Mosiah 22: The escape of the Nephites

Ammon and Lemhi decide to call a meeting of all the people. There was only one order of business: how to deliver themselves out of bondage.

And now it came to pass that Ammon and king Limhi began to consult with the people how they should deliver themselves out of bondage; and even they did cause that all the people should gather themselves together; and this they did that they might have the voice of the people concerning the matter. 22.1

After a lengthy discussion, they decided that the only option was to run away. (They tried fighting last chapter, remember?)

And it came to pass that they could find no way to deliver themselves out of bondage, except it were to take their women and children, and their flocks, and their herds, and their tents, and depart into the wilderness; for the Lamanites being so numerous, it was impossible for the people of Limhi to contend with them, thinking to deliver themselves out of bondage by the sword. 22.2

But they still needed a plan. Luckily, a man named Gideon had a great idea: to get the Lamanites drunk and escape through the back door. He explains it to us in the next 6 verses.

Now it came to pass that Gideon went forth and stood before the king, and said unto him: Now O king, thou hast hitherto hearkened unto my words many times when we have been contending with our brethren, the Lamanites. 22.3  

And now O king, if thou hast not found me to be an unprofitable servant, or if thou hast hitherto listened to my words in any degree, and they have been of service to thee, even so I desire that thou wouldst listen to my words at this time, and I will be thy servant and deliver this people out of bondage. 22.4

And the king granted unto him that he might speak. And Gideon said unto him: 22.5

Behold the back pass, through the back wall, on the back side of the city. The Lamanites, or the guards of the Lamanites, by night are drunken; therefore let us send a proclamation among all this people that they gather together their flocks and herds, that they may drive them into the wilderness by night. 22.6  

And I will go according to thy command and pay the last tribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be drunken; and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and asleep. 22.7  

Thus we will depart with our women and our children, our flocks, and our herds into the wilderness; and we will travel around the land of Shilom.  22.8

So that's what they did. King Limhi followed Gideon's plan, and everything went off without a hitch. And after many days of wandering in the wilderness, they arrived at the land of Zarahemla and joined Mosiah's people. 

And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the words of Gideon. 22.9 

And king Limhi caused that his people should gather their flocks together; and he sent the tribute of wine to the Lamanites; and he also sent more wine, as a present unto them; and they did drink freely of the wine which king Limhi did send unto them. 22.10  

And it came to pass that the people of king Limhi did depart by night into the wilderness with their flocks and their herds, and they went round about the land of Shilom in the wilderness, and bent their course towards the land of Zarahemla, being led by Ammon and his brethren. 22.11  

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. 22.12

And after being many days in the wilderness they arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah's people, and became his subjects. 22.13  

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. 22.14

When the Lamanites woke up from their hangover, they sent out an army after the Nephites. After two days of pursuit, the army gets lost in the wilderness. 

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; 22.15  

And after they had pursued them two days, they could no longer follow their tracks; therefore they were lost in the wilderness. 22.16

If I was etching this story onto brass plates, I probably would have paraphrased Mosiah 22 like this:

THE NEPHITES GOT THE LAMANITES DRUNK AND LEFT OUT THE BACK DOOR

But that's just lazy. 

Mosiah 20: Stolen Daughters

In case you missed it, A lot changed last chapter.  Limhi is now king, but he is under the rule of the Lamanites, and has to pay them an enormous tribute (1/2 of all their possessions and earnings). Everything was going well for two years, without anyone getting molested or anything! (which is pretty good for the Book of Mormon.)

But I'll get on with the story.

The daughters of the Lamanites liked to gather and sing and dance in this secret place near Shemlon. One day, when there were only a few of them, the evil priests of King Noah kidnapped them and carried 24 of them into the wilderness.  (I don't know how many priests there were, but this must have been quite the operation)

Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to make themselves merry. 20:1 

And it came to pass that there was one day a small number of them gathered together to sing and to dance. 20:2 

And now the priests of king Noah ... came forth out of their secret places and took them and carried them into the wilderness; yea, twenty and four of the daughters of the Lamanites they carried into the wilderness 20:3-5

The Lamanites suspected that the people of Limhi stole their daughters, so their king prepared the army for a real Helen-of-Troy sort of situation.  They sent their army, and they fought like lions.

And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey. 20:10

But the people of Limhi fought like dragons.  They were outnumbered 2-to-1, but everyone knows that a good dragon is worth at least 3-4 lions. (I'm guessing that the battle went something like this)

And it came to pass that the people of Limhi began to drive the Lamanites before them; yet they were not half so numerous as the Lamanites. But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight. 20:11

 In the battle, the Lamanite king was badly wounded. Limhi's soldiers took him captive, and brought him before King Limhi.

And they took him and bound up his wounds, and brought him before Limhi, and said: Behold, here is the king of the Lamanites; he having received a wound has fallen among their dead, and they have left him; and behold, we have brought him before you; and now let us slay him. 20:13 

Limhi doesn't kill him, and instead has a chat with him.

Limhi:                 Why are we fighting, anyways?
Lamanite King:   You stole our daughters!
Limhi:                 Oh! Sorry about that. I'll find and kill whoever took them.
Lamanite King:    Sounds good. Sorry about the war and everything.
Limhi:                  No problem. It had been a little while since our last war anyways.

But Limhi said unto them: Ye shall not slay him, but bring him hither that I may see him. And they brought him. And Limhi said unto him: What cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold, my people have not broken the oath that I made unto you; therefore, why should ye break the oath which ye made unto my people? 20:14 

And now the king said: I have broken the oath because thy people did carry away the daughters of my people; therefore, in my anger I did cause my people to come up to war against thy people. 20:15  

And now Limhi had heard nothing concerning this matter; therefore he said: I will search among my people and whosoever has done this thing shall perish. Therefore he caused a search to be made among his people. 20:16 

But before the search began, Gideon convinced him out of it.  He reminded Limhi of Noah's creepy priests, and he explained how they probably stole the Lamanite's daughters.

Now when Gideon had heard these things, he being the king's captain, he went forth and said unto the king: I pray thee forbear, and do not search this people, and lay not this thing to their charge. 20.17  

For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this people sought to destroy? And are they not in the wilderness? And are not they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites? 20.18

 So Limhi explained Gideon's theory to the Lamanite King.

And now Limhi told the king all the things concerning his father, and the priests that had fled into the wilderness, and attributed the carrying away of their daughters to them. 20.23

The Lamanite king and Limhi were shockingly diplomatic towards one another, considering they were at war. They make peace, and the chapter ends.

Mosiah 16-17: The end of Abinadi

Chapter 16 wraps up Abinadi's speech, and thankfully, it's the last we'll have to hear from him  He continues with the usual threats (but this time quoting language from Matthew 22:13):

And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them not. 16:2 

But there will also be rewards for the righteous:

If they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of endless damnation, being delivered up to the devil, who hath subjected them, which is damnation -- 16:11 

And, one last time, he calls for the sinners to repent (or at least tremble):

And now, ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sins, and remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved? 16:13 

King Noah doesn't listen. Instead, it came to pass that he commanded his priests to kill Abinadi.

 And now it came to pass that when Abinadi had finished these sayings, that the king commanded that the priests should take him and cause that he should be put to death. 17:1 

But his words were not spoken in vain. There was at least one who heard him. He was a descendant of Nephi, and his name was Alma.

But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi has testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace.  17:2 

But King Noah's mind was made up. He was going to kill Abinadi, and now he was going to kill Alma, too.

But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might slay him.17:3 

But Alma got away from Noah's priests, and he hid in the woods for a few days. Noah threw Abinadi in prison, and then brought him out to hear his sentence: Death. Abinadi held to his words, and threatens Noah one more time.

Now Abinadi said unto him: I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands. 17:9  

Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day. 17:10 

This almost scares King Noah enough to release Abinadi.  But then his priests goad him on, and he is forced to burn Abinadi to death.  That's how it goes sometimes.

And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.17:11   

But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.17:12  

And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death. 17:13

While he was burning, he cursed them pretty good.  He covers all of his the basics: they will be burned, afflicted with disease, hunted by their enemies...

 Ye shall be afflicted with all manner of diseases because of your iniquities. 17:16

Ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire. 17:18

Thus God executeth vengeance upon those that destroy his people. O God, receive my soul. 17:19 

So Abinadi died, sealing the truth of his words by his death.  (Don't worry, it didn't make sense to me, either)

And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his death. 17:20

Mosiah 15: O, how beautiful upon the mountains are their feet!

In Mosiah 15, Abinadi continues his speech.  He's done quoting Isaiah, and now he's getting to the important bit about Jesus and God, who are the same guy as it turns out.  Here we go:

Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. 15:1  

And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. 15:2

The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son 15:3

And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. 15:4

And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God... 15:5

In case you didn't get enough Isaiah last chapter, Abinadi has sprinkled some more of this wise book into his speech:

 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!15:14

And now he starts talking about the folks who are spreading the word about God.  They must have had some nice feet, because he just can't stop talking about it.

 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet! 15:15 

Lets hear it once more!  (In case you missed it) 

And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace! 15:16 

One more time, with feeling!

And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever! 15:17 

But wait!  That's not all!  

And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people. 15:18

One day, everyone on the planet will have heard the teachings of the Mormons. (This is why they have so many missionaries out there...)    

And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. 15:28

Then he finishes up the chapter with a few more quotes from Isaiah 52:

Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. 15:29

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 15:30

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 15:31

Mosiah 12-13: Abinadi's Trial

Chapter 12 starts out telling us that Abinadi has somehow managed to remain hidden from Noah's guards for 2 years, and and then he came back in disguise, to prophesy again to the people. He blew his cover awfully quick, though.  He quoted the Lord, and unfortunately the Lord used his name directly.  (Shoot!  I put on a fake mustache and everything!)

And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying -- Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words. 12:1

Abinadi says that the Lord says that "this generation" will be killed and their dead bodies fed to the vultures, dogs, and wild beasts. God will strap loads on their backs like they were a bunch of dumb asses, make them howl all day long, send hail to smite them and insects to pester them, and then he'll kill them all with disease and starvation. When God gets done with them there will be nothing left but the "record they shall leave behind them" (written on golden or brass plates, no doubt).

Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation ... shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh. 12:2

And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with pestilence; and I will cause that they shall howl all the day long. 12:4 

I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be driven before like a dumb ass. 12:5

I will send forth hail among them ... and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain. 12:6

I will utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a record behind them. ... And many things did Abinadi prophesy against this people. 12:8

They brought Abinabi to King Noah and told him what Abinabi said that the Lord said about him: that he was like a burning garment, a dry stalk that is trampled on by beasts, and (worst of all) like the blossoms of the thistle.

And it came to pass that they were angry with him; and they took him and carried him bound before the king, and said unto the king: Behold, we have brought a man before thee who has prophesied evil concerning thy people, and saith that God will destroy them. 12:9

He also ... saith that thy life shall be as a garment in a furnace of fire. 12:10

He saith that thou shalt be ... a dry stalk of the field, which is run over by the beasts and trodden under foot. 12:11

He saith thou shalt be as the blossoms of a thistle. 12:12

When King Noah heard about Abinadi's prophesying, he threw Abinadi in prison and called his priests to a meeting to decide what to do with him.

 And it came to pass that king Noah caused that Abinadi should be cast into prison; and he commanded that the priests should gather themselves together that he might hold a council with them what he should do with him. 12:17 

The priests started interrogating Abinadi, but somehow he managed to start asking the questions.

And now Abinadi said unto them: Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean?12:25 

Therefore, what teach ye this people? 12:27

They try to defend themselves, but Abinadi is too clever for them.  He pioneers the argument tactic of calling your opponent a whore, insisting that you are right, and then quoting the bible.  People have been using it ever since.  

And they said: We teach the law of Moses. 12:28  

And again he said unto them: If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people? 12:29

 Ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God. 12:30

Thou shalt have no other God before me.12:35

Now Abinadi said unto them, Have ye done all this? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. And have ye taught this people that they should do all these things? I say unto you, Nay, ye have not. 12:37 

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Just in case you want the DVD version.

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Mosiah 13

Noah is getting sick of Abinadi's preaching.  He orders his men to grab Abinadi, but they can't.  Apparently God will smite them if they do.

And they stood forth and attempted to lay their hands on him; but he withstood them, and said unto them: 13:2 

Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me. 13:3 

So it looks like they are stuck listening to him, and so are we.  He finishes going through the 10 commandments, and rambles on about all of the usual stuff: stiffnecked people, salvation, the coming of the Lord.

The most notable part of his speech is when he talks about the law of Moses.  He says that we should keep with the law of Moses for now, but there will come a time when we will need to abandon it.  Also, salvation doesn't come simply from following the Law of Moses.  There's more to it than that.

And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses. 13:27   

And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. 13:28 

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The next chapter is straight out of Isaiah, but after that we have more of Abinadi's riveting speech. Until then!

Mosiah 2-6: The King's Speech

In the last chapter, King Benjamin waxed old, selected his son Mosiah to succeed him, and gathered all of his subjects to hear his speech so he could rid his garments of their blood.

And it came to pass that after Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him, and had made a proclamation throughout all the land, that the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them. Mosiah 2:1

I say unto you that I have caused that ye should assemble yourselves together that I might rid my garments of your blood. 2:28

But there were just too many of them. They had multiplied exceedingly. There were so many, in fact, that they couldn't be numbered or fit in the temple, so a tower had to be erected so that everyone could hear King Benjamin's exceedingly boring speech.

There were a great number, even so many that they did not number them; for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the land. 2:2

For the multitude being so great that king Benjamin could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them. 2:7

Mosiah goes on for five chapters, saying all the usual stuff: Jesus is coming and everyone must pre-believe in him or be tortured forever in hell.

If he ... dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment. 2:33

Mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment. 2:39

A state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls. 3:25

Their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever. 3:27

And Mosiah isn't just making stuff up. An angel of the Lord visited him and told him all about Jesus (who would be born in another 120 years or so). This is the umpteenth time Jesus is prophesied in great detail in the Book of Mormon. It's almost as though the whole thing was written using language that mimicked the King James Version of the Bible by someone living in nineteenth century America.

But we do learn a few new things about Jesus.

He will suffer so much that blood will come out of every pore of his body. And he is not only the Son of God, he is also the Father of heaven and earth.

The things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me. 3:2

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that ... the Lord Omnipotent ... shall come down from heaven among the children of men. 3:5

He shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. 3:6

And lo, he shall suffer ... blood cometh from every pore. 3:7

He shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth ... and his mother shall be called Mary. 3:8

When King Benjamin quit speaking, everyone in Zarahemla fell down.

And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them. 4:1

And they all spoke in unison the following words:

O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men. 4:2

When the crowd was finished with their speech, the king started speaking again.

And king Benjamin again opened his mouth and began to speak unto them, saying......... 4:4-30

After King Benjamin's speech, he sent his officials out to ask the people if they believed the stuff he told them.

It came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them. 5:1

He didn't need Nate Silver to do the analysis.

Everyone believed everything he said and they all cried out together, "Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken to us...."

And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. 5:2

And we, ourselves, also, through the infinite goodness of God, and the manifestations of his Spirit, have great views of that which is to come; and were it expedient, we could prophesy of all things. 5:3

And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy. 5:4

And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God. 5:5

And, by golly, those were just the words King Benjamin hoped they'd say!

These are the words which king Benjamin desired of them. 5:6

Then King Benjamin broke into one of his boring speeches again.

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ........ 5:7-15

After King Benjamin finally finished speaking (God, I hope he's really done this time), he decided to make a list of all the born-again Christians. It turned out that everyone had been saved, except for maybe the little children -- 120 years before Jesus was born!

King Benjamin thought it was expedient, after having finished speaking to the people, that he should take the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God. 6:1

And it came to pass that there was not one soul, except it were little children, but who had entered into the covenant and had taken upon them the name of Christ. 6:2

Benjamin made his son Mosiah king and appointed priests to instruct the people. Mosiah walked in the ways of the Lord and everything was peachy in Zarahemla, just like it was when his dad was king.

King Benjamin ... consecrated his son Mosiah to be a ruler and a king ... and also had appointed priests to teach the people." 6:3

And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him. 6:6

And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years. 6:7

Mosiah 1: King Benjamin teaches his sons Reformed Egyptian

Remember how, back in the Book of Omni, the Nephites discovered the land of Zarahemla while fleeing from the evil Lamanites? Well, that's where the Book of Mosiah takes place between 130 and 92 BCE (except for a flashback to 200 BCE in chapters 9-22, which I'll cover in a later post).

King Benjamin was the son of the Mosiah from the Book of Omni. He was a perfect king and the land of Zarahemla was perfectly peaceful and happy during his entire reign.

And now there was no more contention in all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who belonged to king Benjamin, so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days. Mosiah 1:1

Benjamin taught his sons Reformed Egyptian so they could read the brass plates. Good thing, too -- otherwise they'd suffer ignorance and dwindle in unbelief.

King Benjamin ... had three sons ... Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers. 1:1-2

And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons ... were it not for these plates ... we must have suffered in ignorance. 1:3

Lehi ... having been taught in the language of the Egyptians. 1:4

Were it not for these things ... our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief. 1:5

The king told his sons that all the sayings, records, and  plates are true, along with lots of other true stuff that didn't make it into the Book of Mosiah.

These sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi ... are true. ... And many more things did king Benjamin teach his sons, which are not written in this book. 1:6-8

Then it came to pass that the king waxed old, made an end of teaching his sons, and got ready to go the way of all the earth. So he figured he'd better choose one of his sons to succeed him.

And it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of teaching his sons, that he waxed old, and he saw that he must very soon go the way of all the earth; therefore, he thought it expedient that he should confer the kingdom upon one of his sons. 1:9

He chose Mosiah. (Just to confuse you, Mosiah's grandfather was also named Mosiah.)

Therefore, he had Mosiah brought before him. 1:10

And gave him all his special things: the plates of Nephi, the sword of Laban (that Nephi used to decapitate Laban), and the magic ball of curious workmanship that was made by God himself.

And it came to pass that ... king Benjamin gave him ... the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord. 1:15-16

Then the king called everyone in his kingdom to hear his speech, which I'll tell you about in my next post.

Your ziff is safe with Mitt (What the Book of Mormon says about taxes)

(Re-post for tax time)

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I know Romney doesn't like to talk about his Mormon faith. And it's unconstitutional for us to ask him about it or even think about it. But I just can't help it.

What does the Book of Mormon say about politics? Taxes, for example.
Well here's a quote from Mitt's second or third favorite book, the Book of Mormon. (His favorite book is either Battlefield Earth or the Bible.)

And now it came to pass [things often come to pass in the Book of Mormon] that Zeniff [don't you just love Book of Mormon names?] conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father. For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness. And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain. Mosiah 11:1-3

So King Noah was a bad guy (everyone in the Book of Mormon is either a good guy or a bad guy) who didn't keep God's commandments, had lots of wives (like Joseph Smith), and did all kinds of abominable things in front of God and everybody (also like Joseph Smith). And this bad king taxed the people 20% of all their gold, silver, copper, brass, iron, fatlings, and grain. Oh, and on their ziff, too.

Now only a bad king would put a 20% flat tax on everything, including ziff.
The point of these verses (if there is a point) is that taxes are evil and a flat tax of 20% is especially evil. Just what the heck ziff might be is another matter entirely.

Mormon apologists admit that they don't really know what ziff was, but they say it might have been some type of metal. But I doubt it.

I bet it was beer.