Morianton's maidservant

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Morianton's maidservant
Verses 30–31 of Alma 50 in the Book of Mormon, in the 1920 edition. Text is as follows: "30. And behold, they would have carried this plan into effect, (which would have been a cause to have been lamented) but behold, Morianton being a man of much passion, therefore he was angry with one of his maid servants, and he fell upon her and beat her much. [line break] 31. And it came to pass that she fled, and came over to the camp of Moroni, and told Moroni all things concerning the matter, and also concerning their intentions to flee into the land northward."
Appearance in the Book of Mormon (1920 ed.)
First appearanceAlma 50:30
Last appearanceAlma 50:31
Alias"one of his maid servants"
HomeLand of Morianton
Known forEspionage

Morianton's maidservant is an unnamed woman mentioned in the Book of Mormon, a religious text of the Latter Day Saint Movement. In the Book of Mormon narrative, Morianton is a Nephite insurrectionist. After he cruelly beats his maidservant, she escapes his camp and discloses Morianton's plans to Nephite military leader Captain Moroni. The maidservant's information becomes vital to Moroni's military success against Morianton. A commentary called her becoming a spy as a domestic violence survivor "one of the bravest actions in all of the Book of Mormon".[1]

Morianton's maidservant has been depicted in media works about Book of Mormon content a few times, including in a painting by the artist Minerva Teichert.

Background[edit]

In the Book of Mormon, a land dispute emerges between Nephites in the city of Lehi and the land of Morianton, the latter led by a man named Morianton.[2] The inhabitants of Lehi appeal to Nephite military leader Captain Moroni for help.[3] Not prevailing in the dispute, Morianton and his followers become dissenters and make plans to depart from the region and move northward.[4] This threatens to repeat a pattern from earlier in the Book of Mormon in which Nephite dissenters leave Nephite lands only to later return and wage war on their former countrymen.[5]

Synopsis[edit]

There appears in Alma 50:30–31 an unnamed female servant of Morianton, called "one of his maid servants".[6] While angry with her, Morianton wrongfully and severely beats her.[7] Retaliating against Morianton, the maidservant escapes his camp and goes to Moroni.[8] Acting as a spy at the risk of her life, she tells Moroni about Morianton's plans to go north.[9] Thanks to the maidservant's espionage, Moroni succeeds against Morianton.[10] When Morianton and his followers flee north, a Nephite army led by Teancum cuts them off.[11] Morianton's maidservant does not appear again in the Book of Mormon.[10]

Interpretation[edit]

In a commentary, Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming call Morianton's maidservant "[t]he hero of this story" and aver that being a "servant, a woman, and a survivor of abuse all put her on one of the lowest levels of the social caste system, making her decision to become a spy one of the bravest actions in all of the Book of Mormon".[1] A feminist scriptural interpretation by Lynn Matthews Anderson describes the account of Morianton's maidservant as one of the only Book of Mormon arcs in which a woman "act[s] in anything other than tightly-defined or constrained circumstances", though Anderson laments that the maidservant nevertheless appears "as a victim of male brutality".[12] Religious studies scholar Grant Hardy interprets the sequence as a "cautionary tale about the consequences of domestic violence".[13] Pentecostal theologian John Christopher Thomas writes that the abuse Morianton's maidservant suffers and her crucial role in Moroni's success both make her a "sympathetic figure" in the Book of Mormon; he argues that "the reader is left wanting to know more about her" because "she disappears from the narrative, receiving neither further mention nor praise for her role".[10]

Depictions[edit]

There are relatively few artworks of Morianton's maidservant.[14] American artist Minerva Teichert's Morianton's Maidservant, created around 1949–1951, is an oil on masonite painting measuring 36 by 48 inches.[15][a] According to art historian Marian Ashby Johnson, Teichert's use of lighting in the work creates a "strong emphasis" with "firelight as a radiant exclamation point to the girl's message".[18] The painting is displayed in the Joseph Smith Building at Brigham Young University.[19]

Morianton's maidservant appears as a non-player character in the 2015 video game The Servant of Teancum.[20] The player must escort her to Moroni's camp.[21]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Art historian Marian Ashby Johnson also calls this painting Morianton's Servant[16] and Morianton's Little Servant.[17]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b Salleh & Olsen Hemming (2022, p. 332).
  2. ^ Hardy (2023, p. 460n26).
  3. ^ Hardy (2023, p. 460n27).
  4. ^ Wardle (1994, pp. 60–61).
  5. ^ Salleh & Olsen Hemming (2022, pp. 331–332).
  6. ^ Johnson (1988, p. 136); Bowen & Williams (1992, pp. 1578–1579); Anderson (2015, p. 206); Thomas (2016, p. 286). Quotation is Alma 50:30.
  7. ^ Johnson (1990, p. 66); Thomas (2016, p. 286); Salleh & Olsen Hemming (2022, p. 332). Quotation is Alma 50:30.
  8. ^ Johnson (1990, p. 66); Thomas (2016, pp. 286–287).
  9. ^ Johnson (1988, p. 136); Bowen & Williams (1992, pp. 1578–1579); Salleh & Olsen Hemming (2022, p. 332).
  10. ^ a b c Thomas (2016, p. 287).
  11. ^ Clark (2011, p. 19).
  12. ^ Anderson (2015, p. 206).
  13. ^ Hardy (2023, p. 460n30–31).
  14. ^ Olsen Hemming (2023, p. 190).
  15. ^ "Minerva Teichert: Book of Mormon Highlights". BYU Museum of Art. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Johnson (1988, p. 136).
  17. ^ Johnson (1990, p. 66).
  18. ^ Johnson (1990, p. 66).
  19. ^ "Emma Belnap with Minerva Teichert's Morianton's Maidservant". Book of Mormon Art Catalog. January 12, 2023.
  20. ^ Draper & Curtis (2023, pp. 334–335).
  21. ^ Draper & Curtis (2023, p. 335).

References[edit]

  • Anderson, Lynn Matthews (2015). "Excerpts from 'Toward a Feminist Interpretation of Latter-day Scripture' (1994)". In Brooks, Joanna; Steenblik, Rachel Hunt; Wheelwright, Hannah (eds.). Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings. Oxford University Press. pp. 204–213. ISBN 9780190248031.
  • Bowen, Donna Lee; Williams, Camille S. (1992). "Women in the Book of Mormon". Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Macmillan. pp. 1577–1580. ISBN 978-0-02-904040-9.
  • Clark, John E. (January 2011). "Revisiting 'A Key for Evaluating Book of Mormon Geographies'". Mormon Studies Review. 23 (1): 13–43. JSTOR 10.18809/mormstudrevi.23.1.0013.
  • Draper, Geoffrey M.; Curtis, Aaron M. (2023). "Pixelated Prophets: A History and Analysis of Book-of-Mormon-Themed Video Games". Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. 35: 303–354.
  • Hardy, Grant, ed. (2023). The Annotated Book of Mormon. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-008222-2.
  • Johnson, Marian Ashby (Spring 1988). "Minerva's Calling". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 21 (1): 127–143. doi:10.2307/45225716. JSTOR 45225716.
  • Johnson, Marian Ashby (Summer 1990). "Minerva Teichert: Scriptorian and Artist". Brigham Young University Studies. 30 (3): 66–70. JSTOR 43042230.
  • Olsen Hemming, Margaret (Winter 2023). "The Book of Mormon Art Catalog: An Interview with Director Jennifer Champoux". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 56 (4): 183–191. doi:10.5406/15549399.56.4.15 (inactive March 24, 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2024 (link)
  • Salleh, Fatimah; Olsen Hemming, Margaret (2022). The Book of Mormon for the Least of These. Vol. 2, Mosiah–Alma. By Common Consent Press. ISBN 978-1948218580.
  • Thomas, John Christopher (2016). A Pentecostal Reads the Book of Mormon: A Literary and Theological Introduction. CPT Press. ISBN 9781935931553.
  • Wardle, Lynn D. (Spring 1994). "Dissent: Perspectives from the Book of Mormon". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 3 (1): 53–73. doi:10.2307/44758654. JSTOR 44758654.

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