Mosiah 7

After three peaceful years, King Mosiah grew curious about a legendary group of Nephites who had returned to the land of Nephi long ago, before his father’s reign. Nothing had been heard of them since they had left. King Mosiah assigned sixteen strong men to visit their old Nephite homeland and see what had become of this expedition. The group was led by a big, strong, man named Ammon, who was a descendant of Zarahemla. [121 BC]

Ammon’s expedition wandered in the wilderness for 40 days, without being at all certain where to find the lost party they were looking for. When they came to a hill which overlooked the city of Shilom, in the land of Nephi, Ammon took several others with him and went down to the city to investigate.

They shortly met up with the king of the land of Nephi, outside the city walls. His guards surrounded them, tied them up, and put them in prison. Two days later, they were brought out of prison to see the king again, and were ordered to answer his questions.

The King said, “I am Limhi, the son of Noah, and grandson of Zeniff who came here from the land of Zarahemla many years ago to take possession of this land of our inheritance. I am the King of my people by their choice. I demand to know why you have come so boldly to our city. I have preserved your lives to hear your story, so speak.”

Ammon came forward and bowed before the king, saying “Thank you for sparing our lives. I am Ammon, a descendant of Zarahemla. I have come looking for our lost brothers who left the land of Zarahemla many years ago with Zeniff.”

When King Limhi heard this, his attitude changed remarkably and he welcomed the strangers. He said to them, “Now that I know that my brothers in Zarahemla are still alive, I rejoice. Tomorrow, my people will rejoice with us. Times are difficult here. We live in slavery to the Lamanites, who tax us heavily. Will you help us to escape our bondage and let us be your slaves? It would be far better to be slaves to you Nephites than continue paying tribute to the king of the Lamanites.”

The Nephite party was released and allowed to return to the hill above the city, where the rest of their party was encamped. The entire group then returned to King Limhi’s city where they ate, drank, and rested from the effort and privations of their journey. The following day, King Limhi sent a proclamation out to his people that they should gather at the temple to hear him speak.

“My people,” King Limhi said, when they had gathered. “Lift up your heads and be comforted because the time is at hand when we will be liberated from slavery to our enemies. Although our past efforts to free ourselves have failed, I have new faith that this time it will be different. Put your trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, who brought his children out of Egypt, opened the Red Sea for them, and fed them manna in the wilderness.

“That same God,” King Limhi continued, “brought our fathers out of Jerusalem and preserved his people. The reason that we are in slavery now is because of our disregard for God’s laws and the abominations we have become. When Zeniff came to restore our inheritance of this land, he was deceived by the cunning of King Laman2. In trying to make peace, he entered into a treaty with him that gave us land but forced us to pay more in taxes than we can afford to pay; so now we have become slaves. We pay taxes of half the corn, barley, and grain we grow, half the animals we raise, and half of all that we own. This is too much and is the source of our despair.

“So many have been killed and so much blood has been spilled in vain because of our disregard for God. If we had not violated God’s laws, this evil would have never come upon us. Instead of listening to God, we have fought with one another. We have even killed one of our own prophets, who warned us of our abominations and foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. Because of his prophecies he was killed. We have also committed many other violations that have angered God. After all of this, it is no wonder that we live in slavery and torment.

“God has told us, ‘I will not protect my people if they violate my laws, but will withdraw my support and watch them stumble over their mistakes. If my people sow filth they will reap the poison of my judgment.’

“Now look at us. We are stricken and tormented people and God’s words have been fulfilled. But it is not too late to turn to God, with all our purpose, and put our trust in him. If we do this, we will be delivered out of slavery.”