The Name ‘Anti’ in the Book of Mormon by Stephen L. Carr The usage of the names, Anti-Nephi-Lehi and Anti-Nephi-Lehies has provoked considerable discussion among LDS Book of Mormon scholars and lay members alike. Anti-Nephi-Lehi was the name given to the son of the chief Lamanite king in the greater land of Nephi after his conversion to the true gospel. His previous name is unknown in the Book of Mormon. (The father king then died and this newly renamed son became king.) This was done, apparently, in honor of the conversion of many of the subjects of both the son and the father to the gospel as taught by Ammon and his brother Nephite missionaries and a few other companions. Subsequently, all the converts of the father (whose name is also unknown) and, presumably, the son, as well as the converts of Ammon and king Lamoni, who was king (and brother to Anti- Nephi-Lehi) over the local land of Ishmael of the greater land of Nephi, became known as the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The question naturally arises – Why should the word ‘Anti,’ meaning ‘against’ or ‘opposed to,’ be used to describe the converts to the Nephite church, when, in the words of Ammon, the converts loved the Nephite missionaries and would certainly have no cause to be against them in any way (Alma 26:31)? The only places in the Book of Mormon where ‘anti’ is not used as a name of a person, city, land, or piece of Nephite currency, but is used as we know it to mean ‘against’ or ‘opposed to’ are when references to ‘anti-Christ’ are used. Richard Dilworth Rust of Brigham Young University and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) writes: Acceptance of Nephi and Lehi as fathers to the Lamanites is exemplified in King Lamonis father. He has his people take upon themselves (and also gives to Lamonis brother) the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, which could be interpreted to mean in imitation of Nephi and Lehi. The prefix anti- means against, facing, or opposite—as in a reflection in a mirror. While it can have the negative meaning of a false imitation, anti- can also indicate a similarity or likeness. In this positive sense of being a reflection, Anti in Anti-Nephi-Lehi might well have signified the converted Lamanites desire to be like the prophet-fathers Nephi and Lehi. In what must have been a similar intent, Helaman named his sons Nephi and Lehi so they would remember their first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem (Helaman 5:6). Cynthia L. Hallen, writing in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, published by FARMS further states: Finally, the terms Anti-Nephi-Lehi and Anti-Nephi-Lehies in Book of Mormon headings are interesting in two ways: the meaning of the prefix Anti and the omission of the expected -ite suffix for naming a group of people. Royal Skousens insightful evidence for understanding these forms inspired the following discussion: In the Book of Mormon the morpheme Anti is probably not the Greek anti (except in cases like anti-Christ in Alma 30). Instead, consider the many Book of Mormon names or words that involve Anti: Ani-Anti, Antiomno, antion, Antionah, Antiparah, Antipas, Antipus. So the Anti- Nephi-Lehies were probably not Lehies who were against Nephi, nor were they a people trying to distinguish themselves from the other Nephites. Alma 27:27 in the original manuscript reads “& they were numbered among the People of Nephi & also numbered among the People which were of the Church of God.” The first occurrence of the word numbered was accidentally dropped by Oliver Cowdery when he copied the text from the original manuscript into the printers manuscript. Also, the use of Anti-Nephi-Lehis is found in the early printings of the 1953 RLDS edition. Later printings have Anti-Nephi-Lehies, as with all other printed editions. In every occurrence of the name, in every edition of the Book of Mormon but one, the form is Anti-Nephi-Lehi or -Lehies,not Lehites. In the last heading of the original manuscript, Oliver Cowdery wrote “AntiNephiLehites.” The use of the -ite morpheme was probably a mistake. By analogy to the forms Nephite and Lamanite, readers might expect the -ite form, but there is no evidence to support that transcription. “What’s in a Word,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies by Cynthia L. Hallen. Gordon C. Thomasson, also writing in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, states: Metonymy or metonymic naming involves “naming by association,” a metaphoric process of linking two concepts or persons together in such a way as to tell us more about the latter by means of what we already know about the former. For example, to call a potential scandal a “Watergate” is to suggest volumes in a single word. Similarly, if we call an individual a Judas or a Quisling, rather than giving his or her proper name, we can in one word convey an immense amount of information about how we at least feel toward that person. Names which are specific to particular castes in India have a metonymic function, linking the individual clearly to the role they are to perform in this life. In this case, these are names which the person actually bears in real life. Other names are assigned after-the-fact. Given the fact that in the ancient Near East a word equivalent to the word ‘anti’ could mean just what it means in English today, the name of the Lamanite crown prince, son of Lamonis father, “Anti-Nephi- Lehi” is a perfectly appropriate throne name for what the Lamanites had stood for, prior to their conversion. Was Anti-Nephi-Lehi his real name, a ritual title, or a metonym? I subsequently noted that the largest Nephite weights and units of measure, the antion of gold (Alma 11:19), appears in later chapters of the text of Alma, first in referring to a chief ruler of Ammonihah—one Antionah (a big man in status and self-esteem, Alma 12:20)—and later to the big-money town or pride-in-wealth city of Antionum (Alma 31:3), home of the noveau riche bourgeois Zoramites (note they take upon themselves the name of an exservant, Zoram). With the name of Zeezrom and the probable use of the word antion in other related contexts, I believe that we have a prima facia case for pursuing the concept of metonymic naming as a mechanism for exploring the scriptures both for a deeper understanding of their meaning and as a possible key to some of the linguistic features of Nephite language, many of which appear to be quite ancient, such as its color vocabulary. The only issue I would take with the concept that names or titles were given to denote some event in the lives of the participants is that the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi was not given to the son of the king over all the Lamanite lands until after the conversion of the people, who were also given the new name, Anti-Nephi-Lehies. It doesn’t seem to make sense that the new king would have been given a name for what the Lamanites had previously stood for, or that the entire group of converts would have been saddled with a name that they would seem to not be proud of anymore. My tentative conclusion is that the name ‘Anti’ has nothing whatsoever to do with its being against or opposed to the Nephites, their culture, society, or religion. Rather, especially considering the numerous usages of ‘Anti’ in various forms throughout the Book of Mormon, I think it is a root word or name of some sort in the Nephite language with which neither Joseph Smith nor anyone since really understands, or of which possibly has even the slightest notion.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 21:44:14 +0000
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