The Order of Nehor

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Doctrines of Nehor

The following are salient points of Nehor’s doctrine taken from Alma Chapter 1. Compare this philosophy with some of the popular philosophies of today by many individuals and governing bodies.

“he preached to them that which he termed to be the word of God” (His idea, not God’s)
“bearing down against the church” (Did not want to be hampered by church standards)
“every priest and teacher ought to become popular” (eloquence and charisma rather than qualifications)
“ought not to labor”
“ought to be supported by the people”
“all mankind should be saved at the last day”
“they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had create all men”
“and had redeemed all men”
“in the end, all men should have eternal life.”
“He began to be lifted up in pride.”
“wear costly apparel”
“established a church after the manner of his preaching.”
“Because Gideon withstood him- he was therefore slain by the sword.”

“But Alma said unto him: Behold, this is the first time that priestcraft had been introduced among this people. And behold thou are not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword: and were priestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction.”

The effect it had upon his believers:

“many who loved the vain things of the world”
“they went forth preaching false doctrines”
“for the sake of riches and honor.”
“began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God .”
“and afflict them with all manner of words,”
“many among them who began to be proud,”
“and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows”
“yea they would smite one another with their fists.
“the hearts of many were hardened”

Garth Norman: Nehor Cult in Mesoamerican Civilization?

The philosophy and order of Nehor as defined above may be illustrated in the religious culture of the ancient Maya as widely seen in ruins and monuments throughout southern Mesoamerica (land southward). Indeed, a book might be written on the subject.

The “king men” who sought power and threatened to overthrow the government of Zarahemla in the first century B.C. were of the same order. It takes no imagination to see the above “Nehor” details in the elaborate dress of Maya kings in sculpture who competed for power during the Classic Maya era.

The same society is manifest on some sculpture to during the Late Preclassic era considered above. We might yet find clearer definition of the Nehor culture as underwater archaeology exposes the ruins of a city buried off the south shore of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, that correlates well for the city ruins of Jerusalem that was “covered by water” during the destructions at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.

It should also be noted that the kind of society this system generated was ultimately unsustainable by the people at large, and contributed to the collapse of the Classic Maya in the ninth century A.D. The same condition probably contributed to the earlier demise of Olmec/Jaredite civilization in the land northward ( Gulf Coast and Central Mexico ) in the sixth century B.C. (Garth Norman Research Note)

Alan C Miner:

The reader should note that this Nehor doctrine is exactly the same approach that Satan took in the pre-mortal existence saying:

Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost … Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down. (Moses 4:1, 3)

According to Tom Cherrington, a significant point to ponder here is that this destructive Nehor/Satan philosophy not only would prove the “destruction” of the Lord’s people here on earth, but it would have proved the “entire destruction” (Alma 1:12) of the people. How is this so?

Simply put, the priestcraft philosophy would prove the entire destruction of the Lord’s eternal plan — “the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Had Satan’s (Nehor’s) plan been accepted in the pre-mortal existence, it would have negated all the varying degrees of progression that had been attained up to that point in man’s pre-mortal existence. Thus, there would have been no “noble and great ones” because all the laws upon which they were judged to be “noble and great” would have been made void.

There would have been no allowance for birthright blessings that would accompany man into his earthly existence. There would be no reward for righteousness on the highest level during earthly existence, for Satan would save everybody. But in order to do that, just like Nehor, he would have made himself popular by lowering the standards, thus negating the Lord’s plan that had been in existence from the beginning.

“To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,” is to raise man to the Lord’s level of eternal life — to become like God. Satan’s plan would have destroyed the agency of man in pre-mortal existence. It would have removed accountability by making it of no effect.

It wasn’t so much that Satan was going to force people to do good, it was that Satan was going to alter God’s standards so that God’s children would not have any accountability, which in effect is damnation. [Adapted from personal communication with Tom Cherrington]

Michael M. Hobby:

Referring to the teachings of Nehor, Alma records, “This is the first time that priestcraft has been introduced among this people” ( Alma 1:12). This statement adds chronological meaning to a statement in Alma 21 referring to the missionary efforts of the sons of Mosiah in the land of Nephi, specifically at the city of Jerusalem .

And it came to pass that Aaron came to the city of Jerusalem , and firsts began to preach to the Amalekites. And he began to preach to them in their synagogues, for they had built synagogues aftr the order of the Nehors; for many of the amalekites and the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors (Alma 21:4).

If these statements reflect Nephite chronology; that is, if the order of Nehor originated exclusively with the Nephites, then these synagogues would have had to have been built since the execution of Nehor. The reader might wonder, How could this be so?

According to Michael Hobby, the key to unlocking this dilemma might be tied to Jaredite culture which the Mulekites (the people of Zarahemla) had apparently brought with them when they became subject to Nephite kings. The fact that the Mulekites were deeply involved in Jaredite culture is obvious … the fact that they spoke the Jaredite tongue is evidenced by their personal and city names, names of coinage, and so on.

One direct example is the name Nehor [Mulekite] in Alma 1:2-15.

There is also a Nehor [Jaredite] mentioned in Ether 7:4. In all, as much as 30-40 percent of all Nephite/Mulekite names may have been Jaredite or contained one or more Jaredite elements. This could hardly have resulted from reading the record of a fallen people. [Michael M. Hobby, The Mulekite Connection , pp. 21-22]

Discussion

Thus, the reader should not find it surprising that in a very short period of time, this “order of Nehor” would be the dominating political force in such diverse locations as the city of Ammonihah (Alma 14:16), located in the east wilderness territory of the local land of Zarahemla (Alma 8:3,6,13), and the city of Jerusalem (Alma 21:1-3), located beyond the borders of Mormon in the land of Nephi (Alma 21:1).

If, in a few short years, the people at Jerusalem “had built synagogues after the order of the Nehors; for many of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors,” then what cultural phenomenon would account for such a spread of the “order of Nehor”? Did the Nephites or Mulekites in the land of Zarahemla establish intercultural communications with the Lamanites in the land of Nephi ? Or did the “order of Nehor” really begin in Nephite times?

Perhaps a Jaredite/Mulekite order of Nehor had established cultural ties with the Lamanites through the Amalekites and Amulonites. And perhaps the name Nehor is an example of “metonymy” by the editor Mormon in order to provide the reader with this cultural connection.

In other words, in writing his edited story, Mormon gave this person the Jaredite name “Nehor” as a title in order to link him to the same philosophies that arose in the Jaredite civilization where the name “Nehor” originated. What this then might imply is that the Jaredites were destroyed because of priestcraft! [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

Summary

According to the philosophy of Nehor, “every priest and teacher ought to become popular” ( Alma 1:3). It is interesting that Nephi warned of what might happen to any church that might uphold this philosophy. In 1 Nephi 22:23, the “popular” preaching and teaching is accompanied by some parallel attributes which might help the reader understand why such a philosophy as Nehor’s was so potentially destructive:

“For the time speedily shall come that:

all churches which are built up to get gain, and
all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and
those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and
those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.”

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