Contention Ensues over Judgment-Seat

Event 128

Reference: Hel. 1:1-34

An account of the Nephites. Their wars and contentions, andtheir dissensions. And also the prophecies of many holyprophets, before the coming of Christ, according to therecords of Helaman, who was the son of Helaman, and alsoaccording to the records of his sons, even down to the comingof Christ. And also many of the Lamanites are converted. Anaccount of their conversion. An account of the righteousnessof the Lamanites, and the wickedness and abominations of theNephites, according to the record of Helaman and his sons,even down to the coming of Christ, which is called the bookof Helaman, and so forth.AND now behold, it came to pass in the commencement ofthe fortieth year of the reign of the judges over the peopleof Nephi, there began to be a serious difficulty among thepeople of the Nephites. 2 For behold, Pahoran had died, andgone the way of all the earth; therefore there began to be aserious contention concerning who should have thejudgment-seat among the brethren, who were the sons ofPahoran. 3 Now these are their names who did contend forthe judgment-seat, who did also cause the people tocontend: Pahoran, Paanchi, and Pacumeni. 4 Now these arenot all the sons of Pahoran (for he had many), but these arethey who did contend for the judgment-seat; therefore, theydid cause three divisions among the people.MormonLand ofZarahemla52 B.C.5 Nevertheless, it came to pass that Pahoran was appointedby the voice of the people to be chief judge and a governorover the people of Nephi.6 And it came to pass that Pacumeni, when he saw that hecould not obtain the judgment-seat, he did unite with thevoice of the people. 7 But behold, Paanchi, and that part ofthe people that were desirous that he should be theirgovernor, was exceedingly wroth; therefore, he was aboutto flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion againsttheir brethren.8 And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold, hewas taken, and was tried according to the voice of thepeople, and condemned unto death; for he had raised up inrebellion and sought to destroy the liberty of the people. 9Now when those people who were desirous that he shouldJudgment-seat inland of Zarahemla be their governor saw that he was condemned unto death,therefore they were angry, and behold, they sent forth oneKishkumen, even to the judgment-seat of Pahoran, andmurdered Pahoran as he sat upon the judgment-seat. 10 Andhe was pursued by the servants of Pahoran; but behold, sospeedy was the flight of Kishkumen that no man couldovertake him. 11 And he went unto those that sent him, andthey all entered into a covenant, yea, swearing by theireverlasting Maker, that they would tell no man thatKishkumen had murdered Pahoran. 12 Therefore,Kishkumen was not known among the people of Nephi, forhe was in disguise at the time that he murdered Pahoran.And Kishkumen and his band, who had covenanted withhim, did mingle themselves among the people, in a mannerthat they all could not be found; but as many as were foundwere condemned unto death.MormonJudgment-seat inland of Zarahemla52 B.C.13 And now behold, Pacumeni was appointed, according tothe voice of the people, to be a chief judge and a governorover the people, to reign in the stead of his brother Pahoran;and it was according to his right. And all this was done inthe fortieth year of the reign of the judges; and it had anend.14 And it came to pass in the forty and first year of the reignof the judges, that the Lamanites had gathered together aninnumerable army of men, and armed them with swords,and with cimeters and with bows, and with arrows, and withhead-plates, and with breastplates, and with all manner ofshields of every kind. 15 And they came down again thatthey might pitch battle against the Nephites. And they wereled by a man whose name was Coriantumr; and he was adescendant of Zarahemla; and he was a dissenter fromamong the Nephites; and he was a large and a mighty man.16 Therefore, the king of the Lamanites, whose name wasTubaloth, who was the son of Ammoron, supposing thatCoriantumr, being a mighty man, could stand against theNephites, with his strength and also with his great wisdom,insomuch that by sending him forth he should gain powerover the Nephites— 17 Therefore he did stir them up toanger, and he did gather together his armies, and he didappoint Coriantumr to be their leader, and did cause thatthey should march down to the land of Zarahemla to battleagainst the Nephites.Near land ofZarahemla51 B.C. 18 And it came to pass that because of so much contentionand so much difficulty in the government, that they had notkept sufficient guards in the land of Zarahemla; for they hadsupposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the heartof their lands to attack that great city Zarahemla.MormonLand ofZarahemla51 B.C.19 But it came to pass that Coriantumr did march forth at thehead of his numerous host, and came upon the inhabitantsof the city, and their march was with such exceedingly greatspeed that there was no time for the Nephites to gathertogether their armies. 20 Therefore Coriantumr did cut downthe watch by the entrance of the city, and did march forthwith his whole army into the city, and they did slay everyone who did oppose them, insomuch that they did takepossession of the whole city.City of Zarahemla21 And it came to pass that Pacumeni, who was the chiefjudge, did flee before Coriantumr, even to the walls of thecity.Walls of city ofZarahemlaAnd it came to pass that Coriantumr did smite him againstthe wall, insomuch that he died. And thus ended the days ofPacumeni.22 And now when Coriantumr saw that he was in possessionof the city of Zarahemla, and saw that the Nephites had fledbefore them, and were slain, and were taken, and were castinto prison, and that he had obtained the possession of thestrongest hold in all the land, his heart took courageinsomuch that he was about to go forth against all the land.City of Zarahemla23 And now he did not tarry in the land of Zarahemla, but hedid march forth with a large army, even towards the city ofBountiful; for it was his determination to go forth and cuthis way through with the sword, that he might obtain thenorth parts of the land. 24 And, supposing that their greateststrength was in the center of the land, therefore he didmarch forth, giving them no time to assemble themselvestogether save it were in small bodies; and in this mannerthey did fall upon them and cut them down to the earth. 25But behold, this march of Coriantumr through the center ofthe land gave Moronihah great advantage over them,notwithstanding the greatness of the number of the Nephiteswho were slain. 26 For behold, Moronihah had supposedthat the Lamanites durst not come into the center of theland, but that they would attack the cities round about in theborders as they had hitherto done; therefore Moronihah hadBetween land ofZarahemla andland of Bountiful caused that their strong armies should maintain those partsround about by the borders. 27 But behold, the Lamaniteswere not frightened according to his desire, but they hadcome into the center of the land, and had taken the capitalcity which was the city of Zarahemla, and were marchingthrough the most capital parts of the land, slaying thepeople with a great slaughter, both men, women, andchildren, taking possession of many cities and of manystrongholds.MormonBetween land ofZarahemla andland of Bountiful51 B.C.28 But when Moronihah had discovered this, heimmediately sent forth Lehi with an army round about tohead them before they should come to the land Bountiful.Near land ofBountiful29 And thus he did; and he did head them before they cameto the land Bountiful, and gave unto them battle, insomuchthat they began to retreat back towards the land ofZarahemla.Between land ofBountiful and landof Zarahemla30 And it came to pass that Moronihah did head them intheir retreat, and did give unto them battle, insomuch that itbecame an exceedingly bloody battle; yea, many were slain,and among the number who were slain Coriantumr was alsofound. 31 And now, behold, the Lamanites could not retreateither way, neither on the north, nor on the south, nor on theeast, nor on the west, for they were surrounded on everyhand by the Nephites. 32 And thus had Coriantumr plungedthe Lamanites into the midst of the Nephites, insomuch thatthey were in the power of the Nephites, and he himself wasslain, and the Lamanites did yield themselves into the handsof the Nephites.33 And it came to pass that Moronihah took possession ofthe city of Zarahemla again, and caused that the Lamaniteswho had been taken prisoners should depart out of the landin peace. 34 And thus ended the forty and first year of thereign of the judges.City of Zarahemla