Alma 3

3:4 + 7

“And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they ahd marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites… therefore they [the Lamanites] were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ismaelitish women.”

            After the Amlicites separate themselves from the Nephites, they set upon themselves the mark of the Lamanites to distinguish themselves from the Nephites. This is one time in which the descendants of the Laman and the descendants of Nephi begin to mix. Now there is no more only Nephites and Lamanites but there are those who cross over. There are Nephites and Nephites who cross over to become Lamanites; there are Lamanites, then afterwards there will be Lamanites who cross over to become Nephites (The Anti-Nephi-Lehi/Ammonites Alma 24:19 + 27:25-26).

3:18

“Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.”

            In what way could the action of these Amlicites be considered a behavior of “self-fulfilling prophecy”? In that their ignorance or misunderstanding of a prophecy allows them to fulfill it without knowing that in their rebellion they are playing their part in the grand scheme that they are supposedly rebelling against.

3:26

“And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.”

This verse refers to the “afterlife” which was not necessarily a concept in the Jewish tradition, but was developed or adopted through Greek influence and Hellenism. This also reminds me of the frequent references to “dualism” and “hell” in the Book of Mormon, and many other concepts that I really do not think were characteristic of pre-Hellenistic Jews.

Written 12-24-14