The Record of Zeniff—
An account of his
people, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time that they
were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites.
Comprising chapters 9
to 22 inclusive.
Chapter 9
Zeniff leads a group
from Zarahemla to possess the land of Lehi-Nephi—The Lamanite king permits them
to inherit the land—There is war between the Lamanites and Zeniff's people.
About 200–187 B.C.
1 I, ZENIFF, having
been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of
the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers' first inheritance, *and
having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that I might spy out their
forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them—but when I saw that
which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.
2 Therefore, I
contended with my brethren in the wilderness, for I would that our ruler should
make a treaty with them; but he being an austere and a blood-thirsty man
commanded that I should be slain; but I was rescued by the shedding of much
blood; for father fought against father, and brother against brother, until the
greater number of our army was destroyed in the wilderness; and we returned,
those of us that were spared, to the land of Zarahemla, to relate that tale to
their wives and their children.
3 And yet, I 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.
4 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.
5 And it came to pass
that I went again with four of my men into the city, in unto the king, that I
might know of the disposition of the king, and that I might know if I might go
in with my people and possess the land in peace.
6 And I went in unto
the king, and he covenanted with me that I might possess the land of
Lehi-Nephi, and the land of Shilom.
7 And he also
commanded that his people should depart out of the land, and I and my people
went into the land that we might possess it.
Mosiah 9:1-7
We take a break in the Book of Mormon narrative at this
point in Mormon’s records. Benjamin is the king, inheriting the kingdom from
his father, Mosiah1. We go
back about one hundred years to an incident touched upon by Amaleki in the book
of Omni.
27
And now I would speak somewhat concerning a certain number who went up into the
wilderness to return to the land of Nephi; for there was a large number who
were desirous to possess the land of their inheritance.
28
Wherefore, they went up into the wilderness.
And their leader being a strong and mighty man, and a stiffnecked man,
wherefore he caused a contention among them; and they were all slain, save
fifty, in the wilderness, and they returned again to the land of Zarahemla.
29
And it came to pass that they also took others to a considerable number, and
took their journey again into the wilderness.
30
And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since
known concerning them.
Omni 1:27-30
Zeniff was a part of the group that went to claim the land
of Nephi which had been lost to the Lamanites.
He was a part of the first group.
He went out and served as a spy for his party. He was to find weaknesses that could be
exploited and used to lead to their defeat.
Instead of finding a vicious enemy, Zeniff found a people in
which he found good. He was so impressed
by the Lamanites, he did not want to see them destroyed.
We get a somewhat unusual statement by Zeniff. Zeniff tells us he was taught the language of
the Nephites. Why would he say
this? It’s obvious a Nephite would know
the language of the Nephites.
Zeniff stated that he had been
taught "in all the language of the Nephites" (Mosiah 9:1). Why would
he have made that statement if there were no alternatives? Who among us, raised
in the United States, would say in opening our autobiography, "I was
taught English when I was young." Zeniff and his people lived for a time
in close contact with the Lamanites, thus perhaps raising his perspective on a
different language.[1]
Zeniff returned with his report. He “contended
with my brethren in the wilderness.” The
group’s leader (Zeniff calls him “our ruler”) was described as a “stiffnecked man” (Omni 1:28) and as a “blood-thirsty
man” by Zeniff. He ordered Zeniff be
killed. Obviously the leader did not
control the entire party. There was a
major conflict, with father against father and brother against brother. All this accomplished was the killing of most
of the party. The survivors returned to
Zarahemla, letting family members know what happened.
The failure of the first party did not discourage
Zeniff. In fact, he describes himself,
in his own words, as “being over-zealous
to inherit the land of our fathers.” We
will see that Zeniff was a poor choice to be the leader (and eventual king) of
this group.
[W]e see that Zeniff is not a man
of very good judgment. You notice that he has done foolish things. In Mosiah
9:2–3 he got into trouble with the leader of the crew. He wanted to make peace,
but he wasn't too tactful about it. He was partly responsible for the breaking
up of that group. Then soon after he insisted on leading another expedition
which was poorly equipped, and they suffered from hunger and thirst. They had a
terrible time because they weren't properly prepared.[2]
The new party went back into the wilderness, looking for the
land of Nephi. But, Zeniff tells us,
they “were slow to remember the Lord our
God.” This lead to the suffering
from a famine and other afflictions. “This
is not a case of getting lost, for a large number of survivors from the earlier
expedition certainly knew the way; this party knew exactly where they were
going—it was the immense length of the journey that made it so time-consuming
and exhausting.”[3]
They finally arrived at the location of the rebellion, near
the land of Nephi.
A group of five went into the Lamanite king and asked to be
allowed to “possess the land in peace.” “Zeniff and his people willingly
recognized the Lamanite king of the land (see Mosiah 9:5) and then
proceeded to set up their own kingdom nearby.[4]”
The king granted Zeniff’s request and covenanted with him
that he and his people would not only possess the land of Lehi-Nephi, but the
land of Shilom as well. There were Lamanites
living in those lands. The king ordered
his people to leave the land and allow Zeniff and his people to live in the
land.
[1] Who
Are the Children of Lehi? D. Jeffrey Meldrum and Trent D. Stephens, Maxwell
Institute, accessed September 3, 2014.
[2] Lecture
33: Mosiah 10-11, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 3, 2014.
[3] The
Nature of Book of Mormon Society, Maxwell Institute, accessed September 3,
2014.
[4] Kingship.
Coronation, and Covenant in Mosiah 1–6, Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute,
accessed September 3, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment