#33 APRIL 27 – May 3, Mosiah 7-10

May 2, 2020

#33 APRIL 27 – May 3, Mosiah 7-10

Four kings, one prophet and a repentant priest

            King Benjamin is gone. He and Mosiah were co-regents for three years, though we suspect Benjamin gradually turned the affairs of state over to his son during that time. Hopefully, he got a little time to enjoy some retirement, but I doubt it. That doesn’t sound like Benjamin’s style. Mosiah is now king. He and his people enjoy continual peace for the space of three years (7:1).

            We now move into a potentially confusing but rich and rewarding section of the Book of Mormon, confusing, at least, for many people, especially those reading it for the first time. The remaining 23 chapters of the Book of Mosiah contain the stories of four kings – Mosiah, Zeniff, Noah and Limhi, one prophet – Abinadi, and a repentant priest (of King Noah) – Alma. If Joseph Smith had deliberately tried to make this part of the Book of Mormon more confusing, I don’t know how he could have done it. In addition, there are two major “flashbacks”, two important but different persons with the same name (Ammon), and lots of places to keep track of with confusing geography (they go “down” to the north but “up” to the south – go figure!) And yet the convolutions and turns in the remainder of the book of Mosiah are a strong internal witness of the truth of the Book of Mormon. There is no way Joseph Smith could have made this up and dictated it to a scribe without notes or reference material or going back for substantive corrections, dictating at the rate of approximately 3500 words/day. I wonder if even he and Oliver got confused during this section. Did one of them sometimes say to other, “Hold on, I thought Zarahemla was south of the land of Lehi-Nephi!” Or, “Didn’t we just read about Ammon and now he shows up again?” And to think that Solomon Spaulding or Ethan Smith or anyone else could have figured all this out and kept all the places and persons straight and made all of the plots come together. No way! The only explanation is that the Book of Mormon is what it claims to be – the translated record of an ancient people. Mormon, the editor/abridger of the Book of Mormon, did a remarkable job of keeping it all straight and organizing the story, though convoluted and complicated, into a cogent, logical, internally consistent narrative. If the critics of the Book of Mormon would quit worrying about whether there were horses or steel in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and just read the book for themselves with any kind of an open mind, they would come to the same conclusion.

            Let me suggest two reference sources that may be helpful to you and your family as you read these chapters. They will help you keep track of the flashbacks and to understand the relative geography of the places mentioned.

Flashbacks in the Book of Mosiah

https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/welch/2016-02-26/29.pdf

            From Professor John Welch and Book of Mormon Central comes a good chart showing the flashbacks in the Book of Mosiah. See the link above. You will see that there are two major flashbacks in Mosiah:

The first flashback begins in Mosiah 9 and jumps backward from 121 BC about 80 years to 200 BC. After introducing us to king Limhi in Mosiah 7 and 8, the flashback goes back two generations before his time to his grandfather, Zeniff, in 200 BC and then moves forward in time to Noah and then back to Limhi, a succession of three Nephite kings in the land of Lehi-Nephi. This section also includes the preaching of Abinadi, an important Book of Mormon prophet. It also introduces us to Alma, who was a priest of the wicked king Noah, but was converted by Abinadi. He, in turn, is instrumental in converting and baptizing over 400 people before they escape with their lives from Noah and his guards.

The second flashback is in Mosiah 23-24 and jumps backward in time from 120 BC to 145 BC to tell the story of Alma and his people in the wilderness.

Finally, in Chapter 25, the storyline is back into “real time” with Limhi and his people and Alma and his people back with king Mosiah and his people in Zarahemla. Confusing enough? Look at the chart. It will help.

By the way, there will be a major flashback in the book of Alma telling the story of the missionary journeys of the sons of Mosiah. And almost the whole book of Ether is a flashback to the story of the Jaredites, which begins in 2200 BC and extends forward for over 1600 years. We’ll deal with these flashbacks when we get to them.

Relative geography – Which way is up?

            The other confusing aspect of this part of the Book of Mormon is the geography. This issue actually extends through the book of Mosiah and until the end of the whole Book of Mormon. In the first place, we don’t know where any (let along all) of these events took place (at least, those in the western hemisphere.) Some people think they do know and they may have good reason to believe they do, but I’m always a little skeptical of those who proceed to make clear things that the Lord has not yet revealed. The fact is, we know that Lehi and his colony landed somewhere on the western coast of North, Central or South America and that Mulek and his colony landed north relative to Lehi. We don’t even know if Mulek crossed the Pacific or the Atlantic. We believe that Lehi crossed the Pacific, based on where he began from the Arabian peninsula. (The only way he could have crossed the Atlantic from there was around the tip of South Africa, not likely. Obviously, there was no Suez Canal back then.) The other thing that makes pinpointing geography difficult is that the whole face of the land was changed (3 Nephi 8:12) at the time of the crucifixion of the Savior in the eastern hemisphere.

            But we do know quite a bit about relative geography from the Book of Mormon record itself, i.e. where cities and other geographical features were compared to each other. For instance, the land of Nephi, the place to which Nephi and his followers escaped and established a city (see 1 Nephi 5) appears to be at higher elevation than Zarahemla, which was founded on the banks of the River Sidon, obviously in a river valley. So the people always go “up” to the land of Nephi but “down” to Zarahemla. The problem is that, Lehi landed in the south relative to Mulek, who landed in the north. (See Helaman 6:10) And Zarahemla was founded by the Mulekites, so it is north relative to the land of Nephi. Most of us, at least those living in the northern hemisphere, generally consider south as “down” and north as “up”. So the people went “up” from Zarahemla southward to the land of Lehi-Nephi and “down” from there northward to Zarahemla. Confusing enough?

            Why do I even bother to go through this? Does our salvation depend on understanding this? Absolutely not! But I go through this to remind us all that the Book of Mormon is a real book about real people living in real places that actually existed. This is not a fabrication of Joseph Smith or anyone else. Someday, we’ll understand all of the geography. I don’t think that geography or archeology will convert anyone to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but they will create over time more and more a climate of plausibility so that more and more people will take the Book of Mormon seriously and eventually read it, apply Moroni’s test, receive a witness from the Spirit and become converted to the Savior and His true gospel.

            Tyler Griffin and Taylor Halverson, the two BYU scholars who do a weekly podcast for Book of Mormon Central (which podcast, by the way, is very good, if you haven’t already discovered it. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Zfky7dTRrc8 Or you can download their podcast and listen to it, but you’ll miss the visuals, which add a lot.) have created a Book of Mormon map (https://bom.byu.edu/download-bom-maps-in-hd/) which I find very helpful in understanding the relative locations of places in the Book of Mormon. They don’t claim to be placing their map at any specific geographic location. It is a “relative map” of relationships of Book of Mormon cities and geographical features to each other based solely on the text of the Book. There is no effort to use geological or archeological data to create their map. That works for me! I hope you find it helpful, as I did. For instance, I can now understand how the 43 strong men that Limhi sent from the land of Nephi to find Zarahemla could have missed it and instead found the Land of Desolation and brought back the 24 gold plates of Ether as proof. (See Mosiah 8:7-12).

Mosiah 7

Repeated theme of deliverance

            One of the major themes repeated throughout the Book of Mormon is the theme of Deliverance. We have already seen this theme in the travels of Lehi and his colony through the desert and across the sea. We’ve seen Nephi delivered from his brethren when he escaped with his followers and established the city of Nephi. We’ve seen that Mosiah I was delivered from the the wicked people in the land of Nephi by going with his followers to Zarahemla. And we’ve seen that King Benjamin was able to deliver his people from the Lamanites in battle and establish peace. We are going to encounter a number of examples of deliverance in the next several chapters, beginning with this one. These stories are in the Book of Mormon for us. We should liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning (1 Nephi 19:23) We should see ourselves in these stories of deliverance, consider how the people were delivered and apply that to our own lives. Many of us are in various states of bondage – ignorance, loneliness, prejudice, addiction, fear, doubt, anger, victims of our own poor choices or those of others, etc. – and pray for deliverance. Put yourself in the position of these people who were in bondage and look for principles which teach how they were delivered. Obviously, as we will see, ultimate deliverance comes only from the Deliverer Himself, our Savior, Jesus Christ. So look for the Lord in these stories and it will help you find Him in your own life.

Sixteen strong men

            We read near the end of the Book of Omni that a certain number … went up into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi and I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since known concerning them. (Omni 1:27, 30) Now that the Nephites are having a period of peace, the people, including king Mosiah, want to know what happened to those who went from Zarahemla up to the land of Nephi. Some of them undoubtedly, like Amaleki, had relatives who went with them. It is now about 80 years later. Mosiah sends sixteen of their strong men (7:2) to find out about those who went to the land of Nephi. They are on a mission of discovery and, as it turns out, a mission of deliverance.

            Sixteen is an interesting number! As Tyler Griffin and Taylor Halverson point out in their broadcast this week (see link above), 16 is the sum of 12 + 3 +1. Does that ring a bell? Our Church today, which is the organization given by God to deliver us from the evils and trials of this world, is led by sixteen “strong men.” And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. (Ephesians 2:20)

            12 Apostles + 3 First Presidency + 1 Jesus Christ = 16 “strong men” who lead our Church today.

            The leader of this group of sixteen men was named Ammon. This is not the same Ammon who was one of the sons of Mosiah converted with Alma by an angel and who later went on a mission to reclaim the Lamanites. We will read about him later. But it is interesting to wonder if king Mosiah might have named his son Ammon after this Ammon, a strong man, whom Mosiah chose to lead this mission of deliverance. Who knows?

Forty Days

            The record says that Ammon and his 15 brethren wandered many days in the wilderness, even forty days did they wander (7:4) (Did you notice the chiasm?). Don’t take the number “forty” too literally in scripture (and it is used many times!). It most often means something like “a really lot” or “a really long time.” Notice that in this short chiastic couplet, many and forty are in the same position, making them equivalent terms.

Captured by king Limhi’s guards

            Ammon and his brethren wander in the wilderness between Zarahemla and Nephi for many days until they finally find the land of Nephi. Ammon takes three brethren and they naively go down the hill they are on into the land of Nephi and are surrounded and captured by the king’s guards. These are not Lamanites who captured them; they are Nephites. They are supposed to be friends. Why were they captured? We find out two reasons later. Most obvious is that the king and his guards were aware of the former priests of the wicked King Noah who are also in the wilderness and have stolen about 24 young girls from the Lamanites, for which the Lamanites attacked the Nephites. Limhi and his guards would like to catch those wicked priests. So, they assumed that Ammon and his three associates, were likely priests of Noah. We’ll hear a lot more about them later – way too much! They are the worst!

            The other reason why they were captured is more subtle. As we’ll see in a few more verses, Limhi and his people think that Zarahemla has been destroyed. They are not expecting anyone to come deliver them. They have essentially lost hope for deliverance because they don’t think anyone is “out there” to help them. How excited were they to learn that Ammon and his brethren were, in fact, from Zarahemla, that it has not been destroyed and they are there to deliver them! Limhi is so grateful to be found that he is willing to give up the throne and lead his people to Zarahemla to be the slaves of the Nephites rather than remain in captivity to the Lamanites. But he knows it won’t be easy. He encourages his people to trust in the Lord who has delivered others from captivity.

            Lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them. And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage. (7:19-20)

            Today we would say, “Trust in that God who led the missionaries to our ancestors’ homes and brought them safely to this land and across the plains to this valley” or whatever the deliverance story is in your family. Hopefully, every family, every Latter-day Saint, has a deliverance story, very personal to them, that they can point to as an example of when the Lord delivered them or someone they love from captivity. Knowing that He has delivered us or those we love in the past, we can trust in Him to deliver us now!

Reap the east wind

            Limhi is honest about why they are in bondage – no rationalization here. They are in bondage because of their “iniquities and abominations.” Their parents and leaders rejected the words of the prophet Abinadi and put him to death for his testimony of Jesus Christ. And many more things did they do which brought down the wrath of God upon them. Therefore, who wondereth that they are in bondage, and that they are smitten with sore afflictions? (7:28)

            King Limhi reminds his people of the “Law of the Harvest” – what we sow, that shall we reap.

            If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison. And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction. And now, behold, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, and ye are smitten and afflicted. (7:30-32)

            The reference to the east wind relates to the hot, dry wind that comes from the east into the Palestine area across Jordan to the east from the desert. It is like the Santa Ana winds that sometimes blow in Southern California and may be associated with devastating wildfires. The prevailing wind in Palestine is from the west coming off the Mediterranean. It is warm and moist and life giving. But the east wind is so destructive and terrible that nearly 500 years after these people left the area of Jerusalem, they still understand the imagery of the east wind. Limhi’s use of that term also indicates that he reads the Plates of Brass and knows the imagery contained therein.

            But there is always hope! Limhi promises his people (and in turn promises us),

            But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage. (7:33)

            Turn to the Lord; trust in Him and serve Him with all our heart and mind and He will deliver us from bondage. It will be on His timetable, but His promises are sure. Of that we may be certain!

Chapter 8

Who is the voice that is speaking?

            After Limhi finishes admonishing his people to trust in God and spake many things unto them and only a few of them have I written in this book (8:1), he sits down and Ammon stands to speak.

            Let’s pause for a minute to ask the question, “Who is writing?” Who is the “I” that is writing in the last verse? I presume it is Mormon, the primary editor and abridger of the Book of Mormon. (I read in one place that some think Alma the Younger may have helped in putting together the book of Mosiah. I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure it matters very much. I can give you the reference, if you want to learn more.)

But the questions “Who is writing?” or “Who is speaking?” are important. Learn to listen and watch for the voice of the person speaking in the Book of Mormon. In the books that come from the Small Plates (1 Nephi through Omni), it is clear who is speaking or writing – Nephi, Jacob, Enos, etc. until Amaleki. And then there are the Words of Mormon in which the voice is clearly that of Mormon. Much of what we have already read in the first chapters of the book of Mosiah was directly quoted from King Benjamin. We presume it was Mormon who used a written record of Benjamin’s address and copied it into his record. And so we presume that Mormon is still speaking, so he is the “I” in the first verse of chapter 8. In the next chapter, the voice will change. It will be Zeniff. I’ll point that out when we get there in Chapter 9. I repeat. This is a real book written by real people. Subtle observations such as a shift in voice in the narrative is evidence that this book has multiple authors and was compiled by Mormon not written by Joseph Smith. This book is true!

Ammon speaks to the people of Limhi

            So, what did Ammon teach them? He told them about what had happened in Zarahemla since Zeniff left two generations earlier. But more importantly, he also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had taught them, and explained them to the people of king Limhi. (8:3). Why did he teach them the words of Benjamin? It is not just because Benjamin was a great king and prophet but because these people were in bondage after their ancestors had rejected the testimony of Jesus Christ as taught by Abinadi. They have now been humbled by their bondage to the Lamanites and by the afflictions they have suffered at the hands of their captors. If the people of Limhi are to be delivered, they need to accept Christ as their Savior, their Deliverer. Mormon doesn’t tell us what their response was to the words of Benjamin but in Chapter 21 we learn that these people had already entered into a covenant with God to serve him and keep his commandments (21:31). They are repentant for rejecting Abinadi and wish they could have gone with Alma into the wilderness. They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts (21:35) but there was no church and none in the land that had authority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an unworthy servant. (21:33). We assume they received the words of Benjamin with joy and were strengthened in their faith by them.

Canst thou translate?

            After Ammon speaks to them, Limhi sends his people to their own houses, hopefully to ponder on the words of King Benjamin. He then brings to Ammon the plates that have been kept by his people since they left Zarahemla about 80 years earlier. Mormon will begin quoting from these plates in the next chapter beginning with the writings of Zeniff. These plates tell the story of Zeniff, Noah, Abinadi, and Alma and will be the source of the flashback that will begin in the next chapter.

But for now, Limhi is interested in something else. As soon as Ammon is finished reading the plates which Limhi brought to him, the king inquired of him to know if he could interpret languages, and Ammon told him that he could not. (8:6) Limhi proceeds to tell Ammon an interesting story. Sometime previously, he sent 43 men to look for Zarahemla and try to get help in freeing them from bondage. But this party never found Zarahemla. Instead they appear to have traveled past it on the east or west side while still heading northward until they came to a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel. (8:8) This land will become known as the Land of Desolation by the Nephites. You may ask, “How could they miss a whole city?” But remember that this area is probably a jungle, or at least a wilderness. It is easy to get lost in a jungle, as one of my brothers-in-law proved on a family trip to Cancun, Mexico, many years ago. But that is another story.

            The 43 men probably thought that they had, in fact, found Zarahemla, or the ruins of Zarahemla and that the people of Zarahemla had been destroyed. Remember, none of these 43 men would be old enough to have lived there previously. So they thought there was no hope of assistance from the people of Zarahemla, whom they presumed to have been destroyed. They found many artifacts and brought them back to the land of Nephi with them, including 24 gold plates. We will learn later that these are the plates of Ether, the last prophet of the Jaredites. (It’s not clear if these were 24 individual sheets of gold, each one being a “plate” and were bound together into on volume. Or perhaps it was actually 24 separate volumes or “plates” each with many gold leaves in them.) The search party couldn’t read the writing on the plates but suspected they gave a history of the people who had once lived there. So they brought the plates with the other artifacts back to Limhi as evidence of the destroyed civilization.

Limhi, who even though he can read sacred writings, could not read these plates either. He was most anxious to know what they contained, so he asked Ammon if he could read them. Ammon said he could not, but Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer. (8:13). Ammon is obviously speaking of king Mosiah who apparently has the Urim and Thummim which the Lord gave to the Brother of Jacob. (How the Urim and Thummim got separated from the 24 gold plates of Ether is not clear.) Mosiah is a seer because he has a Urim and Thummim and should be able to interpret the writing on the plates.

What is the Urim and Thummim?

            There are lots of questions about the Urim and Thummim and lots of sources, some of them better than others, to go for answers. Here is a summary of some things I learned from some reading I did several months ago to learn more about the Urim and Thummim.

            I learned that there have been (and presumably still are) at least two “interpreters”, i.e. Urim and Thummim (How do I make that name pleural when - im is a pleural suffix? Those words are already pleural!) in the history of the world. The set of interpreters we know the most about was given to the Brother of Jared (Ether 3) by God and must have been passed down either by the kings or by the prophets because it appears to have been given to the Mulekites in Zarahemla either by Coriantumr, the last king of the Jaredites who lived with them for 9 months, or by Ether, the last prophet of the Jaredites, who was still alive when the Mulekites arrived in the western hemisphere and was probably translated after that. We don’t know how it happened, but king Mosiah has the Urim and Thummim (the interpreters) which were given originally to the Brother of Jared and is therefore a seer. These interpreters were subsequently passed down through the Book of Mormon prophets and buried with the plates by Moroni. Joseph Smith used them (along with a seer stone) in the translation of the Book of Mormon. They were also seen by the Three Witnesses and were last seen (as far as I know) when Joseph returned them to Moroni after completing the translation of the Book of Mormon.

Abraham also had a Urim and Thummim. There is no record that I can find of how he got them. I suspect they were given to him or to some prophet before him by God Himself. I can’t find any record of what happened to that Urim and Thummim in the old world.

I was also interested to read how Joseph Smith used a seer stone somewhat interchangeably with the Urim and Thummim in the translation of the Book of Mormon. One of the sources says, “Apparently for convenience, Joseph often translated with the single seer stone rather than the two stones bound together to form the interpreters. These two instruments--the interpreters and the seer stone--were apparently interchangeable and worked in much the same way such that, in the course of time, Joseph Smith and his associates often used the term “Urim and Thummim” to refer to the single stone as well as the interpreters. In ancient times, Israelite priests used the Urim and Thummim to assist in receiving divine communications. Although commentators differ on the nature of the instrument, several ancient sources state that the instrument involved stones that lit up or were divinely illumined. Latter-day Saints later understood the term “Urim and Thummim” to refer exclusively to the interpreters. Joseph Smith and others, however, seem to have understood the term more as a descriptive category of instruments for obtaining divine revelations and less as the name of a specific instrument.” One of the sources also says that Joseph used the seer stone to look for buried treasure when he was younger, but later used it for a “higher purpose” in the translation of the Book of Mormon.

If you want to know more about the interpreters, the Urim and Thummim and Joseph’s seer stone, you might start with the Bible Dictionary and Gospel Topics on the Gospel Library app. There are two good essays at Book of Mormon Central on the Urim and Thummim. Here are the links: https://bookofmormoncentral.org/blog/4-fascinating-insights-about-seers-seer-stones-and-interpreters.

And https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/were-joseph-smiths-translation-instruments-like-the-israelite-urim-and-thummim.

Frankly, I don’t see why it is a big deal for critics and why it is a stumbling block for some of the faithful that Joseph used a seer stone to assist with the translation of the Book of Mormon. The proof is in the pudding! We have the book and we can apply the test of Moroni to learn that it is true. Frankly, I don’t care if he looked through a carnival kaleidoscope or some 3-D glasses that he found at the local movie theatre (obviously, I’m being facetious). In my opinion, what Joseph used to translate is far less important than the product he produced. The product is the Book of Mormon, a remarkable, profound book which I have learned by independent witness of the Spirit is truly the word of God.

Seers and Prophets

            Limhi and Ammon then go on to have a discussion about seers and prophets and which one is greater. Sorry, I don’t get the point. I think both prophets and seers are great. It isn’t a contest. The best I can tell is that they seem to agree that seers have some “seeric” powers, often associated with the use of interpreters, that not all prophets have. So, I guess all seers are also prophets, but not all prophets are also seers.

            Of greater importance to me is that we sustain 15 men today in our Church as “prophets, seers and revelators.” That’s good enough for me.

            Ammon concludes, Doubtless a great mystery is contained within these plates, and these interpreters were doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men. (8:19) We won’t learn what is contained in at least some of those 24 gold plates of Ether until after Christ has lived His mortal ministry and has been resurrected. Before burying the record of his father, Moroni will add an abridgment of the 24 gold plates and call it the book of Ether, the name of the last prophet of the Jaredites, the people whose story is told in the plates. Because of revelatory information given to the Brother of Jared about the premortal Jesus Christ contained in the plates, the Lord forbade the dissemination of this information about Himself until after His mortal ministry. You’ll see why when we get there later this year.

Chapter 9

The voice changes

            Immediately in verse 1 of chapter 9, the voice who is speaking (writing) changes. It begins, I, Zeniff. No longer is the voice that of Mormon or Ammon. In the case of Zeniff for the next two chapters, Mormon gives the microphone to Zeniff to speak for himself in the first person. Mormon is not indiscriminate in who he will let speak on the plates. For instance, when Zeniff dies and his son Noah, who proves to be a very wicked man, takes the throne, immediately Mormon takes the microphone back and does not let Noah speak for himself. As you read the rest of the Book of Mormon, watch for the voice of who is speaking.

            Notice that Zeniff, in following tradition with other Book of Mormon writers, begins with a colophon. He identifies himself and gives reason for his authority to write, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites (9:1). This is good Hebrew writing.

            Notice also that there is a brief explanatory paragraph preceding the chapter heading for Chapter 9 which says,

            The Record of Zeniff—An account of his people, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time that they were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites.

            I presume that short paragraph was written by Mormon and not by Joseph Smith or some later editor of the Book of Mormon. Notice that the chapter summaries are found underneath the chapter heading and are printed in italics. Those were added decades after the translation of the Book of Mormon and have been revised from time to time since then.

            We are now beginning the first flashback I mentioned earlier. We just jumped back in time about 80 years to approximately 200 BC. This flashback will continue through chapter 22.

Who is Zeniff anyway?

             So who is Zeniff?

            First of all, how do you pronounce his name? Did you know that there is a pronunciation guide for the Book of Mormon? Don’t ask me how it was decided how to pronounce the names, but, at least, it gives some uniformity in how they are pronounced. People new to the Book of Mormon always want to pronounce Lehi as “lay-he” and Nephi as “neff-ee.” Anyhow, according to the pronunciation guide, the correct way to pronounce this man’s name is zē´nĭf with a long e and a short i as if it were spelled “zeenuff.” Got it?

            Zeniff lived about 200 BC in Zarahemla. It was during the time of the reign of the first Mosiah or early in the reign of Benjamin. He was sent with a large group to spy on the Lamanites in the land of Nephi, but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed. (9:1) A battle ensues among the Nephite spies and many are killed. Those who survive, including Zeniff, return to Zarahemla. But Zeniff wants to go back to the land of Nephi and live there. He admits in telling his story that he was over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers (9:3). Nevertheless, he recruits people to go with him. There is no evidence in the record that he sought or obtained the favor of the Lord in this venture. He admits that they were smitten with famine and sore afflictions; for we were slow to remember the Lord our God. (9:3) Give him credit for being honest!

            Zeniff unwisely makes a treaty with the king of the Lamanites, king Laman, who allows him and his people to occupy the land of Nephi and the land of Shilom. They rebuild the old cities and walls. But notice that there is no mention of rebuilding the temple. That may say something about their lack of orientation toward the Lord. King Laman is not stupid. He lets the Nephites work hard for 12 years and rebuild the economy of the area. He then decides that they are getting too strong, so the Lamanites attack the land of Shilom and steal the Nephite flocks and corn. The Nephites in Shilom retreat to the city of Nephi where Zeniff wisely arms them for battle. Even more wisely, the people humble themselves before the Lord and did cry mightily to the Lord and were thus able to in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites (9:17) and were victorious. By humbling themselves, praying, trusting in the Lord and going forth in His strength, not their own, they were delivered. A good model for deliverance in our lives.

Chapter 10

More wars with the Lamanites

            The people of Limhi enjoy 22 years of peace after their battle with the Lamanites. They were not idle or over confident. Not only were they industrious and hard-working, they did two things that were important to protect them against future invasions. They made weapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people (10:1) and they set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us. (10:2) We can protect ourselves and those we love against our arch enemy, Satan, in similar ways. We make weapons to fight him and guard against his influence. As John Welch put it in his notes for these verses, We can’t always anticipate every future need, but we can know ourselves, know our strengths and weakness, and can take steps to protect against our points of spiritual vulnerability.

            The Nephites were safe while king Laman was in power, but after he died his son began to reign in his stead. And he began to stir his people up in rebellion against my people; therefore they began to prepare for war, and to come up to battle against my people. (10:6) Zeniff doesn’t tell us the name of this successor king of the Lamanites. He is probably an ancestor of the father of Lamoni, whose name we also never learn, who two generations later is converted to the Lord.

            Eventually the Lamanites attack again, coming first against the land of Shilom as they previously did. Look at the interesting grammar in this verse:

And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land of Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men armed with bows, and with arrows, and with swords, and with cimeters, and with stones, and with slings; and they had their heads shaved that they were naked; and they were girded with a leathern girdle about their loins. (10:8)

How many times is the word and used in that verse? I count seven times (not counting the first “And it came to pass”.) Tyler Griffin in this week’s podcast makes an interesting point about an earlier verse (9:16) with a similar string of “and” as in this verse. I’ll quote from the podcast.

On the Book of Mormon plates written in Reformed Egyptian, there was no punctuation. There was no punctuation in the original manuscript. There was no punctuation on the original printer’s manuscript. It was delivered to E.B Grandin’s print shop and John Gilbert, the typesetter, the guy who’s putting each individual letter into place to print the book, he took a pencil and in the printer’s manuscript, went through and added all of the punctuation marks that we currently have in our Book of Mormon. And by the way, he was “semi-colon happy.” He really liked that, as you’ll notice. So I just throw that out there because you’re going to run into things like this verse over and over again in the Book of Mormon where they don’t have things like a comma to separate items in a list. So when you see long lists, you’re going to see those lists separated with words or characters. That is not great English, but it’s beautiful Egyptian and Semitic in its origin. So just as a side note, don’t make judgment calls on doctrine or interpretation based on punctuation in the book because it’s not prophetic. It wasn’t put there by the Prophet Joseph or by Oliver Cowdery. The punctuation marks were put there by the typesetter. And I would add that the punctuation wasn’t put there by Mormon or any of the original Book of Mormon writers.

Once more the Nephites did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle. (10:10) Several verses later, Zeniff tells us that putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face to face. And it came to pass that we 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. (10:19-20)

We began these chapters talking about deliverance. We have seen a number of examples of how the Nephites were delivered in battle from their enemy, the Lamanites. In each case, victory was because they put their trust in the Lord. The same will be true as we fight out battles in seeking deliverance from our captors and enemies, whatever they may be. We will be delivered as we put our trust in the Lord and His strength and do not rely on our own strength. O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. (2 Nephi 4:34)

Believing in the tradition of their fathers

            Thank you for reading this far. I thought this blog post would be shorter, but there is always so much to say which just wants to come out. Please don’t stop now. The most important part of this week’s post is still to come. I hope I can put into words what I want to share with you before finishing for this week. I’ll try.

            Zeniff takes time in verses 11 through 17 to give us a glimpse into the Lamanite mind and heart. He helps us understand why they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi  and why they have 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. (10:17) It is because they were taught from the youngest age the tradition of their fathers (10:12).

Specifically, the story the Lamanites have told themselves for generations is that they are victims. They were wronged by their brethren (10:12) in the wilderness, crossing the sea, in the land of their first inheritance and when Nephi robbed them (10:16) of the plates of brass. For all of these perceived wrongs, they were wroth (10:14, 15, 16), meaning they were angry and they still are. Their anger over their perceived wrongs, events that happened over 400 years earlier, has led to hatred, a hatred which is taught to each succeeding generation so that each generation of Lamanites will be angry at the Nephites, and will hate them and want to kill them.

Stories from our past

From our perspective more than 2000 years later, the multi-generational hatred of the Lamanites for the Nephites seems so stupid and non-productive. Our reaction is to tell them to “Just get over it! Let it go!” But what stories to we tell ourselves about our past and the experiences we’ve had – our upbringing in our homes and families, the actions of our parents or siblings, or of friends at school or work? What perceived injustices and abuses do we hold on to that cause us to be angry and even hate others? What stories do we tell our children that cause them to be angry and reject or even hate others? What stories do we tell ourselves about our own failings and mistakes and continue to be angry with ourselves and sometimes even hate ourselves? How are we like the Lamanites? How do we choose to be victims because of the actions, either real or perceived, of others? How does playing the victim limit our ability to forgive, love and be free?

The last 19 minutes of the Tyler and Taylor podcast this week is brilliant in discussing how our reaction to being wronged (whether real or perceived) can lead us down a path of anger, hatred and loss of the Spirit or upward along a path of forgiveness to love (charity) and the companionship of the Spirit. The two paths are personified by Satan and Christ respectively. The branch point between the two paths is a choice we make. Which path we follow will be determined by how we respond to wrongs that happen (or have happened) to us in our life, real or perceived. Do we choose the role of the angry victim and follow that path to hatred or do we choose to forgive and allow the Lord to let us see those who have wronged us as the Savior sees them and be freed from the burden of their behaviors or attitudes? We can’t choose what happens to us in life, but we can choose how we respond. 

Here is the link for Tyler and Taylor beginning at the point where they start talking about this powerful understanding from the Book of Mormon. https://youtu.be/Zfky7dTRrc8?t=2343

There was a remarkable general conference talk given in April 2016 by Elder Kevin R. Duncan titled The Healing Ointment of Forgiveness. In that talk he said,

Forgiveness is the very reason God sent His Son, so let us rejoice in His offering to heal us all. The Savior’s Atonement is not just for those who need to repent; it is also for those who need to forgive. If you are having trouble forgiving another person or even yourself, ask God to help you. Forgiveness is a glorious, healing principle. We do not need to be a victim twice. We can forgive. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/04/the-healing-ointment-of-forgiveness

We do not need to be a victim twice. We can forgive!

I recall years ago a conversation with a lovely sister in the ward where I served as bishop. She was the mother of a large family. Her husband had left her and left the Church. I said to her once in the privacy of the bishop’s office, calling her by name, “I don’t perceive any bitterness in your heart. How can that be?” Her reply was, “Bishop, there is no bitterness in my heart. I have forgiven. I gave my anger to the Lord. I laid my broken heart at His feet. I have no anger, no bitterness. My heart is healed because of Him. I am free and at peace. I didn’t want to poison the well for my children.” She is a remarkable person and has continued to bless many lives!

            I have said a number of times that I can count on the fingers of one hand the books that have taught me about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The most important of those books is the Book of Mormon, which is the “handbook of the atonement.” But I’d like to close by quoting from another of those books. It is The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal our Hearts and Homes by James Ferrell.

I first read The Peacegiver in 2004 and have read or listened to the audio book many times since then. I’m sure I had to read it at least three or four times until I really began to “get it”, what the author and the scriptures were teaching me about the Savior, the atonement and forgiveness. If you have never read this book, I highly recommend it. If you have read it but not for a few years, I highly recommend you read or listen to it again.

            The story of the book is about a young man named Rick who is struggling with his marriage to his wife Carol and with life. His deceased grandfather, whom Rick loved dearly before he died, is sent from the spirit world to teach Rick and help him discover some truths about the Savior, forgiveness, atonement and love that will help him. In the first section of the book, Grandpa takes Rick back in time to the story of Abigail and David (1 Samuel 25). I never knew that story was in the Old Testament until I read this book! Abigail is a Christ-figure who teaches Rick (and me) important lessons. In introducing this experience with Abigail and David, Grandpa says

            “Ricky, listen," his grandfather continued. "I know Carol has mistreated you. That's what we do to each other—all of us—we mistreat each other, and especially those we live with, for we have more opportunities to mistreat them than anyone else.

“Ricky, I'm going to suggest something to you that you probably have never thought of and will want to resist, but I'm going to say it anyway because it's the truth. Here it is: Being mistreated is the most important condition of mortality, for eternity itself depends on how we view those who mistreat us.”

Grandpa Carson paused at that, perhaps to emphasize the point. “And that, Ricky, is why we are here in the wilderness of Paran. David and his men have been mistreated, as you have

seen. They are marching off to war, their swords as well as their anger girded about them. You are with them, for you too are warring against mistreatment. But they, and you, are going to encounter someone on the march to Carmel—someone on the Lord's errand who changes mistreatment forever.”

            Rick witnesses the interchange between Abigail, wife of Nabal, and David, who was marching with his men to annihilate Nabal and his household for mistreating David’s men. Abigail changes David’s heart. You’ll have to read the story for yourself. I’ll just tell you that I learned truths about the Savior, about His atonement and about forgiveness from Abigail that I never knew and for which I will be eternally grateful.

            At the conclusion of her encounter with David and his men, Abigail turns and looks directly at Rick, standing among David’s men.

            Abigail bowed her head slightly before him and then turned to leave. As she did so, her gaze met Rick's—startling him, as until then no one had seemed to notice his presence. Her gentle brown eyes shone brightly from above the veil that swept across her mouth. Her eyes

reached to him more than any arms could have done — beckoning, inviting, and drawing him in. So kindly, they seemed windows into a deep pool of knowing, and when she looked upon him, Rick felt as much within her eyes as without.

He instantly felt as if they had had a conversation, or an interview, or, for that matter, a reunion. He perceived that she knew him—not just what could be understood by observing his

person, but rather the whole of him—his past, his present, his future, his thoughts, his feelings, his fears. What's more, he felt that she treasured him, despite everything she knew. By the look in her eyes, Rick could tell she was smiling at him. After a few timeless seconds, she gently nodded, turned, and then continued up the path.

Rick, with David, stood transfixed, watching her disappear over the hill.

            Dear family and friends, the Savior wants us to be free from the burden of how others have or continue to treat or mistreat us, either real or perceived. Obviously, we don’t have to stay in a harmful, abusive relationship. That’s not what I’m suggesting. But we don’t have to be a victim twice. We can forgive. The Savior will help us. He, like Abigail, will bring to us everything we need to heal. He has paid for their sins. He stands in the place of those who have mistreated us and says, Upon me … let this iniquity be (1 Samuel 25:24). The Savior asks us to forgive Him because He has taken their sins upon Himself. He asks us to forgive Him, not because He needs our forgiveness, but because we need to forgive. He wants to lift the burden of being a victim from us. The Savior creates for us the most forgiveness-friendly environment possible so we can give up the stories of our past and not poison the well for our children going forward. We can break the cycle of anger and hatred and become as it were Saviors on Mt. Zion for ourselves, our families and others we love. We can forgive and be filled with the love, joy and peace that only the Savior can give.

            That is the message of Abigail and David. That is the message of Mosiah chapter 10. That is the “good news” of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are holding on to any tradition of having been mistreated, real or perceived, give it to Him. Let it go. Leave your burdens at His feet. Yoke yourself with Him. Be free. Be at peace.

            May He bless each of us to do so.

Thanks for reading!

Richard