Joseph’s Reviews > The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ > Status Update

Also, we keep hearing about these "dissentions" and "contentions" that aren't even explained a lot of the time. WHAT are the Nephites arguing about so much that some of them are trying to convince their greatest enemies to come and kill everyone? Surely this is relevant to what is supposed to be a historical account?

"There began to be a serious contention concerning who should have the judgment-seat among his brethren, who were the sons of Pahoran."

"Pacumeni was appointed, according to the voice of the people[...]in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it was according to his right."

So for all the railing against monarchy, we have a system where rulership still passes via primogeniture, but with a symbolic election first?

"hey caused them to enter into a covenant that they would no more take up their weapons of war against the Nephites. And when they had entered into this covenant they sent them to dwell with the people of Ammon."

The people of Ammon don't count as Nephites, do they? I feel like you're setting yourself up for a problem here.

"Yea, and whosoever was found denying their freedom was speedily executed according to the law[...]having inflicted death upon all those who were not true to the cause of freedom."

I question this "cause of freedom," which was mandated by a king and which people will be executed for questioning.

At some point Smith seems to have forgotten that it was Helaman narrating this, then switched back when he caught himself.

Do you notice that everyone's solution to every problem is "let's flee en masse into the wilderness?" I know the Israelites did that during the Exodus, but that was kind of a one-time thing. It's not something you do every time someone looks at you funny.

"And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the king."

DO any of them love the king? Most of them fled from him because he wanted to kill them for not going on a suicide mission. The former loyalists, meanwhile, have betrayed the king to join the rebels.

P.S.: Kinda sus that the king's guards chose that moment to kill him, eh?

(Because by the way we also just invented the term "Christian" at least 130 years too early.)

I notice that this takes for granted that "wanting a new king" and "being against the church and thus wicked" are synonymous without really justifying it.

Why does Amaliciah want to "destroy the church?" If the answer is "because they oppose him as king," why? In general, why did King Mosiah suddenly decide that monarchy was bad, after several centuries of the Nephites having kings who were mostly Christian?

WHAT IS WITH this book and variants of "Amalek?!"