Mosiah 12

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 6/20 Green 3/21 orange 6/22  Brown 2023.)

Chapter 12

Abinadi is imprisoned for prophesying the destruction of the people and the death of King Noah—The false priests quote the scriptures and pretend to keep the law of Moses—Abinadi begins to teach them the Ten Commandments. About 148 B.C.

  1 And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, I wonder what his disguise was? I don’t think they had things like wigs and sunglasses. Maybe he shaved or grew a beard and mustache; different clothes or head wrap? that they knew him not, and began to ^aprophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying—Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words; they have repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will ^bvisit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce anger will I visit them in their iniquities and abominations. What good is a disguise if you say your name and you say the same things you said 2 years ago? Won’t they immediately know who you are? Was the disguise just to get in the city? 
1. Hardened hearts against God's word
2. Don't repent - evidence hearts are hard
THEN:
God visits you IN your iniquity and abomination Noticing they had 2 years after Abinadi’s first preaching to heed his warning.
  2 Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand Is this significant or just an expression...and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into ^abondage, and shall be smitten on the ^bcheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their ^cflesh. Bondage and/or death! This sounds like a decree, not a warning anymore. 
  3 And it shall come to pass that the ^alife of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot ^bfurnace; for he shall know that I am the Lord. Is this a prophecy or a declaration?
  4 And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with ^apestilence; and I will cause that they shall ^bhowl all the day long. Part of acknowledging God's hand in all things is accepting that "natural" afflictions are or can be from Him and not "just nature".
  5 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have ^aburdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be driven before like a dumb ass.
  6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth ^ahail among them, and it shall smite them; and they shall also be smitten with the ^beast wind; and ^cinsects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain. I think I heard once that the “east wind” is the one that brings no rain.
  7 And they shall be smitten with a great pestilence—and all this will I do because of their ^ainiquities and abominations. It’s amazing to read of ALL the judgments. One kind would be enough suffering, but all of it? Bondage, death, famine, bugs and rodents, hail, no rain for crops or to drink...nothing about this is something a person could escape the effects of.
  8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly ^adestroy them from off the face of the earth; a lot of people reading these cursings would hope to die, but part of the cursing is that most don’t die, for God is trying to bring you to humility so you will repent. yet they shall leave a ^brecord behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things did Abinadi prophesy against this people. Pretty clear warning. I wonder what other things he prophesied... And who is this record left for? US! This will be OUR fate if we don’t learn from them. This is the testimony they left for us.
  9 And it came to pass that they were angry with him; and they took him and carried him bound before the king, and said unto the king: Behold, we have brought a man before thee who has prophesied evil concerning thy people, and saith that God will destroy them.
 10 And he also prophesieth evil concerning thy ^alife, and saith that thy life shall be as a garment in a furnace of fire.
 11 And again, he saith that thou shalt be as a stalk, even as a dry stalk of the field, which is run over by the beasts and trodden under foot.
 12 And again, he saith thou shalt be as the blossoms of a thistle, which, when it is fully ripe, if the wind bloweth, it is driven forth upon the face of the land. And he pretendeth the Lord hath spoken it. And he saith all this shall come upon thee except thou repent, and this because of thine iniquities.
 13 And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, These are Nephites. They know full well what sins they have committed that we should be ^acondemned of God or judged of this man? They seem to focus on Abinidi’s prophecies about the king more than the people, as if they hope to upset him by making him feel personally attacked. 
 14 And now, O king, behold, we are ^aguiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has ^blied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain.
 15 And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper. Be careful to not equate prosperity to righteousness. It can be, but it can also be a chain forged to bring you into captivity.
 16 Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good.
 17 And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be cast into prison; and he commanded that the ^apriests should gather themselves together that he might hold a council with them what he should do with him. Interesting that the people didn’t just kill him instead of bringing him to the king. Did they want the king to be accountable to God...just in case what Abinadi was saying was true? Why did the king call the priests in council? Did the king want to shift accountability to them...just in case there was truth to Abinadi’s prophesies?
 18 And it came to pass that they said unto the king: Bring him hither that we may question him; and the king commanded that he should be brought before them.
 19 And they began to question him, that they might cross him, that thereby they might have wherewith to ^aaccuse him; but he answered them boldly, and withstood all their questions, yea, to their astonishment; for he did ^bwithstand them in all their questions, and did confound them in all their words. I want to have this kind of courage and confidence that I could confound my enemies. This is evidence that God has your back. Satan, clearly, does not have theirs. And in a contest between the two, God will always win. I wonder if the king/priests needed to hear Abinadi's words for themselves before they would feel justified in killing him.
 20 And it came to pass that one of them said unto him: ^aWhat meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying: Oh...mistake number one for you guys: Never bring up your righteous fathers or the scriptures and think you’ll win a debate with Abinadi.
 21 ^aHow beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him ^bthat bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;
 22 ^aThy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion; Who brings Zion? The Lord! Were they wondering about who this watchman would be and when Zion would come? 
 23 Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;
 24 The Lord hath made bare his holy ^aarm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God? If the prophet is the "arm" then he will be seen by all (thru technology). If Pres. Nelson ends COVID or whatever is plaguing the earth at the time he does it, he will be showing them the salvation of God is in Jesus Christ. So....this didn’t happen. Next opportunity may be when all the world is dying from the “solution” and the prophet raises the “brass serpent” for people to look to and be healed. The people are dying now with increasing numbers. No brass serpent yet....
Look at all the Book of Mormon references to this phrase. We should know what this means as well.

1 Nephi 22:10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make ^abare his arm in the eyes of the nations.11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the ^anations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.

Mosaiah 15:31 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the ^asalvation of our God.

3 Nephi 16:20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.

3 Nephi 20:35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.40 And then shall they say: ^aHow beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that ^bpublisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!

D&C 133:2 The Lord who shall suddenly ^acome to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon the world with a curse to ^bjudgment; yea, upon all the nations that ^cforget God, and upon all the ungodly among you.3 For he shall make ^abare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the ^bsalvation of their God.

25 And now Abinadi said unto them: Are you ^apriests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean?
26 I say unto you, wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the Lord! For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them; what would be the evidence among the people if they were taught and correctly understood this passage? What would we be like if we understood it? Why did Mormon include this passage? He could have summarized...therefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord.
 27 Ye have not applied your ^ahearts to ^bunderstanding; therefore, ye have not been wise. Therefore, what teach ye this people? Maybe meaning, "If you haven't taught "this"...then what have you been teaching? Why did the priests choose this passage of scripture? What does it mean to “apply your heart to understanding”? 
 28 And they said: We teach the law of Moses. Crazy to think these people still teach the law of Moses and have a form of religion but are feeling so justified in their sins. (Calling evil good and good evil). Have they really been so blinded that they really think they haven’t done anything to warrant to outright smack they are getting from the Lord? That’s pretty blind...
 29 And again he said unto them: If ye teach the ^alaw of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon ^briches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and ^cspend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people? Here are their sins. They seek riches (we do that); they commit whoredoms and spend their time with harlots (which means prostitution - our world has a major problem with pornography, even in the church); cause this people to commit sin (do they do that by incorrectly teaching them and setting a bad example for them?)
 30 Know ye not that I speak the ^atruth? Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God. I love that they really did know the truth but denied it openly. Peer pressure? 
 31 And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities, for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? ^aDoth salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye? Here is a tactic for talking with “the other side”. Ask them questions back. 
 32 And they answered and said that salvation did come by the law of Moses. So they believe in the scriptures and salvation and God?
 33 But now Abinadi said unto them: I know if ye ^akeep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of ^bSinai, saying:
 34 ^aI am the Lord thy God, who hath ^bbrought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Remember what God has done for you. Even though he didn’t free these Nephites from Egypt, God freed their ancestors and they are blessed through that miracle. We should count God’s blessings to our ancestors as blessings we should still be grateful for. 
 35 Thou shalt have no ^aother God before me. They had made their riches and themselves their God.
 36 ^aThou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing in heaven above, or things which are in the earth beneath. They worshiped the works of their own hands.
 37 Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. And have ye ^ataught this people that they should do all these things? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. Noticing he did not interpret the scripture they put forth to him.

Mosiah 11

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 6/20 Green 3/21 orange 6/22 Brown 2023.)

Chapter 11

King Noah rules in wickedness—He revels in riotous living with his wives and concubines—Abinadi prophesies that the people will be taken into bondage—His life is sought by King Noah. About 160–150 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father. What is Noah’s “story”? Why did he rebel against his father’s teachings?
  2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and ^aconcubines. And he did ^bcause his people to commit sin, and do that which was ^cabominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit ^dwhoredoms and ^eall manner of wickedness. How it grieves the hearts of parents when their children do not learn from their teachings and good examples and do not choose to follow God.  Apparently the “desires” of his own heart were about sex. The Law of Chastity is a Terrestrial law. No wonder people struggle with it here on this telestial planet. How did Noah “cause” his people to commit sin? 
  3 And he laid a ^atax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ^bziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.  A fifth is 20%. I think our taxes are that high, at least...if you add gas tax, property tax, sales tax, income tax, it is probably higher than that! Interesting that he taxes them and then the Lamanites come in and tax them 50%. Serves them right...
  4 And all this did he take to ^asupport himself, and his wives and his ^bconcubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom. One wicked leader can cause so much to change! Our new “president” is single-handedly changing the affairs of our land (although he is definitely not doing it alone!) 
  5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ^aones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts. Surround yourself with like-minded people. Satan does, and he can only counterfeit truth, so if he’s doing it, he’s counterfeiting what God’s side is/should be doing it. 
  6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity. The people went along with all this change and taxation and wickedness in their leaders? One way to read this is “thus did the people work really hard to pay their taxes and all those taxes were used to support wickedness.” Another way to read it is, “and thus the people willingly worked hard to support iniquity because they agreed with it and wanted to promote it. I want to believe its’ the first, but it says the people all partook of these same sins, so it may well be the latter. Why would they support having their taxes support these wicked leaders? Because they didn’t want to hear what they were doing themselves was wrong. It’s happening today. The whole Democratic platform is supporting agendas that those people want declared “normal” and they want preferential treatment for their sinful desires. 
  7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them. What were these flattering words? How about a counterfeit of God’s words - “you get to choose” is twisted to mean “whatever you choose is right and should have no consequence”; “God created our bodies” is twisted to “So...you should enjoy them to their fullest capacity”. etc...\
  8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; God has elegant and spacious temples. Why? Is it our symbol of worship to give God the finest of what is His anyway? Is it to set those buildings apart from all our homes and businesses? Is it for us to have our desires pointed to wanting to dwell with God in his abundance? What is Satan’s counterfeit? He has man build elegant and spacious buildings as a monument to themselves with a false sense of their ownership. They don’t understand that they may enjoy it here for a moment, but not for eternity and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of ^aprecious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
  9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
 10 And he also caused Did he have slaves? that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the ^atemple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass. Notice his palace had gold and silver and the temple fine wood and copper and brass. This is quite a statement right there! Mormon makes a point of sharing the details of this for our benefit. What are you seeing?
 11 And the seats which were set apart for the ^ahigh priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people. This is a warning to us in our day. Beware of LYING and vain words from the government. Do you hear this? They LIE to serve THEMSELVES. Don’t be so gullible!
 12 And it came to pass that he built a ^atower near the temple;  Is he counterfeiting being a “watchman on a tower”? Is he only “near” the temple because God is showing the people he has no real authority? yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of ^bShilom, and also the land of ^cShemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.
 13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the ^ahill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they ^bfled out of the land; This is when Mosiah fled with some people and the found the land of Zarahemla and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people. Notice Noah had no wealth from his own works. He “took from the poor to make himself rich”. 
 14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in ^ariotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots. What is wrong with these women who agree to be used by these men in this way? At this point, Noah would certainly argue that "wickedness was happiness"...
 15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine-presses, and made ^awine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people. Alcohol is a big factor in keeping this all going. You have to be drunk to dull your sense and your conscience all the time and you need to keep your people drunk too. 
 16 And it came to pass that the Lamanites began to come in upon his people, upon small numbers, and to slay them in their fields, and while they were tending their flocks.
17 And king Noah sent guards round about the land to keep them off; but he did not send a sufficient number, and the Lamanites came upon them and killed them, and drove many of their flocks out of the land; thus the Lamanites began to destroy them, and to exercise their hatred upon them. This is a reminder that these wicked people are Nephites. They have a righteous heritage but they have left it completely. 
 18 And it came to pass that king Noah sent his armies against them, and they were driven back, or they drove them back for a time; therefore, they returned rejoicing in their spoil. This is Satan’s counterfeit. He’s “pretending” to support these people and propping themselves up as being superior, and not needing God to fight their battles. 
 19 And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did ^aboast in their own strength, saying that their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites; and thus they did boast, and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests. While this king and these priests gloried in their power and control and laziness, they will also have to answer for all the wickedness done in their name. Oh how they will weep and wail and mourn!
 20 And it came to pass that there was a man among them This is the first we hear of Abinadi whose name was ^aAbinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord—Wo be unto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will ^bvisit them in mine anger. God raised up a prophet to speak for Him. We have a prophet. When will God open his mouth to warn the world of their wickedness? I just want to hear him say, “thus smith the Lord”...Maybe God will "raise up" another prophet to preach repentance to the world; not to replace the President of the Church... just another prophet, like Lehi was a prophet alongside Jeremiah and others.
 21 And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into ^abondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies. These people were quite deep in their iniquity, but God is still giving them a chance to turn back. The warning for us? If we don’t turn back we’ll be attacked by Russia/China/Isis (our enemies) and we’ll go into bondage and suffer much at their hands. I think Isaiah prophesies this happens
 22 And it shall come to pass that they shall ^aknow that I am the Lord their God, and am a ^bjealous God, visiting the iniquities of my people. When will God bare his arm and show US that HE is the Lord our God? When will we be warned that judgment is coming because of our iniquities? Remember, this warning is not to the Lamanites to repent, but to the Nephites. Will the warning in our day be to the Latter Day Saints as well? 
 23 And it shall come to pass that except this people repent and turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage; and none shall ^adeliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God. Once you are in bondage because of sin, only God can deliver you. Repent...or get comfortable in chains. 
 24 Yea, and it shall come to pass that when they shall ^acry unto me I will be ^bslow to hear their cries; yea, and I will suffer them that they be smitten by their enemies. We have plenty of examples where God runs to us and blesses us with mercy immediately when we turn to Him. But this is teaching that if we are only turning because we are suffering and not because we are really sorry, THEN he will be slow to hear us and we’ll continue to suffer until our sorrow is genuine. 
 25 And except they repent in ^asackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God, I will not ^bhear their prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions; and thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me. Remember these were Nephites who knew of God and His loving mercies and deliverance of even their own recent fathers under Zeniff, their king's own father. It wasn't that long ago. They were accountable.
 26 Now it came to pass that when Abinadi had spoken these words unto them they were wroth with him, and sought to take away his life; but the Lord ^adelivered him out of their hands. I want to trust that God will always deliver those who are faithful to Him out of the hands of the enemy unless it is their mission to die a martyr.
 27 Now when king Noah had heard of the words which Abinadi had spoken unto the people, he was also wroth; and he said: ^aWho is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him, or ^bwho is the Lord, that shall bring upon my people such great affliction? And who are YOU, Noah? He is really feeling invincible right now. Look how much he’s gotten away with? Look how much power he has over the people and even the Lamanites? Look at all his wealth, and buildings, and women...all he has desired he’s received. Who is it that thinks they can stop him? If there is a God, why didn’t he stop him earlier, he thinks... and what could a simple man with no power or money possibly do to hurt him? Those in power today must be feeling the same power and arrogance.
 28 I command you to bring Abinadi hither, that I may slay him, for he has said these things that he might ^astir up my people to anger one with another, and to raise contentions among my people; therefore I will slay him. Of course he accuses him of the only thing he ever does himself! Was Abinadi having influence on some people that they were starting to contend with others?
 29 Now the eyes of the people were ^ablinded; therefore they ^bhardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi, and they sought from that time forward to take him. And king Noah hardened his heart against the word of the Lord, and he did not repent of his evil doings. Even though king Noah had a hard heart God still tried to reclaim it. Warning: Corrupt leaders can BLIND you and that blindness can HARDEN your heart against those who speak truth. You know this is happening if you feel the “justified” need to silence those who are speaking out against you. 

Mosiah 10

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 6/20 3/21 orange 6/22 Brown 2023)

Chapter 10

King Laman dies—His people are wild and ferocious and believe in false traditions—Zeniff and his people prevail against them. About 187–160 B.C.

  1 And it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom and we again began to possess the land in peace. And I caused that there should be ^aweapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people.
  2 And I set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us; and thus I did guard my people and my flocks, and keep them from falling into the hands of our enemies. Once the Lamanites evil intentions were revealed, the Nephites went into 'defense' mode and set up protections and guards and actively looked for where the threats were likely to come in. Do we do the same? Or do we trust too much in our own strength? You could say that they should have had guards right when they moved in, because they were in Lamanite territory. We are also in the enemy territory. Do we have our guards up? 
  3 And it came to pass that we did inherit the land of our fathers for many years, yea, for the space of twenty and two years. That's a good amount of time that their defensive actions protected them, and of course, their obedience.
  4 And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all manner of ^agrain and all manner of fruit of every kind.
  5 And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work, and work all manner of fine linen, yea, and ^acloth of every kind, that we might clothe our nakedness;  here’s some gender roles for you....and thus we did prosper in the land—thus we did have continual peace in the land for the space of twenty and two years.
  6 And it came to pass that king ^aLaman died, and his son began to reign in his stead. And he began to stir his people up in rebellion against my people; therefore they began to prepare for war, and to come up to battle against my people. King Laman must have been intimidated by their loss and changed his plans to make them slaves. Apparently couldn't convince his son to forget about it.
  7 But I had sent my spies out round about the land of ^aShemlon, that I might discover their preparations, that I might guard against them, that they might not come upon my people and destroy them. Again we are taught the importance of discovering the secret intentions of the enemy so that we may guard against them. Our enemies today are certainly spying on us. How do we spy on them?
  8 And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land of Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men ^aarmed with ^bbows, and with arrows, and with swords, and with cimeters, and with stones, and with slings; and they had their heads shaved that they were naked; and they were girded with a leathern girdle about their loins.
  9 And it came to pass that I caused that the women and children of my people should be hid in the wilderness; and I also caused that all my old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were able to bear arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle against the Lamanites; and I did place them in their ranks, every man according to his age. Here is where I would be so grateful I was a woman...
 10 And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and I, even I, in my old age, did go up to battle against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the ^astrength of the Lord to battle. One can go in the strength of the Lord when you are confident that you have been doing His will. I love how he protected the women and children and put the men in ranks by age. I imagine the strongest were in front and the weakest in back... I also love how he himself, went to battle. In our day, the president and even war generals just sits in his guarded mansion while others go put their lives on the line.
 11 Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the ^astrength of men. We must always remember that the strength of the Lord always outdoes the strength of men, no matter their size or number!
 12 They were a ^awild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the ^btradition of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were ^cwronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea; This is the same thing happening in our day with people who are black carrying forward and on the injustice of those of their skin color who were slaves. They hate all white people because of what happened 250 years ago...But they are blind to the truth of so many things. Black people sold black people in to slavery back then; Black people kill more black people than white people today; Those in government that they support just use them to get elected and then do nothing to help them.
 13 And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their ^afirst inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord—therefore ^bhe was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the wilderness. Want to be favored of the Lord? Faithfully keep His commandments. Then the Lord will hear your prayers and answer them and lead you through your wilderness. Notice how consistently the story had been passed on from generation to generation. Powerful! The Lamanites didn't have/keep records so the story probably got embellished too, through the years.
 14 And his brethren were ^awroth with him because they ^bunderstood not the dealings of the Lord; they were also wroth with him upon the waters because they hardened their hearts against the Lord.
 15 And again, they were ^awroth with him when they had arrived in the promised land, because they said that he had taken the ^bruling of the people out of their hands; and they sought to kill him.
 16 And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the ^arecords which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he ^brobbed them.
 17 And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi. Not really "eternal" as in "never-ending" because many Lamanites end their hatred in this record...must just mean it keeps going. But, how did this story that was passed so perfectly for over 400 years eventually get lost? You would think these descendants would keep the tradition going. Maybe it ended when all the Nephites were destroyed and the Lamanites finally "won"?
 18 For this very cause has king Laman, by his ^acunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, beware of this in 'leaders' today. Pray always for the gift of discernment deceived me, that I have brought this my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and we have suffered these many years in the land.
 19 And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my people concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate them to go to battle with their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face to face. I fear we are going to have to do this. Face our persecutors face to face, putting our trust in the Lord.
 20 And it came to pass that we did drive them again out of our land; and we slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not number them. It worked!
 21 And it came to pass that we returned again to our own land, It was good the battle took place outside the city, so it didn't get destroyed or damaged. Why didn't the women and children just stay there? and my people again began to ^atend their flocks, and to till their ground.
 22 And now I, being old, did confer the kingdom upon one of my sons; therefore, I say no more. And may the Lord ^abless my people. Amen.

Mosiah 9

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 6/20 Green 3/21 orange 6/22 Brown 2023

The Record of Zeniff—An account of his people, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time that they were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites. Apparently Mormon thought it was important that we know what happened to these people after they left Zarahemla. Look for patterns and lessons. It may not just be about the story-line...

Comprising chapters 9 through 22.

Chapter 9

Zeniff leads a group from Zarahemla to possess the land of Lehi-Nephi—The Lamanite king permits them to inherit the land—There is war between the Lamanites and Zeniff’s people. About 200–187 B.C.

  1 ^aI, ^bZeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, assuming that means spiritual language and temporal... and having had a knowledge of the land of ^cNephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance, If this is the land Nephi established after his separation from Laman and Lemuel, then it’s been about 400 years since Lehi left Jerusalem and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that I might spy out their forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them—but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed. Sometimes we are too quick to paint people with one broad stroke. We need to look for the good in all people. What was it that he saw that was “good” among them? And is it a righteous desire anyway, to spy on your enemy so that you can attack them instead of preparing to only defend if attacked?
  2 Therefore, I contended with my brethren in the wilderness, for I would that our ruler should make a treaty with them; but he being an austere "stern; cold; strict; uncompromising_ and a blood-thirsty man commanded that I should be slain; I get so frustrated/outraged with this belief that people who disagree with you should be silenced by death! but I was rescued by the shedding of much blood; Civil war. That is what this belief leads to, because you have to defend yourself from being put to death for your beliefs! for father fought against father, and brother against brother, until the greater number of our army was destroyed in the wilderness; and we returned, those of us that were spared, to the land of Zarahemla, to relate that tale to their wives and their children. If they left wives and children, surely they had plans to return. So my theory they didn’t make a map to be able to return should be incorrect. Maybe it was the length of time that had passed that made the map either hard to read, or it was lost... Seems silly to fight over not killing people and just end up killing each other instead
  3 And yet, I being ^aover-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers, Does this over-zealous belief go all the way back to Abraham and the promise of lands for an eternal inheritance? He must have known that other people now lived there. Was he just going to go in and force them to leave because it was the land of 'his inheritance'? Remember it had been several hundred years...collected as many as were desirous to go up to possess the land, and started again on our ^bjourney into the wilderness to go up to the land; but we were smitten with famine and sore afflictions; for we were slow to remember the Lord our God. We need to recognize the tie to physical famine and afflictions to our being slow to remember God. Especially when we are in the midst of prosperity. When our famine starts, who will preach repentance? 
  4 Nevertheless, after many days’ wandering in the wilderness we pitched our tents in the place where our brethren were slain, which was near to the land of our fathers. It sounds like they were able to retrace their steps.   
  5 And it came to pass that I went again with four of my men into the city, in unto the king, that I might know of the disposition of the king, and that I might know if I might go in with my people and possess the land in peace. Perhaps this "right of inheritance" was so ingrained in the culture, he believed he could just go in and make his claim...
  6 And I went in unto the king, and he covenanted with me that I might possess the ^aland of Lehi-Nephi, and the land of Shilom.
  7 And he also commanded that his people should depart out of the land, and I and my people went into the land that we might possess it. Wow. The king agreed and just like that, he made the people leave their homes and give it to this stranger? Sometimes we are too trusting. They should have known that “if it’s too good to be true...it probably is...” And how did the people who had to leave feel? Where did they go? Surely this was done by force of the king
  8 And we began to build buildings, and to repair the walls of the city, yea, even the walls of the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom. Why did it need repaired?
  9 And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of ^aseeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land.
 10 Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of king ^aLaman, to ^bbring my people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might possess it. Why was Zeniff so gullible? Was it because he "saw the good among them" and believed too much that they weren't as bad as he was taught? Had he not experienced wars and hatred from them growing up?
 11 Therefore it came to pass, that after we had dwelt in the land for the space of twelve years that king Laman began to grow uneasy, lest by any means my people should ^awax strong in the land, and that they could not overpower them and bring them into bondage.
 12 Now they were a ^alazy and an ^bidolatrous people; You know a people are being deceived by Satan when they have no desire to work and they worship other Gods/things So remind me what was “good” that he saw? Was it pretty women? Good land? therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of our fields.
 13 Therefore it came to pass that king Laman began to stir up his people that they should contend with my people; therefore there began to be wars and contentions in the land. This is happening right now. The 'hidden kings' of the world are stirring people up to fight with one another hoping that it will lead to war. We need to be on guard to all the ways the Satan can work through others to try to "stir" us up to contention. Don't fall for it!
 14 For, in the thirteenth year of my reign in the land of Nephi, away on the south of the land of ^aShilom, when my people were watering and ^bfeeding their flocks, and tilling their lands, a numerous host of Lamanites came upon them and began to slay them, and to take off their flocks, and the corn of their fields. Their plan to bring them in to bondage began with just murdering and taking their stuff.
 15 Yea, and it came to pass that they fled, all that were not overtaken, even into the city of Nephi, and did call upon me for protection.
 16 And it came to pass that I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and my people did go forth against the Lamanites to battle. Was Zeniff "surprised"? Maybe for 12 years he thought, "see...these Lamanites aren't that bad? We've lived near them for 12 years with zero problems..."
 17 Yea, in the ^astrength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would ^bdeliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers. Perhaps Gods purpose in allowing the Lamanites to come upon them was so they would be stirred up to a remembrance of His goodness and mercy and their dependence upon Him.
 18 And God did ^ahear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might; yea, we did go forth against the Lamanites, and in one day and a night we did slay three thousand and forty-three; we did slay them even until we had driven them out of our land. This was a miraculous amount of mercy given to them. God does not require that we be perfect before He grants us mercy. When we repent, he immediately blesses you. Have faith in this.
 19 And I, myself, with mine own hands, did help to bury their dead. And behold, to our great sorrow and lamentation, two hundred and seventy-nine of our brethren were slain. Now they know the Lamanites aren't as "good" as they thought. 

Mosiah 8

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 6/20 Green 3/21 orange 6/22 Brown 2023.)

Chapter 8

Ammon teaches the people of Limhi—He learns of the twenty-four Jaredite plates—Ancient records can be translated by seers—No gift is greater than seership. About 121 B.C.

  1 And it came to pass that after king Limhi had made an end of ^aspeaking to his people, for he spake many things unto them and only a few of them have I written in this book, he told his people all the things concerning their brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla. Did he know this history of their fathers from Zarahemla because it was passed down or because Ammon had told him?
  2 And he caused that Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and rehearse unto them all that had happened unto their brethren from the time that ^aZeniff went up out of the land even until the time that he ^bhimself came up out of the land. So Limhi had told their history in Zarahemla up until the time Zeniff left and now Ammon was going to bring them current.
  3 And he also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had ^ataught them, and explained love this. saying words and understanding them can be separate things them to the people of king Limhi, so that they might understand all the words which he spake. I want God to speak to us in plainness.  
  4 And it came to pass that after he had done all this, that king Limhi dismissed the multitude, and caused that they should return every one unto his own house. was this so they could discuss and ponder as families and not just go on about their day? Was this a Sabbath day? Reminds me of when the Savior taught the Nephites and told them to go home after he was done. This time they don't return... Also, the words of King Benjamin did not bring a Born Again experience for these people. There's a lesson in there...
  5 And it came to pass that he caused that the ^aplates which contained the ^brecord of his people from the time that they left the ^cland of Zarahemla, should be brought before Ammon, that he might read them. So the tradition of keeping a record of your history continued with this group that had left Zarahemla 80-90 years ago. Awesome. Now we have Limhi catching Ammon up on what had been going on with them since they left Zarahemla.
  6 Now, as soon as Ammon had read the record, the king inquired of him to know if he could ^ainterpret languages, and Ammon told him that he could not. 
  7 And the king said unto him: Being grieved for the afflictions of my people, I caused that ^aforty and three of my people should take a journey into the wilderness, that thereby they might find the land of Zarahemla, that we might appeal unto our brethren to deliver us out of bondage. Now I can see why Limhi so easily assumed those in Zarahemla would be willing to free them from bondage...he’d been working on this for years.
  8 And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of ^amany days, Apparently no one tracks their journeying. When Zeniff left Zarahemla, he may not have known how to get to where he was going, but could have mapped where they went so they could get back. But when they sent people back, they didn’t have any such map. yet they were diligent, and found not the land of Zarahemla but returned to this land, having traveled in a land among many waters, having discovered a land which was covered with ^bbones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel. Wouldn’t that have been trippy to find that!
  9 And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought ^atwenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold. 24 plates of writing and Mormon summarized with the small book of Ether. I wonder what he left out. When I read it last, it felt like there was little said about their religion. Just mention of prophets...
 10 And behold, also, they have brought ^abreastplates, which are large, and they are of ^bbrass and of copper, and are perfectly sound.
 11 And again, they have brought swords, the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof were cankered with rust; Did he mention these items of brass and copper "were perfectly sound" and contrasted with swords that were cankered with rust to prove that the brass plates written centuries ago could indeed still be read and were not destroyed over time? and there is no one in the land that is able to interpret the language or the engravings that are on the plates. Therefore I said unto thee: Canst thou translate?
 12 And I say unto thee again: Knowest thou of any one that can translate? For I am desirous that these records should be translated into our language; for, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of a remnant of the people who have been destroyed, from whence these records came; or, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of this very people who have been destroyed; and I am desirous to know the cause of their destruction. We should want to know the cause of their destruction as well. The Book of Mormon is a warning to our nation of how to prevent our own destruction. President Nelson said it was our “survival guide”. With records of two American civilizations that have been destroyed, we have two witnesses of our own fate. We should take this soooo seriously!
 13 Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can ^atranslate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called ^binterpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called ^cseer. This language kind of sounds like the same as the ark of the covenant. 
 14 And behold, the king of the people who are in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God.
 15 And the king said that a ^aseer is greater than a prophet.
 16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God. Satan seeks to possess the power of God or to be more powerful than God, but he has none. Well, none except that which God allows him to exercise. We say we have "prophets, seers and revelators". Here he says a seer is a revelator...so what is the difference? 
 17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. We have 15 "seers" on the earth today...actually, 19, if you count John and the 3 Nephites. When will they use this "gift" to make secret things known? It is so needed today! I'm not sure how this explanation of "seer" is different than making a prophesy...isn't a prophesy to say what will come? Can they not know of things past?  I'm thinking that when a person "reveals" what they "see" then they are a "revelator". If they don't share what they have "seen", then they are just a "seer". And maybe a "prophet" can reveal what is in the future, but a "seer" can reveal what has been in the past as well which would make a seer greater than a prophet.
 18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings. Is he still talking about these seers? Is it the faith of the people that will allow these seers to work mighty miracles for the benefit of the rest of the world? I feel impressed to now ask with great desire the same question that the Brethren asked that was answered with increased Sabbath Day worship - HOW DO WE INCREASE FAITH? Was that because our lack of true faith is causing their silence? If we want them to speak more freely and openly, do we have to have more faith? How is this shown? How do we know if we have enough? How is that  manifest? Ultimately it is faith in Christ that draws us to Him. It is from Him that we are Baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost and given power to work mighty miracles. So we know if we have "enough" faith, if we have received this Heavenly Gift.
 19 And now, when Ammon had made an end of speaking these words the king rejoiced exceedingly, and gave thanks to God, saying: Doubtless a ^agreat mystery is contained within these plates, and these interpreters were doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men.
 20 O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and how ^ablind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that ^bshe should rule over them! Interesting that wisdom is a feminine noun in Hebrew. Is this a virtue of women? Is this why Pres. Nelson has so strongly urged men to listen to the counsel of women? Are the blind, impenetrable understandings literally of the male gender? However you look at it - we need to seek wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge of what is true, along with the judgment of how to act.
 21 Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven, and are devoured by the beasts of the forest. This is so true TODAY!. God surely is suffering long with what He sees. Man is truly blind to the point that it seems almost impossible to penetrate that blindness with light. They have no desire for wisdom. They are being scattered and driven by evil wolves in their midst and yes, even being devoured.