Mormon Dilemma 682

Shoddy Swords and Scalps

Alma 44:12; “And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his soldiers.”

Psalm 119:105; “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

We all need a little humor in life, just a little something that brings a smile to our day and this story in Alma does just that. This has to be one of the most absurd stories in all of the BoM.

First of all the concept that anyone could possibly survive being scalped, much less continue in leading his army to antagonize Moroni’s mighty men is preposterous. While there have been reports of someone surviving such an ordeal, it’s very rare and the victim has never been in good enough shape physically to continue on his day as if nothing happened! This wasn’t a haircut!

The text goes on to say he stirred up his people to keep fighting because losing his scalp made him mad (vs 16).  Made him mad?  Good grief people!

With that aside, let’s look at the possibility of the steel sword issue. Cutting a sword at its hilt?  Really?  Don’t you think these people who were so advanced to have swords of steel would’ve made a better weapon than this?

What are the chances you could slice a sword off at the hilt?  The hilt is the strongest part of a sword so how could this have happened?

Stories like the one above serve as a good reminder God’s word will never lead us astray!