Mosiah 19

The fringe movement was growing.

The soldiers returned, foiled by the new church. The army at home had its own problems: budget cuts had forced retirements, fewer men were enlisting, and factions had arisen. The smaller of these hated the king. A typical prelude to a coup. Gideon led this group, brandishing his sword and swearing to lop Noah’s head off.

He barged into the palace—some guards were sympathizers and looked the other way—and headed straight for Noah’s bedroom. He confronted the king who slipped away to the tower by the temple. Gideon caught up with him but spared his life when Noah said the Lamanites were visible on the borderlands.

Noah sent out messengers telling people to get out of town or be slaughtered by the Lamanites. He led the way into the forests, where they became easy prey for the invaders.

But Noah had done something odd. He had told men to leave their wives and children at home as bait for the Lamanites. Some did, most then killed on the run. Those who wouldn’t leave without families boarded up their houses and sent their best-looking daughters outside to sweet-talk the Lamanite soldiers into letting them live.

It worked. What could have become heaps of bodies became wagons full of hostages. The terms of release: King Noah in chains and a fifty-percent perpetual tax.

Noah’s son Limhi wanted his father to live,

though he knew how hated Noah was, and why.

Gideon sent men to find Noah in the woods. At first they found only expatriates of Nephiland, bent on self-sacrifice or revenge. Gideon’s men told them the deal the Lamanites had offered. The expatriates told them they’d killed the king themselves and chased the priests away. Gideon’s men went back and gave that report to Limhi, who sealed the deal with the Lamanites. His father was already dead and half-taxes were a go.

That was how peace was brokered. It remained an occupation, though, with Lamanite border guards along the perimeter. This set-up lasted two years.