According to the Book of Mormon, a religious text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other early settlers described in the Book of Mormon include the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. Some LDS scholars believe that the forebears of the Nephites settled somewhere in present-day Central America after departing Jerusalem.[1] However, both the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society have issued statements that they have seen no evidence to support these claims in the Book of Mormon.
Within the context of the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the son of the prophet Lehi who left Jerusalem at the urging of God c. 600 BC[2] and traveled with his family to the Western Hemisphere, arriving in the present-day Americas c. 589 BC.[3] The Book of Mormon describes the Nephites as an initially righteous people, who eventually "had fallen into a state of belief and awful wickedness"[4] and were utterly destroyed by their brothers the Lamanites c. AD 385.[5]
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The Book of Mormon uses the term Nephite in many different ways, usually contrasted with the term Lamanite. These ways are familial (or clan-based), religious, political, and cultural. Although the two groups did merge for a while (4 Nephi 1:17), the Nephites were never a majority in the Book of Mormon. This is because the term Lamanite after its earliest usage became a word meaning "non-Nephite," much in the way that a Gentile in modern usage means "non-Jew." This may have been to assure Alma of his understanding of the gospel and therefore his preaching abilities, encouraging Alma to accept him as a missionary partner.
The ancient Nephites practiced Judaism before the coming of Christ on the American continent, and Christianity after his resurrection until the early 4th century. Throughout the Book of Mormon the term "Nephite" in the religious sense refers to a believer in Jesus Christ, either before his coming, or after. Such usage is found in Alma 3:11, which states, "Whosoever would not believe in the tradition of the Lamanites, but believed those records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the traditions of their fathers, which were correct, who believed in the commandments of God and kept them, were called the Nephites."
Although the Book of Mormon states explicitly that Nephi was the first king of the Nephites (Jacob 1:11), the word "Nephite" does not seem to be used in a clearly political sense until later. In the first and 2nd centuries BC the Lamanite and Nephite societies created sophisticated kingdoms and the Nephites later created a sort of republic. The political Nephite state existed with clear borders (Alma 22:27) and within it lived people who were religious Nephites and also those who did not practice the Nephite religion (Alma 31:8), due to freedom of religion which was upheld by their laws (Alma 1:17; 30:7).
Cultural usages of the word Nephite are harder to discern in the record, because they usually overlap with religious or political usages. However, the word Lamanite is used in a much more cultural context, and since it is usually an antonym of Nephite, we can usually deduce from its usage characteristics of the Nephites. According to the Book of Mormon, Lamanites are "a lazy and idolatrous people" (Mosiah 9:12), and "wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people . . . dwelling in tents, and wandering about the wilderness" (Enos 1:20). The Nephites are, in turn, industrious (2 Nephi 5:17), civilized (Moroni 9:12), and God-fearing. Also, many Nephites were outside of the political influence of the Nephite state, yet still presumably carried with them Nephite culture (Alma 63:10)
Many details about Nephite society, government, laws, and culture can be inferred from the Book of Mormon. Three main epochs in the Nephite history as described in the Book of Mormon, separated by two periods where Nephite society experienced particularly significant changes. The first major change occurred c. 150–91 BC, during the reigns of Mosiah¹, Benjamin, and Mosiah². The entire populace moved northward, the Nephite and Mulekite societies merged, the government form changed, and traditional laws were codified. The second major change was c. 200 AD, after the Zion society began to crumble. The Nephite and Lamanite societies had integrated for two centuries, only to separate again, probably along ideological lines more than ethnic lines. This blending and dividing likely resulted in additional social changes. The greatest amount of information about Nephite society comes from the middle epoch, from about 150 BC to 200 AD (recorded in the books of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, and 4 Nephi).
One of the best examples of a characteristic that distinguishes these three epochs of Nephite history is the form of government.
From the time the Nephites arrived in America to the reign of King Mosiah² (c. 592–91 BC), the Nephites were ruled by kings. Nephi's brother Jacob explains that subsequent kings bore the title "Nephi."
This is comparable to the Roman practice of giving each emperor the title "Caesar" in honor of the first emperor, Julius Caesar (e.g., Augustus Caesar, Claudius Caesar). Thus, just as the later history of the Romans is sometimes called "the reign of the Caesars," the early history of the Nephites could be called "the reign of the Nephis."
The last Nephite king was Mosiah². About 91 BC, he declared that, instead of naming a new king, he would finish out his reign as king, after which the Nephites would elect judges to govern them. There were at least three levels of judges: one chief judge, several higher judges, and several lower judges. (Some passages speak of multiple "chief judges," probably synonymous with "higher judges"; e.g., Alma 62:47; 3 Ne. 6:21)
Judges were paid according to the amount of time they spent officiating. Mosiah² set the rate at one senine of gold (or the equivalent senum of silver) for one day's work (Alma 11:1, 3). He also arranged for checks in this system to avert corruption as much as possible. He explained,
After announcing the governmental shift from kings to judges, Mosiah explained the principle behind this change by saying,
The system of judges lasted for 120 years, when it was briefly overthrown for about three years (c. 30–33 AD) by an aristocratic cadre led by a man named Jacob⁴. It was replaced by a loose system of tribes and kinships, which lasted until the Savior appeared in America and established a society that approached the ideals of Zion. This society last for about two centuries before the people fell into wickedness again.
After 4 Nephi, no mention is made of whether the Nephites used judges or kings. Mormon mentions that "the Lamanites had a king" (Morm. 2:9). His inclusion of this detail, phrased as it is, could be seen as a contrast to the Nephites having a chief judge. Coupled with the fact that no change in government form is specifically mentioned after 4 Nephi, most assume that the Nephites continued to use judges until their destruction in c. 385 AD.
The record is scanty, but it appears that for the first couple centuries, little distinction was made between religious laws and civil laws. The law of Moses covered all aspects of life, both temporal and spiritual. There was no need to distinguish between religious and civil law since everyone practiced the same religion. Mosiah² seems to be referring to the civil aspect of this legal system when he refers to "the law which has been given to us by our fathers" (Mosiah 29:15, 25).
This changed when the Nephites migrated north from the land of Nephi into the land of Zarahemla. They assimilated the Mulekite society, and this appears to have raised several new issues that had never been encountered before, one of which was the question of what to do when someone commits an act considered a violation by the majority but considered permissible by the individual. The answer was not to leave judgment in each individual's hands, for that would lead to anarchy ("I think stealing is fine, so you can't punish me."). But neither could the law of Moses be applied across the board when many members of the new Nephite-Mulekite nation were not adherents of the Nephite religion ("The police are punishing me for praying to my statue?").
Mosiah² resolved the problem by apparently establishing a distinction between civil crimes and religious crimes when Alma brought several church members to him to be judged.
Mosiah left it in Alma's hands to decide the consequences of religious infractions. Alma received a revelation that "whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people" (Mosiah 26:32). Under the law of the land, as high priest of the Church of Christ, Alma could exercise this power to excommunicate unpenitent members of the Church.
On the other hand, only judges could apply consequences for civil infractions. Defining exactly what constituted a civil crime (versus a religious crime) was apparently decided by Mosiah and submitted for acceptance by the vote of the people. This process is alluded to at the beginning of the book of Alma.
This distinction between civil law and religious law may seem mundane and obvious today, but for an ancient society, such a distinction was relatively uncommon. The laws that Mosiah established were so significant in their impact that sixty years later, instead of referring to "the laws which have been given you by our fathers" (Mosiah 29:25), people referred to "the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the people" (Hel. 4:22).
When delineating the division between civil and religious laws, most would agree that laws against murdering and stealing are obvious. Further distinctions are heavily dependent on cultural norms and values. It is interesting to note which actions the Nephites considered to be civil crimes, regardless of religion.
| Civil Crimes | |
|---|---|
| Prohibition | Reference |
| Murder | Alma 1:14, 18; 30:10 |
| Stealing | Alma 1:18; 30:10 |
| Robbing | Alma 1:18; 30:10 |
| Lying | Alma 1:17 |
| Slavery | Alma 27:9; cf. Mosiah 2:13 |
| Adultery | Alma 30:10. See also Hel. 7:5 |
| Religious persecution | Mosiah 27:2–3 |
| Paid clergy | Mosiah 27:5; Alma 1:12 |
Robbing may be distinguished from stealing in that robbing is a violent crime, stealing from a person under threat of harm, rather than stealing unattended property. The nature of the prohibition against lying is difficult to nail down, but it may be akin to perjury. It is interesting that adultery was not just a religious crime, but a punishable civil offense. The Nephites clearly saw a relationship between unchastity and temporal social breakdown. It is also interesting to note that the prohibition against priestcraft apparently applied not just to Christians but to society at large, for this was one of the crimes Nehor was punished for (Alma 1:12), and Mosiah's proclamation against paid priests was given in the context of "unbelievers," "all the churches," and "every man" (Mosiah 27:1–3).
Actions that were contrary to the laws of the Church of Christ but apparently not illegal are also mentioned.
| Religious Crimes | |
|---|---|
| Prohibition | Reference |
| Idolatry | Alma 1:32 |
| Sorcery | Alma 1:32 |
| Babbling | Alma 1:32 |
| Preaching against Christ | Alma 30:12 |
The exact nature of some crimes is unknown, such as "babbling." The legal toleration of idolatry may indicate how thoroughly ingrained the practice was in local cultures, including the Mulekites. It also implies that this New World idolatry was not identical to the Old World idolatry mentioned in the books of Moses. In Canaan, idolatry was virtually inseparable from fornication and thus merited the Lord's command to His people to purge the region. In America, idolatry was apparently separate enough from adultery that the former was considered legal and tolerable, while the latter was not.
In Alma 1:32, Alma lists the vices of unbelievers. He does not distinguish between civil crimes and religious crimes, since to him they are all sins. However, it is notable that his list begins with religious crimes and ends with civil crimes. He explains that, although as chief judge he could not punish unbelievers for religious crimes, "the law was put in force upon all those who did transgress it, inasmuch as it was possible."
An illustration of the distinction made between civil and religious crimes occurs in Alma 30. As long as Korihor preached against beliefs like the coming of Christ, "the law could have no hold upon him" (Alma 30:12). But he was apparently arrested once his actions crossed the line into instigating others to commit civil crimes (Alma 1:18) —in this case, adultery.
In Alma 11, Mormon lists "the names of the different pieces of their gold, and of their silver" and their relative value (Alma 11:4). It is unclear what kind of system "reckoning" and "measure" refer to, although most Book of Mormon scholars now believe they were weights, not coins. Mormon explains that
Mormon then explains that this fluctuating system was replaced with a standard system established by Mosiah². Such a uniformity of measuring systems would have done much to unify the newly formed society, streamline the calculation of exchange rates in long-distance trade, and increase trade revenue.
| Gold units | Silver units | Relative value (in measures of barley) |
Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| limnah | onti | 7 | |
| shum | ezrom | 4 | |
| seon | amnor | 2 | |
| antion | 1½ | ||
| senine | senum | 1 | a measure of barley; one day's wage for a judge |
| shiblon | ½ | half a measure of barley | |
| shiblum | ¼ | ||
| leah | ⅛ |
One of the apparent purposes of this system was economy of use. A set of weights that contained one of each unit could be used to measure out increments of up to 14 units without needing two of the same weight. Thus, a Nephite merchant could use his small personal set of weights for a range of products being sold instead of relying on a large quantity of weights.[6]
Like many ancient societies, the Nephites counted their years from a significant founding event. During their thousand-year history, the Nephites changed their base year according to three significant events:
This calendric progression is exemplified in a passage in the book of 3 Nephi.
It is accepted as true by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the Nephites existed, and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), part of Brigham Young University, has performed extensive archaeological research in this area, and publications on this subject and other historical topics are issued regularly by the FARMS organization.[7]
In 1973, Michael Coe, a scholar in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican history, wrote an article for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. In this article he addressed the issue:
In 1996, the Smithsonian Institute issued a statement addressing claims made in the Book of Mormon, stating that the text is primarily a religious text and that archeologists affiliated with the institute found "no direct connection between the archeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book". The statement further describes that there is genetic evidence that the Native American Indians are closely related to peoples of Asia, and that archeological evidence indicates that the Native Americans migrated from Asia over a land bridge over the Bering Strait in prehistoric times. The statement said that there was no credible evidence of contact between Ancient Egyptian or Hebrew peoples and the New World, as indicated by the text of the Book of Mormon. The statement was issued in response to reports that the name of the Smithsonian Institute was being improperly used to lend credibility to the claims of those looking to support the events of the Book of Mormon. [9]