The missionary labors of the sons of Mosiah—Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni—take place approximately 90 b.c. to 77 b.c. (see Alma 17:4). It is at the end of this period that the father of Lamoni, the great king over all the Lamanite territories, sees the wisdom of separating his enlightened followers from the traditionalists who remain hard-hearted. Therefore, he and his fellow converts decide, in counsel with Ammon and the priests, to take upon themselves a name that will thereafter distinguish them from their brethren. By consensus, the name chosen is “Anti-Nephi-Lehies” (Alma 23:16), superseding the name of Lamanites. So firm is their resolve to place their bloody past deeds behind them and start a new life in Christ that they forever abandon their weapons of war and make an oath never to take them up again (see Alma 24:15–18).
EVIDENCE: Anti-Nephi-Lehies
The possible meaning of the name Anti-Nephi-Lehies is considered by scholar Daniel H. Ludlow:
The Lamanites converted by the four sons of Mosiah and their missionary companions took upon themselves the name of “Anti-Nephi-Lehies.” (Alma 23:17; Alma 24:1–5.) The “Nephi-Lehi”’ part of the title probably had reference to the lands of Nephi and Lehi (or the people then living in those lands) rather than to the descendants of Nephi or Lehi. However, Dr. Hugh Nibley has found “a Semitic and common Indo-European root corresponding to anti that means ‘in the face of’ or ‘facing,’ as of one facing a mirror, and by extension either ‘one who opposes’ or ‘one who imitates.’” (Quoted in Eldin Ricks, Book of Mormon Study Guide, 63.) Thus the term “Anti-Nephi-Lehies” might refer to those who imitate the teachings of the descendants of Nephi and Lehi” (A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976], 209).