Amalickiah and his Followers

Amalickiah’s Takeover of the Lamanite Army

Alma 47:1
Amalickiah arrives in the land of Nephi with his followers, where he persuades the Lamanite King to go to war against the Nephites.
Alma 47:2
When the Lamanites hear about the call to war, most of them are afraid to fight, and don’t want to join the military.
Alma 47:5–7
The Lamanites who are unwilling to fight know that the militants are coming coming after them, so they choose a leader and gather on Mount Antipas, in a place called Onidah.
Alma 47:3
The king charges Amalickiah with the task of compelling those reluctant to fight to go to war.
Alma 47:4
This is part of Amalickiah’s devious plan to dethrone the Lamanite King.
Alma 47:5,9
Amalickiah takes the Lamanites who are loyal to the king to the valley at the foot of mount Antipas, near Onidah, where the Lamanites who are reluctant to fight are gathered.
Alma 47:8
Instead of attacking the peaceful Lamanites, Amalickiah chooses to trick them into joining him.
Alma 47:10
At night, Amalickiah sends a messenger to the leader of the peaceful Lamanites, Lehonti, requesting a word with him.
Alma 47:11
When Lehonti refuses to come down, Amalickiah makes several more attempts, but Lehonti refuses to come down each time.
Alma 47:12
Amalickiah goes up mount Antipas himself, approaches Lehonti’s camp, and requests that Lehonti to come down with an armed escort.
Alma 47:13
Amalickiah conspires with Lehonti, suggesting that Lehonti’s troops come down and surround Amalickiah’s troops causing them to surrender; Amalickiah would then become second in command.
Alma 47:14
The plan goes into effect; in the morning Amalickiah’s men wake up to find themselves surrounded by Lehonti’s men.
Alma 47:15
Lehonti’s men beg Amalickiah to allow them to surrender peacefully.
Alma 47:16
Amalickiah lets his men surrender to Lehonti’s army; his conspiracy to rise in power is succeeding.
Alma 47:17–18
With the two armies merged and Amalickiah second in command, Amalickiah makes his servant poison Lehonti bit by bit; Lehonti dies.
Alma 47:19
With Lehonti dead, Amalickiah becomes the leader of the merged armies.

Amalickiah’s Conquest of the Land of Nephi

Alma 47:20
Amalickiah marches his army to the city of Nephi.
Alma 47:21
Amalickiah meets the king, who is pleased that Amalickiah gathered such a large army.
Alma 47:22
Amalickiah’s servants approach the king and greet him with a bow.
Alma 47:23
The king raises his hand as if to lift them from their bow as a token of peace.
Alma 47:24
As the king raises the first servant, the servant stabs the king in the heart; the king falls to the ground.
Alma 47:25–26
Frightened, the innocent servants of the king run away, and the guilty servants of Amalickiah begin blaming them for the king’s death.
Alma 47:27
Amalickiah and his army approach the crime scene, and pretending to be angry, he orders that the king’s servants be apprehended and put to death.
Alma 47:28
A search party is dispatched in search of the innocent servants.
Alma 47:29
Seeing they are being followed, the servants of the king escape northward, and arrive in the land of Zarahemla, where they join the Ammonites.
Alma 47:30–31
The search party returns empty handed, and thus Amalickiah, through fraud, murder, and deceit, gains total control over the Lamanites.
Alma 47:32–33
When the queen finds out about the king’s death, she calls for Amalickiah and requests witnesses of the murder.
Alma 47:34
Amalickiah meets the queen with his servants who killed the king; and they tell about the king’s servants who escape, and the queen believes them.
Alma 47:35
Amalickiah eventually marries the queen, and thus becomes the supreme authority over the entire Lamanite nation.
Alma 47:36
Those like Amalickiah, the Nephite dissenters, often become more wicked and ferocious than those who never knew the way of the Lord.

Beginning of Amalickiah’s War Campaign

Alma 48:1
As king of the Lamanites, Amalickiah starts a campaign against the Nephites; he sends messengers among his Lamanites people to publicly speak against the Nephites.
Alma 48:2–4
The campaign is successful, and the Lamanites develop an increasing attitude of hostility towards the Nephites, and Amalickiah gathers a huge army, determined to conquer and enslave the Nephites.
Alma 48:5
Amalickiah appoints Zoramites as chief captains of his army—the Zoramites, being former Nephites, knew the Nephite strategies and weaknesses well.
Alma 48:6
Amalickiah leads his troops in a massive march towards Zarahemla.