Mosiah — Chapter 7
Chapters 7–22: The story of Zeniff’s people.
1 After King Mosiah had had peace for three years, he wanted to know what had happened to the people who had gone to live in the land or city of Lehi-Nephi. His people had not heard anything from them, and they kept asking King Mosiah to find out about them.
2 So King Mosiah sent sixteen strong men to the land of Lehi-Nephi to find out what had happened to their brothers and sisters.
3 They left the next day. Ammon, a strong man and a descendant of Zarahemla, was their leader.
4 They did not know which way to go to get to Lehi-Nephi, so they walked in the wilderness for forty days.
5 After forty days they came to a hill north of the land of Shilom, and they set up their tents there.
6 Then Ammon took three of his brothers, Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and went down to the land of Nephi.
7 They met the king of the land there, and the king’s guards took them, tied them up and threw them into prison.
8 After two days, they were untied and taken to see the king, and told to answer the king’s questions.
9 The king said to them: “I am Limhi, Noah’s son. Noah was Zeniff’s son. Zeniff came from the land of Zarahemla to live in this land, and the people made him their king.
10 “I want to know why you came so close to me while I was walking outside the city gates.
11 “I wanted to know this, which is why I kept my guards from killing you. You may speak now.”
12 Ammon bowed down before the king and said: “O king, I am thankful to God that I am alive, and that you will let me speak to you plainly.
13 “I think if you had known who we were, you would not have had us tied up. My name is Ammon, and I am a descendant of Zarahemla. We have come from the land of Zarahemla to find out what happened to our brothers and sisters whom Zeniff led away from that land.”
14 When Limhi heard this, he was very happy and said: “Now I know that my brothers and sisters in Zarahemla are still alive. This makes me very happy, and tomorrow I will tell my people so they will be happy, too.
15 “We are the Lamanites’ slaves, and they make us pay them many taxes. Your people will save us from being their slaves, and we will be your slaves, because it is better for us to be the Nephites’ slaves than to pay the Lamanites these taxes.”
16 Then King Limhi told his guards not to tie up Ammon or his brothers ever again. Then he told his guards to go to the hill north of Shilom and bring all of Ammon’s men to the city so they could eat and drink and sleep, because they were hungry and thirsty and tired from their travels.
17 The next day King Limhi told his people to come to the temple so he could talk to them.
18 After they gathered there, he said to them: “O my people, be happy and comforted, because soon we won’t be the Lamanites’ slaves anymore. We have fought to be free, and failed, but I think we may have to fight again.
19 “Be happy and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the God who led the children of Israel out of Egypt by having them walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and who fed them manna in the desert.
20 “That same God led our ancestors out of Jerusalem and has protected his people up to now. Our own sins and wickedness made us slaves.
21 “You here all know that King Zeniff was tricked by King Laman because Zeniff wanted so badly to live in his ancestors’ lands again. Laman gave him part of his land — the city of Lehi-Nephi, the city of Shilom, and the lands nearby.
22 “He did this so he could make us slaves. Now we have to give the king of the Lamanites half of everything we grow, and half of the animals born each year, or else they will kill us.
23 “Isn’t this a terrible thing? This makes us very sad.
24 “I tell you that we have many reasons to be sad. Think of how many of our people have been killed, and all because of wickedness.
25 “If this people had not sinned, the Lord would not have let these things happen to them. But they would not listen to his words, and they argued and fought and killed each other.
26 “They also killed one of God’s chosen prophets, who told them about their sins and wickedness. He prophesied about many things, and also about the coming of Christ.
27 “They killed him because he said that Christ was God, the Father of all things, and that God would come down and live with people. He said that God made people to look like him and that he would come down and live among them on earth.
28 “They killed him because he said this, and they did many other things which made God angry. This is why [we] are slaves and are treated badly by the Lamanites.
29 “The Lord said: ‘I will not help my people while they are sinning, but I will make it hard for them to prosper. Their own wickedness will keep them from prospering.’
30 “He also said: ‘If my people plant sin, they will harvest poison.’
31 “He also said: ‘If my people plant wickedness, they will harvest destruction.’
32 “Now we see that God’s promises have come true, and we are slaves, and treated badly.
33 “But if you turn back to God with all your hearts, and trust him, and serve him will all your minds, he will free you from slavery when the time is right.”
easyreadbkmormon.com 