The Name ‘Anti’ in the Book of Mormon

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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 1828 edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary, to which
Joseph Smith may have had access, defines ‘anti’ as “a preposition
signifying against, opposite, contrary, or in place of.”)

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 to denote those individuals who
are against or opposed to the Nephite church, its prophets and
leaders, and, ultimately, against the Savior Jesus Christ and all He
teaches, exemplifies, and stands for.

This subject has engendered some interest in the past.

The following extract is by Richard Dilworth Rust of Brigham Young
University and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
(FARMS):
Acceptance of Nephi and Lehi as fathers to the Lamanites is
exemplified in King Lamoni's father. He has his people take upon
themselves (and also gives to Lamoni's 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 is 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). (“Their Fathers” – Letters and Autobiography, From Feasting on
the Word: The Literary Testimony of the Book of Mormon, chapter 6,
Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute.)

Cynthia L. Hallen, writing in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies,
published by FARMS, (The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious
Scholarship of BYU) 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 Skousen has documented insightful evidence for
understanding these forms, and the following discussion is based on
his observations.
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 printer's 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, 10/2, pages
62-65, 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 Lamoni's 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.
“What's in a Name? Book of Mormon Language, Names, and [Metonymic]
Naming,” Gordon C. Thomasson, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies,
Volume 3, Issue 1, Pages 1-27.

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.

Following are a few non-Book of Mormon instances of the word or name
of Anti:
Anti (mythology) was the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in
Egyptian mythology.
Anti, or Campa, is a tribe of South American Indians.
The original meaning of ‘anti’ in Greek is not ‘against’ but rather
‘instead.’ Bill Moyers: Christian Atheist: How the PBS Icon, a
Professing Christian, Has Used the Work of Atheist Mythologist Joseph
Campbell to Undermine the Faith of Young Christians and Mislead
Millions of Other Students; by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr.

Following is a list of all name usages of ‘Anti’ in the Book of
Mormon:

Names with Anti as a prefix (all are either Nephite or Lamanite, none
are Jaredite):
Anti-Nephi-Lehi – Brother of king Lamoni, who became king of the
converted Lamanites when his father, king over all the Lamanites, died
– Alma 24:3, 5.
Anti-Nephi-Lehies – Name given to the converted Lamanites, later
called the People of Ammon when they were assigned the land of Jershon
in the greater land of Zarahemla – Alma 23:4-5, 16-17; 24:1.
Antiomno – Lamanite king in land of Middoni, greater land of Nephi,
friend of king Lamoni – Alma 20:4.
Antion – Gold unit of Nephite monetary exchange – Alma 11:19.
Antionah – Chief judge in the Nephite city of Ammonihah, greater land
of Zarahemla – Alma 12:20.
Antionum – Nephite land near or in the east wilderness of Zarahemla,
occupied by Zoramites, ca. 74 BC – Alma 31:3; 43:5, 22
Antionum – Nephite commander at battle of Cumorah, AD 385 – Mormon
6:14.
Antiparah – Nephite city in southwestern part of the greater land of
Zarahemla – Alma 56:14, 31-34; 57:1-4.
Antipas – Mountain in greater land of Nephi, Lehonti is leader of
Lamanite army there – Alma 47:7, 10.
Antipus – Nephite army commander, ca. 65 BC – Alma 56:9-51.

Names with Anti as a suffix (all are either Nephite or Lamanite, none
are Jaredite):
Ani-Anti - Lamanite village in the land of Nephi, Nephite missionaries
labor there Alma 21:11.
Manti – Nephite soldier ca. 87 BC – Alma 2:22.
Manti – Main Nephite city in local land of Manti on southern periphery
of the greater land of Zarahemla – Alma 56:13 – 58:39
(intermittently).
Manti – Local Nephite land in foothills of the narrow strip of
wilderness, southernmost land in greater land of Zarahemla – Alma 16:6
– 59:6 (intermittently).
Manti – Hill fairly near city of Zarahemla, Nehor put to death there
Alma 1:15.

Variations of Anti, e.g., Anto, Antu, Andi, Onti:
anto – (Nephite or Jaredite)
Corianton – Youngest son of Alma the younger – Alma 31:7 – 63:10
(intermittently).
Coriantor – Son of the Jaredite Moron – Ether 1:6-7; 11:18-23.
Gadianton – Leader of notorious robber band infesting both Nephite and
Lamanite lands, ca. 50 BC, Helaman 2:4, 11, 13; 6:24, 26, 29.
Morianton – Jaredite king, one of few righteous kings – Ether 1:22-23;
10:9-13.
Morianton – Founder of Nephite city along eastern coast of the greater
land of Zarahemla, ca. 68 BC, attempted to flee to the northlands –
Alma 50:28-35.
Morianton – Nephite city on eastern seaboard of greater land of
Zarahemla, between cities of Lehi and Omner – Alma 50:25 – 59:5
(intermittently)
Morianton – Localized land around city of Morianton – Alma 50:25 –
59:5.

antu – (Nephite or Jaredite)
Antum – Land in the greater land of Desolation, north of the narrow
neck of land, where the hill Shim was located – Mormon 1:3.
Coriantum – Early Jaredite king – Ether 1:27-28; 9:21-24.
Coriantum – Jaredite son of Amnigaddah and father of Com – Ether
1:13-14; 10:31.
Coriantumr – Early Jaredite, son of Omer – Ether 8:4-6.
Coriantumr – Jaredite king, last Jaredite survivor – Omni 1:21; Ether
12:1-15:32 (intermittently)
Coriantumr – Apostate Nephite, commander of Lamanite army, ca. 51 BC.
Hel. 1:15-32.
Irreantum – The Indian Ocean off the coast of southeastern Arabia –a1
Nephi 17:5.
Moriantum – Nephite city or land occupied by wicked Nephites – Moroni
9:9-10.
Seantum – Wicked Nephite belonging to Gadianton band, murders brother
– Helaman 9:6, 26-37.

andi – (Nephite or Lamanite, probably not Jaredite)
Gadiandi – City of unknown location destroyed at the Crucifixion
because of wickedness – 3 Nephi 9:8.

onti – (Nephite and Lamanite, not Jaredite)
Lehonti – Lamanite general in land of Nephi, ca. 72 BC, poisoned by
Amalickiah – Alma 47:8-19.
Onti – Silver unit of Nephite monetary exchange – Alma 11:6, 13.

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