Chapter 8
Ammon teaches the
people of Limhi—He learns of the twenty–four Jaredite plates—Ancient records
can be translated by seers—The gift of seership exceeds all others. About 121
B.C.
1 AND it came to pass
that after king Limhi had made an end of speaking to his people, for he spake
many things unto them and only a few of them have I written in this book, he
told his people all the things concerning their brethren who were in the land
of Zarahemla.
2 And he caused that
Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and rehearse unto them all that had
happened unto their brethren from the time that Zeniff went up out of the land
even until the time that he himself came up out of the land.
3 And he also
rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had taught them, and
explained them to the people of king Limhi, so that they might understand all
the words which he spake.
4 And it came to pass
that after he had done all this, that king Limhi dismissed the multitude, and
caused that they should return every one unto his own house.
5 And it came to pass
that he 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.
6 Now, as soon as Ammon
had read the record, the king inquired of him to know if he could interpret
languages, and Ammon told him that he could not.
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.
11 And again, they
have brought swords, the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof
were cankered with rust; and there is no one in the land that is able to
interpret the language or the engravings that are on the plates. Therefore I said unto thee: Canst thou
translate?
12 And I say unto thee
again: Knowest thou of any one that can translate? For I am desirous that these records should
be translated into our language; for, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of
a remnant of the people who have been destroyed, from whence these records
came; or, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of this very people who have been
destroyed; and I am desirous to know the cause of their destruction.
13 Now Ammon said unto
him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the
records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that
are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God.
And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them
except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should
perish. And whosoever is commanded to
look in them, the same is called seer.
14 And behold, the
king of the people who are in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is
commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God.
15 And the king said
that a seer is greater than a prophet.
16 And Ammon said that
a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no
man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a
man may have great power given him from God.
17 But a seer can know
of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them
shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest,
and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be
made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise
could not be known.
18 Thus God has
provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore
he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.
19 And now, when Ammon
had made an end of speaking these words the king rejoiced exceedingly, and gave
thanks to God, saying: Doubtless a great mystery is contained within these
plates, and these interpreters were doubtless prepared for the purpose of
unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men.
20 O how marvelous are
the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and
how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for
they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over
them!
21 Yea, they are as a
wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd, and scattereth, and are driven, and
are devoured by the beasts of the forest.
Mosiah 8:1-21
Limhi finishes speaking to
his people. Mormon tantalizes us with
hints that Limhi “spake many things … and only a few of them I have written.” One wonders what he might have said.
Limhi had Ammon speak to the
people. He reviewed the history of
Zarahemla from the time of Zeniff to the present. After reviewing the history, he told the
teachings of King Benjamin and explained the meaning of his words.
Limhi the told thee people to
return to their homes.
“Mosiah 8:4 does not say
whether Limhi’s people entered into the covenant before he ‘dismissed the
multitude, and caused that they should return every one unto his own house,’
but it appears that they did so for two reasons: First, the same phrase
describes how Benjamin ‘dismissed the multitude, [so] they returned, every one,
according to their families, to their own houses’ (Mosiah 6:3), immediately
after his covenant-making and name-taking ceremony was completed; thus it seems
likely that the identical formula is used in Mosiah 8:4 as a summary statement
indicating that all the same covenants had been concluded in Limhi’s case as
well. Second, Mosiah 21:30–31 reports that Ammon and the people declared a time
of mourning for those who had been lost; this mourning would likely have begun
the next day. Whenever it began, by that time the people had already ‘entered
into a covenant with God to serve him and keep his commandments’ (Mosiah
21:31), and these words appear to describe the same covenant required by
Benjamin’s speech as it was delivered by Ammon to King Limhi’s people.”[1]
Plates had been kept
containing a record of the people of Zeniff.
Ammon read through the plates.
Limhi asked Ammon if “he
could interpret languages.” He said he
could not. Limhi explained he sent a party of forty-three to find a way to get
help from Zarahemla. They became lost and wandered for a time. Unexpectedly, they came upon a land that was
covered with the bones of men and beasts.
(Amaleki briefly refers to this on the small plates [see Omni
1:22]). They also found ruins. It was obvious that this had once been home
to an unknown civilization.
While searching the area,
they came across twenty-four gold plates containing engravings in a language
they could not read. They also found
useable breastplates as well the hilts of swords as well as rusted swords (see Ether
15:15).
I wish we would know more
about how they found the Jaredite record.
It seems they were wandering around the ruins they suddenly came upon
the plates. These were important records. In addition to containing an account of the
Jaredites, it contains the brother of Jared’s record of his vision. There is a school of thought that the brother
of Jared’s record of the history of the world from the beginning to the end
make up the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. I would think a record of this importance
would have been better preserved; yet, because of their wickedness they may
have no longer valued this record. We
just don’t know.
Limhi inquired of Ammon if he
knew of anyone who could translate the record.
He was sure it was a record of the people that had inhabited the land.
Ammon said he was glad he
asked! He refers to King Mosiah2. He has received the gift and ability to
translate records from God. He has “things
[that] are called interpreters.” He was
referring to a Urim and Thummim.
Using these, he would be able
to translate them. “And thou shalt put
in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim [HEB Light and
Perfection]; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the
LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his
heart before the LORD continually” (Exodus 28:30). Using the “interpreters,” he would be able to
translate the record. “[W]hosoever is
commanded to look in them is call seer.”
A seer, Ammon explains, is greater than a prophet.
After telling Limhi King
Mosiah2 was a seer who could translate the records. He then goes on to explain what a seer
is. In addition to being a seer, he is
also a revelator and a prophet. These
are gifts no one can have save it be given him of God.
A seer knows both things of
the past and things of the future. They
will be made known to him through the power of God. Steven Olsen explains how knowing the past
affected those who wrote the Book of Mormon.
“Just as the concept of
history in the Book of Mormon is singular, so is the set of personal
qualifications needed for the authors to produce such a work. In particular,
priesthood keys and highly refined spiritual gifts—including prophecy,
revelation, and ‘seeing’-were required to grasp the mind and will of God, as
regards the overall focus and particular contents of the narrative. In addition,
its principal authors needed well-developed analytical and literary skills to
reveal such exalted concepts within and through the stuff and substance of
everyday life and language. For Nephi and Mormon, the past, in this exalted
sense, was no more knowable than the future without such spiritual and
professional capacities (e.g., Mosiah 8:16–17 identifies one of the
qualities of a seer as being able ‘to know of things which are past,’
presumably in a way that was unattainable to record keepers who did not possess
this spiritual gift).”[2]
Through this means, “God as
provided a means that man, through faith, might work might miracles; therefore
he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.”
“In connection with the
powers of revelation, as Ammon says, a righteous priesthood holder can work by
faith to provide great benefits to his fellow beings (see Mosiah 8:18). A
priesthood holder can, in fact, exercise great faith in behalf of others of
lesser faith and can ‘fill in’ with faith for them; thus a prophet and a people
together can bring down blessings for even a whole community. The Lord seems to
be interested not only in individuals, but also in communities of individuals
who wish to establish holy cities and have the possibility of uniting with heavenly
communities. A priesthood holder’s office is to sanctify himself and stand as
an advocate before God seeking blessings for his community in the manner of the
Lord Jesus Christ himself, whether the community be as small as a family or as
large as King Benjamin’s. Like the ancients, one who holds the holy priesthood
is always ‘look[ing] for a city’ (Hebrews 11:10, 16).”[3]
Ammon ended his words at this
point. Limhi rejoiced. He knew the plates contained a mystery and
the interpreters (Urim and Thummim) we prepared to translate the record and
discover the mysteries therein. “Behold, I have written upon these plates the
very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things
made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared” (Ether
4:4).
“The history of the
interpreters follows very much the same story line as that record, but the
interpreters have an additional history. While the sealed record was simply
kept for a long period of time, the interpreters were used for other purposes
besides the translation of the sealed record for which they were primarily
created. They were the means of several translations and revelations in various
dispensations. King Limhi, referring to the translation of the 24 plates, said that
‘these interpreters were doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all
such mysteries to the children of men’ (Mosiah 8:19).”[4]
The works of the Lord are
marvelous and He is longsuffering with his people. They are blind and do not understand for “they
will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them!” The people are a wild flock. They run form the shepherd and are driven and
scattered. They will be devoured by the
beasts in the wilderness.
[2] Prophecy
and History: Structuring the Abridgment of the Nephite Records, Steven L.
Olsen, Maxwell Institute.
[4] A
Third Jaredite Record: The Sealed Portion of the Gold Plates, Valentin
Arts, Maxwell Institute.
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