"Inspired by a Better Cause": The Function of Alma 43:4445 in the Account of the Monarchic Wars against the Nephites

Abstract: In Alma 43:44–45, as part of the narration of the war between Amalekite- (Amlicite-) and Zoramite-led Lamanites and the Nephites, Mormon juxtaposes the cause of the Amlicite/Amalekite-motivated "fighting for monarchy" with the Nephites' "better cause" of fighting for wives, children, and religious freedom. In using this terminology, Mormon gives the conflict an onomastic framing: kingship or "monarchy" and Amlicites/Amalekites deriving from the Semitic root mlk versus Nephi/Nephit...