Mosiah — Chapter 19
1 The king’s army came back when they could not find the Lord’s people.
2 The king’s army was small, with fewer soldiers than before. There began to be a division among the rest of the people who were left.
3 The smaller part began to talk against the king, and there began to be a big fight among them.
4 There was a strong man named Gideon among them who was an enemy of the king. He took his sword and promised in his anger that he would kill the king.
5 He fought with the king. When the king saw he was going to lose, he ran and got up on the tower near the temple.
6 Gideon ran after him. Just as he was going up the tower to kill the king, the king looked toward the land of Shemlon and saw that the Lamanites’ army had come into the land.
7 And the king cried out in great fear: “Gideon, do not kill me, because the Lamanites are coming and they will destroy us. Yes, they will destroy my people.”
8 Now, the king did not care so much about his people as he did about his own life. Even so, Gideon did not kill him.
9 Then the king commanded the men to run away from the Lamanites, and he led the way. So they ran into the wilderness with their wives and children.
10 But the Lamanites ran after them and caught up with them, and began to kill them.
11 Then the king commanded all the men to leave their wives and children, and run away from the Lamanites.
12 There were many who would not leave them, but chose to stay and die with them. But the rest left their wives and children and ran away.
13 Those who stayed with their wives and children had their beautiful daughters beg the Lamanites not to kill them.
14 The Lamanites had mercy on them because of the beauty of the women.
15 So the Lamanites did not kill them, but took them back to the land of Nephi. The Lamanites said they could live there so long as they would bring King Noah to them, and give up half of everything they owned — half of all their gold and silver and riches. The Nephites would have to pay this to the king of the Lamanites every year.
16 He baptized everyone in this way who had gone to Mormon.. There were about two hundred and four people who were baptized in the Waters of Mormon, and who were filled with God’s grace.
17 Limhi did not want his father to be killed, but Limhi was righteous, and he knew all about his father’s sins.
18 Then Gideon sent men into the wilderness in secret to look for the king and those who were with him. Gideon’s men found all of them in the wilderness except for the king and his priests.
19 The men they found had promised in their hearts to go back to the land of Nephi. If their wives and children and those who had stayed behind had been killed, they had promised to get even and die with them.
20 The king commanded them not to go back, but they were so angry with him that they burned him to death.
21 Just as they were about to take the priests and kill them, the priests ran away.
22 Those men were just about to go back to the land of Nephi when they met Gideon’s men. Gideon’s men told them what had happened to their wives and children, and that the Lamanites would let them live in the land so long as they gave the Lamanites half of all they owned.
23 Those men told Gideon’s men that they had killed the king, and that his priests had run away from them even further into the wilderness.
24 When they were done telling their stories, they went back to the land of Nephi. They were very happy that their wives and children had not been killed, and they told Gideon what they had done to the king.
25 Then the Lamanite king promised them that his people would not kill them.
26 And Limhi, whom the people had chosen to be the new king, promised the Lamanite king that his people would pay him half of all they owned.
27 Then Limhi began to build up the kingdom and make peace among his people.
28 The Lamanite king put guards all around the land, so that Limhi’s people would stay and not escape into the wilderness. He paid his guards with part of what the Nephites paid to him.
29 King Limhi had peace in the land for two years, and the Lamanites did not hurt them nor try to destroy them.
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