of death causes us to fall victim to the devil\’s \”cunning plan … to ensnare the hearts of men.\” (See Alma 28:13.) 
2. In addition, the fate of Ammonihah presents the dark a \”creation-in-reverse\” pattern. This is a really interesting concept that will be the subject of my next post..