Noah’S Kingdom Conferred on Son Limhi

Event 61

Reference: Mosiah 19:25-29; 20:1-26; 21:1-21

And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites made anoath unto them, that his people should not slay them. 26 Andalso Limhi, being the son of the king, having the kingdomconferred upon him by the people, made oath unto the kingof the Lamanites that his people should pay tribute untohim, even one half of all they possessed.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Land of Nephi280 to 121 B.C.27 And it came to pass that Limhi began to establish thekingdom and to establish peace among his people. 28 Andthe king of the Lamanites set guards round about the land,that he might keep the people of Limhi in the land, that theymight not depart into the wilderness; and he did support hisguards out of the tribute which he did receive from theNephites. 29 And now king Limhi did have continual peacein his kingdom for the space of two years, that theLamanites did not molest them nor seek to destroy them.1 NOW there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters ofthe Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and todance, and to make themselves merry.Land of Shemlon2 And it came to pass that there was one day a small numberof them gathered together to sing and to dance. 3 And nowthe priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the cityof Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slaythem, therefore they durst not return to their wives and theirchildren. 4 And having tarried in the wilderness, and havingdiscovered the daughters of the Lamanites, they laid andwatched them;5 And when there were but few of them gathered together todance, they came forth out of their secret places and tookthem and carried them into the wilderness; yea, twenty andfour of the daughters of the Lamanites they carried into thewilderness.Narrow strip ofWilderness6 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites found thattheir daughters had been missing, they were angry with thepeople of Limhi, for they thought it was the people ofLimhi.Land of Shemlon7 Therefore they sent their armies forth; yea, even the kinghimself went before his people; and they went up to theland of Nephi to destroy the people of Limhi. 8 And nowLand of Nephi Limhi had discovered them from the tower, even all theirpreparations for war did he discover; therefore he gatheredhis people together, and laid wait for them in the fields andin the forests.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Land of Nephi280 to 121 B.C.9 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had comeup, that the people of Limhi began to fall upon them fromtheir waiting places, and began to slay them.10 And it came to pass that the battle became exceedinglysore, for they fought like lions for their prey.11 And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began todrive the Lamanites before them; yet they were not half sonumerous as the Lamanites. But they fought for their lives,and for their wives, and for their children; therefore theyexerted themselves and like dragons did they fight.12 And it came to pass that they found the king of theLamanites among the number of their dead; yet he was notdead, having been wounded and left upon the ground, sospeedy was the flight of his people. 13 And they took himand bound up his wounds, and brought him before Limhi,and said:Behold, here is the king of the Lamanites; he having received awound has fallen among their dead, and they have left him; andbehold, we have brought him before you; and now let us slay him.People14 But Limhi said unto them:MormonYe shall not slay him, but bring him hither that I may see him.King LimhiAnd they brought him. And Limhi said unto him:MormonWhat cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold,my people have not broken the oath that I made unto you;therefore, why should ye break the oath which ye made unto mypeople?King Limhi15 And now the king said:MormonI have broken the oath because thy people did carry away thedaughters of my people; therefore, in my anger I did cause mypeople to come up to war against thy people.Lamanite King16 And now Limhi had heard nothing concerning thismatter; therefore he said:MormonI will search among my people and whosoever has done this thingshall perish.King Limhi Therefore he caused a search to be made among his people.17 Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being theking’s captain, he went forth and said unto the king:MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Land of Nephi280 to 121 B.C.I pray thee forbear, and do not search this people, and lay not thisthing to their charge. 18 For do ye not remember the priests of thyfather, whom this people sought to destroy? And are they not inthe wilderness? And are not they the ones who have stolen thedaughters of the Lamanites? 19 And now, behold, and tell the kingof these things, that he may tell his people that they may bepacified towards us; for behold they are already preparing to comeagainst us; and behold also there are but few of us. 20 And behold,they come with their numerous hosts; and except the king dothpacify them towards us we must perish. 21 For are not the wordsof Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against us—and all thisbecause we would not hearken unto the words of the Lord, andturn from our iniquities? 22 And now let us pacify the king, andwe fulfil the oath which we have made unto him; for it is betterthat we should be in bondage than that we should lose our lives;therefore, let us put a stop to the shedding of so much blood.Gideon23 And now Limhi told the king all the things concerninghis father, and the priests that had fled into the wilderness,and attributed the carrying away of their daughters to them.Mormon24 And it came to pass that the king was pacified towardshis people; and he said unto them:Let us go forth to meet my people, without arms; and I swear untoyou with an oath that my people shall not slay thy people.Lamanite King25 And it came to pass that they followed the king, and wentforth without arms to meet the Lamanites.MormonNear the land ofShemlonAnd it came to pass that they did meet the Lamanites; andthe king of the Lamanites did bow himself down beforethem, and did plead in behalf of the people of Limhi. 26 Andwhen the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that theywere without arms, they had compassion on them and werepacified towards them, and returned with their king in peaceto their own land.1 AND it came to pass that Limhi and his people returned tothe city of Nephi, and began to dwell in the land again inpeace.City of Nephi2 And it came to pass that after many days the Lamanitesbegan again to be stirred up in anger against the Nephites,and they began to come into the borders of the land roundabout. 3 Now they durst not slay them, because of the oathwhich their king had made unto Limhi; but they would smite them on their cheeks, and exercise authority overthem; and began to put heavy burdens upon their backs, anddrive them as they would a dumb ass— 4 Yea, all this wasdone that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled. 5 Andnow the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and therewas no way that they could deliver themselves out of theirhands, for the Lamanites had surrounded them on everyside.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12City of Nephi280 to 121 B.C.6 And it came to pass that the people began to murmur withthe king because of their afflictions; and they began to bedesirous to go against them to battle. And they did afflictthe king sorely with their complaints; therefore he grantedunto them that they should do according to their desires. 7And they gathered themselves together again, and put ontheir armor, and went forth against the Lamanites to drivethem out of their land.Near city of Nephi8 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did beat them, anddrove them back, and slew many of them. 9 And now therewas a great mourning and lamentation among the people ofLimhi, the widow mourning for her husband, the son andthe daughter mourning for their father, and the brothers fortheir brethren. 10 Now there were a great many widows inthe land, and they did cry mightily from day to day, for agreat fear of the Lamanites had come upon them.City of Nephi11 And it came to pass that their continual cries did stir upthe remainder of the people of Limhi to anger against theLamanites; and they went again to battle, but they weredriven back again, suffering much loss. 12 Yea, they wentagain even the third time, and suffered in the like manner;and those that were not slain returned again to the city ofNephi. 13 And they did humble themselves even to the dust,subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submittingthemselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, andburdened, according to the desires of their enemies. 14 Andthey did humble themselves even in the depths of humility;and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day longdid they cry unto their God that he would deliver them outof their afflictions. 15 And now the Lord was slow to heartheir cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lorddid hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of theLamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet theLord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.Near city of Nephi 16 And it came to pass that they began to prosper by degreesin the land, and began to raise grain more abundantly, andflocks, and herds, that they did not suffer with hunger. 17Now there was a great number of women, more than therewas of men; therefore king Limhi commanded that everyman should impart to the support of the widows and theirchildren, that they might not perish with hunger; and thisthey did because of the greatness of their number that hadbeen slain. 18 Now the people of Limhi kept together in abody as much as it was possible, and secured their grain andtheir flocks; 19 And the king himself did not trust his personwithout the walls of the city, unless he took his guards withhim, fearing that he might by some means fall into thehands of the Lamanites. 20 And he caused that his peopleshould watch the land round about, that by some meansthey might take those priests that fled into the wilderness,who had stolen the daughters of the Lamanites, and that hadcaused such a great destruction to come upon them. 21 Forthey were desirous to take them that they might punishthem; for they had come into the land of Nephi by night,and carried off their grain and many of their preciousthings; therefore they laid wait for them.MormonSee Isa. 53:1-12Near city of Nephi280 to 121 B.C.