Nehor

Nehor (/ˈniːhɔːr/) is the founder of an apostate sect mentioned in the Book of Mormon around 90 BC in the first year of the reign of the judges. He teaches the Nephites that priests and teachers should be supported by their followers, and that all will be saved in the end (a teaching compared to Christian universalism). Nehor is brought before Alma the Younger for killing Gideon, a Nephite elder who argued with him. Alma accuses him of priestcraft and sentences him to death for enforcing his beliefs with violence. When executed, Nehor admits to teaching against the word of God.

Later, people of the order of Nehor elect a man named Amlici as their leader, and ally with the Lamanites in war. The people of Ammonihah who imprison Alma and Amulek and kill or exile their followers are adherents of Nehor, as are the Amalekites and Amulonites who defect to the Lamanite city of Jerusalem and join the Lamanites in another war against the Nephites.

According to some scholarly interpretation, the people of Ammonihah, many of whom followed Nehor's teachings, could have rejected Alma because he was previously against the church of God and may have been seen as condemning Nehor for something he did too. Additionally, one scholar thinks the order of Nehor is a broad term for the unbelievers of Alma's time, while another believes the wording suggests other competing orders. Another scholar points out that the stories of Nehor and Korihor provide parallel plot structure to the Book of Alma.

Narrative in Alma

Nehor is presented as a "large and strong man" brought before Alma the Younger, chief judge of the Nephite lands, for killing a man named Gideon and teaching priestcraft, which is when someone preaches for their own personal gain. Contrary to the church of God, Nehor preached the following doctrines:

1. Priests and teachers should be supported by the people and hold a privileged status.
2. There will be a universal salvation for all mankind.
3. There is no need for repentance.

As he goes about teaching, Nehor has an encounter with an elder of the church named Gideon, and kills him. Nehor is then taken to face murder charges before Alma the Younger, high priest of the church of God and chief judge of the land. Alma accuses Nehor of priestcraft, and then sentences him to death for killing Gideon and using a sword to enforce religious beliefs. Nehor admits before his execution that he was teaching against the word of God.

The order of Nehor

Nehor's teachings continue to affect the Nephites after his death. In Alma 2 and 3, a man named Amlici is introduced as part of the order of Nehor. He wants to be king but loses the election, so his followers, called Amlicites, elect him as their own king. The Amlicites then ally with the Lamanites, and start a civil war resulting in numberless deaths, but they ultimately retreat.

Another group of Nehor's adherents live in Ammonihah, where the chief judge of the city orders the burning of sacred books and the massacre of women and children who believe in the church of God, then imprisons the missionaries Alma and Amulek. The city is subsequently destroyed by the Lamanites and called "the Desolation of Nehors" because most of the people killed are followers of Nehor and the land stays uninhabited afterwards.

Later on, the Book of Mormon talks of a city called Jerusalem, populated by Lamanites and two additional groups of Nephite dissenters, the Amulonites and the Amalekites. Many of these Nephite dissenters are after the order of Nehor, and the Lamanite king allows them to build synagogues according to their beliefs. The king soon converts to the church of God and allows missionaries to teach throughout his lands, but among the Amulonites and Amalekites (followers of Nehor), only one is converted.

Reception

Literature

Latter-day Saint poet Mildred Hunt wrote a series of poems about the Book of Mormon. In her poem "Nehor" she writes from Nehor's perspective, where he ruminates about his teachings and his consequences: "I advocated / That a priest should garnish the Church / And be as a jewel in her crown." Olive McFate Wilkins also wrote a poem about Nehor. In it she explains, "He contended that both priests and teachers / Should not have to work with their hands."

Works cited

• Belnap, Dan (2014). ""And it came to pass...": The Sociopolitical Events in the Book of Mormon Leading to the Eighteenth Year of the Reign of the Judges". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 23 (1). JSTOR 10.5406/jbookmormstud2.23.2014.0101.
• Clark, John L. (2002). "Painting Out the Messiah: The Theologies of the Dissidents". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 11 (1). JSTOR 10.5406/jbookmormstud.11.1.0016.
• Conkling, J. Christopher (2005). "Alma's Enemies: The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 14 (1). JSTOR 10.5406/jbookmormstud.14.1.0108.
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• Turley, Kylie (2019). "Alma's Hell: Repentance, Consequence, and the Lake of Fire and Brimstone". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 28 (1). JSTOR 10.5406/jbookmormstud2.28.2019.0001.

Further reading

• Bowman, Matthew (2023). "The Profession of Nehor and the Holy Order of God: Theology and Society in Ammonihah". In Bowman, Matthew; Demos, Rosemary (eds.). A Preparatory Redemption: Reading Alma 12–13. Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar: Omnibus of Proceedings. Vol. 2. Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar. pp. 339–350. ISBN 979-8-860308-33-6.
• Welch, John (2011). The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press; Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. ISBN 978-0842527125. OCLC 232358237.