Chapter 28
The sons of Mosiah
shall have eternal life—They go to preach to the Lamanites—Mosiah translates
the Jaredite plates with the two seer stones. About 92 B.C.
1 NOW it came to pass
that after the sons of Mosiah had done all these things, they took
a small number with them and returned to their father, the king, and desired of
him that he would grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had selected,
go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had
heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the
Lamanites—
2 That perhaps they
might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of
the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred
towards the Nephites, that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord
their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and that there
should be no more contentions in all the land which the Lord their God had
given them.
3 Now they were
desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could
not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that
any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.
4 And thus did the
Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of
sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his
infinite mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul
because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be
cast off forever.
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.
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.
Mosiah 28:1-10
After going about attempting to undo the damage they did,
the sons of Mosiah approached their father.
They informed him they desired to go among the Lamanites and preach the
gospel. They wanted them to learn about
the iniquity of their fathers. King
Benjamin had told his sons about the Lamanites.
“I say unto you, my sons, were it
not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God,
that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments
always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief,
and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing
concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them,
because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct” (Mosiah 1:5).
They desired to “impart
the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites.” “Therefore, this was the cause for which the
sons of Mosiah had undertaken the work, that perhaps they might bring them unto
repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of
redemption” (Alma 17:16).
They wanted to “cure …
their hatred towards the Nephites.” Preaching
the gospel was not all. “There is,
however, another aspect to the mission that is generally overlooked. It is that
the Nephite princes were seeking a means whereby their nation could be relieved
of the burden of war with their Lamanite neighbors.”[1] “It was a long shot, but by 92 B.C., after
five hundred years of warfare, it may have been apparent to the king's sons
that Lamanite warfare could only be halted by attacking its foundation, the
tradition of their fathers.”[2]
The sons of Mosiah “could
not bear that any human soul should perish.”
That thought caused them mental anguish. Nephi wanted to do all he could to help Laman
and Lemuel.
“And now I, Nephi,
being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them,
saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder
brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in
your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto
you, yea, and set an example for you?” (1 Nephi 7:8).
Alma2 would experience the same pain when
preaching to the Zoramites. “For it was the cause of great sorrow to
Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful
because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites” (Alma 31:2)
And, we read wickedness troubles the Savior. “And it came to pass that when they had
knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled
because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 17:14).”
We learn that no matter how much sin we commit, we can
always repent and return to the fold.
Mormon tells us in verse 4 that Alma2 and the sons of Mosiah
were “the very vilest of sinner.” Yet, they were able to obtain mercy and
were spared the torments the wicked would face.
Jacob described that torment. “And according to the power of justice, for
justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone,
whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever,
which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment” (Jacob 6:10).
Even though they had received forgiveness for their sins, it
still pained them. “[T]hey [suffered] much because of their iniquities.”
It’s not surprising Mosiah was less than enthused that his
sons wanted to go among the enemy. He
feared for their safety and lives. He
did the only thing he could. He inquired
of the Lord. Nephi emphasized the
importance of asking the Lord. Speaking
to his two wayward brothers,
8
And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
11
… [if ye] ask [him] in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence
in keeping [his] commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto
you.
1 Nephi 15:8, 11
King Mosiah received an answer. “Let
them go up, for many shall believe on their words … and I will deliver thy sons
out of the hands of the Lamanites.”
This was promise was fulfilled. When the gang of Lamanites attempted to steal
the king’s flocks, Mormon tells us, “Therefore
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; neither did they know
anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of
their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king”
(Alma 17:35). In later incident, a
brother of one the gang saw Ammon and desired revenge.
22
Now, one of them, whose brother had been slain with the sword of Ammon, being
exceedingly angry with Ammon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let
it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword to smite him,
behold, he fell dead.
23
Now 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 19:22-23
Having received the Lord’s promise, he sent his sons on their
mission to the Lamanites (see Alma 17-26).
But, this caused a problem. His
sons would not accept the kingdom. He
had no successor.
Listen to Pres. Henry Eyring discuss the Characteristics of Those Who Faithfully Share the Gospel.
[1] The
Sons of Mosiah: Emissaries of Peace, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute,
accessed December 26, 2014.
[2] The
Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Maxwell
Institute, accessed December 26, 2014.
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