12 And now, when Ammon
saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and bowed himself before the king;
and rising again he said: O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I
am yet alive, and am permitted to speak; and I will endeavor to speak with
boldness;
13 For I am assured
that if ye had known me ye would not have suffered that I should have worn
these bands. For I am Ammon, and am a descendant
of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the land of Zarahemla to inquire
concerning our brethren, whom Zeniff brought up out of that land.
14 And now, it came to
pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceedingly glad,
and said: Now, I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of
Zarahemla are yet alive. And now, I will
rejoice; and on the morrow I will cause that my people shall rejoice also.
15 For behold, we are
in bondage to the Lamanites, and are taxed with a tax which is 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.
16 And now, king Limhi
commanded his guards that they should no more bind Ammon nor his brethren, but
caused that they should go to the hill which was north of Shilom, and bring
their brethren into the city, that thereby they might eat, and drink, and rest themselves
from the labors of their journey; for they had suffered many things; they had
suffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue.
17 And now, it came to
pass on the morrow that king Limhi sent a proclamation among all his people,
that thereby they might gather themselves together to the temple, to hear the
words which he should speak unto them.
Mosiah 7:12-17
Ammon and his party are before King Limhi. He has asked them to identify themselves and
explain what they are doing wandering his kingdom.
Ammon speaks for his party.
Bowing before Limhi, Ammon expresses his thanks he is permitted to speak. Had they known who he was, his party would
not have been taken in bondage. He
introduces himself and informs the King he is a descendant of Zarahemla. He and his party were sent to determine what
happened to Zeniff’s party.
Limhi’s handling of Ammon and his party imply there were
others in the new world when Lehi’s party arrived.
Why were Ammon and company not
recognized immediately as Nephites? Was their costume and tongue or accent so
much different than what Limhi's people expected of a Nephite that this put
them off? Ammon was a "descendant of Zarahemla" (Mosiah 7:13), a
point that he emphasized in his introduction to the king. Does this mean that
he somehow looked different than a "typical" Nephite? Or had the
Zeniffites had encounters with other non-Nephite types in their area which
might have prompted Limhi's cautious reception?[1]
Limhi was happy to hear Ammon’s words. There must have been questions about the survival
of the people of Zarahemla. Limhi
rejoiced at learning of their survival.
Limhi explains that they are “in bondage to the Lamanites and are taxed” by the Lamanite
king. We will later read how the
Lamanites came upon the people of Limhi and placed them in bondage. “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 19:15).
Limhi is expecting Ammon and his party to deliver them from
their situation. He went so far as to
say, “it is better that we be slaves to
the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.’
Limhi ordered Ammon and his party to be freed. A group was also sent out to gather the
remaining members of Ammon’s party and bring them into the city. They were to “eat, and drink, and rest themselves from the labors of their journey.” The journey was not an easy one and there
group had suffered many afflictions.
“After the sixteen messengers were properly identified (see
Mosiah 7:13–14), Limhi gathered all his people together at the local temple,
where he spoke of bondage and deliverance (see Mosiah 7:17–33).”[2] Following Nephite tradition, Limhi sent a
proclamation to the people calling on them to gather at the temple.[3] He would speak to his people.
At this same time, among the people
of Lehi-Nephi, who happened to be in bondage to the Lamanites, "king Limhi
sent a proclamation among all his people, that thereby they might gather
themselves together to the temple, to hear the words which he should speak unto
them" (Mosiah 7:17). Apparently such assemblies were a general practice
and not invented by Benjamin.[4]
[1] When
Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L. Sorenson, Maxwell Institute, accessed August
22, 2014.
[2] Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed August 22, 2014.
[3] Ancient
Aspects of Nephite Kingship in the Book of Mormon, Todd R. Kerr, Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 22, 2014.
[4] Old
World Ritual in the New World, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed August
22, 2014.
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