13 And it came to pass that those who tarried with their wives and their children caused that their fair daughters should stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them.
14 And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their women.
15 Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto them that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver up king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property, even one half of all they possessed, one half of their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year.
14 And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their women.
15 Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto them that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver up king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property, even one half of all they possessed, one half of their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year.
Mosiah 19:13-15 (Emphasis mine)
While many deserted their families to save their own hides, many stayed with them. They had their daughters plead with them to spare their lives. The Lamanites were convinced because of the beauty of their daughters.
Instead, they took them captive and told them they could possess their land of Nephi if they would deliver one-half of everything to the Lamanites and continue to pay tribute to the Lamanite king.
The Lamanites also demanded that Noah be turned over to them.
16 And now there was one of the sons of the king among those that were taken captive, whose name was Limhi.
17 And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of the iniquities of his father, he himself being a just man.
17 And now Limhi was desirous that his father should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of the iniquities of his father, he himself being a just man.
Mosiah 19:16-17 (Emphasis mine)
Noah's son, Limhi, was apparently a member of Alma(1)'s congregation. Being a good man, he was aware of the sins of his father. Still, he did not want his father turned over to the Lamanites. Limhi will play an important part in this account, as we will read later.
18 And it came to pass that Gideon sent men into the wilderness secretly, to search for the king and those that were with him. And it came to pass that they met the people in the wilderness, all save the king and his priests.
19 Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them.
20 And the king commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire.
19 Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them.
20 And the king commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire.
Mosiah 19:18-20 (Emphasis mine)
After the Lamanites made their demand, Gideon sent a group to search for the king and those who fled with him. Eventually, they found the group, but the priests and Noah weren't there.
It seems that those who fled and left their families behind were feeling remorse and sorrow. They wanted to go back and find their families. If they had been slain, they would seek revenge.
Noah didn't like this. He told them they should stay. This inflamed their anger, and they took out their anger on the king by causing his death by fire. This fulfilled Abinadi's prophecy made to the king:
3 And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace; for he shall know that I am the Lord.
Mosiah 12:3
9 But I finish my message; and then it matters not whither I go, if it so be that I am saved.
10 But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are to come.
Mosiah 13:9-10
13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.14 And now when the flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them, saying:
15 Behold, even as ye have done unto me, so shall it come to pass that thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer the pains that I do suffer, even the pains of death by fire; and this because they believe in the salvation of the Lord their God.
16 And it will come to pass that ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities.
17 Yea, and ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.
18 And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire.
Mosiah 17:13-18
So ended the life of wicked King Noah.
21 And they were about to take the priests also and put them to death, and they fled before them.
22 And it came to pass that they were about to return to the land of Nephi, and they met the men of Gideon. And the men of Gideon told them of all that had happened to their wives and their children; and that the Lamanites had granted unto them that they might possess the land by paying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all they possessed.
the people told the men of Gideon that they had slain the king, and his priests had fled from them farther into the wilderness.
24 And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing, because their wives and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to the king.
25 And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites made an oath unto them, that his people should not slay them.
Mosiah 19:21-25 (Emphasis mine)
They were about to begin their journey when they saw the search party. There was much discussion. They told the search party what had happened to Noah and the priests. The other group told them that their families survived. They rejoiced over the news. Both groups returned.
In verse 24, we have what seems to be strange wording. It says: "... after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi ..." The problem is that there was no mention of a ceremony prior to verse 24. What was meant?
There are two possible explanations.
The first is from Royal Skousen.
"In part 3 of volume 4 of the critical text, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon ... I discuss under Mosiah 19:24 how sermon could have accidentally been replaced by ceremony. Basically, I propose the following: the scribe for the original manuscript (which [unfortunately no longer exists]) spelled sermon as cermon, which was then misread as ceremony (and spelled as cerimony) when Oliver Cowdery copied the word from the original manuscript into the printer's manuscript. Such a [possible explanation] is possible once we recognize that the vocabulary for the original Book of Mormon text dates from the 1500s and 1600s."
The Archaic Vocabulary of the Book of Mormon.
The second is from John Tvedtnes.
"I find myself disagreeing with one of Skousen's recommended [corrections]. In Mosiah 19:24, he suggests reading 'after they had ended the sermon' instead of 'after they had ended the ceremony.' He writes, 'The word ceremony does not make sense here, nor is there any older meaning of the word that might work' (p. 64). I assume that he has not read my chapter on 'the Nephite Purification Ceremony,' in which I explain that the Nephites mentioned in this passage had just killed King Noah, an act that would have called for purification under the law of Moses.If Skousen has read that piece, perhaps he disagrees with my assessment, in which case he may give his reasons in one of his forthcoming volumes." (Emphasis mine)
Reconstructing the Book of Mormon,
Once the groups arrive back, the people reunited with their families (for better or worse), a government was organized. Limhi, the son of King Noah, was made King. He agreed to pay 1/2 of everything tribute. Limhi went about establishing his kingdom.
The king of the Lamanites did not want the people of Limhi to leave. The lost tribute would most certainly be missed. To keep them under Lamanite rule, guards were placed around the land so they would not be able to leave.
For two years, Limhi was able to keep peace in his kingdom.
An so ends Chapter 19.
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