Nehor

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People in the Book of Mormon
Lehi (far right, bearded) bestowing a blessing on his family. At least 21 different figures are visible (inclusive of infants and children). There is a mix of men, women, and children. A man in blue appears to be writing, perhaps transcribing what Lehi is saying. One infant is nursing. Several men have beards. All but the children wear hats or scarf-like head coverings. The fashion and style is reminiscent of nineteenth-century Christian art of Old Testament scenes. There is a vibrancy of color, with clothing in blues, greens, whites, and reds. The family gather in something like a circle, on a green, grassy field. There are tents visible in the background. This is cropped from a full version of the scene.
Lehi Blessing His Posterity, C. C. A. Christensen (1890)
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Nehor (/ˈniːhɔːr/)[1] is the founder of an apostate sect mentioned in the Book of Mormon around 90 BC in the first year of the reign of the judges.[2] He teaches the Nephites that priests and teachers should be supported by their followers, and that all will be saved in the end (a teaching compared to Christian universalism). Nehor is brought before Alma the Younger for killing Gideon, a Nephite elder who argued with him. Alma accuses him of priestcraft and sentences him to death for enforcing his beliefs with violence. When executed, Nehor admits to teaching against the word of God.

Later, people of the order of Nehor elect a man named Amlici as their leader, and ally with the Lamanites in war. The people of Ammonihah who imprison Alma and Amulek and kill or exile their followers are adherents of Nehor, as are the Amalekites and Amulonites who defect to the Lamanite city of Jerusalem and join the Lamanites in another war against the Nephites.

According to some scholarly interpretation, the people of Ammonihah, many of whom followed Nehor's teachings, could have rejected Alma because he was previously against the church of God and may have been seen as condemning Nehor for something he did too. Additionally, one scholar thinks the order of Nehor is a broad term for the unbelievers of Alma's time, while another believes the wording suggests other competing orders. Another scholar points out that the stories of Nehor and Korihor provide parallel plot structure to the Book of Alma.

  1. ^ "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide", IPA-ified from «nē´hōr»
  2. ^ Hardy 2023, p. 19, 889.