THE BONDAGE OF THE PEOPLE OF LIMHI--AN EXPEDITION NORTH--FINDING
OF THE JAREDITE RECORDS--THE ARRIVAL OF AMMON--THE PEOPLE OF LIMHI
ESCAPE--THE PURSUIT--THE AMULONITES--THE PEOPLE OF ALMA--THEY ARE
BROUGHT INTO BONDAGE--THEIR DELIVERANCE.
(MOSIAH CHAP. 21 to 24.)
After a time the Lord softened the hearts of the Lamanites so that
they began to ease the burdens of their slaves, but he did not at
once deliver the Nephites out of bondage. They, however, gradually
prospered, and raised more grain, flocks and herds, so that they did
not suffer with hunger.
The people of Limhi kept together as much as possible for protection.
Even the king did not trust himself outside the walls of the city
without his guards, lest he might fall into the hands of the Lamanites.
In this sad condition of bondage and serfdom the people of Limhi had
one hope. It was to communicate with their Nephite friends in the land
of Zarahemla. To this end Limhi secretly fitted out an expedition
consisting of a small number of men. This company became lost in the
wilderness, and traveled a long distance northward until they found
a land covered with the dry bones of men who appeared to have fallen
in battle. Limhi's people thought this must be the land of Zarahemla
and that their Nephite brethren who dwelt there had been destroyed.
But in this they were wrong, for they found with the dead some records
engraved on plates of ore, which, when afterwards translated by the
power of God, showed that these bones were those of some of the
Jaredites who had been slain in war.
[Illustration: DISCOVERY OF THE RECORDS OF THE JAREDITES.]
They missed the land of Zarahemla, having probably traveled to the west
of it and passed northward through the Isthmus of Panama.
Shortly after this a small company numbering sixteen men reached them
from Zarahemla. Their leader's name was Ammon. He had been sent by king
Mosiah to the land of Nephi to find out what had become of the people,
or their descendants, who left with Zeniff. When Ammon and those that
were with him reached Lehi-Nephi, king Limhi happened to be without the
walls of the city, and his guards fancying that Ammon and his friends
were some of the priests of Noah took them and put them in prison. The
next day the mistake was discovered, and Limhi and his people were
overjoyed to hear from their friends. Soon plans were laid to effect
the escape of the enslaved Nephites, which, under the guidance of
Limhi, Ammon and Gideon, was successfully accomplished. The Lamanite
guards were made drowsy with a large present of wine, and while they
were in this drunken stupor, the people of Limhi escaped through an
unfrequented pass, taking with them such things as they could safely
carry away. They were then led by Ammon to Zarahemla.
When the Lamanites found, to their great surprise, that their bond
servants had escaped, they sent an army after them. It so happened that
these troops lost themselves in the wilderness. Whilst traveling hither
and thither, not knowing which way to go, they came across the priests
of king Noah. These priests, at the instigation of Amulon, their
leader, joined the Lamanite troops, and they unitedly endeavored to get
back to the land of Nephi. While thus engaged, they wandered near the
city of Helam.
When the people of Alma first perceived the approach of this body of
men, they were engaged in tilling the soil around their city, into
which they immediately fled in great fear. In this perilous hour the
faith and courage of Alma were conspicuous. He gathered his people
around him, called upon them to cast aside their unsaintly fears, and
to remember the God who had ever delivered those who trusted in him.
The words of their leader had the desired effect; the people silenced
their fears and called mightily upon the Lord to soften the hearts of
the Lamanites that they might spare their lives and those of their
wives and little ones. Then, with the assurance in their hearts that
God would hearken unto their prayers, Alma and his brethren went forth
out of their city and delivered themselves up to their former foes.
The Lamanites were in a dilemma, therefore they were profuse in
promises. They were willing to grant the people of Helam their lives
and liberty if they would show them the way to the land of Nephi.
Having obtained this information and reached home in safety, they
broke their promises and made Amulon the king over a wide district of
country, including the land of Helam.
Alma and Amulon had known each other in the days when they both
belonged to king Noah's priesthood, and with the venom so often
conspicuous in apostates, the latter soon commenced to persecute
those who were faithful to the Lord. He placed task-masters over
them, imposed inhuman burdens upon them, and otherwise afflicted them
grievously.
In their agony they called continually upon the Lord for deliverance.
Their prayers annoyed their cruel masters and they were forbidden to
pray aloud; but no tyrants, however powerful or cruel, could prevent
them praying in their hearts. This the people of Alma continued to do
most fervently, and in due time, though not immediately, deliverance
came. In the meanwhile the Lord comforted and strengthened them in
their afflictions, so that their burdens were easily borne.
The time for their deliverance finally came, for on a certain day the
Lord promised them that he would deliver them on the morrow. The night
was occupied in getting their flocks and provisions together, and
preparing for their journey. In the morning, when their Lamanite guards
and task-masters were in a deep sleep, they set out on their journey
into the wilderness. After traveling all day they pitched their tents
in a valley which they named Alma. The Lord warned Alma to hasten out
of this country, for the Lamanites were in pursuit, but he said he
would stop them in the valley where Alma was then camped. Alma and his
company traveled yet twelve days, at the end of which time they arrived
in Zarahemla. This, with the eight days occupied in traveling from the
waters of Mormon to the land of Helam, makes twenty-one days' travel
from Lehi-Nephi[5] to Zarahemla.
Amulon and the priests of Noah, possibly because of their Lamanitish
wives, soon gained great favor with king Laman and were made teachers
to his people. Educated in the language of the Nephites, they began
to instruct the Lamanites therein. They, however, taught the people
nothing of the religion of their fathers, or of the law of Moses, but
instructed them how to keep their records, and to write one to another.
All this time king Laman ruled over a numerous people, inhabiting
distant regions, governed by tributary kings and rulers. Having no
written standard, the language of the Lamanites had become greatly
corrupted. The coming of the priests of Noah among them gave rise to
the introduction of a higher civilization. As a result, they increased
in wealth; and trade and commerce extended among them. They became
cunning and wise, and therefore powerful, but were still addicted to
robbery and plunder, except among themselves.
FOOTNOTE:
[5] To prevent confusion in the minds of our readers, we desire to draw
attention to the fact that the city of Lehi-Nephi and the city of Nephi
are not two separate cities, but one and the same city with two names.