Today’s chapter, Alma 24, offers one of the most moving stories in the Book of Mormon — that of the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, who are, literally, faithful unto death.
A reader points out, quite correctly, that they’re not pacifists in the strict sense of the word. (I’m not one myself.) But their refusal to take up arms here, even in self-defense, would certainly resonate with the pacifists that I have known, and it resonates with me.
The very different behavior of the Amulonites and Amalekites once again illustrates the principle that I’ve mentioned over the last two or three days of this running commentary — namely, that apostates tend to be far more bitterly opposed to the faith that they’ve rejected, and to their former co-religionists, than are those who’ve never believed. It’s not true in every case, of course, and it’s certainly not true of those who’ve simply drifted away or who, for whatever reason, were never really fully “in.” But I’ve seen it far too many times to have missed the phenomenon. I’ve just seen it far too many times, period.
And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things. (Alma 24:30)
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