Mosiah 7:1 And now it came to pass that after king Mosiah had had continual peace for the space of three years, he was desirous to know concerning the people which went up to dwell in the land of Lehi-Nephi, or in the city of Lehi-Nephi, for his people had heard nothing from them from the time they left the land of Zarahemla; therefore they wearied him with their teasings.
Mosiah 7:2 And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted that sixteen of their strong men might go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi to inquire concerning their brethren.
Mosiah 7:3 And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up, having with them one Ammon, he being a strong and mighty man and a descendant of Zarahemla; and he was also their leader.
Mosiah 7:4 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, even forty days did they wander.
Mosiah 7:5 And when they had wandered forty days, they came to a hill which is north of the land of Shilom, and there they pitched their tents.
Mosiah 7:6 And Ammon took three of his brethren—and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem—and they went down into the land of Nephi.
Mosiah 7:7 And behold, they met the king of the people which was in the land of Nephi and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by the king’s guard and was taken and was bound and was committed to prison.
Mosiah 7:8 And it came to pass when they had been in prison two days, they were again brought before the king and their bands were loosed; and they stood before the king and was permitted—or rather commanded—that they should answer the questions which he should ask them.
Mosiah 7:9 And he saith unto them: Behold, I am Limhi the son of Noah, which was the son of Zeniff, which came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inherit this land which was the land of their fathers, which was made a king by the voice of the people.
Mosiah 7:10 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.
Mosiah 7:11 And now for this cause have I suffered that ye should be preserved, that I might inquire of you; or else I should have caused that my guards should have put you to death. Ye are permitted to speak.
Mosiah 7:12 And now when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and bowed himself before the king; and rising again, he said: O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive and am permitted to speak. And I will endeavor to speak with boldness;
Mosiah 7:13 for I am assured that if ye had known me, ye would not have suffered that I should have wore these bands; for I am Ammon and am a descendant of Zarahemla and have come up out of the land of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren which Zeniff brought up out of that land.
Mosiah 7:14 And now it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceeding glad and said: Now I know of a surety that my brethren which was in the land of Zarahemla are yet alive. And now I will rejoice, and on the morrow I will cause that my people shall rejoice also.
Mosiah 7:15 For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites and are taxed with a tax which is grievious to be borne. And now behold, our brethren will deliver us out of our bondage, or out of the hands of the Lamanites. And we will be their slaves, for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.
Mosiah 7:16 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 which was north of Shilom and bring their brethren into the city, that thereby they might eat and drink and rest themselves from the labors of their journey, for they had suffered many things; they had suffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue.
Mosiah 7:17 And now it came to pass on the morrow that 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.
Mosiah 7:18 And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves together that he spake unto them in this wise, saying: O ye my people, lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand—or is not far distant—when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies; notwithstanding our many strugglings which have been in vain, yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.
Mosiah 7:19 Therefore 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, 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 and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.
Mosiah 7:20 And again, that same God hath brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem and hath kept and preserved his people even until now. And behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that has brought us into bondage.
Mosiah 7:21 And ye all are witnesses this day that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being overzealous 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 and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land, or even the city of Lehi-Nephi and the city of Shilom and the land round about--
Mosiah 7:22 and all this he done for the sole purpose of bringing this people into subjection or into bondage. And behold, we at this time do pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites to the amount of one half of our corn and our barley, and even all our grain of every kind, and one half of the increase of our flocks and our herds; and even one half of all we have or possess the king of the Lamanites doth exact of us—or our lives.
Mosiah 7:23 And now, is not this grievious to be borne? And is not this our afflictions great? Now behold, how great reason have we to mourn!
Mosiah 7:24 Yea, I say unto you: Great are the reasons which we have to mourn; for behold, how many of our brethren have been slain and their blood hath been spilt in vain—and all because of iniquity!
Mosiah 7:25 For if this people had not fallen into transgression, the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them. But behold, they would not hearken unto his words, but there arose contentions among them, even so much that they did shed blood among themselves.
Mosiah 7:26 And a prophet of the Lord have they slain—yea, a chosen man of God who told them of their wickedness and abominations and prophesied of many things which is to come, yea, even the coming of Christ.
Mosiah 7:27 And because he saith unto them that Christ was the God the Father of all things and saith that he should take upon him the image of man and it should be the image after which man was created in the beginning—or in other words, he said that man was created after the image of God and that God should come down among the children of men and take upon him flesh and blood and go forth upon the face of the earth--
Mosiah 7:28 and now because he said this, they did put him to death. And many more things did they do which brought down the wrath of God upon them. Therefore who wondereth that they are in bondage and that they are smitten with sore afflictions!
Mosiah 7:29 For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression, but I will hedge up their ways, that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them.
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…they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…
KJV Bible, 1769, Hosea 8:7
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Mosiah 7:30 And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness, they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effects thereof is poison.
Mosiah 7:31 And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness, they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction.
Mosiah 7:32 And now behold, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, and ye are smitten and afflicted.
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…full purpose of heart…
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Mosiah 7:33 But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart and put your trust in him and serve him with all diligence of mind—and if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.