Mosiah — Chapter 21
1 Then Limhi and his people came back to the city of Nephi and lived there again in peace.
2 But after many days, the Lamanites got angry with the Nephites again and came into the borders of the land.
3 The Lamanites were afraid to kill them because of the promise their king had made to Limhi, but they hit them on their cheeks and pushed them around. They made them work very hard and treated them like animals.
4 All this happened just as the Lord had said.
5 Now the Nephites’ troubles were very great. There was no way they could get away from the Lamanites, because the Lamanites were all around them.
6 Then the people complained about their troubles to the king. They wanted to fight. They complained so much to the king that he said they could do what they wanted.
7 So they gathered themselves together again, and put on their armor, and went to chase the Lamanites out of their lands.
8 But the Lamanites beat them, and chased them back, and killed many of them.
9 Now Limhi’s people were very sad. Wives were sad about losing their husbands; sons and daughters were sad about losing their fathers; and brothers and sisters were sad about losing their brothers.
10 There were many widows in the land, and they cried all day, day after day, because they were so afraid of the Lamanites.
11 Their crying made the rest of Limhi’s people so angry that they went to fight the Lamanites again, but they were beaten again, and many were killed.
12 Yes, they even tried a third time, and the same thing happened. Those who were not killed went back to the city of Nephi.
13 They made themselves as humble as the dust. They became slaves and let themselves be hit. They were made to go here and there, and carry things like donkeys, and do whatever their enemies wanted.
14 They became very humble, and they prayed strongly to God all day long to save them from their troubles.
15 The Lord was slow to listen to them because of their sins. But he began to listen to their prayers, and to make the Lamanites’ hearts softer, so they would not make the Nephites work so hard. But the Lord did not save them from slavery.
16 They began to prosper again little by little, and grew more grain and raised more flocks and herds, so they did not go hungry.
17 There were many more women than men, so King Limhi commanded every man to help the widows and children so they would not die of hunger. They had to do this because of the many men who had been killed.
18 Limhi’s people stayed together as much as they could, and kept their grain and flocks close to them.
19 Limhi took guards with him when he walked outside the city walls, in case the Lamanites caught him.
20 He had his people watch for the priests who had run away into the wilderness, and stolen the Lamanites’ daughters, and caused so much destruction.
21 They wanted to catch them and punish them, because they would come into the land of Nephi at night and take away their grain and many of their riches. So they watched for them.
22 There was no more trouble between the Lamanites and Limhi’s people until the time Ammon and his brothers came into the land.
23 The king had found Ammon and his brothers while outside the city gates. He thought they were Noah’s priests, so he had them tied up and thrown into prison. If they had been Noah’s priests, he would have had them killed.
24 But when he found out they were not Noah’s priests, but his brothers from the land of Zarahemla instead, he was filled with great joy.
25 Before Ammon came, King Limhi had sent a small group of men to look for the land of Zarahemla, but they could not find it, and got lost in the wilderness.
26 But they did find a land that people had lived in before, and the land had dry bones all over it. Yes, this land had had people in it who had been destroyed, and Limhi’s men thought it was the land of Zarahemla. So they came back to the land of Nephi not long before Ammon came.
27 They brought with them a record they had found in the land of dry bones. It was written on metal plates.
28 Limhi was filled with joy again when he learned from Ammon that King Mosiah had a gift from God to be able to read the writing, and Ammon was happy, too.
29 But Ammon and his brothers were very sad because of all their brothers who had been killed.
30 They were sad that King Noah and his priests had made the people do so many evil things against God, and they were sad about Abinadi’s death. They were sad that Alma had gone away and had taken the people with him who had joined God’s church (which had been built by God’s power and by their faith in what Abinadi had said).
31 Yes, they were sad not to know where Alma’s people had gone. Now Limhi’s people would have been happy to go with them, because they had made a promise to God to serve him and keep his commandments.
32 After Ammon came, King Limhi and many of his people also promised to serve God and keep his commandments.
33 King Limhi and many of his people wanted to be baptized, but there was no one in the land with power from God to do it. Ammon would not do it, because he did not think he was worthy.
34 So they did not build up a church at that time, but waited on the Spirit of the Lord. They wanted very much to be like Alma and his brothers and sisters, who had gone away into the wilderness.
35 They wanted to be baptized to show they would serve God with all their hearts, but they still waited. (I will tell you about their baptism later.)
36 Now all that Ammon and his people, and all that King Limhi and his people thought about was how to get away from the Lamanites and not be slaves anymore.
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