History Literature / TheBookOfMormon

* ForcedToWatch: After preaching and having a handful of conversions in the city of Ammonihah, Alma the Younger and Amulek are bound by the unconverted wicked leaders of the city, who kick out all the men who had converted and burn their wives and children (and scriptures) in a bonfire, forcing Alma and Amulek to watch. Amulek wants to stop the scene of carnage, but Alma stops him, saying that the Lord will judge the wicked and the righteous people being burned are now martyrs and in heaven. (The city is slaughtered, to a man, a short time later.)

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Nephi decapitates a passed-out drunk Laban with his own sword, dons all of his garments, and impersonates him to access the treasury that holds the plates of brass. He asks Laban's servant, Zoram, to come with him outside the walls of Jerusalem to meet his elder brothers where the former's brothers are hiding out. Seeing as Laban was a military leader who attempted to kill Nephi and his brothers, the sight of the disguised Nephi gave them quite a scare.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Nephi decapitates Laban, dons all of his garments, and impersonates him to access the treasury that holds the plates of brass. He asks Laban's servant, Zoram, to come with him outside the walls of Jerusalem where his brothers are hiding out, giving them a good fright.

** There are stories of "secret combinations" (ie conspiracies) and the book warns against them. Often overlapping with DealWithTheDevil. Cain is said to have started them. It warns that they are found among every civilization, even in the modern era. Probably a reference that includes government and business corruption, and organized crime.

* MurderByProxy: After Jared's rebellion against the king fails, he bribes one of the king's friends, Akish, to assassinate the king for him, in exchange for marrying Jared's daughter. Akish accepts the deal, but unfortunately for Jared, Akish recruits an entire organisation for the task, and then they remain in the king-slaying business after Jared takes the throne...

* MoralMyopia: Ammoron, in his letter to Moroni, accuses the original Nephi of robbing his brothers of their right to the government of the people. Meanwhile, Ammoron became king of the Lamanites through a series of conspiracies and murders and large-scale deceptions. Nephi, on the other hand, simply left to avoid conflict, and a large proportion of the people freely chose to go with him. Oh, and since Ammoron was a Nephite by birth, that means that he himself was an example of a Nephite robbing the Lamanites of their rightful government.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The only time that rape is mentioned is in connection with the most depraved group of people to be recorded, who would then [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] their victims to death afterward and [[ImAHumanitarian devour the bodies]]. The rape itself is described as "depriving [the victims] of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue," and the writer laments that he can't help but think the impending destruction of the people is a good thing.

* AbdicateTheThrone: Alma sees the people becoming increasingly wicked, but since the monarchy has been ended and he's officially just a "chief judge" or governor, there's limits on what he can do about it. So he hands over the judgement seat to a man he trusts, and throws himself into his ''other'' job of high priest, travelling around the land to cry repentance. His great-grandson Nephi later does something similar.

** Nearly happens to the people of Limhi; the prophet Abinadi warns them that they are already subject to serious punishment, but if they still don't repent, they'll be completely wiped out and just leave a record for others to find.

* EvilVersusEvil: The usual endgame for cities and nations.

** Korihor claims that the whole church is corrupt, "leading away the people after the silly traditions of their fathers, for the sake of glutting on the labors of the people." Alma responds by pointing out that this argument makes no sense when all the priests are unpaid.

* AngstComa: Alma the Younger's HeelFaceTurn. After getting up to a lot of anti-church mischief, he is rebuked by an angel, goes into a "deep sleep" and has visions of God. When he wakes up days later, he has had a change of heart. He later explains to his son that he spent that time being tormented by the realisation that his actions had led people away from God and put their souls at risk.

* AmbulanceChaser: The city of Ammonihah is stated to contain many lawyers who deliberately stir up social unrest and disturbance in order to drum up business. This leads to them opposing Alma and Amulek's preaching on principle, hoping to start a fight -- even before Amulek starts calling them out and warning that their behavior is putting the city on a path to destruction.

** Nine of of Jesus' apostles wishes to reunite with Jesus after they finish his work. This is treated positively than most examples as Jesus decides to grant that wish after their ministry is over.

--> Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.

* DeathSeeker: Moroni in the end. He's a bit more moderate than most examples as he doesn't really angst about it, but it's pretty clear that with his entire people annihilated he doesn't have anything to live for after he finishes his father's work.

** In his death throes, Lehi tells one of his young sons, Joseph, that he not only named him after the Joseph from Egypt, but that in the future, there will be another Joseph who found their plates, and restore God's church.
** Several Lamanite kings are named "Laman". The Nephites apparently have a similar thing going, where their kings' birth names aren't "Nephi" but the people call them "Second Nephi", "Third Nephi" etc as a mark of respect for the original.

*** The next generation learns that same absolute commitment, ''without'' having sworn an oath of pacifism -- instead, they swear to protect liberty. The first time they fight, they hit a much larger army from behind so hard that they turn the tide of the battle and scare the Lamanites into surrendering. A few chapters later, in a narrative that normally measures armies in thousands, it was apparently worth mentioning that reinforcements included sixty more of these soldiers -- and they were instrumental in turning the tide of the following battle, too.

%%** Abinadi is executed this way for prophesying the death of the king.
%% Please add context.

** Abinadi is executed this way for prophesying the death of the king.

... That we have a trope page for [[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm The Book of Mormon]], a book of scripture used by [[UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] and its splinter groups alongside Literature/TheBible and the Literature/DoctrineAndCovenants. The Book of Mormon is the main piece of holy/'god-given' writ that distinguishes these from Catholicism and the various Protestant sects, and the unofficial name of the religion, Mormonism, derives its name from the book. The Mormons regard the book as divine scripture equal to the Bible in importance. In the 1980s the church added the subtitle "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" to help clarify that the primary subject of the book is the gospel of Jesus Christ.