Scriptural Highlights

• Ammon and his brethren find Limhi and his people.  Ammon teaches Limhi of the importance of a seer.
• The record of Zeniff recounts a brief history of Zeniff's people.
• Abinadi warns the people, but they are blind to Noah's wickedness.

Mosiah 7

1. King Benjamin concluded his teachings and consecrated Mosiah king over the people.
• In about 121 B.C. Mosiah desires to know concerning the people who went up to the land of Lehi-Nephi.
• WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE THAT MOSIAH WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT?
• During the reign of King Benjamin there was a group that left Zarahemla and went up to the land of Nephi to see if they could possess the land of their inheritance (see Omni 1:27-29).
• There were two expeditions.
• The first expedition ended in tragedy with many of the group killed and the remainder returning to Zarahemla.
• It is the second attempt that Mosiah is wondering about.  None of this group had returned.
2. Mosiah commissioned a group of sixteen men to go in search of these people.
• They were led by a descendant of Zarahemla, a "strong and mighty man" by the name of Ammon.
• Their "maps" must have been outdated.  The record says they wandered in the wilderness for 40 days.
• WHAT HAPPENED AFTER 40 DAYS?
• They found the land of Nephi.
• Ammon took three of his brethren and went down into the land of Nephi.
• They found the king of the people, but were immediately arrested and thrown into prison.  After two days they were brought before the king.
• WHO DID THE KING SAY THAT HE WAS?
• Limhi, son of Noah, son of Zeniff.
• WHO WAS ZENIFF?
• The leader of the second expedition that went down to recover the land of Nephi.
• Zeniff was made king of this colony by the voice of the people.
• In the tradition of passing the crown to one's descendants, Zeniff's son Noah became king.   Noah's son Limhi succeeded him.
• Limhi then asked these men why they were so bold as to come near the walls of the city when he, the king, was outside of the gate.
• Ammon responds by stating that they came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inquire regarding the fate of the expedition of Zeniff.
• WHAT WAS LIMHI'S RESPONSE?
• See Mosiah 7:14-15.
• He was both glad and pleased to learn that his brethren in the land of Zarahemla were still alive.
• He said that he would cause his people to rejoice.
• Limhi said that they were in bondage to the Lamanites and bearing a tax that was "grievous 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" (7:15).
• Limhi released the men from the search party and they returned to their brethren to bring them into the city.
3. Limhi gathers his people together and speaks to them.
• Limhi announced that they would soon end their period of bondage.
• WHAT MISTAKE DID ZENIFF MAKE THAT HELPED ALLOW THE LAMANITES TO BRING HIS FUTURE GENERATIONS INTO BONDAGE?
• See Mosiah 7:21-22.
• He was "overzealous".  His overzealous desire to inhabit the land of Nephi caused Zeniff to overlook the dangers of doing business with those whose purpose it was to bring them into bondage.
• WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DANGERS OF BEING OVERZEALOUS IN A GOOD CAUSE?
• It could cause us to lose perspective and judgment.
• As a consequence, we could be responsible for leading others into difficult situations.
• CAN WE BECOME OVERZEALOUS IN THE WORK OF THE LORD?
• We might do it to the exclusion of other important responsibilities, such as family.
• HOW CAN WE BE ZEALOUS IN THE LORD'S WORK WITHOUT BEING OVERZEALOUS?
• We must always strive to keep a balance.
• We must be careful and get the whole picture.  There may be those that are allegedly doing good, but may have another agenda in mind.
• Be prayerful and sensitive to the Spirit.
• WHY WERE THE PEOPLE OF LEHI-NEPHI IN BONDAGE TO THE LAMANITES FOR SUCH A LONG TIME?
• Verse 24: Because of iniquity.
• Verse 25: There were contentions among them which led to the shedding of blood.
• Verse 26: They killed a prophet which warned them and testified of Christ.
• READ MOSIAH 7:29-32.  Wickedness to be a stumbling block.
• HOW DOES DISOBEYING THE LORD'S COMMANDMENTS BRING US INTO BONDAGE TODAY?
• D&C 84:49-51:  "And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.  And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.  For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin."
• WHAT IS THE RESULT OF ANY UNREPENTED TRANSGRESSION?
• We will be in bondage to that transgression.
• It may have both physical and spiritual consequences.
• Consider lack of obedience to the Word of Wisdom:
• Reduced health.  Reduced life span.
• Not entitled to the Spirit.
• No temple recommend.
• Sexual impurity:
• Potential health and life risks (especially in today's world).
• The burden of guilt.  Not entitled to the spirit.
• "Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10)
• We must bear the burden of unhappiness.
• The reverse of this principle - faithfully obeying the commandments makes us free.  HOW DOES FAITHFULNESS MAKE US FREE?
• 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, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage."
• D&C 21:4-6: "Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;

    "For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
    "For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory."
• Consider the blessings of obedience to the Word of Wisdom and moral purity.
• Elder Delbert L. Stapley:  "Should any individual or group deprecate or deal loosely with temporal, moral, and spiritual basics, the blessings of heaven will not abide with them. We cannot go along with the crowd and do as they do. We choose to be different because we are different. To be worldly minded separates us from heavenly blessings and opportunities for true happiness and peace." (Conference Report, April 1965, p26)

Mosiah 8

1. Limhi had Ammon read the record of his people from the time of Zeniff (8:5).
2. Limhi then asked Ammon if "he could interpret languages" and Ammon said that he could not.
• WHY DID LIMHI ASK AMMON IF HE COULD INTERPRET LANGUAGES?
• Limhi had sent a party of 43 in search of the land of Zarahemla in hopes of making an appeal to be delivered from bondage.  This party became lost and found another land covered with bones of men and animals and ruins of buildings.  They brought back 24 gold plates filled with engravings and some other artifacts, including breastplates (8:7-11).
• Limhi was curious regarding this people (8:12).
• He was "desirous to know the cause of their destruction" (8:12).
• Ammon informed Limhi of a man who could translate the record.
• WHO WAS THAT MAN?
• Mosiah, Nephite king in Zarahemla.
• Ammon said that one who has power to utilize the "interpreters" and translate is a Seer?
• WHAT IS A SEER?
• READ MOSIAH 8:16-18.
• A revelator and a prophet.
• No greater gift can a man possess from God.
• He can know of things past and in the future.
• Secret and hidden things may be revealed to him.
• Elder Bruce R. McConkie:  "A seer is a prophet selected and appointed to possess and use these holy interpreters.  (Mosiah 8:13; 28:16.)  Joseph Smith, the great seer of latter-days (2 Ne. 3:6-11; D. & C. 21:1; 124:125; 127:12; 135:3), for instance, translated the Book of Mormon and received many revelations by means of the Urim and Thummim." (Mormon Doctrine, p700)
• We know that Joseph Smith met the qualification of being a seer.  DO WE HAVE SEERS IN THE CHURCH TODAY?
• Elder McConkie: "The President of the Church holds the office of seership.  (D. & C. 107:92; 124:94, 125.)  Indeed, the apostolic office itself is one of seership, and the members of the Council of the Twelve, together with the Presidency and Patriarch to the Church, are chosen and sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators to the Church." (Mormon Doctrine, p701)
• WHAT ARE THE BLESSINGS OF BEING LED BY A SEER?
• Elder Boyd K. Packer:  "The scriptures speak of prophets as 'watch[men] upon the tower' who see 'the enemy while he [is] yet afar off' and who have 'beheld things which were not visible to the natural eye...[for] a seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people.'

    "[Many years ago] the Brethren warned us of the disintegration of the family and told us to prepare....  The weekly family home evening was introduced by the First Presidency....  Parents are proved with excellent materials for teaching their children, with a promise that the faithful will be blessed.
    "While the doctrines and revealed organization remain unchanged, all agencies of the Church have been reshaped in their relationship to one another and the home....  The entire curriculum of the Church was overhauled--based on scriptures....  and years were spent preparing new editions of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price....
    "We can only imagine where we would be if we were just now reacting to [the] terrible redefinition of the family.  But that is not the case.  We are not casting frantically about, trying to decide what to do.  We know what to do and what to teach....
    "The course we follow is not of our own making.  The plan of salvation, the great plan of happiness, was revealed to us, and the prophets and Apostles continue to receive revelation as the Church and its members stand in need of more."  (Ensign, May 1994, p20)

Zeniff & Noah

1. The Record of Zeniff.
• Beginning with chapter 9, Mormon has inserted the record of Zeniff and the people who left Zarahemla and went down to the land of Nephi.
• We are going back in time to when these people first left Zarahemla.
• This record will bridge the gap between the departure of Zeniff and the arrival of Ammon and his contingent in the land of Nephi some years later.
• Zeniff & his people.
• Zeniff was part of the first expedition to the land of Nephi.
• WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF THIS FIRST EXPEDITION?
• Destroy the Lamanites in the land of Nephi and reclaim it (9:1).
• ACCORDING TO ZENIFF, WHAT HAPPENED? (9:1-2)
• Zeniff was sent as a spy and he saw much which was good among the Lamanites and felt that they should not be destroyed.
• The leader of the expedition was a blood-thirsty man.
• Zeniff contended that they should make a treaty with the Lamanites to possess the land.
• This caused conflict amongst the Nephite army and the majority of their army was destroyed in an internal battle.  Only 50 returned to Zarahemla.
• The second expedition to the land of Nephi.
• Zeniff says that he was "over-zealous" to inherit the land of their fathers and gathered another group to go up and possess the land.
• It appears that Zeniff was so caught up in his desire to return and claim the land that he and his group did not depend on the Lord and his counsel.
• "...but we were smitten with famine and sore afflictions; for we were slow to remember the Lord our God" (9:3).
• Zeniff goes to the king of the land and negotiates a treaty regarding the land of Lehi-Nephi and the land of Shilom.
• Zeniff granted the land.  The king of the Lamanites had his people move out.
• "Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of king Laman, to bring my people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might possess it." (9:10)
• The people proceed to build and repair the city.  They began farming and "did begin to multiply and prosper in the land" (9:9).
• Twice during the reign of Zeniff, the Lamanites attempted to conquer the people of Zeniff and bring them into servitude.
• WHY WERE ZENIFF AND HIS PEOPLE SUCCESSFUL IN REPELLING THE LAMANITE INVASIONS?
• They had faith in the Lord.  They went up in his "strength" (9:16).
• They "did cry mightily to the Lord" (9:17).
• They did not fear, but went forth amongst the Lamanites to battle (9:18).
• After the 1st invasion, Zeniff saw to it that his people were prepared for war should it come again.  They manufactured weapons and set guards around the land (10:1-2).
• They did trust in the Lord (10:19).
• HOW CAN WE LIKEN THIS UNTO OURSELVES AND THE BATTLES WE FIGHT?
• We must be prepared for the adversity that we may face - have the "weapons manufactured" and the "guards set out" so that we may not be caught unaware.
• WHAT ARE THESE WEAPONS AND GUARDS?
• Regular prayer, scripture study, church activity, and righteous living.
• Go forth in the strength of the Lord.
• HOW DO WE DO THAT?
• By keeping the commandments and living worthy of the Spirit.
• Cry unto the Lord.
• Trust the Lord and his promises.
2. The Vanities of Noah and His People.
• Zeniff grew old and conferred the kingdom upon his son Noah.
• The record says "and he did not walk in the ways of his father" (11:1).
• 2. WHAT WAS THE CONDITION OF THE ZENIFFITE NATION AFTER NOAH BECAME KING?
• See Mosiah 11:1-15.
• Noah & his priests:
• He did not keep the commandments as did his father Zeniff.
• Did walk after the desires of his own heart - obviously not righteous desires.
• Had many wives and concubines.
• Did cause his people to commit much sin and abominations.
• Laid a 20% tax on the people of all they possessed - to support himself and his priests and their wives and concubines.
• They were supported by the taxes of the people in their laziness, idolatry, and whoredoms.
• Put down the priests that had been consecrated by Zeniff.
• Created new ones that were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.
• Built elegant and spacious buildings including a palace for himself.
• Seats installed in the temple for the high priests - above and apart from the other seats.
• A breastwork constructed to rest their bodies and arms while they spoke.
• Placed his heart upon his riches and spent his time in riotous living with his wives and concubines, and so did his priests (the leaders of this nation).
• Planted vineyards and made wine in abundance.
• Noah became a winebibber.
• The People:
• They became idolatrous.
• They were deceived by the king and priests and became wicked themselves.
• The people also became winebibbers.
• Conflict with the Lamanites:
• The Lamanites began to come upon them and their flocks in small numbers.
• Noah sent out a small number of guards which were slain by the Lamanites.
• Noah then sent out an army and drove them back for a time.
• Mosiah 11:19: "And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did boast 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."
• The Zeniffites are reaching the pinnacle of wickedness.
• WHAT IS OUR CONDITION TODAY?
• Compare our society to that of the Zeniffite society.
• President Spencer W. Kimball: "The Lord has blessed us as a people with a prosperity unequaled in times past.  The resources that have been placed in our power are good, and necessary to our work here on the earth.  But I am afraid that many of us have been surfeited with flocks and heads and acres and barns and wealth and have begun to worship them as false gods, and they have power over us.  Do we have more of these good things than our faith can stand?  Many people spend most of their time working in the service of a self-image that includes sufficient money, stocks, bonds, investment portfolios, property, credit cards, furnishings, automobiles, and the like to guarantee carnal security throughout, it is hoped, a long and happy life....

    "As the Lord himself said in our day, 'They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.' (D&C 1:16)" (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball,  pp357-358)
• HOW DID KING NOAH INFLUENCE HIS PEOPLE TO SIN?
• By his own example and by encouraging the same kind of behavior among the people.
• They were deceived by  vain and flattering remarks.
• THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN TODAY, DOES IT?
• HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT WE WILL BE INFLUENCED ONLY BY THOSE WHO WILL INFLUENCE US FOR GOOD?
3. Sin & Bondage.
• V20: "And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy..."
• WHY WAS ABINADI'S MESSAGE SO IMPORTANT FOR NOAH AND HIS PEOPLE?
• He carried a message from God regarding the consequences of their lifestyle.  It was a warning from a holy messenger.
• Consider his message (see Chapter 11):
• Verse 20:  "...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 visit them in mine anger..."
• Verse 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 bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies..."
• Verse 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 deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God..."
• Verse 25: "And except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God, I will not hear their prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions..."
• The word of the Lord through Abinadi is as valid for us today as it was for Noah's society.  People of all nations must repent or suffer spiritual and temporal bondage.
• WHAT WAS THE REACTION OF THE PEOPLE TOWARDS ABINADI?
• READ MOSIAH 11:28-29.
• WHY DID NOAH AND HIS PEOPLE REACT SO VIOLENTLY TO ABINADI AND HIS MESSAGE?
• HOW DO WE REACT WHEN WE FIND WE NEED TO REPENT?

Summary

• Brothers Kent P. Jackson & Morgan W. Turner: "Zeniff and his people were examples of those who seek happiness and security in the things of heaven.  They learned that to prosper in the land, they would have to obey the commandments of the Lord.  King Noah and his priests, only one generation later, were examples of those who seek happiness and security in the things of the world.  They tried to gratify their vanity with the construction of luxurious buildings and to find security without the protection of God.  Yet Abinadi taught them of the evil of both their behavior and their outlook.  How truly Alma taught: 'Wickedness never was happiness.' (Alma 41:10)  True happiness and security can come only from Christ, through whom alone is salvation." (Studies in Scripture, 7:239)
• Joseph Smith: "Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that lead to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God." (TPJS, p235)

Next Week

Lesson 18: Mosiah 12-17