5 And it came to pass that they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi. 6 And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word. 7 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites. 8 And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might go and do according to their request. 9 And they took their journey into the wilderness to go up to preach the word among the Lamanites; and I shall give an account of their proceedings hereafter.
Mosiah 28:5-9 (Emphasis mine)
Preaching to the Lamanites was something that was very important to the sons of Mosiah. They faced the possibilities of being cut off eternally from the presence of the Lord. They realized the Lamanites were in danger of this happening and they could not watch, allowing it to happen, while they did nothing.
We are told the “did plead with the father many days” for his approval. I imagine Mosiah(2) was not pleased with his sons’ request. He knew that they would be placing their lives of the line; they would be in constant danger the whole time. He did what any father would have at this time; he inquired of the Lord. In answer to his prayer, he was told to “[l]et them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites” (verse 7). With this promise, Mosiah gave them his approval.
We will later see that the Lord fulfilled his promise. When Ammon the king’s servants were watering the sheep, and the band of thugs attempted to steal the sheep, Mormon tells us that “they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of their hands …” (Alma 17:35; emphasis mine). Later, when a brother of one these thugs (his brother had been slain by Ammon) saw him on the ground, he saw a chance to exact his revenge. As he raised his sword to kill Ammon, he was struck dead (Alma 19:22). Mormon wanted to make sure we didn’t miss the fact that the Lord’s promise was fulfilled, so he pauses his narrative to tell us that “[n]ow we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord” (Alma 19:23).
We see another of Mormon’s editorial tools in verse 9. He’s told us that the sons of Mosiah are going to the land of Nephi to preach the gospel. He is going to let us know about their journey, but it doesn’t fit his purposes to share it with us at this point in the record. Instead, he promises us that he will eventually give us his “account of their proceedings hereafter” (verse 9). We will read about their miraculous mission in Alma 17-26.
10 Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon, for there was not any of his sons who would accept of the kingdom. 11 Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi; 12 And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people who had been destroyed.
Mosiah 28:10-12 (Emphasis mine)
Mosiah(2) has a problem. He offered the kingdom to his sons, but they would not accept. What should he do? At this point, Mosiah decides to translate the plates found by the people of Limhi.
7 And the king said unto him: Being grieved for the afflictions of my people, I caused that forty 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.
8 And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of many days, 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 bones 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.
9 And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twenty–four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold.
10 And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound.
Mosiah 8:7-10 (Emphasis mine)
He eventually translated the record. Paul Rytting explains Mosiah(2)’s situation:
“Challenges soon arose for Mosiah. Limhi's people arrived in Zarahemla and had to be assimilated into Nephite society. They brought with them the twenty-four plates of Ether, which Mosiah, being a seer, translated (Mosiah 28:10—19). This Jaredite record revealed an ominous lesson, for wickedness, oppression, and violence had led to the extinction of a people. In contrast, Mosiah promoted righteousness, equality, and harmony in his kingdom. When another group led by Alma(1) arrived in Zarahemla, Mosiah authorized Alma to organize churches and gave him control over them, including the power to admit members to, or expel members from, that covenant community. The creation of this subgroup comprised of seven churches in Nephite society (Mosiah 25:23) allowed Alma's followers to live as they wished, but it also appears to have sowed seeds of civic tension.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
Valentin Arts discusses the translation process.
“… [W]e read that Mosiah the younger ‘translated and caused to be written the records which were on the plates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi’ (Mosiah 28:11). Because there is no hint in this statement that Mosiah translated only a part of the 24 plates, we may assume that they were translated in their entirety. We also read that after Mosiah had finished translating it, this record ‘gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam’ (Mosiah 28:17). This passage refers only to Jaredite history, not to the sealed vision. If the sealed record was included, the Lord would not have allowed it to be unsealed in the days of Mosiah. It seems that Mosiah was allowed to translate all that was written on the 24 plates.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
[2] A Third Jaredite Record: The Sealed Portion of the Gold Plates, Valentin Arts, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed February 9, 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment