The Chief Judge of Ammonihah

 After Alma and Amulek had preached to the people of Ammonihah, Mormon recorded, “They took them and bound them with strong cords, and took them before the chief judge of the land” (Alma 14:4). This was not the chief judge over all of the Nephites, but rather the chief judge over the land of Ammonihah. We have quite a few details about his interactions with Alma and Amulek, and it is astounding just how wicked this leader was. It was under his watch that the women and children were burned. After Alma and Amulek were forced to watch this terrible act, “The chief judge of the land came and stood before Alma and Amulek, as they were bound; and he smote them with his hand upon their cheeks, and said unto them: After what ye have seen, will ye preach again unto this people, that they shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone? Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy faith. And the judge smote them again upon their cheeks, and asked: What say ye for yourselves?” (Alma 14:14-15) He was likely referring to Alma’s teaching that for the wicked, “Their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever” (Alma 12:17) Clearly he was an unbelievably wicked man—and a follower of the teachings of Nehor—and seeing that this was the leader of the people it is easy to see why Amulek stated, “the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges” (Alma 10:27). As it was for King Noah, surely this evil man was a driving force behind the wickedness of the whole people.

               This chief judge seemed fixated with taunting Alma and Amulek, and this ultimately led to his destruction. When he couldn’t get Alma and Amulek to reply to him, “He smote them again, and delivered them to the officers to be cast into prison.” When they continued to keep their silence after many came into the prison to revile them, the chief judge said to them, “Why do ye not answer the words of this people? Know ye not that I have power to deliver you up unto the flames?” We read that he “commanded them to speak; but they answered nothing.” Unable to leave them alone, he “came again on the morrow; and the judge also smote them again on their cheeks.” He and others “did mock them for many days,” until one day “the chief judge over the land of Ammonihah and many of their teachers and their lawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek were bound with cords. And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words.” As part of a wicked and adulterous generation, he sought a sign from them. Clearly inspired by the devil, he was obsessed with tormenting these two missionaries and couldn’t stay away from the prison where they were. On this particular day Alma had finally had enough and cried unto the Lord for deliverance according to their faith. They broke their bands and “the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth.” And this was the end of that chief judge: “And the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof” (Alma 14:17-23). He was slain as the prison fell, likely regretting his request for a sign during his final moments, and ultimately it was his evil and inhumanity that led to his death. His story is a reminder that whether in this life or the next, God’s justice will always prevail.