Book of Mormon 2020 - Mosiah 7-10

In 2016, I wrote my first post about Mosiah 7 to 10. This can be accessed at: https://gospeldoctrine2016.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-of-mormon-17-seer-becometh-great.html

The book of Mosiah can become a little confusing regarding who is where and at what time. I found it much easier to follow these scriptures after seeing various versions of maps of the scriptures produced by different people. I will share some of the most useful resources that I found. Firstly, is a diagram created by Brother John Bytheway that accompanied his regular Gospel Doctrine podcast. I am sorry I cannot link to these podcasts. You have to be a paid member of https://ourturtlehouse.com to access all the wonderful contents of the site.

In Brother Bytheway’s diagram, you can see clearly that there were three areas where the Nephites lived. The Land of First Inheritance was where they arrived after their long sea journey. The Land of Nephi became their home after Nephi took those who would follow him out of the Land of First Inheritance, for reasons of safety. Later, King Mosiah 1 took the Nephites to a land already called Zarahemla, where they found the Mulekites (Omni 1:12-14). Zeniff led a group back from Zarahemla to the Land of Nephi. To make it clearer, I used the following two resources from Melanie’s Library (https://www.melanieslibrary.com/). The first shows the different kings in each area and the second shows the general direction in which the groups travelled.

Two different groups of people were sent to find the group that left Zarahemla during the reign of King Benjamin. The first group was unsuccessful, many were killed, and the remainder returned to Zarahemla. The second group, led by Ammon (the “explorer”, not the “missionary” and son of King Mosiah), wandered in the wilderness for 40 days before finding Limhi and his people (Zeniff’s grandson). Limhi was “exceedingly glad” to welcome the visitors from Zarahemla (Mosiah 7:14-15). He believed that they would help rescue his people from their bondage to the Lamanites, who were taxing them half of all they possessed (Mosiah 7:22). Limhi knew the reason why his people were in bondage, “For if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them” (Mosiah 7:25). In verse 31, Limhi continues, “If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction.” The east wind is a reference that occurs frequently in the Bible and describes Palestinian weather conditions. The west wind would be full of moisture from the Mediterranean, but the east wind would be dry and destructive arising from the Arabian desert. Elder Richard G. Scott stated (General Conference, October 1991), “We cannot count on help if we are immoral or otherwise deliberately disobedient unless we sincerely repent.”

The east wind

In Mosiah 7, we learn that Zeniff had tried to send a group of his people back to Zarahemla. They had been unsuccessful but had found a city of bones. They had returned with records that they could not translate. When Limhi asked Ammon if he could translate the records, he said that only a seer could do that but there was such a man in Zarahemla. In Mosiah 8:17 we read, “a seer is greater than a prophet.” The following video from Knowhy: Book of Mormon Central answers this question.

The differences between a seer and a prophet are made clear when we examine the definitions of these terms in the Guide to the Scriptures (see below). A prophet speaks the mind and will of the Lord while a seer is able to see with spiritual eyes and knows the past, present, and future.

When I watch the sessions from General Conference, there is no doubt in my mind that we are led by prophets, seers, and revelators. The quotes from Elder Ulisses Soares (General Conference, April 2018) below, touch my heart. I have complete faith in the leadership of the Church. I adore our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. He is the mouthpiece of the Lord in our time. He is a man who walks with the Lord and we are blessed to be guided by him.

I found a few interesting things in these scriptures that further emphasise the antiquity of the writing in the Book of Mormon. In Mosiah 7:22 and in Mosiah 9:9, there is mention of the Nephites growing barley. It was believed that there was no barley in pre-Columbian America until 1983, when archaeologists uncovered evidence to support the farming practices described in the Book of Mormon. More about this can be seen in the Knowhy video below. Mosiah 9:9 states, “with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum”. I was curious about the last two crops, so I looked them up in the Book of Mormon Onomasticon. Apparently neus could be some sort of chili pepper, and sheum a type of barley or garlic.

In Mosiah 9:16 it reads, “I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings”. For much of the twentieth century, it was believed that cimeters or scimitars were not invented until after the rise of Islam (7^th century A.D.). It was after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls that scholars discovered the Hebrew word ‘kidon’ refers to a scimitar. More about this can be seen in the Knowhy video below.

I found Mosiah 10:11-17 quite frightening. Verse 17 speaks about the Lamanites, “And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi.” The Lamanites taught their children to hate and kill. This arose from their lack of knowledge of the Lord (verse 11) and believing the words of their fathers (verse 12). What a dreadful and lasting effect of parents teaching things that are in opposition to truth. We know that as parents we cannot guarantee that our children will follow gospel principles, but it is our responsibility to try to influence them towards goodness and righteousness.