In The Book of Mormon –A Reader’s Edition, Grant Hardy explains that, in Chapter 25, “[a]t this point, three separate narratives (The stories of the people of Mosiah(2), the people of Limhi, and the people of Alma(1)) have come together” (see footnote c, pg. 234).
Chapter 25
The people (the Mulekites) of Zarahemla become Nephites—They learn of the people of Alma and of Zeniff—Alma baptizes Limhi and all his people—Mosiah authorizes Alma to organize the Church of God. About 120 B.C.
1 AND now king Mosiah caused that all the people should be gathered together. 2 Now there were not so many of the children of Nephi, or so many of those who were descendants of Nephi, as there were of the people of Zarahemla, who was a descendant of Mulek, and those who came with him into the wilderness. 3 And there were not so many of the people of Nephi and of the people of Zarahemla as there were of the Lamanites; yea, they were not half so numerous. 4 And now all the people of Nephi were assembled together, and also all the people of Zarahemla, and they were gathered together in two bodies.
Mosiah 25:1-4 (Emphasis mine)
King Mosiah gathered the people of Zarahemla together after the peoples of Limhi and Alma(1) entered the city. Mormon tells us that the “children of Nephi” were a small group. The people of Zarahemla (descendents of Mulek) were more numerous that the Nephites. And the Lamanite population was twice as large as all the people of Zarahemla together.
We see that we have a king descended from Nephi. According to the account on the Small Plates of Nephi, we read:
14 And they discovered a people, who were called the people of Zarahemla. Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews. 15 Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon.
16 And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth. 17 And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them. 18 But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language. And it came to pass that after they were taught in the language of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his memory; and they are written, but not in these plates. 19 And it came to pass that the people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah, did unite together; and Mosiah was appointed to be their king.
Omni 1:14-19 (Emphasis mine)
These events occurred around 150 B.C.[1] The Nephites arrived and basically took over. It appears that the Mulekites were willing to have Mosiah(1) become their king, leading to a line of Nephite kings ruling over the land.
Amaleki is our author in Omni in the account above. He gives us little explanation on the Small Plates. Since we are dealing with a political matter, there was probably a more detailed account on the lost 116 pages.
John Tvedtnes write about this merger.
“The merger of the Nephites and Mulekites is recounted with very little explanation in the Book of Mormon and presents some anomalies. Since Zarahemla, leader of the Mulekites, was descended from Zedekiah, king of Judah (see Omni 1:14-15; Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 6:10; 8:21), we are perplexed by the fact that he acknowledged Mosiah as king over the new confederation. It may be that we are dealing with the age-old leadership conflict between the biblical tribes of Judah (represented by Zarahemla) and Joseph (represented by Mosiah). If the Book of Mormon story is truly analogous to the biblical, we should expect that some of the Mulekites objected to Nephite rule and occasionally rebelled against those in power. There is, in fact, evidence that the rebellious king-men and Nehors may have been Mulekites.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Sidney Sperry wrote about possible descendants of the people identified in verses 1-2.
“Latter-day Saints have concluded too readily that the Lamanites are direct descendants of Laman and Lemuel. Actually much Nephite blood flows in their veins, not to mention the blood of the Mulekites. In respect to the latter, it should be recalled that in the days of the younger Mosiah more of his people were Mulekites than Nephites ... [Based on the information found in Mosiah 25:1—2] we are probably justified in concluding that the ‘Nephites’ of the period following Christ's appearance on this continent had more Mulekite blood flowing in their veins than Nephite blood. From the viewpoint of the Book of Mormon, then, our Indians are descendants of several peoples—Nephites and Mulekites, with some Lamanite influence thrown in for good measure.” [3] (Emphasis mine)
5 And it came to pass that Mosiah did read, and caused to be read, the records of Zeniff to his people; yea, he read the records of the people of Zeniff, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until they returned again. 6 And he also read the account of Alma and his brethren, and all their afflictions, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time they returned again.
Mosiah 25:5-6 (Emphasis mine)
When the people were gathered, King Mosiah read (“and cased to be read”) the records of Zeniff and Alma(1) to the people.
We remember Zeniff as “being over–zealous to inherit the land of our fathers, collected as many as were desirous to go up to possess the land, and started again on our journey 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. 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” (Mosiah 9:3-4).
The reading of records in this manner was a sign of their importance. Gary Sturgess explains why.
“Turning to the great assemblies in Mosiah, we find a number of distinguishing characteristics that identify them with these ancient ceremonies and warrant their consideration as the structural foundation of the book.
“1. On each occasion, newly written or recently discovered scriptures were read and expounded to the people, after the manner of King Josiah and Ezra the scribe. At the first assembly, King Benjamin gave the revelation recorded in Mosiah 3:2—27, which was then written down and distributed among the people. It is also possible that the small plates of Nephi, with their emphasis on deliverance, political leadership, and the doctrine of Christ, had recently come into the possession of King Benjamin and may also have been read during the ceremony.
“At the second great assembly, we are told that Mosiah read, and caused to be read (Mosiah 25:5—6), the record of Zeniff and the account of Alma (Mosiah 9—22; 23—24).” [4] (Emphasis mine)
Terryl Givens writes:
“From Alma we learn that those teachings become a part of his written record. When he and his band of exiles arrive back in the major colony of Zarahemla, the Nephite king there, Mosiah, reads to the assembled people ‘the account of Alma and his brethren’ (Mosiah 25:6). King Mosiah, as guardian of the large plates, presumably incorporates the record into his own record. Those plates are subsequently abridged by Mormon, acquiring finally the form they have today.” [5] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Chart 17, Charting the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch, Maxwell Institute, 2007.
[2] Book of Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23, 2012.
[3] The Lamanites Portrayed in the Book of Mormon, Sidney B. Sperry, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23, 2012.
[4] The Book of Mosiah: Thoughts about Its Structure, Purposes, Themes, and Authorship, Gary L. Sturgess, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23, 2012.
[5] Joseph Smith's American Bible: Radicalizing the Familiar, Terryl L. Givens, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 23, 2012.
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