Several Unusual Men – Limhi and Gideon VI

Thus the city of Nephi, in the Land of Nephi, that area where Nephi, the son of Lehi, settled after escaping from his brothers and the sons of Ishmael following Lehi’s death, settled up in the highland valley with encircling hills that looked down upon this once peaceful valley, where Nephi taught his people to be industrious and work with their hands and build after the manner of what he had known in Jerusalem and what the Lord taught him since leaving.

King Limhi was the last of the Nephite kings who ruled a small area of that land, the city of Nephi and city of Shilom
    In this home of their forefathers, or the land of their first inheritance, Limhi, the last of the three kings who ruled his people in peace for two years following having the kingdom conferred upon him. As he introduces himself to Ammon, who had been sent by Mosiah to learn of the whereabouts of those who had gone back to the land of Nephi with Zeniff, “I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by the voice of the people” (Mosiah 7:9).
    Following a two year hiatus in the land of Nephi, the evil priests of king Noah kidnapped twenty-four of the “daughters of the Lamanites” when they “gathered together to dance” (Mosiah 20:5) and make merry in the wilderness. This brought a condemnation down upon the Nephites, for the Lamanites assumed it had been they who had stolen their daughters (Mosiah 20:6).
    While others worried over this and a pending war with the Lamanites regarding the outcome, it was Gideon who stepped forward with a solution.

Gideon once again solved the Nephite dilemma of how to deal with the Lamanites who wanted to come to war and destroy the Nephites when their 24 daughters turned up missing
    “Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being the king's captain, he went forth and said unto the king: I pray thee forbear, and do not search this people, and lay not this thing to their charge” (Mosiah 20:17). Where Gideon’s information came from is not stated, but for whatever reason, he saw the evil priests for who and what they were and well understood their immoral ways and their handiwork in the theft of these Lamanite daughters. “For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this people sought to destroy? And are they not in the wilderness? And are not they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites?” (Mosiah 20.18)
    Gideon’s simple logic over came any resistance and these Nephite leaders looked about. Perhaps Limhi looked to Gideon for a further solution, and his chief captain came up with a bold one: “And now, behold,” Gideon suggested, “tell the [Lamanite] king of these things, that he may tell his people that they may be pacified towards us; for behold they are already preparing to come against us; and behold also there are but few of us” (Mosiah 20:19).
    At the time, Gideon knew that the Lamanites, thinking that the people of king Limhi had committed the crime, became angry, and their king led an army against the Nephites” (Mosiah 20:6-7). It had been Limhi who had seen their war preparations from one of the high watchtowers Noah had built. Even though he didn’t know why the Lamanites were attacking, he gathered his people together, and they were lying in wait when the enemy arrived (Mosiah 20:9). The two armies “fought like lions for their prey” (Mosiah 20:10), but in the end the Nephites drove the enemy away, even though the Lamanites outnumbered them by more than two to one.
    When the Lamanites retreated, their king was left wounded on the field, and he was brought before Limhi, who demanded to know why the Lamanite king had broken the truce between them and attacked his people. It was then Limhi learned from the Lamanite king of the treachery the Lamanites had placed upon the Nephites, and with Gideon’s bold plan of enlisting the captured Lamanite king to plead their case before the Lamanite army,

Limhi had the Lamanite king brought before him, after his wounds had been treated. Now, Limhi was a just man, and he said, “I will search among my people and whosoever has done this thing shall perish.”

It is interesting that both these kings of hereditary enemy forces, required complete trust from the other—and had they both not given it, the positive end result would not have been accomplished. Fortunately, however, they both became convinced that the priests of king Noah had committed the crime, and the Lamanite king “was pacified towards” the Nephites. When the Lamanite king asked Limhi to have his army put down their weapons and approach his Lamanite army that had retained their weapons (Mosiah 20:24), one can only imagine what might have gone through the minds of both men—and their chief captains as well.
    It was obviously not a trusting situation, but evidently prompted by the Spirit, both kings and forces agreed to the trust one another in these one-sided terms. What Nephite on the battlefield did not think that the Lamanites, furious at the taking of their daughters, would pay any attention to their king? It probably occurred to more than one Nephite that if the Lamanite king were determined to utterly destroy the Nephites, the best possible way to accomplish it would be to have an unarmed Nephite army meet a well-armed and angry Lamanite army. Yet, the Lamanite king, keeping his oath, had to bow down before his army and “plead in behalf of the people of Limhi” (Mosiah 20:25).
    It is hard to imagine such a diplomatic feat today. Two warlike peoples with a memory of years of bloody battles faced each other, and one of the armies did the incredible: on the strength of the promise of the enemy king, they completely disarmed themselves and threw themselves on the mercy of their enemies. And their enemies, when they saw “the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, had compassion on them and were pacified towards them, and returned with their king in peace to their own land” (Mosiah 20:26).
    Limhi did not rule as a dictator.
    Gideon did not follow evil suggestions.
    Finally the Nephite’s prayers were answered when Ammon arrived with a rescue party from Zarahemla.
    It was Gideon, who once again, came up with the plan no one else could develop—a way to get the Nephites, their women and children, flocks and herds,out of the Land of Nephi and back to Zarahemla (Mosiah 22:3-8).

Gideon led them through the back gate toward the back pass and out of the city, while the guards were sleeping, drunk with the new wine provided them by the Nephites 
    Was it a foolish desire that led Zeniff to want to reclaim their land of first inheritance and chance going back among the Lamanites? We may never know the answer to that, however, the opportunity for great men to come to power and provide great leadership and bring people back to the knowledge of God and the gospel among the Nephites was surely a worthwhile endeavor from that spiritual perspective, and obvious one of great learning and stature among the temporal stories we find in the scriptural record.
    These great men came to know what their fathers never seemed to realize—that a righteous people need not follow an unrighteous king, and that if the people are determined to do something, not even a king can stop them, except by persuasion.
    It was a time of hardship and trials for the Nephites that went back to inherit the land of Nephi; however, it was a time requiring greatness in the people, and in some cases they rose to that greatness and achieved the Power of the Lord in return—and in other cases they fell to their avarice, pride and carnality. Some chose everlasting success and victory, others fell to everlasting defeat
    There is a saying among some that hard times produce great people and expose the not-so-great among us. Certainly this return to the Land of Nephi did that among the people of Mosiah, Zeniff, Noah and Limhi.

Several Unusual Men – Noah, Gideon and Limhi Part V

As stated in an earlier post, when evil men lead, they bring suffering and pain to all the people, by 1) providing opportunities for people to sin through being shown it is all right to live evil lives, and 2) by allowing and even joining into the evil practices that people begin to live.

It is as though people feel chained to good behavior and righteous living because of the nature of society in general, and for some reason feel they need to be free from such a life, though that life has always proven, for individuals and societies, to the best option. However when that society breaks down, many of those people who had been living good lives and were better off, revert to evil practices and embrace an entirely new way of life that is always in the long run a worse path to take.
    When king Noah chose not to follow the righteous path of his father, Zeniff, who had been leading the Nephites on a better course, had driven the Lamanites out of their land, the people lived free of those wars, evidently without being taxed, were led by righteous and morale priests, who believed in the sanctity of marriage and family, where planting and harvesting one’s own crops and produce was a standard part of life.
    All of this, then, was replaced by extremely high (20%) taxes, wars with the Lamanites, by evo;and idolatrous priests, and were forced to labor exceedingly to support iniquity—they now had kings and rulers with multiple wives and concubines, the welfare of the people was immaterial and their leaders were lifted up in the pride of their hearts (Mosiah 11:1-7).
    Yet, the people, or a large portion of them, followed king Noah into his evil world, evidently without a murmur. They could have objected, they could have insisted on the righteous paths of the past, but they did not.
    They followed him willingly!
    When Noah planted vineyards round about in the land and built wine-presses, and made wine in abundance, becoming a wine-bibber (drunkard) and also his people, they were not forced into this path, but followed it willingly.
    Despite warnings and calls to repentance, the people continued in their evil ways, mirroring, as people often do, the evil of their leaders. Rather than maintain the righteous living of king Zeniff, they followed Noah. The Lord had warned the king and his people that “except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies” (Mosiah 11:21). It was Abinadi, who warned Noah and his priests in his dying moments, “Ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire” (Mosiah 17:18). While that promise was fulfilled, another remained: “Ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts” (Mosiah 17:17).

Now, with the example of Abinadi who sealed his testimony with his life, they at last rid themselves of a wicked king. But they had yet to suffer the penalty of their own sins—affliction at the hands of the Lamanites.
    A warrior named Gideon lived among the Nephites at this time—a time of desperation, evil and death. They had chosen to follow king Noah of their own volition—they were not forced to do so. They chose to give up their earlier righteous paths and followed the evil of their new king. Gideon, on the other hand, was not of that ilk.
    He was evidently born in the Land of Nephi, either in the city of Nephi or the city of Shimlon. He had no hand in the martyrdom of Abinadi, was not involved in any of Noah’s evil deeds, and as a faithful Nephite leader, he was a strong man and an enemy to King Noah (Mosiah 19:4-8). He is one of those men who did not follow in the evil paths of his fellow Nephites after king Zeniff’s death. This is even more remarkable when we realize that Gideon was the Captain of the King’s Guard, involved as a military leader, and evidently a key figure in the Nephite victory over the Lamanites after Noah’s death.
    He not only was blessed with much courage and valor, he was a just man and wise. He became an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage. When he became aware of what Noah planned, leaving the women and children while effecting an escape with the men and his guard and priests, Gideon drew his sword in anger to threaten king Noah, who had already put Abinadi to death and sent his guards to search out and kill Alma.
    Being the coward he was, king Noah fled, choosing what he thought was the safety of the tower next to the temple that was about eight stories high with evidently a winding staircase of which being on higher stairs, Noah envisioned obtaining the advantage. But Gideon was unconcerned as he pursued the king up the stairs to the tower lookout point where the king now stood, no doubt terrified for his life and casting his eyes about for some means of escape from this entrapped position.

Obviously, Satan was not through with him yet, and in the distance, Noah saw a huge Lamanite army approaching from the Land of Shemlon and were actually already within the borders of the Land of Nephi.
    This tower near the temple, one of several that had been built in the land, was a “very high tower, even so high that one could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, the latter possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about” Mosiah 11:12).
    Seeing this, and hoping for his salvation, Noah cried out in the anguish of his soul, drawing Gideon’s attention to the distant army: “Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy us; yea, they will destroy my people” (Mosiah 19:7).
    However, “the king was not so much concerned about his people as he was about his own life”; nevertheless, Gideon, finding himself betwixt and between, “did spare his life” (Mosiah 19:8).
    One of king Noah’s sons had stayed behind to defend the women and children. Though he was not like his father, he “was desirous that his father should be not be destroyed” (Mosiah 19:17). One wonders how a righteous man like Limhi survived to adulthood in Noah’s court. What did Limhi go through as a boy, watching his father assemble a harem, promote drunkenness, squander the people’s money, and corrupt the laws of the kingdom? Perhaps Limhi knew his grandfather, Zeniff, before he died. Certainly Limhi’s life more closely followed that of his grandfather. Perhaps he read Zeniff’s own record, and learned from him that the people must depend on the Lord, and that it is the king’s place to serve his people, not to profit from them.
    As the son of the king, albeit an evil king, the kingdom was conferred upon him by the people. And also Limhi, being the son of the king, having the kingdom conferred upon him by the people, made oath unto the king of the Lamanites that his people should pay tribute unto him, even one half of all they possessed.
    So here were a people who paid no taxes and were subject to only themselves and their king under Zeniff, but wanted to be free.

In their choice, they chose their kind of “freedom” under the evil king Noah, which resulted in paying tribute to the Lamanites and being subject to the Lamanite king the rest of their lives if they remained in the city of their forefathers. It is not unlike the kinds of choices we have each day, and all mankind has—choose freedom under the Lord, or choose the shackles that Satan calls “freedom” under him.
    Whatever Limhi’s life had been like before, he was such a man that the people, defeated and in bondage, chose him to be their king. His reign began as he “made oath unto the king of the Lamanites that his people should pay tribute unto him, even one half of all they possessed” (Mosiah 19:26). Such is this thing some people call “freedom.”

Unusual Men-Abinadi and Noah - Pt IV

Then came Abinadi, to stand fearless before an evil Nephite throng. This man, now in his old age, stood with complete trust in the Lord. As we have already mentioned, a king’s wicked aura infects his subjects and the people of the kingdom become offended by the Lord’s edicts, truth, and pointed remarks. Consumed by pride of the kingdom and angered by the lord’s boldness, the people seek to take the prophet’s life—in this case Abinadi.

This prophet holds a singular place in the Book of Mormon, being the first to die as a martyr, and his doctrinal teachings clarify the purpose of the law of Moses, identify the Redeemer, and declare facts about the doctrine of resurrection not previously mentioned in the book. He was capable of exquisite language sparked with fiery metaphor, yet was plainspoken to the point of bluntness.
    His ministry influenced the entire second half of Nephite history.
    “And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord -- Wo be unto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit them in mine anger” (Mosiah 11:20).

Abinadi stood in chains before king Noah and spoke the words the Spirit had put in his mouth—in the background, probably standing, is one of the king’s evil priests, a man named Alma
    Abinadi confronted the evil “establishment” of king Noah, his evil priests, and the Nephites single-handedly. We know of no other prophet that labored with him, and as far as we know, he converted only one man—Alma!
    It was this Alma who then became the progenitor of a posterity that kept the sacred records and served as the ecclesiastical leaders, and sometimes the political leaders for the remainder of the Nephite  history—a period of well over four hundred years.
    Abinadi arrives in the city of Nephi, delivers the Lord’s message, then quietly disappears and we hear nothing of him for two years, when he comes back to the city in disguise and again publicly preaches repentance. He tells them that since they have not repented, they would be “brought into bondage … and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh. … The life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace” (Mosiah 12:2-3).

Abinadi is taken by the people, bound, and brought before King Noah. His captors tell the king of Abinadi’s prophecies (Mosiah 12:9-12). Noah responds by ordering Abinadi to be cast into prison, then calls the priests together to decide what to do with him. The priests ask that Abinadi be brought before them, that they might find a charge on which to formally accuse him.
    In an interesting view into Abinadi’s nature and personality, as well as his ability to counter evil, he counters all the evil priest’s questions with hold answers, confounding them in all their words (Mosiah 12:19). Abinadi’s “defense” before the priests is not defensive. Rather, he becomes the questioner:
    “Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean? …
    “What teach ye this people?
    “And they said: We teach the law of Moses.
    “And again he said unto them: If ye teach the law of Moses, why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin? …
    “What know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye?”
    They answer that salvation does come by the law of Moses.
    During this time, one of the priests, a man named Alma, listens intently to Abninadi’s testimony that was given with such fervor and energy, no doubt helped Alma have the strength to repent.

Abinadi was an energetic witness for the Lord and a fierce terror to evildoers. There is a significant lesson to be learned here. Had he not been so blunt, the people might not have thought he meant what he said; nor would they have thought that what he said was important. His testimony, given with fervor and energy, no doubt helped Alma have the strength to repent.
    Abinadi was exactly what the Lord needed. He was the right man for the right situation. As a result, his ministry not only influenced the second half of the Nephite history but has influenced millions in this dispensation who have read the Book of Mormon, and not doubt, will yet influence millions more.
    We also learn an important manner from prophets and kings in defeating tyranny and evil dominion, as seen when king Zeniff not only armed the young men, but also “old men that could bear arms” (Mosiah 10:9), and stood himself with his armies to fight off the attack.

King Noah, showed his cowardly nature by “commanding the people that they should flee before the Lamanites,” and instead of making sure all were safe in the retreat, Noah “himself did go before them” (Mosiah 19:9)
    While Zeniff sent the women and children into the wilderness to hide while the men fought to protect them, Noah, seeing that the Lamanites were overtaking his people, “commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee with him before the Lamanites” (Mosiah 19:11).
    It is to the credit of the Nephites that many of them “would not leave” their families, “but had rather stay and perish with them” (Mosiah 19:12). But to the shame of Noah and his priests and men, “the rest left their wives and their children and fled.”
    But the men who joined Noah in cowardly flight soon realized that their families and their honor were more important than their lives: “Now they [swore] in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them” (Mosiah 19:19).
    These men might have found their courage, but Noah had not. Foolishly disregarding their resolve, he “commanded them that they should not return.” At last the people felt the disgust they should have felt long before. “They were angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire” (Mosiah 19:20).
    Noah learned, too late, that his power over his people lasted only as long as they were willing to follow him. When he commanded them to do something too contemptible for them to bear, they finally rebelled.
    But there was another side to the coin. By proving that Noah could not make them do something they did not want to do, the people also proved that their own wickedness was not entirely King Noah’s fault.

The Unusual Men – Zeniff, Noah, Limhi – PtIII

It is interesting that within these three kings, Zeniff, Noah and Limhi, that such a dichotomy appeared in just three generations of spiritual and righteous opposites.
    But what about the people?
    It is an understatement when the scripture says, “Noah…did not walk in the ways of his father” (Mosiah 11:1). In fact, after being led by Zeniff, a righteous man, and under whom they prospered in the land, the people might have been disgusted by a king who took many wives and concubines, committed whoredoms, set his heart upon wealth, spent his time in riotous living, and became a winebibber.
    However, what we learn from Noah’s early leadership is a very important part of our knowledge of people in general, and our own characters as well. For when Noah so drastically sinned, the people did not hold fast to the principles taught by Zeniff. Instead they joined King Noah in his sins, becoming idolatrous, drinking wine, and committing “whoredoms and all manner of wickedness” themselves (Mosiah 11:2; Mosiah 11:7, 15).

It is a sad commentary on human nature that the carnal state of all men seems to be held in check only by the righteousness of its leaders, but when an evil man holds the highest office, the natural tendencies of humanity seems to disappear. As Paul said, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7), and also said in Corinth, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3).
    No one brought the slavery of character upon the Nephites when Noah came to power and exercised his evil leadership, but themselves. Noah’s evil character rose to the surface like cream in milk, when he was no longer held in check by the humanity around him. However, no one was forcing the Nephites themselves to so become as well—only their own individual natures that, when given the opportunity to express their own evil natures, that evil nature rose to the top of their behavior as we see it happened with Noah.

Whatever was in Noah’s mind to accomplish is not written, though it seems apparent that his interest was in creating the physical signs of civilization—large and spacious public buildings, life-styles of the rich mixed with worldly matters, and the pride of their hearts. It is written that the people were “deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests” (Mosiah 11:7). But it seems much more likely and accurate to say that the people were deceived by the natural man who led them and within their own characters.
    At heart, people admire and want brave leaders. No doubt when the problems with the Lamanites began, the Nephites remembered that instead of just “sending guards round about the land to keep the Lamanites out,” that Zeniff in his leadership “sent his armies against them and drove them back” (Mosiah 11:17-18), and that Zeniff fought against the Lamanites with his own arm, even in his old age. And when Nephites fell, Zeniff, with his “own hands, did help to bury their dead” (Mosiah 9:19). It was a different people under Noah, who “did boast in their own strength, saying that their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites” (Mosiah 11:19), and “did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren.”

Like the evilness that overtook the Jews, when the prophet Abinadi came preaching repentance “they were wroth with him, and sought to take away his life” (Mosiah 11:26), even before Noah heard of the prophet and ordered his capture. Instead of realizing their errors, the people sided with King Noah: “They hardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi, and they sought from that time forward to take him” (Mosiah 11:29).
    When at last Abinadi was captured, the people “carried him bound before the king” and denounced him as a traitor and a false prophet (Mosiah 12:9). In their pride they said: “O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned. We are strong…and thou shalt also prosper.” It shows once again, that when evil rules, people become carnal and worldly, and sin also. Which is what the psalmist wrote “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2).
    Instead of standing against Noah and his evil priests and the sins of their leaders, the people mirrored the evilness of their leaders and became like them. No doubt, this is the reason the Brother of Jared said about their people wanting a king, “Surely this thing leadeth into captivity” (Ether 6:23).
    It was not that the people didn’t know these things—they understood them well, but within every civilization, every people, every group, there are those who are more interested in doing evil than good, and if the opportunity presents itself, they often leap at the chance. As Helaman wrote: “they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted” (Helaman 5:2).
    King Noah tried to create the physical signs of civilization. With the people’s taxes he “built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things” (Mosiah 11:8). He didn’t skimp on the palace or the temple, either, and like many kings and government leaders in other ages of mankind, he used impressive monuments and elegant facades to persuade the people that they were a wealthy and mighty kingdom.
    And the people “were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king” and his hand-picked priests (Mosiah 11:7). Perhaps they relished their new “freedom” from what they considered the restraints of God’s laws—it certainly wouldn’t be the first or the last time such action occurred for that very reason, after all, we see this very thing happening in our society today! Perhaps they believed that Noah had made them a great people, there is certainly a type for this thinking throughout history as well.
    But if they had not allowed themselves to be blinded, they might have seen some danger signs. Certainly one of the greatest men of the age gave his life in trying to turn the tide away from Noah’s evil pursuits in his call to the Nephites for their repentance.

Despite Noah’s power, which he used to get rich, to commit adultery and all forms of evil, and to protect himself, he was weak in character. Even surrounded by his guards and his priests, he was so frightened by Abinadi’s testimony that he “was about to release him, for he feared his word” (Mosiah 17:11). However, his priests goaded him and his fear swung to not supporting his priests and he reversed himself and ordered Abinadi’s death.
    Both Noah and his father, Zeniff, faced a massive Lamanite invasion at the end of their reigns. But the difference between them is pointed up most clearly by the ways they handled similar situations and in the way the people reacted to their leaders.
(See the next post, “Unusual Men-Zeniff, Noah, Limhi - Pt IV,” for the pivotal point that drove the Nephites back into Zarahemla and handed over the Land of Nephi to the Lamanites permanently)

The Unusual Men – Zeniff, Noah, Limhi - PtII

In the writings of the books of Omni and Mosiah, which was from their twelfth year in the land, the Nephite colonizers were often under attack or threat of attack from the Lamanites in the neighboring land of Shemlon. This almost constant stress may have been part of the reason that this group of Nephites produced some of the greatest men—and some of the worst—in the Book of Mormon.

Having lived in Zarahemla for a time after leaving his former homeland in the land of Nephi, a man named Zeniff desired to return and reclaim the land of his father’s first inheritance
    The Nephite named Zeniff was in the first expedition sent to win back the former Nephite lands. When they reached the hills that looked down upon their former city, he had been “sent as a spy among the Lamanites,” somewhat like Moses had sent Hoshea (Joshua), son of Nun, from the desert of Paran into the land of Canan. Zeniff went looking for the Lamanite strengths and weaknesses so that the Nephite army “might come upon them and destroy them.” But as he studied the Lamanites, Zeniff, who had been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers' first inheritance, but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed” (Mosiah 9:1).
    So Zeniff argued with the leader of that first expedition, trying to persuade him to make a treaty with the Lamanites. But the leader was a reckless man, desirous to commence a war against the lamanites and commanded the Nephites to kill Zeniff (Mosiah 9:2).
    Zeniff was obvious a leader in his own rights, a person of some station among the Nephites in Zarahemla, for many of the party stood ranks with him and a battle among the first group commenced, in which all but 50 were killed. In fact, most of the expedition was killed in the fight, so that only fifty souls returned to Zarahemla (Omni 1:28).
    But Zeniff had seen the land, and he wanted to possess it. In later years he looked back on his younger self and wrote, “I [was] over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers” (Mosiah 9:3), however, at the time, many others obviously felt as he did, and a second expedition left Zarahemla for the land of Nephi

Zeniff brings his people back to Nephi, makes a treaty with king Laman and acquires part of the Lamanite lands for their own
    Think of these men—following the righteous king Mosiah who was led out of Nephi to discover the Mulekite land their city of Zarahemla—the similarly honorable king Zeniff, leads a group of Nephites back to Nephi to reclaim part of the land there, lives an exemplary life, teaches his people to be righteous, and looks after both their spiritual and temporal welfare.
    It is interesting that a man of such righteous and spiritual interests has a son who is bankrupt in these same qualities while possessing all the evil opposites. So we come to Noah, the son who was an extreme contrast from his father. At the time of Zeniff’s death, he had placed guards around the city of Nephi and of Shilom and around the Nephites tending their flocks. While he liked what he had seen among the Lamanites, wisdom told him not to trust them beyond a reasonable manner.

Zeniff was a wise leader, placing guards to warn the Nephites of any attack on their animals or flocks. Later, his son, Noah, would built towers for this very purpose
    They lived in peace for 12 years while the Nephites planted and harvested corn, barley, wheat, neas and sheum (Mosiah 9:9). In the 13^th year, the Lamanites attacked and Zeniff led his people in defending their lands, crops and flocks, driving the Lamanites out of their land (see last post). Zeniff fought for his people to the end, even in his old age went jup to  battle against the Lamanites as they went up in the strength of the Lord to battle (Mosiah 9:10).
    It is interesting, right to the end of this period, it was the Lamanites who blamed the Nephites for their plight. From the time of Nephi,son of Lehi, 350 years earlier, the Lamanites had been angry with the Nephites, because Nephi departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them. And thus they had taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they had an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi. For this very cause had king Laman, by his cunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived the Nephites, that Zeniff brought his people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and the Nephites had suffered these many years in the land.
    “And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my people concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate them to go to battle with their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face to face, and did drive them again out of our land; and we slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not number them” (Mosiah 10:19-20).

The Nephites then lived in peace the remainder of Zeniff’s days, where the men tilled the ground and the women made their clothing
    After the battle, the Nephites then returned again to their own land, to tend their flocks, and to till their ground (Mosiah 10:11), and Zeniff, “being old, did confer the kingdom upon one of his sons; therefore, I say no more. And may the Lord bless my people” (Mosiah 10:21-22).
    What kind of leader was Zeniff’s son, Noah? Well, he did not walk in the ways of his father, did not keep the commandments of God, instead, he followed the desires of his own heart, had many wives and concubines, caused his people to commit sin, and did that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord (Mosiah 11:1-2).

Noah “changed the affairs of the kingdom” (Mosiah 11:4), by taxing the people 20%, or one-fifth part of all they possessed—their gold, silver, ziff, copper, brass, and iron; also one-fifth of their fatlings and grain (Mosiah 11:3), all of this to support himself, his wives and concubines, his priests, and their wives and concubines (Mosiah 11:4). He removed all the righteous priests appointed by Zeniff and appointed those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts. “Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity. They also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them” (Mosiah 11:6-7).
    It is interesting that in desperate times, the Lord sends forth desperate people to fight desperate battles. In this case, to counter the evil infecting the land, the Lord sent forth two men—Alma and Abinadi, of whom we will speak more about later.
    In the meantime, Noah, with his taxes and pride built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine works of wood, and of all manner of previous things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper. And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with previous things” (Mosiah 11:8-9). In addition to building these in the city of Nephi, he also “caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom” (Mosiah 11:12).

The Unusual Men – Zeniff, Noah, Limhi PtI

We don’t too often see a collapse or complete breakdown of character between father and son and then its complete restoration of integrity in the next son. But that is the story of Zeniff, Noah, and Limhi in the books of Omni and Mosiah, and even more notable, the greatness of at least two more men who were the products of this righteous to evil to righteous period. 

Some 350 years after Nephi, son of Lehi, settled in the land his people named after him (2 Nephbi 5:5-8), the Lord told Mosiah I to flee out of the land of Nephi (Omni 1:12), and probably with the use of the Liahona, guided him and those Nephites who would go with him.
    And they departed out of the land into the wilderness, as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord; and they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm, through the wilderness, until they came down into the land which is called the land of Zarahemla” (Omni 1:13). How long or far they traveled is not known. Evidently, later Alma would make this same trip with his people in 21 days of travel, though the constant "preachings" and "propheysings" sounds like it took a lot longer than 21 days in the case of Mosiah.
    It is interesting that after a short time, and during Mosiah I’s reign as king over the land of Zarahemla and the Mulekites, which he and these Nephites discovered (Omni 1:13), a man named Zeniff, a contemporary of Amaleki, the prophet who records these events (Omni 1:12), and whose own brother was part of this group (Omni 1:30), decided to go back to the Land of Nephi and reclaim their inheritance in that land.
    Two contrasting figures rise at this point—Zeniff, a kindly but impractical and “overzealous man interested in inheriting the land of his fathers” (Mosiah 7:21), and the unnamed leader of this first group, a strong and mighty stiffnecked man, who started a battle between those who wanted to follow him and kill all the Lamanites, and those who followed Zeniff and wanted to live in peace and harmony with the Lamanites. Fifty survived this battle and returned to Zarahemla, but Zeniff was adamant about returning to inherit the land of their fathers and mounted another large group (Omni 1:28), this time including women and children.
    We are not told about the wives of the earlier killed Nephites in the hills overlooking the city of Nephi, but when Zeniff leads the second group back to that area, he camps “in the place where our brethren were slain, which was near to the land of our fathers” (Mosiah 9:4); however, one can only wonder at what must have been going through the minds of these men, and especially their wives and children. No doubt this was a poignant moment, but ignored during the abridgement.
    Being overzealous and gullible, Zeniff met with king Laman, the Lamanite king living in the city of Nephi at the time, and who schemed to have the Nephites settle there with the future intent of bringing them under bondage (Mosiah 7:22). Laman artfully manipulated Zeniff through his craftiness and cunning into accepting a treaty that ceded the city of Nephi and that of Shilom and the lands round about (Mosiah 7:21) to the Nephites.
    Obviously, since this group, unlike the earlier one, whose leader seemed bent on fighting and conquering the Lamanites who had overrun the land of their father’s first inheritance (Nephi’s city and land named after him), was interested in colonization from the very beginning, for they had with them women and children, and they also had brought “all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits” (Mosiah 9:9), with the purpose of “multiplying and prospering in the land.”
    So we have here four contrasting men with their diverging views, interests, and concerns:
    Ameleki, an eye witness to these events, who was born in the days of Mosiah, and accompanied him out of the land of Nephi and in his discovery of the Land of Zarahemla, and lived during the following two generations;
    Zeniff, a man taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi—the land of their fathers' first inheritance, an overzealous, but righteous man who became the first king of this family and who was blind to the craftiness and ploys of the unrighteous king Laman and brought his people into captivity and bondage (Mosiah 9:10);

Zeniff (left) working out a treaty or “covenant” with the Lamanite king, Laman (right), for the Nephites to reclaim the cities of Nephi and Shilom
    Laman, king of the Lamanites in the land of Nephi at this time, a cunning manipulator whose forward thinking and evil plans saw a way to bring the Nephites into bondage so they could provide crops, food and manpower for the lazy Lamanites;
    Unnamed leader of the first party to go back to reclaim the land of Nephi; a strong and mighty, stiffnecked and evidently bloodthirsty man, who seemed to settle his arguments with the sword, who, because of his unrighteous desires, brings about the death of a few hundred men.
    During the next twelve years, Zeniff and his people planted seeds for grain crops: (barley, wheat, neas and sheum, and all manner of fruit, “and they began to proposer in the land” (Mosiah 9:9). By the way, the actual grain crop of sheum and neas has been a point of discussion and research by many theorists over the years, none coming up with a satisfactory answer of two unknown crops that Joseph Smith would not have been able to translate other than the two we have suggested in the Andean area of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, but that is another point discussed in other posts.
    In the twelfth year, Laman, king of the Lamanites, began to be uneasy lest by any means the Nephites in his land should wax strong and prosper in the land and overpower the Lamanites and bring them into bondage (Mosiah 9:11), which had been his original plan to bring the Nephites into bondage to him (Mosiah 9:10).
    Of course the purpose of Laman’s plan was so the Lamanites could glut themselves upon the Nephite crops and the labors of the Nephites, even feast themselves upon the Nephite flocks of their fields” (Mosih 9:12), because of their own laziness. 
    During their time in the Land of Nephi, these Nephites "built buidlings, and repaired the walls of the city, even the walls of the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom" (Mosiah 9:8), and in the thirteenth year, to the south of the city of Nephi, in the land of Shilom, the first battle was waged. In this city where Laman led his Lamanites in attacking the Nephites as the latter watered their fields and fed their flocks and harvested their crops, Laman’s true colors were unfurled. It is also interesting that for the first time, the crop “corn” is mentioned since evidently, this was not a seed brought from Jerusalem, but a crop the Nephites somehow acquired while in Zarahemla, either as a singular domestication of their own, or more likely a domestication of the Mulekites in their 350-375 year occupation of Zarahemla or one that somehow came to them via the Jaredites, such as contained in Coriantumr’s bag where he had a cob he had been eating, or a seed to be planted—after all, he had to have been living somehow between his battle with Shiz around the hill Shim in the land of Antum (Nephite hill Cumorah) and when he wandered into the Mulekite camp or city (Zarahemla).

The Lamanites on the distant hill, coming down to attack the Nephites in Shilom near the city of Nephi
    Wherever corn originated and by whom, we find it a very attractive crop to the Lamanites who attacked the Nephite farmers harvesting the corn in the land of Shilom. And lest we forget, it was king Laman who did “stir up his people that they should contend with the Nephites” (Mosiah 9:13), that led, over time “to wars and contentions in the land.” But though gullible, Zeniff was a wise leader who armed his people with "bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and my people did go forth against the Lamanites to battle” (Mosiah 9:16).
    And he was also a spiritual and righteous man, leading the Nephites “in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers. And God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might; yea, we did go forth against the Lamanites, and in one day and a night we did slay three thousand and forty-three; we did slay them even until we had driven them out of our land” (Mosiah 9:17-18).
    While the scriptural record does not indicate at any time the size of Zeniff's group, it must have been significantly large, since not only did they kill over three thousand Lamanites in this first battle, but over the next 22 years in other battles they "slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not number them" (Mosiah 10:20)

The Words of Mormon – Part II

The next morning, following that final battle at Cumorah, Mormon is given a view of the total carnage of his 23 regiments of 10,000 men each lying across the land in death (Mormon 6:10-15). He viewed 230,000 warriors, the remainder of his once great armies that must have numbered a million or more. For more than sixty years, most of Mormon’s entire life, he had spent defending these men and their wives and children. Now they were all strewn out before him in death—a death that would take them beyond the Lord’s grace, for His grace was passed with them (Mormon 2:15).
    Later, how much later we do not know, with marker and plates in hand, Mormon writes: “O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!” (Mormon 6:19).
    How, indeed? In righteousness they had withstood the Lamanites for several centuries. Through continual repentance and correction in their own lives, the Nephites had survived one Lamanite war after another. Now, however, they had not. They were gone. Mormon looked out over the carnage of every last man, woman and child of them with a heavy heart.
    “But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return” (Mormon 6:20). “Had ye not done this, ye would not have fallen, and I mourn your loss.” Mormon’s agony was more than he could bear. “And my soul is rent with anguish because of the slain of my people, and I cried.”
    Has there ever been a leader in this church who has not devoted unpaid hours of their time serving others in effort, prayer, and planning for the benefit of their people, who would not at this point, as Mormon found himself, look out over such a thing and not think of what they could have done more or better or more effectively?
    Mormon looked out over this scene that racked his soul and switched from recording events to preaching (6:21 through 7:10). His intent was to keep those of the future from repeating the errors of the past that lay before him. 

Now, somewhere along this line, thinking his work was completed and knowing he would soon die, obviously from his wounds, he obtains the plates once again to finish his writing (chapters 6 and 7), then sees to the burying of the plates in the hill Cumorah and giving the remainder of the small plates into the hands of his son, Moroni (Words of Mormon 1:2).
    At what point Mormon discovers the small plates of Nephi is not exactly clear, for he writes: “And now I, Mormon, being about to deliver up the record which I have been making into the hands of my son Moroni, behold I have witnessed almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And it is many hundred years after the coming of Christ that I deliver these records into the hands of my son; and it supposeth me that he will witness the entire destruction of my people. But may God grant that he may survive them, that he may write somewhat concerning them, and somewhat concerning Christ, that perhaps some day it may profit them” (Words of Mormon 1:1-2).
    Evidently, Mormon is not as pressed for time as he starts out thinking, for he adds, “And now, I speak somewhat concerning that which I have written; for after I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake, I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates, which contained this small account of the prophets, from Jacob down to the reign of this king Benjamin, and also many of the words of Nephi. And the things which are upon these plates pleasing me, because of the prophecies of the coming of Christ; and my fathers knowing that many of them have been fulfilled; yea, and I also know that as many things as have been prophesied concerning us down to this day have been fulfilled, and as many as go beyond this day must surely come to pass” (Words of Mormon 1:3:4).
    Whether or not Mormon had already finished abridging the Large Plates of Nephi when he discovers the Small Plates is, again, not clear, for he writes: “Wherefore, I chose these things, to finish my record upon them, which remainder of my record I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people. But behold, I shall take these plates, which contain these prophesyings and revelations, and put them with the remainder of my record, for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.” (Words of Mormon 1:5-6).

From the Small Plates, which Mormon did not abridge but merely included in his overall record of plates, we learn of the Nephites leaving the city of Nephi and coming to Zarahemla, and of the great king Benjamin, and his great spiritual and military leadership of the Nephites
     It seems that Mormon had already written about king Benjaman (as found in Mosiah chapters 1 thru 6), when he came across this information left by Amaleki and found in Omni regarding Mosiah I leaving the city of Nephi and discovering the land of Zarahemla.
    This small addendum Mormon added, called in the scriptural record “The Words of Mormon,” serve as a bridge between the small plates of Nephi and Mormon’s abridgement of the large plates of Nephi. Written almost 400 years after the birth of Christ, this addendum contains a short explanation of what the small plates of Nephi are and why Mormon felt they needed to be included with the other sacred writings. The Words of Mormon also provides valuable insight into why King Benjamin had such great influence with his people.
    We see in the writing of this addendum how the man and prophet, Mormon, was filled with the Spirit and trusted in the Lord for the fulfillment of the purpose he felt prompted to carry out. He did not know the outcome at the time, and possibly never did. Nevertheless, he sat down and wrote this addendum, this bridge between the two sets of plates that now provide us with the insight as to the nature of king Benjamin, why he was such a great leader, and not only had the leadership ability in spiritual matters as seen in his oration from the Temple tower to all his people, but also from the Small Plates and the short mention of Amaleki, who met him, as to his nature and leadership in a military sense, for he drove the Lamanites out of the Land of Zaraemla after they followed the Nephites from the City of Nephi and into that land.
    Obviously, this shows us that the Lord knows all things from the beginning, knows what will be needed and when, and unfolds his plan to the eyes of man who, with his limited knowledge and understanding, always seems awestruck of these events. Mormon tells us that he included these records, and wrote and abridged what he did, for a wise purpose in the Lord. As we read the scriptural record, we see that purpose unfold, much to the surprise of the laymen, who is always taken unaware because of his limited understanding of the Lord’s Plan and how He carries it out. He knew the Small Plates would be needed, waited until Mormon had abridged the Large Plates of this period, then showed him the Small Plates so that two sets would be available in the thwarting of the plans of evil men who wanted to show Joseph was a false translator.