12 And they had taken
all their gold, and silver, and their precious things, which they could carry,
and also their provisions with them, into the wilderness; and they pursued
their journey.
13 And after being
many days in the wilderness they arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined
Mosiah's people, and became his subjects.
14 And it came to pass
that Mosiah received them with joy; and he also received their records, and
also the records which had been found by the people of Limhi.
15 And now it came to
pass when the Lamanites had found that the people of Limhi had departed out of
the land by night, that they sent an army into the wilderness to pursue them;
16 And after they had
pursued them two days, they could no longer follow their tracks; therefore they
were lost in the wilderness.
Mosiah 22:12-16
As the people of Limhi fled from the Lamanite oppression,
they had taken all their possession, including their gold, silver, and other
things they valued.
Eventually they arrived in Zarahemla and became a part of
Mosiah’s people. “Indeed, while it
lasted, legitimate Nephite kingship remained within the line of Nephi. It is
clear, for example, from Mosiah 22:13, that Mosiah's was the primary
kingship and that the kingship of the Zeniffite line was derivative and
subordinate.”[1]
We further read:
Adding to the demographic
complexity, the people of Limhi had made a dramatic escape from the city of
Nephi and arrived in the land of Zarahemla shortly after Mosiah began his reign
as king (Mosiah 22:13). The Limhites became Mosiah's subjects, but these
righteous, quiet people seem to have settled and remained separate from the
city of Zarahemla. They lived in the valley of Gideon, mentioned in Alma 6:7,
which appears to have been named after the Limhite warrior named Gideon. If
normal social conditions prevailed among the diverse populations in the land of
Zarahemla, it is unlikely that many of these newcomers or refugees were fully
assimilated as equal citizens into the upper levels of Nephite society.
Although Limhi had earlier been named king by his people (Mosiah 19:26), he and
his family and followers apparently voluntarily surrendered their claim to
kingship; after all, they knew from their own firsthand experiences the kinds
of problems that had been foisted upon them by the manipulative and
overreaching administration of King Noah (Mosiah 11:3–4). Accordingly, they
would not likely have been among those who were agitating for the reinstitution
of the kingship after the law reforms of Mosiah.[2]
Mosiah received the people of Limhi. He was also given their records (“And it came to pass that [King Limhi] caused
that the plates which contained the record of his people from the time that
they left the land of Zarahemla, should be brought before Ammon, that he might
read them.” (Mosiah 8:5).) as well as the record we know to be of the
Jaredites (“And they brought a record
with them, even a record of the people whose bones they had found; and it was
engraven on plates of ore” (Mosiah 21:27).).
The Lamanites were not pleased with departure of Limhi’s
people. They sent an army to pursue
them. “And after they had pursued them two days, they could no longer follow
their tracks; therefore they were lost in the wilderness.”
How did the Lamanites lose the people of Limhi?
Now elephants or gorillas, we are
told in travel books, can be very easily tracked through the densest tropical
jungle—and the denser the better, since they are best trailed by broken twigs,
branches and other wreckage. But a large host of humans driving flocks and
herds (of all things) with them would leave a far more obvious trail. Whence it
is plain, as it also is from the enormous distances involved, that our story
does not take place in the jungles of Central America. How could their tracks
have become lost to the swift and clever Lamanite trackers right behind them?
Very easily in arid country, by winds laden with sand and dust, which have
rendered many an army invisible and effaced its tracks. But never in a jungle.[3]
[1] Authority
in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed November
20, 2014.
[2] The
Trial of Nehor, Maxwell Institute, accessed November 20, 2014.
[3] The
Nature of Book of Mormon Society, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed November
20, 2014.
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