What does the burying of weapons represent?

Thomas R. Valletta

“The simile curse is a type of curse that appears in ancient Near Eastern, Old Testament, and Book of Mormon texts. It consists of two parts: (1) an event (e.g., ‘Just as this wax is burned by fire’) and (2) an application of that event to the subject of the curse (e.g., ‘so shall Arpad be burned’). In ancient Near Eastern texts, simile curses appear in written treaties and were often part of a ritual acted out during a treaty ceremony. … [An] example of a group ritual occurs in the Book of Mormon when the Anti-Nephi-Lehies bury their weapons of war as a token of their decision never again to take up arms against their brethren” (Morrise, “Simile Curses,” 124–35).

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