The magical world of Harry Potter has captured the imaginations of millions of people worldwide, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are no exceptions. The Twitter hashtag #MormonHarryPotter emerged a couple years ago, and one of UtahValley360.com’s most popular articles is “Who Said It: Dieter or Dumbledore?”
For all you Mormon Potter fans out there, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to answer yet another pressing question: Which Hogwarts house would Book of Mormon characters be sorted into? With help from the Sorting Hat’s song in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and the LDS Guide to the Scriptures, we’ve come up with a few ideas.
Gryffindor
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
Captain Moroni
Fast Facts: Captain Moroni was a righteous Nephite military leader who inspired soldiers to fight for “our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” (Alma 46:12). He later became angry with the government for their perceived indifference to the plight of the military. Read about him in Alma 43–62.
Gryffindor because of: His bravery in military affairs; his daring and nerve in condemning the government leaders; his chivalry as he fought for Nephite women and children.
Nephi
Fast Facts: Nephi was a righteous son of Lehi and Sariah with strong faith, an obedient man of action. Read about him in 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi.
Gryffindor because of: His bravery in obtaining the Brass Plates from Laban; his nerve in condemning his brothers; his chivalry in providing food for his family in the wilderness. Also, Nephi is (like Godric Gryffindor) famous for his sword, which became an important historical artifact.
Teancum
Fast Facts: A great Nephite military leader who served under Captain Moroni. He was a confident leader with a passionate hatred of evil. He liked to take matters into his own hands. Read about him in Alma 50-52; 61-62.
Gryffindor because of: His bravery in battle; his daring and nerve in singlehandedly killing both Morianton and Amalickiah — who was, as discussed below, a quintessential Slytherin.
Hufflepuff
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Sam
Fast Facts: The third son of Lehi and brother to Nephi. He valued justice and right. Read about him in 1 Nephi 2 and 2 Nephi 5.
Hufflepuff because of: His passion for justice, his loyalty to Nephi, and his patience in the wilderness — unlike Laman and Lemuel, he was not prone to complaining.
Amulek
Fast Facts: Missionary companions of Alma the Younger, who obeyed an angel by inviting Alma into his home. He became Alma’s missionary companion and frequently testified of the truth, sometimes in hostile situations. Read about him in Alma 8-14 and Alma 34.
Hufflepuff because of: His loyalty to Alma; his desire to prevent the martyrdom of the believers (Alma 14:9-10) that showed his passion for justice; his missionary labors that characterized him as hardworking and patient.
Aaron
Fast Facts: One of the four sons of Mosiah who refused to be king and instead served as a missionary. Read about Aaron in Mosiah 27 and Alma 17, 22 and 31.
Hufflepuff because of: His distaste for power; his loyalty to his testimony of truth; his hard work among the Lamanites. May also make a good Gryffindor, as he is noted for his “courage” in Alma 17:12.
Ravenclaw
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Jacob
Fast Facts: Another of the sons of Lehi (brother to Sam and Nephi). Read his wise counsel in 2 Nephi 6-11 and the Book of Jacob.
Ravenclaw because: He noted and apparently valued the wisdom of God (Jacob 4:10). He also penned the classic allegory of The Olive Tree, which displays a clarity of mind valued by Ravenclaws. He is also widely noted for his counsel, “O be wise; what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:12)
King Mosiah (II)
Fast Facts: A righteous Nephite king and prophet who followed the righteous example of his father, King Benjamin. Read the Book of Mosiah to learn more about him, his family and his reign.
Ravenclaw because: He translated the twenty-four plates that contained the record of the Jaredites (see Mosiah 28:17). He also highly valued wisdom; in proposing a reign of judges instead of a reign of kings, he said, “Let us be wise and consider these things …” “And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people. … For we will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God.” (Mosiah 29)
Zeezrom
Fast Facts: A lawyer in the city of Ammonihah who initially lied to Alma and Amulek while debating with them. He later became converted to the gospel of Christ. Read his story in Alma 11 and Alma 15.
Ravenclaw because: Though he may have also made a good Slytherin (he displays cunning and deceit early in his story), he shows great curiosity by asking Alma and Amulek a series of questions. He also apparently values critical thought, as he is a lawyer by profession. Prior to his conversion, Zeezrom seems especially troubled by the effect of the word of God on his mind (Alma 15:3, 5).
Slytherin
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
Amalickiah
Fast Facts: Amalickiah was a Nephite traitor who gained power among the Lamanites by murdering the king, framing the king’s servants for the murder, then marrying the queen. For the whole sordid tale, see Alma 46–51.
Slytherin because: … “He was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words …” (Alma 46:10). He was ambitious and resourceful, apparently a commanding leader, and (like noted Slytherin Bellatrix Lestrange) in possession of “prodigious skill and no conscience.”
Daughter of Jared
Fast Facts: This Jaredite woman learned the ancient secret combinations (or in Harry Potter-speak, “dark arts”) and used them to conceive and execute the assassination of her grandfather. Read about her in Ether 8.
Slytherin because: Her cunning plan — which she devised after learning about the ancient conspiracies of her people — was evil and involved the murder of a member of her own family. She executed it to place herself and her father in a position of greater power. Of her, the record says, “Now the daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could redeem the kingdom unto her father” (Ether 8:8).
Amlici
Fast Facts: Amlici, who had ambitions to be a king but lived during the Nephite reign of the judges, led a group of Nephites who wanted a king. These “Amlicites” openly rebelled against God and were cursed. See Alma 2–3.
Slytherin because: He possessed many of the traits appreciated by Salazar Slytherin, founder of the house. “Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful” (Alma 2:2, emphasis added).
thanks for providing so many wonderful examples of righteous women.
Hi Emily, I also wish we knew more about the few women mentioned in the Book of Mormon. If you’re interested in this topic, you might enjoy a blog post I wrote about some of my favorite women in the scriptures and in Church history. You can find it here: http://www.breannaolaveson.com/live-gospel-likeagirl/
I think it is a little unfair to only put the evil into Slytherin. I took a few tests, and apparently I am best fit for Slytherin. It is a house that is often mistrusted, but their are many great witches and wizards who came from it, such as Merlin and Snape to name a few. The Slytherin members are great people, strong, cunning, but can be true of heart.
Hi Carly, I had a lot of Slytherin traits on my test as well—ambition, resourcefulness … all good things! I discuss the question of the virtuous Slytherin in a comment below if you want to take a look. It’s a good topic to discuss, for sure!
I totally love this!! One of my favorite Book of Mormon heroes that’s often overlooked is Shiblon, one of the three sons of Alma. In Alma 38 he commends his son for being steadfast, loyal, and true to serving God amongst being persecuted for his missionary work. I think he’d be an incredible Hufflepuff! Thanks again for this awesome piece!
Thank you, Kayla! Glad you enjoyed it.
Slytherin are ambitious and cunning but that doesn’t mean they are all bad or evil! Let’s find some BOM characters that are righteous slytherins. You could argue that Amon and teancum could both be slytherins. Also the lamentite descendant who got the lamenites drunk and snuck into the city walls to arm the prisoners. And what about Abish? She bided her time for years waiting for a time to share the gospel and took action when her time came. Nephi was smart and persuasive. He was a hard-working metalsmith and used every means available to him to follow the will of the lord, his own desire too. He started a city, armed his people and was a strong leader. He was ambitious. Amon was cunning in his own right. He found a place in the Kings life as a servant, allowing himself to gain a better position through service and dedication to the king. He cut off the arms of the lamenite brotheren which he didn’t consider brave. He did it out of duty and as a means to fulfill his ends- serve the kind, gain his trust. Slytherins are awesome.
Ohh, the question of the virtuous Slytherin! One of my favorites. Because of the time period the HP books cover, there aren’t many mentioned specifically. I personally believe that many of the Slytherin traits can be positive (ambition, resourcefulness) and that there HAVE to have been virtuous Slytherins, and that many good people could be sorted there. I didn’t include any in this article because we know so little about virtuous Slytherins, but I agree that many of the traits are positive.
Ammon! He was awesome – used flattery in Alma 17 in a good way, every other time flattery is mentioned in BofM, it’s for an evil purpose EXCEPT for Ammon! He’d also be great in another house…
Fabulous. Good character choices 🙂
some “virtuous Slytherins”
The house of Corihor in the Book of Ether(P.S.This is a great read if you want a creative scripture study):
Corihor
Shule
Nimrod
Sons of Shule
Enos, for me, is the star of the Book of Mormon. His patience in prayer, his longing to make a connection with Deity and concern for others makes him an incredible Hufflepuff.
I also view Captain Moroni as a Slytherin though the house description that fits him better is that of Griffyndor. Just as has been mentioned of the possibility of virtuous Slytherins, I would definitely group Captain Moroni into the unvirtuous Griffyndors.
Helaman was a Ravenclaw. He (and Captain Moroni) had no problem with using intelligence (military and otherwise) to recapture Nephite cities from the Lamanites.
Teancum was more of a Slytherin, the way he ninja-sneaked into the city in Alma 52.