Okay, I know you aren't supposed to play favorites but Mosiah has to be one of my most favorite books in The Book of Mormon. That being said it can sometimes be a little confusing as it jumps from different groups of people and travels back in time so for those of you who like a chronological story this is a bit confusing. Here is a link to the best visual diagram for my fellow visual learners out there: Overview Diagram I have also included a screen grab of the same diagram, although the quality isn't great.
So to back things up, remember how Nephi had to leave his brothers and journey further into the wilderness once arriving in the promise land because Laman and Lemuel wanted to kill him? Yes, okay so they went up to the land which is now called the Land of Nephi. Well after several generations of living there the Nephites began to be wicked and have disputations so a guy name Mosiah was warned by the Lord that he should leave the land of Nephi and all who would listen to him went with him (see Omni 1:12). Well when Mosiah and his people left the discovered the land of Zarahemla which was a city occupied by a group that left Jerusalem about 11 years after Lehi and his family had so many years ago (like 470 years earlier). They unite as one group and after Mosiah passes the wonderful King Benjamin rules. King Benjamin passes and his son, Mosiah (really Mosiah the II) now rules.
During this time a group of people wanted to return to their home land, the Land of Nephi, and decided to get a group together to head down there. They make it down to the Land of Nephi and see the Lamanites. There is a bit of a disagreement about how to handle the situation, some want to invade and kill the Lamanites, others do not. This results in fighting and much bloodshed within the group of Nephites from Zarahemla. The survivors head back to Zarahemla and regroup. Now Zeniff is the leader of this group and admits to being a bit "over-zealous" (Mosiah 9:3) to inherit the land. Rounds up more people to try again to inherit the Land of Nephi, maybe work out a deal with the Lamanites.
Well this group is never heard from again. People are worried and want to know what happened to this party of people (their friends and possible family members) so Ammon is sent to look for them. He discovers the people of Limhi (the grandson of Zeniff, so it had been a long while) and they are in bondage by the Lamanities (Mosiah 7-8).
Wow, that was a lot of info but totally necessary because this is where Mosiah gets out of chronological order and can be difficult to follow if you don't have a visual picture. Mosiah 9-21 then is the recounting of everything that has occured from Zeniff leading the people out of Zarahemla to re-inhabit their "homeland" to Ammon discovering Limhi. I picture this part of the history as Ammon being like, "what has happened in the last 100+ years since we have seen you, catch me up" and Limhi pulling out the record and recounting everything which includes:
So to back things up, remember how Nephi had to leave his brothers and journey further into the wilderness once arriving in the promise land because Laman and Lemuel wanted to kill him? Yes, okay so they went up to the land which is now called the Land of Nephi. Well after several generations of living there the Nephites began to be wicked and have disputations so a guy name Mosiah was warned by the Lord that he should leave the land of Nephi and all who would listen to him went with him (see Omni 1:12). Well when Mosiah and his people left the discovered the land of Zarahemla which was a city occupied by a group that left Jerusalem about 11 years after Lehi and his family had so many years ago (like 470 years earlier). They unite as one group and after Mosiah passes the wonderful King Benjamin rules. King Benjamin passes and his son, Mosiah (really Mosiah the II) now rules.
During this time a group of people wanted to return to their home land, the Land of Nephi, and decided to get a group together to head down there. They make it down to the Land of Nephi and see the Lamanites. There is a bit of a disagreement about how to handle the situation, some want to invade and kill the Lamanites, others do not. This results in fighting and much bloodshed within the group of Nephites from Zarahemla. The survivors head back to Zarahemla and regroup. Now Zeniff is the leader of this group and admits to being a bit "over-zealous" (Mosiah 9:3) to inherit the land. Rounds up more people to try again to inherit the Land of Nephi, maybe work out a deal with the Lamanites.
Well this group is never heard from again. People are worried and want to know what happened to this party of people (their friends and possible family members) so Ammon is sent to look for them. He discovers the people of Limhi (the grandson of Zeniff, so it had been a long while) and they are in bondage by the Lamanities (Mosiah 7-8).
Wow, that was a lot of info but totally necessary because this is where Mosiah gets out of chronological order and can be difficult to follow if you don't have a visual picture. Mosiah 9-21 then is the recounting of everything that has occured from Zeniff leading the people out of Zarahemla to re-inhabit their "homeland" to Ammon discovering Limhi. I picture this part of the history as Ammon being like, "what has happened in the last 100+ years since we have seen you, catch me up" and Limhi pulling out the record and recounting everything which includes:
- Zeniff making a deal with the Lamanites to inherit the land
- Zeniff passing and handing things over to his son Noah, yes, wicked King Noah
- King Noah's interactions with Abinadi
- Alma's conversion and escape from the land
- Lots of fighting and death with the Lamanites
- Limhi's attempt of sending a search party to get help from people in Zarahemla but them discovering the ruins of the Jaredite civilization and the 24 gold plates (Book of Ether)
And this is all wrapped up in Mosiah 22 when Ammon helps the people of Limhi escape bondage (physical and spiritual) and join with their brothers and sisters in Zarahemla.
Then the book of Mosiah takes another step in back in time in Mosiah 23-24 so we can hear about Alma and his people who escaped wicked King Noah. Who then are brought under Lamanite persecution, and finally escaped in the night, traveled 12 days in the wilderness and stumble into Zarahemla.
These amazing accounts of overcoming bondage and finding rescue are recounted to all in Zarahemla and everyone is amazed at the goodness of God and are united in the church. Things proceed from there chronologically through The Book of Mormon until we get to Ether, but that folks is a discussion for another day.
Understanding all of this brings me to why I love Mosiah so much. Throughout the countless histories of different groups of people and their journey to Zarahemla you can see so many parallels between us and our journey home to our Heavenly Father. What obstacles stand in your way preventing your return home? Did you place them there, did other people place them in your way, or are they just part of life? What are you going to do with these obstacles? Will you respond like King Noah placate to your immediate desires because it is easier than facing your obstacles or will you respond like Limhi's people and Alma's, humble, repentant, and seeking guidance from the Holy Ghost and the Savior?
I know that the Savior is there always and hears our humble pleas as we seek Him in our own obstacles, whatever they may be. He will help us thrive despite our circumstances and lead us to safety in whatever way He deems fit. Look for the Savior and your Heavenly Father in these chapters, look for all the times they reached out to people. Think about all the ways they are reaching out for you.
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