Zenephi

Nephite commander

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Zenephi

Zenephi was a Nephite military commander active during the terminal phase of the Nephite-Lamanite wars that led to the destruction of the Nephite nation. His tenure as a commander is noted for a particularly grievous act recounted by Mormon, the Nephite leader and historian, in a letter to his son Moroni. As the Lamanite forces pressed upon the Nephites in their final battles, Zenephi and his army were responsible for taking away leftover provisions from the city of Sherrizah, provisions which were meant for widows and their daughters. This act of taking the remaining sustenance left these vulnerable groups without means of survival, ultimately leading many to die from hunger as they were forced to wander in search of food. The severity of this transgression is underscored by the broader context of Nephite traditions, which emphasized the duty to care for widows and the needy, a duty Zenephi willfully neglected in a time of extraordinary distress (Moroni 9:16). His actions contributed to the grim tableau of a society collapsing under the weight of its own iniquity, and although mentioned but briefly, Zenephi’s conduct is emblematic of the broader moral decay that hastened the fall of the Nephite civilization.

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