[Emphasis on Economy]
16 The Book of Mormon tells us things we don’t like to be told. If it told us only what we wanted to hear, of course, we wouldn’t need it. But that’s the only part of the scriptures we are willing to accept. Well, here we go. Notice the last verse of chapter 6 before we get to chapter 7. What a strange economy this is. King Mosiah was king of Zarahemla, and he was a Nephite not a Zarahemlite. “And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth [I would say that was an agrarian society, wouldn’t you?]. And he also, himself, did till the earth [the king goes out and plows], that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that which his father had done in all things.” His father had done the same thing; he is keeping the rule his father laid down in all things. As we said last time, here you have the organic constitution of the land. The constitution of Benjamin and Mosiah remains right to the end, and the great rival to it, of course, is that of the Nehors. But here he did as his father had done in all things, including cultivating the earth. He wanted to be like him in that, too.
16,17 Mosiah 6:7 “And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years.” That’s as long as Benjamin was alive. Benjamin lived for three years [after Mosiah became king]. So what is going on here? What a strange economy this is in which everybody lives by the sweat of his brow. This was Adam’s economy, too. He didn’t live in the stock market; he lived by the sweat of his brow. But should the king be doing that sort of thing? Well, why not. That was Brigham Young’s ideal—everybody would spend two or three hours in the field a day. That would be plenty if we all worked. “Then we would have time to do the things for which we are here, namely improving our minds,” he said. That’s what we should be doing. But this was Adam’s economy—both in the garden, where he was told to dress and keep the garden, and out of the garden, where he was condemned to toil and sweat all the days of his life. By the sweat of his brow he would earn his living. Are there such societies? Well, yes. Anciently, the king always cultivated with everybody else.
19 Alma 1:32 This is the situation [personal greed to make money], so what do we get? Well, is this a Book of Mormon lesson? Yes, it is. We just look slightly ahead here to Alma. There’s a lot of this, but this is the nearest example. In Alma 1:32 you see the type of character this develops. They “did indulge themselves in sorceries [that’s a shortcut], and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings, and in envyings and strife [highly competitive—envy, strife, babblings, spreading the gossip around; you can injure a person that way]; wearing costly apparel [you must dress for success; what are they doing?]; being lifted up in the pride of their own eyes [as it said, the MBA’s are arrogant, ill-mannered, brash, impatient, and condescending; that’s pride of their own hearts]; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms [that’s on the side, but it’s de rigueur. It’s what you always get in the TV prime—time], and murdering, and all manner of wickedness.”
20 This is what the Book of Mormon is telling us about. Why all this emphasis on economy, etc.? It was never so in my day. We thought this was fantastic, long ago and far away. It was considered romantic. The missionaries always pushed the Book of Mormon as a romantic history and story of the Indians—that’s all. We never saw any connections at all in this stuff, but you see what it is now. Therefore, wo be to the generation that understands the Book of Mormon. So this is what we reach today—the point when the fruit is ripe. Is the cup full yet? Remember, the Lord said that he would let it go on until the end, until the fruit is ripe. Then there’s no point to letting it go on any longer; it will just rot after that. Or if the cup is full, it can’t be diluted or cleansed because it is full. You just have to empty. Then what will happen? “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the Second Coming.” They bought and sold, they married and gave in marriage, they ate and drank. Everything was normal; it was business as usual. Then in a single day, it hit them. The flood came. Not that there wasn’t preparation and warning before it—the prophets were yelling their heads off. But it will be this way, and this is what the Book of Mormon has to tell us.
20 So now we start out our story with chapter seven. This can be [confusing] if you try to trace these people around because later on in the account of Zenos there is a flashback. The whole story of King Noah, etc., all takes place long before this takes place. So it is not put in chronological order here. The person who wrote this had to be very careful. They were juggling plates and records, and the chance of getting things mixed up and using the wrong names, dates, and places, etc., is very great here. You have to sweat to unravel it, but Joseph Smith never missed a point. It was quite a performance!
20 King Mosiah sent some of his Mulekite subjects looking for what? They were looking for a colony that had gone out two generations earlier, not just before. That’s why they didn’t know where it was. Everybody was dead from that generation, and after they were out of sight who knew the direction they took? They [Mosiah’s group] got lost and couldn’t find this lost colony. They thought it would be a great thing because they remembered its being sent out. This idea of lost colonies is a common thing
21 Mosiah 7:2,4 Anyway, it says they couldn’t find [the colony]. Let’s see what it says about it. Verse 2: “King Mosiah granted that sixteen of their strong men might go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi.” They kept teasing him about it. This is tradition, and, of course, it’s romantic and exciting. Remember the great treasure hunting in Joseph Smith’s time. He was accused of being a treasure hunter because he dug for somebody who was a treasure hunter. Well, anyway these people wanted to go “up to the land of Lehi-Nephi, to inquire concerning their brethren.” That land of Lehi-Nephi wasn’t the place from which Mosiah had set forth, the land that Nephi went to because that migration was 460 years earlier. That had nothing to do with this; that was something else. This is called the city of Lehi-Nephi here. Their leader was Ammon. He was a “strong and mighty man, and a descendant of Zarahemla. So this was a Mulekite crowd that went. They didn’t know the course to take because it had been just about a hundred years before that this had happened. Verse 4: “And now, they knew not the course, they should travel in the wilderness to go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi; therefore, they wandered many days in the wilderness.
21,22 Mosiah 7:5 Anyway, they went to look for this place, and they couldn’t find it. They wandered all over the place for forty days, but they did find something. Notice the type of land they came to. Verse 5: “They came to a hill which is north of the land of Shilom, and there they pitched their tents.” It was pretty flat country, if the hill was a landmark, which it was we learn later on. “And Ammon took three of his brethren [with very interesting names], and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem.”
22 Mosiah 7:7 So we have these Mulekites going out looking for their brethren and lost and unable to find them. They “parked” near a hill, and he chose three of them to go down into town and meet the king. They met the king of the people, and they meant to meet him. They wanted to fall into his hands. They didn’t know it would be so unfavorably, but they had to take the risk. It shows that the king was offended here by what happened, because he said, how did you have the nerve when I was out scouting to come right up to my city? He could see them, and he took them in. They were captured on the spot. Of course, they were clever and wouldn’t have been taken otherwise. But see how it goes here. Verse 7: “And behold, they met the king of the people who were in the land of Nephi, and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by the king’s guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison.” Were they being very tactless and careless? No, he meant to see the king. That’s what he wanted to do. He had to get an introduction some way, as he tells us later on. After they were in prison two days, they were taken before the king. “They stood before the king, and were permitted, or rather commanded, that they should answer the questions which he should ask them.”
23 Mosiah 7:9 “And he said unto them: Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zarahemla.” Now here is another of those tricks, one of those micro—critical points. See, he is the third generation. He is Limhi, his father was Noah, and his grandfather was Zeniff.;
23,24 Unfortunately, they had moved right smack into Lamanite territory. The Lamanites had expanded at this time. Remember, they had all been here hundreds of years. There were only eleven years between their two migrations, and this was 460 years later. He “was made a king by the voice of the people.” Well, that was the Mulekite king, and that was the way the people had made Mosiah their king, even though he was a stranger. Well, kings were very often chosen, like George I and William I. He forced them to make him king, but there were others that were actually chosen. They came in and took over because people wanted them to be king.
24 Mosiah 7:10,12 “And now, I desire to know the cause whereby ye were so bold as to come near the walls of the city, when I, myself, was with my guards without the gate?” We were outside the gate on patrol, and you had the nerve to come near the walls. He wanted to get picked up at the point. The king didn’t see that at the time; it looked like pure insolence. They could have avoided him. Was it at night? If it wasn’t night, they were even more bold because they were quickly captured. It took no skill at all in that case. Verse 12: “And now, when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and bowed himself before the king [that’s exactly what he wanted].... For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would [you would have been glad to see me]. ... For I am Ammon [that good old name], and am a descendant of Zarahemla [a good old Mulekite name], and have come up out of the land of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren, whom Zeniff [ah,ha, the king’s grandfather] brought up out of that land.” That was Limhi’s grandfather, you see. “And now, it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceedingly glad [cousin, how are you feeling?], and said: Now, I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla are yet alive [again, if Zarahemla had been a mighty city at the time they left it, he wouldn’t be worrying whether they would survive or not; it was a very small affair, hanging on probably by the skin of their teeth]. And now, I will rejoice; and on the morrow I will cause that my people shall rejoice also.”
25,26 Mosiah 7:15,16 He [Limhi] was exceedingly glad. Verse 15: “For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites.” See, they walked into a Lamanite trap. The Lamanite king welcomed them in with open arms and sold them the land. He settled them down in this beautiful acreage, and immediately they were paying for it through the nose all the rest of their days. It happens, you see, “for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.” See, they knew that these people were sent out by a King Mosiah and they represented the Nephites. Mosiah brought quite a crowd with him, too. Though Zarahemla was a Miilekite city, it had a Nephite government. They recognized the superiority of the Nephites. This is a very common thing when you have two civilizations come together. The superior one takes over, and sometimes it’s just understood. There were the Norman French and the [Angles] and Saxons in England. Verse 16: “And now, king Limhi commanded his guards that they should no more bind Ammon nor his brethren, but caused that they should go to the hill and bring their brethren into the city.” You see what kind of country it was because they had been there waiting and wondering what happened to the four men who disappeared. “They had suffered hunger and thirst and fatigue.” They were looking around for something to eat and for water; they were thirsty. It was a lush jungle with plenty of fruits growing. It may have been pretty far north—like the territory in central Mexico or something like that. The whole scene reminds us very much of a Pueblo Indian society. They have real settlements, permanent cities. “King Limhi sent a proclamation among all his people, that thereby they might gather themselves together to the temple to hear the words which he should speak unto them.” The king is the chief. They use the words interchangeably; it doesn’t make any difference here. And, of course, the temple is the center of everything. That’s the kiva, and it’s a real temple. The temples of the Hopis are built like the temples of South America. They have stairways going up on either side. The best ones are in Hotevilla. Everything takes place there [in the temple]. It would really quite surprise you if you go sometime. There is the first spring festival on March 15 which is all at night by moonlight. It exactly follows the Egyptian rites of the same time. The Havawuhti comes out, and the men march on either side of her. They have the whips and all the rest of it. It’s amazing the way these things go. They are a highly developed civilization.
26 Mosiah 7:18 So they gathered themselves together. The king gave them a speech and told them what was happening here. “O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted [our brethren are still existing].... Lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob [they are going to celebrate and dance]; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground.” They knew these traditions if only because King Benjamin, who was a Nephite, had a long reign and taught the people. He was a great antiquarian and forced his sons to learn Egyptian. They would know that anyway as people living east of Jordan. “It is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage [that’s the old story]. And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being overzealous [he is going to tell us his story a little later on; it was his greed here] to inherit the land of his fathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king Laman, who having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff [he sized it up; they made a treaty and he signed on the bottom line], and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land.” He gave him part of the land called the land of Lehi-Nephi. Notice that they were city states, the land or the city of Lehi-Nephi. Every city or village had its surroundings. That was the city state of antiquity until the time of Lehi, when they broke up and became more like empires. One overtook the other. It’s exactly in the time of Lehi that we find all this expansiveness, all this colonizing and exploring. This is the tradition here. “And all this he did, for the sole purpose of bringing this people into bondage.” He had a clever plan. Just like the sharecroppers, they got half of it and then were stuck for the rest of their lives—a treaty and a trick.
27 Mosiah 7:24,26 So they [the people of King Limhi] had to pay him [the Lamanite king] one half of their corn and one half of all they had. Verse 24: “... how many of our brethren have been slain, and their blood has been spilt in vain, and all because of iniquity.” They rebelled against them and tried to get free, but it didn’t work. Because of their iniquity the Lord was going to keep them in bondage. “There arose contentions among them, even so much that they did shed blood among themselves.” They started shedding blood among themselves, and this is the old story. This is the story of the Indians also. After it is peaceful, they all start fighting each other. They have tribal wars and contentions among themselves and shed blood. “And a prophet of the Lord have they slain ... because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of all things [well, why would he do a thing like that?] and said that God should come down among the children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood.” When Jesus said that, they stoned him, too. Was that enough provocation? Oh yes, it was enough provocation. You’ve got to watch yourself, you see.
27 A person who shows the slightest sign of dissension or disagreement is in real trouble [in certain types of societies]. Well, [if a] prophet went around yelling about things, [he would be put] out of the way. People are being punished for it [that kind of behavior]. Verse 30: “And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison.” That’s pollution, this fllthiness. It’s an Old Testament expression, “and they shall reap the east wind.”
28 Mosiah 8 “And he caused that Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and rehearse unto them all that had happened unto their brethren.” He told the story of how they went up out of the land, and they both compared records and compared their stories of what had been going on since. And he told them the last words of King Benjamin, which were very important “so that they might understand all the words which he spake.” So he gave them the laws that Benjamin laid down. Of course, his father, Mosiah, was a great lawgiver, too. As I said, these [laws] became the basic teachings, the “standard work” for these people. Then King Limhi dismissed the multitude that everyone should go to his home. Notice, it is by families, and they all went to their homes. That’s an interesting thing, too. Although societies like the Hopis are very communal and share everything they have—so they will all [survive] they have to—they are very family conscious. They divide into the seven clans. They have clans and groups and belong to clubs which are secret and have their own signs, symbols, etc. Then you have the whole group, and there are very strong feelings among separate tribes and nations there. Read the next chapter and see what happens. Then it gets into the record of Zeniff which is a flashback. Zeniff takes us way back to the time of King Noah. Zeniff was his father, and he was a terrible man. Noah was one of the worst characters in the Book of Mormon, and Zeniff was a great man. So that goes to show you never know.