According to Mark Morrise, the simile curse is a type of curse that appears in ancient Near Eastern, Old Testament, and Book of Mormon texts. It consists of two parts: (1) an event (e.g., "Just as this wax is burned by fire") and (2) an application of that event to the subject of the curse (e.g., "so shall Arpad be burned"). In ancient Near Eastern texts, simile curses appear in written treaties and were often part of a ritual acted out during a treaty ceremony. . . . An example of a group ritual occurs in the Book of Mormon when the Anti-Nephi-Lehies bury their weapons of war as a token of their decision never again to take up arms against their brethren:
And now it came to pass that . . . [the people] took their swords, and all the weapons of war which were used for the shedding of man's blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood. (Alma 24:17-18)
[See also Mark J. Morrise, "Simile Curses in the Ancient Near East, Old Testament, and Book of Mormon," in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Spring 1993, pp. 124-138]
Alma 24:17 They [the Anti-Nephi-Lehies] did bury them [their weapons] up deep in the earth ([Illustration]): The Anti-Nephi-Lehies Burying Their Swords. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Art, #311]