Mormon - the Philosophical Soldier

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God ..." - Mormon

The ancient prophet and historian Mormon's life was dominated by war and destruction, most of which he spent on the front lines. He lived to see and document the genocide of his people. I see his life as parallel to Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel and other Biblical prophets who foresaw the destruction of their people. His life also reminds me of Noah who also preached in vain and saw his people destroyed.

Mormon maintained an intense focus on his connection with God through many years of war. Looking at his biography, I see that he was a brilliant war commander who attracted national attention at the age of 16.  I think Mormon's major life lessons include:
     1.  When society is going down the tube, we can still firmly hold our own values.
     2.  War is awful.
     3.  Christ gives us hope for a better world and shows us how to get there for ourselves.
Mormon also compiled the history of about 19 generations into what we know as the Book of Mormon summarizing their accomplishments and weaknesses, their triumphs and struggles. He did this by etching the words into metal plates, as shown in this first picture.

I wouldn't put it past him to be more technically savvy though, and use a type set or other simple machine for the engraving instead of just using his hands.

Biography:
310 AD born in the Land Northward, his father's name was Mormon, a descendant of Nephi.
10 yrs old - As Mormon started school, the prophet Ammaron called him to be the nation's historian and spiritual leader.
11 yrs old - moved to Zarahemla with his father, a much larger city than his birth town.
15 yrs old - visited of the Lord and knows the goodness of Jesus, but is forbidden to preach
16 yrs old - leads the Nephite armies into war, humbling citing his stature as the reason for selection
40 yrs old - preaches repentance in vain
52 yrs old - resigns from service, disgusted by the Nephites' blood lust
65 yrs old - resumes service
75 yrs old - one of 24 soldiers surviving from an army of 230,000
soon after - killed by the Lamanites

Mormon's age during Nephite war years: 16-20,  35-40,  50 - 57,  65 - 75

This picture is just awesome. I imagine their armor and war decorations would have been a lot more unique and intense, but it gets the general feeling about right. 

Jacob and Enos - Methuselahs of the Book of Mormon

Life Overview of Jacob son of Lehi
600 BC - 592 BC born while his family journeys in the wilderness.
570 BC has already seen the glory of God and been ordained a priest and teacher.
544 BC takes responsibility for the plates, leads the church.
___ BC confounds Sherem the Anti-Christ

Life Overview of Enos son of Jacob
___ BC   prays and receives forgiveness of his sins
___ BC   leads unsuccessful missions to the Lamanites
420 BC records his life story in the small plates, passes them to his son Jarom

The incredible thing about Jacob and Enos is their longevity. Jacob was born as Lehi was wandering in the wilderness. 180 years later, Jacob's son Enos finishes his entry in the plates. On the news today there are stories of men up to age 96 fathering children. To put these stories in perspective, Gordon B Hinckley was 97 years old when he died, and he was born in 1910. If is father had been born in the 1820's it would have made the same collective 180 year span between father and son.

This also provides an interesting context for Enos' story about receiving a remission of his sins. Enos learned his father's language and remembered his words. Enos promised obedience to keeping the plates for his father before he passed away. Enos says he remembered "the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints." Enos was hunting, and it seems likely that his father had passed away while Enos was young. Enos was likely remembering his deceased father's words. I think this makes Enos situation more poignant and desperate than if his father was 20 years older than him and living.

I also wonder how old Enos was when he received responsibility for the plates. Mormon was 10 years old when he knew he would receive the plates, but that was in a time where the majority of the Nephite civilization was turning to wickedness. Mormon was told by Ammaron to wait to take the plates until he was "about twenty and four years old." If Enos was at least that age when he took the plates, it only makes his and his father's longevity all the more impressive!

Lehi and his son Nephi Life Overviews

Life Overview of Lehi
born and lives in Jerusalem "all his days"
?? BC commanded to preach repentance to the Jews
600 BC flees Jerusalem with his family, leads and prepares family for time in the wilderness
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful
591 BC gets in the boat Nephi built with his brothers
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 - 570 BC leads his family and prevents extreme hostility, after providing final teachings he dies and is buried (no specific year provided)

How old were Lehi and Sariah?
We don't have a lot of clues about Lehi's exact age. His age might have been a factor in assigning his sons to go back to Jerusalem, but it could have to do with the fact that people there wanted to kill him. Nine years into the story, both Lehi and Sariah were "stricken with years" and that their grey hairs were about to lie low in the dust (notice that they weren't stricken with grey hairs...). I'm sure eight years wandering in the wilderness aged them too, but they weren't young parents when they left. Without any clues that the birth of Jacob and Joseph were miraculous or that they were born to a different mother, Sariah was probably close to 40 about 592 BC. If Lehi lived as long as his son Nephi, he would be born 658 - 640BC, making him at least 48 and at most 66 when he was in the boat. Because of the phrases "stricken with years" and "grey hairs lying low" I think he was closer to 66 when the family got on the boat. Lehi doesn't participate in any hunting, nor in the boat building. However, his words and presence kept the family together when they landed in the new world.

Life Overview of Nephi son of Lehi
born in Jerusalem (best guess 615 BC)
600 BC leaves Jerusalem with his parents and siblings
592 BC reaches the land Bountiful and builds a boat
589 BC arrives in the promised land
588 BC begins making records on plates of metal
~570 BC separates from his brethren "not many days after the death of his father" with all who believed in the revelations of God. They live in the Land of Nephi. The activities mentioned:
- sow seed, reap in abundance, raise herds of animals
- make swords for defense, build buildings, work in wood and metals (2 Ne 5:15)
- build a temple
~560 BC already had wars and contentions with the Lamanites. Nephi didn't want to be king, but he is referred to as the king by his brother.
544 BC gives plates to Jacob, appoints the first (or next) king, dies.

How old was Nephi at death?
Nephi tells us he was exceedingly young when his family left Jerusalem. Alma was 25 as a young man, and Mormon was young at age 16. In general, Jews became of age to preach at 30 years, which seems consistent through the Book of Mormon. I would guess exceedingly young means a teenager in this context. Laman and Lemuel had to use a rod to beat him up, and he was able to keep a grown man from running. If Nephi was 15 when he left Jerusalem, he would be 71 years old at death, which is quite old for a soldier and king.

Life Overview of Alma the Elder, the Younger, and Helaman

I hope that you find the lives of these Book of Mormon Heroes as inspiring as I do! I want to do a better job of knowing the events and timeframes of their lives, and writing this out has helped me a lot. I also give my best guess below for their age at death, even when it isn't totally clear.

Alma the Elder - Life Overview
born in the land of Lehi-Nephi in 183 BC, becomes a priest to the wicked King Noah
148 BC defies King Noah as a young man (age 25) and begs the life of Abinadi
147 BC teaches the gospel in secret
145 BC discovered by the king's agents, flees, founds the city of Helam
121 BC taken by the Lamanite army (searching for people of Limi), heavily persecuted
120 BC the Lord puts the Lamanites in a deep sleep and Alma's people are freed (v23 cracks me up)
120 BC given authority to lead the church by King Mosiah son of Benjamin, governs the church
92 BC his wayward son meets an angel and is converted
91 BC dies at age 82** after seeing his son appointed as chief judge

** Mormon helped us out, and told us he was 82 at time of death. Otherwise, we know that in the Jewish tradition, typically priests were at least 30 years old and married to start their ministry (not sure of my source though). This would make Alma 87 years old at the time of his death. Alma the Elder was never a military leader.


Alma the Younger - Life Overview
born to Alma between 145 and 120 BC (probably in the city Helam, which his father founded)
100 - 92 BC seeks to destroy the church with the sons of Mosiah - meets an angel and becomes converted
91 BC becomes the chief judge
90 BC contends with Nehor
87 BC leads armies against combined army of Nephite dissenters and Lamanites, wounded in battle
83 BC yields judgment seat to Nephihah, preaches the gospel to the Nephites
76 BC contends with Korihor the Anti-Christ
76 BC leads the mission to the Zoramites
74 BC gives his last words of advice to his sons, gives Helaman the plates (Helaman was his second choice - he asked Nephihah to take the plates but Nephihah refused)
73 BC leaves Zarahemla and is never heard of again

If Alma the Younger was born 138 BC in Helam, about 5 years after the city was founded, then he led the Nephite armies at age 45, and was 65 years old when he died. Alma the Younger was engaged in battle and wounded severely in battle 6 years before his death, which could explain the difference in age at death and his father's age at death.

Helaman son of Alma - Life Overview
born
74 BC remains at home while his father and brothers teach the Zoramites
73 BC receives responsibility for the plates from his father
66 BC leads the stripling warriors (War with the Lamanites broke out in earnest 3 years previously)
61 BC war ends, Helaman preaches to the people.
57 BC dies

When was Helaman born?
It is hard to narrow down a range for Helaman's age or year of birth. I wonder if he was born during Alma's rebellious years of seeking to destroy the church. It is hard to imagine him a married man trying to destroy the church, then his sons growing up to lead the church.

Clue #1 - Helaman was "in his youth"
Helaman was "in his youth" as Alma instructed him about the plates. Perhaps this is why Alma preferred to give the plates to Nephihah (see above), who turned down his offer. I take in his "youth" to mean that he was less than 30 years old. However, his younger brothers went on a mission before Helaman received the plates. If they had to be 30 to preach the gospel, I would assume Helaman was more like 35 years old when he received the plates.

Clue #2 - Helaman was an army commander for 5 years
Helaman must have died very young then, only living 16 years after receiving the plates. Helaman never admits that he was wounded in war, but he was very worried that some of his 2,000 stripling warriors had died. I could easily imagine that he was wounded in that first battle and that was part of the reason for his concern. Even if he wasn't wounded in that battle, there are many more ensuing battles that could have taken their toll and shortened his life.

Conclusion
Based on Alma's ministry, Helaman was probably born close to 100 BC, putting him close to 27 years old as the prophet, and 43 years old when he died. This would make sense with Alma saying Helaman was still "in his youth" when he received the plates. Dying young also makes sense for an army leader. The only contradicting factor is that his younger brothers went on the mission to the Zoramites, which I would explain by saying they were acting under the Aaronic priesthood.

 ... but Helaman's age is just an educated guess.  What are your thoughts? Are you surprised that Helaman died so young? or that Alma was so old?

Record Keepers of the Book of Mormon

Gen	Name	Relation to previous	Year started	Year ended
1	Nephi son of Lehi	--	600 BC	545 BC
1	Jacob	brother	544 BC	(421 BC)
2	Enos	son	(543 BC)	420 BC
3	Jarom	son	419 BC	361 BC
4	Omni	son	360 BC	318 BC
5	Ammaron	son	317 BC	280 BC
5	Chemish	brother	279 BC	(130 BC)
6	Abinadom	son	(279 BC)	(130 BC)
7	Amaleki	son	(279 BC)	130 BC
8	King Benjamin	no known relation	129 BC	124 BC
9	King Mosiah	son	124 BC	91 BC
--	Record of Zeniff	**	200 BC	120 BC
10	Alma the Younger	no known relation (1)	91 BC	74 BC
11	Helaman	son	74 BC	56 BC
11	Shiblon	brother	56 BC	52 BC
12	Helaman	nephew	52 BC	39 BC
13	Nephi	son	56 BC	1 BC
14	Nephi	son	1 AD	34 AD
15	Nephi	son	35 AD	(193 AD)
16	Amos	son	(35 AD)	(193 AD)
17	Amos	son	194 AD	(320 AD)
17	Ammaron	brother	(194 AD)	*321 AD
18	Mormon	no known relation (1)	335 AD	*385 AD
19	Moroni	son	400 AD	421 AD

(1) However, Alma and Mormon were both descendants of Nephi
1021 years over 19 generations means about 54 years per generation on average.

Timeline of Nephite Government

This timeline is still under construction, but here is what I have so far.

( ) means about that year

Year BC/AD  Reign   Name of the ruler                 End of reign

 91 BC             1          Alma the Younger                 Resigned to focus on church duties
 83 BC             9          Nephihah                               Died of natural causes
 67 BC            24         Pahoran son of Nephihah      Died of natural causes
 52 BC            40         Pahoran son of Pahoran         Murdered by Kishkumen
 52 BC            40         Pacumeni                               Killed by Coriantumr (Lamanite army)
 50 BC            42         Helaman son of Helaman      Died of natural causes
 39 BC            53         Nephi son of Helaman           Resigned to focus on church duties
 30 BC            62         Cezoram                                Killed by Gadianton robbers
(22 BC            66)       Seezoram brother of Cezoram- Killed by his brother