Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
Omni Chapter 1
1:37 From this and the Book of Ether we learn a little about this last king and warrior of the
Jaredites. He said his parents came from the Tower of Babel when "the Lord confounded the
language of the people." The bones of the Jaredites "lay scattered in the land northward" (39).
Omni 1:40 Behold, I, Amaleki, was born in the days of Mosiah; and I have lived to see his death; and
Benjamin, his son, reigneth in his stead.
1:40 He spoke of "a serious war, and much bloodshed, between the Nephites and the Lamanites”
(41) in King Benjamin's reign. The Lamanites were driven "out of the land of Zarahemla" (42).
Amaleki became old and, having no son, he delivered the plates to King Benjamin, whom he knew
"to be a just man before the Lord" (43). Then he exhorted "all men to come unto God, the Holy
One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the ministering of angels, and
in the gift of speaking with tongues, and in the gift of interpreting languages" (44).
Omni 1:45 For there is nothing which is good, save it comes from the Lord; and that which is evil,
cometh from the devil.
1:45 Many others have said much the same thing, but have done it less effectively. Amaleki then
appeals to "my beloved brethren" and invites them to "come unto Christ ...and partake of his
salvation" (46).
Not only is Amaleki the most prolific of the five writers of the Book of Omni, but he is the most
spiritually minded in what he writes.
He next tells of some of the Nephites who went up into the wilderness to return to the land of
Nephi and "were desirous to possess the land of their inheritance” (48, 49). "Their leader being a
strong and a mighty man, and a stiff-necked man," caused contention among them. The record
given here is not clear as to what happened to cause the near destruction of the group. The record
of Zeniff, as found in Mosiah 6:1-6, tells the story. Amaleki's account of this party is closed by
saying, "They were all slain, save fifty ...and they returned to Zarahemla" (0. 1:50).
The survivors recruited "a considerable number, and took their journey again into the wilderness."
Among this second group was Amaleki's brother. The account by Amaleki is closed by the
statement, "I have not since known concerning them." The Book of Mosiah (6:6 ff) has much to
say concerning them.