Gideon Swears to Slay Noah

Event 60

Reference: Mosiah 19:1-24

AND it came to pass that the army of the king returned,having searched in vain for the people of the Lord. 2 Andnow behold, the forces of the king were small, having beenreduced, and there began to be a division among theremainder of the people. 3 And the lesser part began tobreathe out threatenings against the king, and there began tobe a great contention among them. 4 And now there was aman among them whose name was Gideon, and he being astrong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew hissword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Land of Nephiand land ofShilom280 to 121 B.C.5 And it came to pass that he fought with the king; andwhen the king saw that he was about to overpower him, hefled and ran and got upon the tower which was near thetemple. 6 And Gideon pursued after him and was about toget upon the tower to slay the king, and the king cast hiseyes round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold,the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of theland. 7 And now the king cried out in the anguish of hissoul, saying:Tower in land ofNephiGideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they willdestroy us; yea, they will destroy my people.King Noah8 And now the king was not so much concerned about hispeople as he was about his own life; nevertheless, Gideondid spare his life. 9 And the king commanded the peoplethat they should flee before the Lamanites, and he himselfdid go before them, and they did flee into the wilderness,with their women and their children.MormonWilderness10 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them,and did overtake them, and began to slay them.11 Now it came to pass that the king commanded them thatall the men should leave their wives and their children, andflee before the Lamanites. 12 Now there were many thatwould not leave them, but had rather stay and perish withthem. And the rest left their wives and their children andfled. 13 And it came to pass that those who tarried with theirwives and their children caused that their fair daughtersshould stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that theywould not slay them.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Wilderness280 to 121 B.C.14 And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassionon them, for they were charmed with the beauty of theirwomen. 15 Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives,and took them captives and carried them back to the land ofNephi, and granted unto them that they might possess theland, under the conditions that they would deliver up kingNoah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up theirproperty, even one half of all they possessed, one half oftheir gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, andthus they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanitesfrom year to year.Land of Nephi16 And now there was one of the sons of the king amongthose that were taken captive, whose name was Limhi. 17And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not bedestroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of theiniquities of his father, he himself being a just man.18 And it came to pass that Gideon sent men into thewilderness secretly, to search for the king and those thatwere with him.Narrow strip ofWildernessAnd it came to pass that they met the people in thewilderness, all save the king and his priests. 19 Now theyhad sworn in their hearts that they would return to the landof Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain,and also those that had tarried with them, that they wouldseek revenge, and also perish with them. 20 And the kingcommanded them that they should not return; and they wereangry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, evenunto death by fire. 21 And they were about to take thepriests also and put them to death, and they fled beforethem.22 And it came to pass that they were about to return to theland of Nephi, and they met the men of Gideon. And themen of Gideon told them of all that had happened to theirwives and their children; and that the Lamanites hadgranted unto them that they might possess the land bypaying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all they possessed. 23 And the people told the men of Gideon thatthey had slain the king, and his priests had fled from themfarther into the wilderness.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Narrow strip ofWilderness280 to 121 B.C.24 And it came to pass that after they had ended theceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing,because their wives and their children were not slain; andthey told Gideon what they had done to the king.Land of Nephi