Noah's Priests Create a War

Now there was a place in Shemlon where the Lamanites’ daughters gathered to sing, dance, and make themselves merry. One day, a small number of them had gathered to sing and dance. King Noah’s priests had been hiding in the wilderness, too ashamed and afraid for their lives to return to their wives and children in the city of Nephi. While wandering in the wilderness, they had discovered the Lamanites’ daughters and secretly watched them. When only twenty-four of them had gathered to dance, they came out of their hiding places and carried them off.

When the Lamanites found out their daughters were missing, they were angry with Limhi’s people, thinking they had taken them. In his anger, the Lamanite king led his army to the land of Nephi to destroy Limhi’s people. From the top of his tower, Limhi saw them coming. He gathered his people, and they hid in the fields and forests, waiting for the Lamanites. When they came near, Limhi’s people attacked the Lamanites and began to kill them. The battle became fierce as the Nephites fought like lions for their prey. Though they were outnumbered by more than two to one, Limhi’s people drove the Lamanites before them. They fought like dragons for their own lives, and for their wives and children.

After the battle, they found the Lamanite king among the fallen, but he was not dead. His army had run away so fast, they had left him wounded on the ground. Limhi’s men bandaged his wounds, brought him before Limhi, and said, “Here is the Lamanite king, wounded and abandoned by his army. Now let us kill him!” Limhi responded, “Do not kill him. Bring him closer, so I may see him.” Limhi then asked the Lamanite king, “Why did you come to war against my people? My people have not broken the oath that I made to you, so why have you broken the oath that you made to them?” The king replied, “I broke the oath and came to war against your people because they have carried away my people’s daughters.” Limhi had heard nothing about this matter, so he said, “I will search among my people, and whoever has done this will die.”

When Gideon, now the king’s captain, heard this, he said to King Limhi, “Please do not search this people or put the blame on them. Remember your father’s priests, whom we searched for to destroy? It must be those priests, still in the wilderness, who have stolen the Lamanites’ daughters! Tell this to the Lamanite king so that he will pacify his people toward us, for the Lamanites are now preparing to attack us, and we cannot continue to withstand them with our small numbers. Unless the king pacifies them, their great army will kill us all! The Lord’s words, spoken by Abinadi, are beginning to be fulfilled because we did not listen to him and repent. Let us pacify the king and keep our oath with him, for it is better to be in bondage than to die. Let us do this and put a stop to the shedding of so much blood.”

Limhi took Gideon’s advice and told the king about his father’s priests who had run away into the wilderness, and who must have stolen their daughters. The Lamanite king was pacified toward Limhi’s people and said, “Let us go out and meet my people unarmed. I swear to you with an oath that my people will not kill your people.” Then unarmed, Limhi’s people followed the Lamanite king and went out to meet the Lamanites. Upon meeting them, the Lamanite king bowed himself down before them and pled in behalf of Limhi’s people. Upon seeing the unarmed Nephites, the Lamanites had compassion on them and were pacified. Then they returned with their king to their own land in peace. Limhi and his people returned to their city of Nephi and began to live in peace.