Episode 11: Alma 43 – 52 (Part 1 of 2)
Shiloh and Ben begin a preliminary discussion to contextualize the war chapters. They explore the observations for the Lord’s stated means of deliverance in Mosiah 7:33, the Lord’s standard for “justified” self-defense and warfare in D&C 98, and what it means to go beyond what is merely justified into the realms of what is counted as “righteousness.” In Alma 43:47 it states “the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed.” Yet, in this seeming universal command to take up arms to spill the blood of brother’s or sister’s life in defense of our families, we see righteous examples counter to the popular interpretation of this commandment in the fires of Ammonihah and with the Anti Nephi Lehis. Ben and Shiloh explore a more consistent interpretation of this scripture justifying “bloodshed” where the women and children of Ammonihah and of the Anti Nephi Lehis are not just outliers and seeming contradictions but are the very archetypal witnesses of this commandment.
