Mosiah 19-20

Mosiah 19

King Noah’s people begin to be divided against him after Alma and his people escape into the wilderness. We aren’t given many details, just that “the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the king, and there began to be a great contention among them (v. 3).” A good man named Gideon, who is an enemy of the king, tries to kill King Noah with his sword. He is about to win the battle and king Noah flees to the top of a tower in the middle of the land. On top of the tower Noah sees that the Lamanite army is marching toward his land and begs Gideon to spare his life so he can save his people. Of course king Noah cares more about his own hide than his people, but it was a good excuse, and Gideon lets him go.

King Noah commands his people to flee into the wilderness, but the Lamanites catch up to them and begin slaying them! In his ultimate slime-bag moment, King Noah commands the men to leave their women and children, who are slowing them down. Some do it. Others refuse and stay with their families. Those who stay behind send their fair daughters to “stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them. And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their women. 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 (vs. 13-15).” I always liked that part about the fair daughters pleading and winning the hearts of the Lamanites.

King Noah has a son, Limhi, who is actually a decent guy. He stayed behind with the group of men, women, and children, so he is in charge now. He and Gideon (who tried to slay the king), send men into the wilderness to find King Noah and the cowardly men who left their wives and children. They find the group of men returning to their families, but King Noah and his priests are not with them. Apparently the group of men regretted their cowardice and wanted to return to help their wives and children. King Noah told them not to, and they all got fed up with him and burned him at the stake (remember Abinadi’s prophecy that King Noah would die the same way he did?). They would have burned the priests too, but the priests fled into the wilderness. 

So everyone returns to their homes, now with Limhi as king of the land, and with Lamanite guards surrounding the land, keeping them as prisoners and slaves. But for at least two years they are in relative peace because the Lamanites don’t harm or bother them.

Mosiah 20

Of course the wicked priests of Noah are not done causing trouble. They don’t dare return to their own wives and children for fear they will be killed like King Noah was, so they hide out in the wilderness. They abduct 24 young Lamanite women to be their new wives. When the Lamanites discover their daughters are missing, they are furious and assume it was the people of Limhi (the Nephites who are their slaves), and immediately go to war against them. 

The Nephites win the battle of the first day and find the king of the Lamanites lying among the dead, but he is still alive. They ask him why the Lamanites came to battle, and they learn about the stolen Lamanite daughters. Limhi orders for his people to be searched, but then Gideon (the guy who originally tried to slay king Noah) reminds him that Noah’s priests are roaming free in the wilderness and are the likely culprits. They tell the whole story to the Lamanite king, and his heart is softened enough that he is willing to go in front of the Nephite army the next day to plead with the Lamanite army to end the battle. It works, and everyone goes home in peace.

In Gideon’s remarks to the king he makes an important connection:

21 For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against us—and all this because we would not hearken unto the words of the Lord, and turn from our iniquities?

Hardships in life are not always a result of our sins. But sometimes they are. And in many cases we were even warned of the consequences and we made the bad decisions anyway. Are you wise enough to recognize the consequences of your own choices (often fulfilled prophecy from the scriptures)?