Text: I include the last verse of chapter 45 here because it properly belongs with the information that begins chapter 46 in our current edition. There was no chapter break in the 1830 edition. Mormon intended this conceptually related material to be read as a unit.
Culture: Mormon describes this “problem,” first in general terms, then in specifics. In general, the people grew rich, then proud, turned from Yahweh, and then “gathered together against their brethren.” The narrative then focuses on their leader, Amalickiah, who was “desirous to be a king” (v. 4).
This desire to restore the monarchy, and Amalickiah’s ambition, grow naturally from “their exceedingly great riches” (Alma 45:24). This theme is a familiar one. Riches, pride, turning from Yahweh, and desiring kings are a logical unit, the cultural conditions that supply the greatest pressure from the non-Nephite cultures in Mesoamerica. The only element we expect, but which is not explicitly mentioned here, is costly apparel. However, since clothing is the display location for wealth in Mesoamerica, its presence can be assumed in this dynamic. (See commentary accompanying Jacob 2:12–13.)
These verses record a continuation of problems that are already recorded with the apostasy of Ammonihah, then the apostasy of the Zoramites at Antionum. In both cases, entire cities abandoned the Nephite religious-political polity. These apostasy-fostering conditions are no longer confined to distant cities. Instead, they afflict the Nephite heartland. The Nephites are no longer pitted against invading Lamanite armies but are coping with Lamanite sympathizers who want a Lamanite-style monarchy, including the social hierarchies that accompany that government. These Lamanite sympathizers are thus pushing for changes that will completely overthrow egalitarian Nephite society, a destruction that the prophets had always feared would come. (See commentary accompanying Mosiah 29:23; Alma 2:4, 8:17, 43:9–10.)
Amalickiah’s support base is judges who would benefit from the institution of hierarchy and who, like him, “were seeking for power.” As I reconstruct the situation, because Nephite society was kin based, these kin groups would continue to exist and have influence even within the larger political system. This social structure appears in virtually all Mesoamerican cultures. Because the rulers are almost certainly clan leaders, the “higher” judges would be the most prominent men. They and their families form a ready-made interest group. In my analysis of the voice of the people (see “Excursus: The Voice of the People,” following Mosiah 29), I argue that judgeships could be hereditary. Therefore, appointment to even a “lower” judgeship was still likely to be clan related; and that clan’s respect and prestige would benefit from having a prominent member as a judge. When the lower judges championed a monarchy, they no doubt saw the creation of a new hierarchy as opening up many opportunities for the existing system of judges to become elite functionaries to the king. The entire clan would rise in status and wealth. Thus, these lower judges had both a reason to want the power and also the connections to supply the large numbers associated with this new political movement.
The timing of these conflicts is also important in Mesoamerican history. At the time of Christ, the Mesoamerican cultures are in the final two centuries of the Preclassic. The Classic Maya culture which succeeds it is characterized by full-blown kingships that produced the most magnificent of the Maya ruins. Those cultures did not develop overnight, and the political stresses that gave rise to them were well underway in this period of Nephite history. Amalickiah is not pulling the idea of a king from thin air, but from an air thick with the idea.