Book of Mormon [MOSIAH 7-10] Insights with Maria Eckersley

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Welcome back you guys.

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This is week 19 of Our Mothers Knew It.

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And this week we get to go from Mosiah 10.

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And this is a week of deliverance.

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In fact, most of the book of Mosiah is about deliverance in one form or another.

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People who have got themselves into a bind, people who are suffering

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because of the choices of their parents or their ancestors somewhere,

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and they all get delivered.

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In fact, the visual that's always clicked for me with the Book of Mosiah

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is, I picture it like a mountain spring that comes off the top of a mountain,

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and then it works its way down.

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And as it works its way down, it forks and splits, and some parts of the stream

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take a nice smooth course, and some end up veering off into a rocky road.

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But by the end, they all kind of come back together.

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That's sort of what you see in the Book of Mosiah, especially starting this week.

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You're going to see this splintering off and separation,

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but there will be a time of peace.

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coming back together.

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In fact, what's tricky about the Book of Mosiah is you jump a lot in time.

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And so it's hard to know, they flash back a little bit to give

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you backstory on why something happened or why a king made a choice.

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And it gets a little complicated, but don't worry, I'm going

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to guide you through it.

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Especially once we get through the object lessons, I feel like you'll

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have a good handle on the history and the landscape of the Book of Mosiah.

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But I guess the thing that jumped out at me this time that I'd never really noticed

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before is these streams Take all these different routes to get down But not all

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the water makes it back home Not all the water makes it to that stream because some

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of these streams have taken these other branches that go on all these different

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Rockier paths, or maybe to exposed sun, then some of the water is lost.

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And I think that's the warning that Mormon is trying to give us when

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he gives us these middle chapters.

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We're right in the middle between King Benjamin and Abinadi's story.

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We get this little pocket of time that teaches you all about How you get into

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bondage, how you get out of bondage, and how the Lord never gives up on His people.

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He wants every one of those little streams home, and He wants as little

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collateral damage as possible.

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In fact, I think you see that in this week's verses.

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So if you go on Mosiah 8, this is a little deeper into the chapters.

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This is verse 20 and 21 for me.

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This almost typified the whole week's study.

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It says, oh, how marvelous are the works of the Lord and how long

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that he suffer with his people?

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Yay.

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And how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men?

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For they will not seek wisdom.

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Neither do they desire that she should rule over them.

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Yay.

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They are as a wild flock, which flee it from the shepherd and

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scattereth, and are driven and are devoured by the beast of the forest.

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Jesus is this good shepherd who will be in relentless pursuit of his sheep.

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You can see that this week.

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Even those who rebelled against him and went a different way, he is reaching

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out after them and when they turn to him, he is right there because

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he wants every one of us back home.

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And by the end of this book of scripture, you'll see how his hand works.

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The long way, the short way, in every way in the middle, the Savior's hand

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reaches out and gathers his children home.

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It's a beautiful section of scripture.

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So grab your scriptures, grab your notes.

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It's time to get started.

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Time to head into our 3 3 3 approach.

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So if you're new here, we'll do three key insights.

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I call these sparks.

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These are things I saw in the verses that just jumped out at me and made me want

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to dig into the verses a little bit more.

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Then we'll do three good questions to help you have great conversations

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at home or in your classes.

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And then I'll do a separate video of three object lessons to help you take

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some of these principles that we're learning and apply them to everyday

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life for your kids or for your classes.

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And hopefully between those nine things, you'll have a really good idea of

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what happens in this week's chapters.

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But so that you can get your bearings, I thought I would give

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you a really short summary of each where you're going to begin.

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You'll start with Mosiah seven.

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And this is where you sort of find out what happens to the lost.

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You know, there's this group of Nephites who ventured off during

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King Mosiah the First's reign.

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They decide they want to go back to the land of first inheritance and

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they take a bunch of people with them.

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Zenith is their leader and no one knows what happened to them.

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It almost sounds like a movie, right?

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Like they're just Gone and nobody's heard from them since and people start to kind

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of needle the king to get him to send somebody after them So by this time we're

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down into the Mosiah's grandson also named Mosiah, and he's the king that's kind of

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Allowing people to go on an expedition to try and track down those lost people

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and the man He sends is Ammon and Ammon men go and they find Xenith's people.

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But Xenith's people are in bondage.

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They're in a bind.

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It's a struggle and so you'll see a lot of that in Chapter 7.

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Chapter 8 is where you hear Ammon, who is this leader of this

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rescue party, guide these people.

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He's not going to rescue them yet.

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We actually won't see the official rescue happen until Mosiah 22.

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Like way down the line.

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But you're going to see him set the stage.

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He's going to teach them what's been happening in Zarahemla

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since they've been gone.

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He's going to help them understand King Benjamin, like what they

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missed with King Benjamin's words.

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And then he's going to learn about the 24 plates that they kind of

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stumbled upon as they were hoping to get out of bondage that they

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got from the land of the Jaredites.

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So you're gonna see all that in chapter 8 of Mosiah.

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9 and 10 are a little bit different.

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9 and 10 we actually are in a flashback.

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So since we know that Limhi's people are in bondage and they're heavily

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taxed in there, They have threats on their life from the Lamanites.

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We learn that in seven and eight.

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Nine and ten is where you find out why.

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How they got into bondage in the first place.

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And this is where you get to hear the story of the lost.

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How this group led by Zenith stumbled into catastrophe of sorts and wars and

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destruction by leaving the land that the Lord wanted them to go to and heading

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back to the land of first inheritance.

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You sort of see Zenith's story play out.

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And it seems to be told Almost in retrospect, you know, almost as if

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King Zanif is at the end of his life and he's recording what has happened.

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He's pretty transparent about mistakes.

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He's pretty open about the ramifications of his choices.

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His little stream that he veered off of and went a whole different

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way down the mountain has caused some damage along the road.

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And he's going to teach us about it.

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And honestly, his This story is powerful to me because he is also

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delivered in one way or another.

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His, his people, although they're not perfect, are delivered.

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So you're gonna see all of that between chapter 7 and chapter 10.

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Okay, let's head into spark number one.

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I call this one the other Ammon.

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Because if you ask my kids who their favorite Ammon is, Hero is in the Book

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of Mormon, hands down, especially as they were little, they would have told

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you it was Ammon, but not this Ammon, the one that comes later, son of Mosiah,

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Ammon, the one that chops off the arms of the bad guys and teaches King

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Lamoni, they loved the story of Ammon.

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What I found this week, especially as I dug into these verses much

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deeper than I have in the past, is that I think I love this Ammon.

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In fact, what I loved about this Ammon, this descendant of Zarahemla, is that I

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saw so many, so many parallels between his story and the Ammon that will come

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at the end of Mosiah and into Alma.

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Like, there are some really cool parallels between these two.

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To the point that I was like, Is the second Ammon, like the son of

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Mosiah, named after this Ammon?

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I can see how somebody like this would be someone you would name your kid after.

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And let me tell you why.

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He comes into the story in chapter 7.

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Basically, like I mentioned, the people are kind of needling King

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Mosiah the second to figure out what's happened to Zenith's group.

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And they want King Mosiah to send an expedition of people to go Get the

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Nephites, find the lost Nephites.

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What's amazing to me is who they sent because King Mosiah doesn't send

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another Nephite to find his ancestors or the long lost long lost relatives.

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Instead, the person who goes is a Mulekite, and that's Ammon.

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He's not just any Munikite.

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If you read in the verses it seems like he is a leader of the Munikites.

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a leader of the Munikites.

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Depending on how you read back in Omni where they talk about when they first

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get to this land, they talk about the people of Zarahemla and then they

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talk about the king named Zarahemla.

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And it's, Kind of hard to tell if, when you read Ammon, if he's just someone

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who's of Zarahemla the city, or if he's actually of that kingly line.

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The reason that's powerful to me is that means this Ammon might

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be a lot like the next Ammon.

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He is someone who had a right to, you know, Throne, or at least

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into a high leadership position.

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And his people, his dad, his grandpa, chose to step down so that

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King Mosiah, the first could rule.

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Remember, as a combined people, the Mites and the Nephites, they chose King

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Mosiah, the first to be their king and their leader, which means that king of

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Zara Hemla, who was named Zara Hemla.

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Peacefully stepped down so that there could be a commonality between them and

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the fact that this Ammon Seems to love the words of King Benjamin and can recite

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them when needed like I think he is all in with Becoming among the Nephites.

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I just think That's why he is it.

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So you look in the verses.

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This is Mosiah 7, 2, and 3.

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It says, And it came to pass that King Mosiah granted that 16 of their strong

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men might go up to the land of Lehi Nephi to inquire concerning their brethren.

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And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up, having with

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them one Ammon, and he being a strong and a mighty man, and a descendant of

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Zarahemla, and he was also their leader.

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He is someone who, like the Ammon that will come later, steps

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away from the throne and away from power so that he can save.

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So that he can go out and deliver those who are not his people.

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At least, not directly his people.

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You know, these, this Ammon will go and rescue Zenith's people.

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They're Nephites.

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He's Mulekite, but he will go.

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The Ammon in the future, son of Mosiah Ammon, will go and rescue Lamanites.

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He will go with his brothers and they will do whatever is needed to

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go and bring the Lamanites home.

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There's these beautiful condescensions in both of their stories.

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I also like that they seem to understand King Ben's, Benjamin's message.

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I think the big reason that Ammon goes is because he

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believes King Benjamin's message.

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When he When he participated in that covenant, assuming he was there at

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the tower, age wise, I assume he was there, or at least has taken on that

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covenant since that day, he is someone who is among the children of Christ.

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Which means these people, these lost Nephites from three generations

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ago, they are his family.

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That's what it means to really grab a hold of the covenant, that you start

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to see your family as this interwoven web, and everybody deserves attention.

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Everybody deserves deliverance, and you'll put your life on

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the line in order to offer it.

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That's what Ammon does.

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He voluntarily chooses to go on this expedition to lead it.

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They're going to wander in the wilderness for a while.

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They're going to struggle.

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They're finally going to get to the land, and when they get there,

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they're immediately grabbed.

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They end up in prison for a few days, and then the leader of this rogue group

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of Nephites finds them, talks to them in prison, and invites them to speak.

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So this is what happens.

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This is why he reminds me of the other Ammon.

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So look in verse 12 and 13.

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And now when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he's finally

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allowed to speak to this king, he went forth and bowed himself before the

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king, and rising again said, O king, I'm very grateful before God this day

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that I am yet alive and permitted to speak, and I will endeavor to speak

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with boldness, for I'm assured that if he had known me, he would not have

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suffered that I had worn these bands.

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For I am Ammon, a descendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of

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the land of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren whom

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Zenneph brought up out of the land.

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In my mind, this is, this is Ammon saying, let me tell you who I am.

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Not only am I from the same town where your ancestors are from,

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but I am from this royal line.

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To me, that's why he separates out that he's from Zarahemla and

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he's a descendant of Zarahemla.

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I think he's in the same way that Ammon will speak to King Lamoni and King

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Lamoni will give him, deference, I think, because they're in similar spots.

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They both lead a group of people and he can see the sacrifice that

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Ammon must have made in order to come and teach the Lamanites.

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I think you see that with this Ammon as well.

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So he comes, and then he teaches that what King Benjamin taught him.

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For me, one of the things that was most fascinating about

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Ammon, this Ammon's choices.

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I think it would have been really easy to say, Yeah, but they

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got themselves into this mess.

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You know, like if King Mosiah the second came to me, Ammon, and said, I want you

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to go and try and rescue these people.

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Ammon could have easily said, They chose to leave.

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Good riddance.

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These aren't my people.

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That's not where his heart is.

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Remember, he's made covenants and he's determined to keep them.

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I also think he loves King Benjamin's words.

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You're going to see that.

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He's going to teach them to this group of people.

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But I think when King Benjamin said, You're gonna have situations where

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you're gonna hold back your offerings because somebody got themselves into

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this mess And I want you to give anyway, because aren't we all beggars?

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I think Ammon knows that by heart, and he lives it.

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That's what it means to be a mighty man.

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It's not just that he is strong and healthy.

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It means he is valiant in the cause of Christ.

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And so he will reach after these people.

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He will deliver them if he can.

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So because it doesn't matter if they got themselves into this

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mess or if their grandpa did.

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They need deliverance.

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And so he steps up and he delivers.

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And I think that's the exact same motivation that we see in the son

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of Mosiah, Ammon, down the road.

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It doesn't, it doesn't matter to him that the Lamanites chose to hate the

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Nephites for countless generations.

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He says, I mean, these are our brethren and I want to bring them back home.

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There's just similar hearts.

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between them, and I love that.

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There's a verse that I particularly love about both of these Ammons,

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and you can find it in Mosiah 8, 18.

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It says this, And thus God has provided a means that a man, through

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faith, might work mighty miracles.

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Therefore, he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.

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I think this is who Ammon is.

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He is someone who has appreciated that I can do great things for others.

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even though I appear small.

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He didn't choose to stay in his leadership role.

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He didn't demand anything.

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He just offers service, offers deliverance, and because of his

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efforts, great work happens.

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I think that's the pattern of the Lord.

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You see it in so many cool ways.

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You know, we, you see it in the priesthood where a small amount of

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people can do a great amount of good.

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I think you see it in the Savior himself in this offering of the

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atonement that happens with one person that then reaches throughout all

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time and becomes this infinite gift.

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That's the Lord's pattern and I think both this Ammon and the Ammon that we'll study

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later understood it and live up to it.

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Spark number two I call the best intentions.

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Because I think, fundamentally, Zenith is a good guy.

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Nine and ten, you're going to hear Zenith's backstory.

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So he's the one that's contemporary with Mosiah the First.

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He's the one that, as all the Nephites move up to Zarahemla, he stays for a

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little bit and then eventually takes a big group of people and they go

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back to where the Lord sent them from.

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He, he goes back.

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And this is where you get his backstory.

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What's fascinating to me about him is I feel like He, initially, maybe

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in the past, I've read his story assuming that he was hoping for land.

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I think his intentions were probably good, but I think he hoped to get

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the land that his father's built.

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He probably, you know, had some kind of home there, or he hoped to reclaim the

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temple that Nephi made with his own hands.

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Like, I don't know what his motivations were, but he wanted

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to get back for the land.

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I think that's a big piece of his story.

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I think he also probably wanted to claim some kind of birthright.

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I think he's hoping maybe at some point that the Nephites will come back.

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It's really possible.

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In fact, I think I read it from another scholar that, that the land

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where they moved up to, this Zarahemla land, wasn't as habitable, wasn't

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as pretty, wasn't as comfortable.

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And so when they got there, they were like, Wait, we're staying here?

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You know, almost the same way we saw with Brigham Young and the Saints,

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that there were some who wanted to keep going to California, where it would

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be lush and beautiful, and Brigham was like, no, this is the place.

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And they're looking around this dust bowl of Utah, wondering how that could be.

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I could see something like that motivating Zenith to return to

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the land of first inheritance.

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I can also see Another one.

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And this sparked for me just this time when I was studying.

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I'd never really noticed it before.

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You see it in verse 1.

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So this is Mosiah 9, verse 1.

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I, Zenith, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a

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knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our father's first inheritance,

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and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites, that I might spy out their

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forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them, But when I saw that

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which was good among them, I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.

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Okay, this is fascinating to me.

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So basically, Zenith in his younger years, he's sent as a spy and it says he's

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among the Lamanites, which makes me think that he's almost like an undercover age.

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You know, that's what it sounds like to me that he's in among the Lamanites

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and Finding out information and then sending it back somehow to the

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people who are now off in Zarahemla.

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Somehow in that process, he sees enough goods among the people that

Maria: 00:17:47

he wants them not to be destroyed.

Maria: 00:17:49

I don't know if this directive came from King Mosiah, like the second, or

Maria: 00:17:53

if this is just his military captain.

Maria: 00:17:55

It sounds like His particular captain is a bloodthirsty man who likes war

Maria: 00:18:00

and wanted to attack the Lamanites.

Maria: 00:18:02

And what Zenith does when he's a spy, especially I think because he's

Maria: 00:18:05

been among the people and he's like, no, there's, they're worth saving.

Maria: 00:18:09

He goes to his military captain and says, let's not do this.

Maria: 00:18:12

And then there's this infighting that occurs.

Maria: 00:18:14

So you're going to read some of this in the chapter, but Basically,

Maria: 00:18:17

there's almost like an insurrection that happens in their little

Maria: 00:18:19

military spy group and blood is shed.

Maria: 00:18:23

People die.

Maria: 00:18:23

And then Zenith has to go back to the land of Zarahemla with all these other

Maria: 00:18:27

troops that are still alive and explain to the wives and the children why

Maria: 00:18:32

their husbands and their fathers died.

Maria: 00:18:35

That it wasn't a battle with the Lamanites, it was a

Maria: 00:18:37

battle with other Nephites.

Maria: 00:18:39

And I can't imagine what those conversations must

Maria: 00:18:41

have felt like for Zenith.

Maria: 00:18:43

And I could see where.

Maria: 00:18:45

If you see good among the Lamanites, and you have to have those conversations

Maria: 00:18:49

with people who lost their life in your defense, how that would

Maria: 00:18:53

motivate you to want to go down.

Maria: 00:18:56

Because almost as a way to like justify the deaths of these men, or as a way

Maria: 00:19:01

to, you know, Prove that you were right about these Lamanites and they

Maria: 00:19:04

are kind and they are good that you would want to depart for those reasons.

Maria: 00:19:09

Not just because you want the land back or this is, you know, your father's

Maria: 00:19:12

inheritance you're missing out on it.

Maria: 00:19:15

The environment isn't as nice as the other one.

Maria: 00:19:17

I really think part of his heart is these people are good.

Maria: 00:19:20

Let me prove it to you.

Maria: 00:19:22

And so he goes and he takes a big group of people.

Maria: 00:19:26

The problem with that strategy is It was the Lord that directed Mosiah to go.

Maria: 00:19:32

And Limhi in the same generation, or sorry, not Limhi, Zenith in

Maria: 00:19:36

the same generation is saying, I think I have a better plan, or

Maria: 00:19:39

I think you're misjudging them.

Maria: 00:19:41

And so he, sets up camp where the Lamanites are.

Maria: 00:19:46

It's this really interesting thing.

Maria: 00:19:47

It plays out in the verses.

Maria: 00:19:49

He basically makes an alliance with the Lamanite king.

Maria: 00:19:52

His name is Laman.

Maria: 00:19:53

They seem to be named after their first ancestor, Laman, the same way

Maria: 00:19:57

the Nephites are often, King Nephi, named after their first ancestor.

Maria: 00:20:01

But you can see that play out in the verses.

Maria: 00:20:03

He makes this alliance.

Maria: 00:20:05

Basically, it goes to the Lamanite king.

Maria: 00:20:06

Again, I think Zenov's heart says, In this really warm place

Maria: 00:20:09

where he's like, I'm going to prove to people that you are good.

Maria: 00:20:11

I'm going to prove that you can be trusted.

Maria: 00:20:13

I'm going to prove that this can work.

Maria: 00:20:15

And so he makes an alliance and says, if you'll give me these

Maria: 00:20:19

lands, we'll develop them.

Maria: 00:20:20

All along the way, you get these, remember Zenith is writing

Maria: 00:20:23

this at the end of his life.

Maria: 00:20:25

And so he gives you these little breadcrumbs to say, What I didn't

Maria: 00:20:28

realize was that the Lamanite king had a plan all along.

Maria: 00:20:32

It almost sounds like, like they're, like Hansel and Gretel, you know, like,

Maria: 00:20:36

it's like the Lamanites are hoping that they will develop the land, grow crops.

Maria: 00:20:40

thrive so that they can run in and pillage the land and take the crops.

Maria: 00:20:44

And you can almost hear that happening in the verses.

Maria: 00:20:48

But I think what's fascinating about this when it comes to us,

Maria: 00:20:52

I think we do this same thing.

Maria: 00:20:54

At least I know I do.

Maria: 00:20:56

I think sometimes we get in the mindset of Getting ahead of the church or, or

Maria: 00:21:01

nudging the prophet towards something.

Maria: 00:21:03

If Zenith really thinks that at some point the Nephites should befriend

Maria: 00:21:07

the Lamanites and he can just nudge them along by going down and

Maria: 00:21:10

living right next to the Lamanites.

Maria: 00:21:12

He's made a big mistake, right?

Maria: 00:21:15

You don't get ahead of the Lord's timetable.

Maria: 00:21:17

You don't get ahead of the Lord's prophet.

Maria: 00:21:19

But I think that's where Zenith got into trouble.

Maria: 00:21:23

And I think the same thing can happen with us in a lot of different ways

Maria: 00:21:26

when we try to kind of push the church somewhere or push the prophet somewhere.

Maria: 00:21:31

You heard this a little bit in conference.

Maria: 00:21:32

Do you remember when it was Elder Renlund and he was talking

Maria: 00:21:35

about avoiding speculation?

Maria: 00:21:37

In particular, he was talking about Heavenly Mother and how there are

Maria: 00:21:40

those who are He didn't say pushing, but urging the brethren to give more

Maria: 00:21:45

information about Heavenly Mother.

Maria: 00:21:46

And he warned about that kind of pushing, uh, where that

Maria: 00:21:51

goes and why it's not fruitful.

Maria: 00:21:53

This is what he said, Very little has been revealed about Mother in heaven.

Maria: 00:21:57

But what we do know is summarized in a gospel topic found in your,

Maria: 00:22:00

in our gospel library application.

Maria: 00:22:02

Once you have read what is there, you will know everything

Maria: 00:22:05

that I know on the subject.

Maria: 00:22:07

I wish I knew more.

Maria: 00:22:08

You, too, may still have questions and want more answers.

Maria: 00:22:11

Seeking greater understanding is an important part of spiritual

Maria: 00:22:13

development, but please be cautious.

Maria: 00:22:16

Reason cannot replace revelation.

Maria: 00:22:19

Speculation will not lead to greater spiritual knowledge, but it can lead

Maria: 00:22:23

us to deception or to divert our focus from what has been revealed.

Maria: 00:22:27

You can almost get that feeling with Zenith, that he's, he's trying to He's

Maria: 00:22:33

trying to push things along, or he thinks he knows better than the Prophet, or knows

Maria: 00:22:37

better than the Lord in some respect.

Maria: 00:22:39

And he's pushing things.

Maria: 00:22:41

What's fascinating to me is, the Lord doesn't leave him.

Maria: 00:22:45

I think that's what's beautiful about that title of Emmanuel, that God is with us.

Maria: 00:22:50

Because no matter what Zenith chooses, the Lord stays with him.

Maria: 00:22:54

The same way when the children of Israel rebelled against the Lord,

Maria: 00:22:57

he still stays with them through all those 40 years in the wilderness that

Maria: 00:23:00

he didn't want them to have to travel.

Maria: 00:23:02

He's with them.

Maria: 00:23:04

And that happens in Zenith's story too.

Maria: 00:23:06

It's a sweet exchange that we'll go in a little bit deeper.

Maria: 00:23:10

I think this is a cautionary tale, because what Zen have hoped

Maria: 00:23:15

to have happen, doesn't happen.

Maria: 00:23:17

But you can hear his retrospect thoughts.

Maria: 00:23:20

If you look in Mosiah 9, this is verse 10.

Maria: 00:23:22

Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of King Laman to bring my

Maria: 00:23:25

people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might possess it.

Maria: 00:23:31

Zenif underestimated the hatred of the Lamanites.

Maria: 00:23:34

I don't know if when he was a double agent of sorts, if people were

Maria: 00:23:38

deliberately trying to trick him so that he could come up with this plan,

Maria: 00:23:41

if the Lamanites planted these ideas in his mind, or if this just kind of

Maria: 00:23:45

happened afterwards, but I think he really underestimated how deep their hatred goes.

Maria: 00:23:49

Cause in that same chapter, you hear him start to articulate their woundedness,

Maria: 00:23:54

you know, their wrath about being wronged.

Maria: 00:23:57

And there's a whole bunch of great verses.

Maria: 00:23:58

Like if you look at 12 and 13 of chapter 10, they were a wild and a

Maria: 00:24:02

ferocious and a bloodthirsty people.

Maria: 00:24:05

Remember, this is Zenith speaking.

Maria: 00:24:07

Zenith who who?

Maria: 00:24:07

really thought the Lamanites were worth saving, right?

Maria: 00:24:09

He wanted to preserve them.

Maria: 00:24:11

Now he's got a little more perspective, and he says they were believing in the

Maria: 00:24:15

traditions of their fathers, which is believing that they were driven out

Maria: 00:24:17

of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, that

Maria: 00:24:20

they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were

Maria: 00:24:23

wronged while crossing the sea, and again that they were wronged while in

Maria: 00:24:26

the land of their first inheritance.

Maria: 00:24:28

He gives this big list of their, their determination to be victims based on

Maria: 00:24:32

these traditions that have been passed down since the time of Laman and

Maria: 00:24:36

Lemuel, and he What I read when I saw those verses is I feel like this is

Maria: 00:24:41

Zenith understanding that this is a red sea of hatred that a man can't part.

Maria: 00:24:48

Zenith, as a man, not prophet, not directed by the Lord,

Maria: 00:24:53

doesn't have the strength to part this sea of hatred on his own.

Maria: 00:24:57

He tried.

Maria: 00:24:58

He wanted to live peacefully.

Maria: 00:24:59

He tried.

Maria: 00:24:59

But he can't do it on his own.

Maria: 00:25:01

The only way this sea of hatred actually gets parted and these waves

Maria: 00:25:05

push away is when the sons of Mosiah come in the strength of the Lord.

Maria: 00:25:09

With the permission of the prophet and the authorization from God and the strength

Maria: 00:25:13

of the Lord on their side, they can part these waves of hatred and things change.

Maria: 00:25:17

When we try to take things into our own hands and force that,

Maria: 00:25:21

we're left to our own strength.

Maria: 00:25:23

And that's what happens to Zenith.

Maria: 00:25:25

His people are attacked by the Lamanites repeatedly and they're

Maria: 00:25:28

They struggle because of it.

Maria: 00:25:29

The Lord still helps them.

Maria: 00:25:31

You'll see them rely on the strength of the Lord in a few of their

Maria: 00:25:33

battles, but they're still not safe.

Maria: 00:25:37

In fact, the whole time I was reading Zeneph's story, I found myself

Maria: 00:25:40

thinking, if he had just stayed in Zarahemla, he probably could

Maria: 00:25:44

have accomplished amazing things.

Maria: 00:25:45

Look how industrious and talented and capable he is.

Maria: 00:25:48

If he had stayed where the Lord wanted him to be, who knows

Maria: 00:25:52

what he could have accomplished?

Maria: 00:25:54

And in the process, when he changed course, the Lord stays with

Maria: 00:25:58

him, but he has limited success.

Maria: 00:26:00

And by the time his grandson Limhi comes around, he's in full bondage to

Maria: 00:26:04

the Lamanites, and they're Hopeless.

Maria: 00:26:07

They feel hopeless until Ammon finally comes into town.

Maria: 00:26:11

That's the result of these kind of choices where we, we try to set up camp

Maria: 00:26:16

where we think the church should go, or where we think the prophet should

Maria: 00:26:19

go, or where we think the Lord should put us, instead of where he needs us.

Maria: 00:26:23

And I think there's some really powerful cautionary tales within it.

Maria: 00:26:28

Spark number three, I call the overzealous.

Maria: 00:26:30

Prodigal 'cause that's how Zf describes himself, especially in his early years.

Maria: 00:26:35

He describes himself as overzealous, meaning he, he got ahead of what

Maria: 00:26:40

the Lord wanted for his people and he jumped the gun to some degree.

Maria: 00:26:46

Again, I don't think he has bad intentions.

Maria: 00:26:48

I think he was a good guy, hoping to do good things.

Maria: 00:26:51

He just.

Maria: 00:26:52

Went rogue with those good things and that's never a course that ends well

Maria: 00:26:57

But I think it's really powerful to see his story as a prodigal story because

Maria: 00:27:01

he's someone who leaves home in this case He's actually returning to what he

Maria: 00:27:05

thinks is home rather than the prodigal in the New Testament who's going off

Maria: 00:27:09

into a far country He's actually thinking he's gonna find a happier place there

Maria: 00:27:13

But somehow he's gonna make things better in this other place and it feels

Maria: 00:27:17

like the prodigal to me Because home is wherever the Lord intends you to be,

Maria: 00:27:23

where he wants you to be, where he has promises and security ready for you.

Maria: 00:27:27

That's home.

Maria: 00:27:28

And so, in this case, Zenith leaves home and goes to a far country.

Maria: 00:27:33

And this far country has all kinds of danger around it.

Maria: 00:27:37

And at first, Zenith is like, Things go pretty well.

Maria: 00:27:39

In fact, it was fascinating to me how long things go well for Zenith because he does

Maria: 00:27:43

make that alliance with the Lamanite king.

Maria: 00:27:45

King Laman gives, like, clears out his own people so that Zenith and

Maria: 00:27:49

the Nephite people can live in this particular land, in the land of Nephi.

Maria: 00:27:54

And then, Over the course of 13 years, it goes really well.

Maria: 00:27:58

Things thrive for a long time.

Maria: 00:28:00

Their crops are growing.

Maria: 00:28:01

It seems like relations are good.

Maria: 00:28:02

There's been no battles.

Maria: 00:28:03

You can see Layman almost, or Zenith, almost patting himself on

Maria: 00:28:07

the back to say, see, I knew it.

Maria: 00:28:08

I knew this was going to work out.

Maria: 00:28:09

You know, I, I'll have to get back to tell everybody about it.

Maria: 00:28:12

I knew this was going to work.

Maria: 00:28:14

And then King Layman springs his trap.

Maria: 00:28:17

So after 13 years of this time of relative peace, you know, like the same

Maria: 00:28:21

way with the prodigal had a season of.

Maria: 00:28:23

He's doing great, and he's living his best life, as Elder Uchtdorf said.

Maria: 00:28:26

You know, like, he's never been happier.

Maria: 00:28:29

All of those things seem like they're going well for a season,

Maria: 00:28:32

and then things abruptly shift.

Maria: 00:28:34

This is in Mosiah 9.

Maria: 00:28:36

This is 13 and 14.

Maria: 00:28:38

Therefore, it came to pass that King Laman began to stir up his people that

Maria: 00:28:41

they should contend with my people.

Maria: 00:28:43

Therefore, there began to be wars and contentions in the land.

Maria: 00:28:46

For in the thirteenth year of my reign in the land of Nephi, Away on

Maria: 00:28:50

the south of the land of Shilom, when my people were watering and feeding

Maria: 00:28:53

their flocks, and tilling their lands, a numerous host, a numerous host of

Maria: 00:28:57

Lamanites came upon them, and began to slay them, and to take off their

Maria: 00:29:02

flocks, and the corn of their fields.

Maria: 00:29:05

What Zenith learns really fast is that this truce and this peace treaty that

Maria: 00:29:11

he thought he had secured has no Lasting weight and King Layman will just swoop

Maria: 00:29:19

in and he, I don't think they were prepared at all for this kind of attack.

Maria: 00:29:23

I really think King, sorry.

Maria: 00:29:25

I think King Zenif at this time thought that they wouldn't need weapons, that

Maria: 00:29:30

they wouldn't need defenses because they had a peace treaty with the

Maria: 00:29:33

laymanites and things were going so well and then out of nowhere he has

Maria: 00:29:36

to scramble to defend his people.

Maria: 00:29:38

And so they, you can hear it in the verses, they're like trying to grab

Maria: 00:29:41

whatever armor they can possibly find and try to defend themselves.

Maria: 00:29:45

And this is, I think, that moment in the prodigal story, when he's in that pigsty.

Maria: 00:29:49

I think this, when Zenith sees that his own people are slaughtered by the

Maria: 00:29:53

Lamanites, who he's told everyone are safe, he starts to come to himself.

Maria: 00:30:00

And I imagine it felt a lot like the Prodigal in that sty.

Maria: 00:30:04

I imagine it felt a lot like Joseph when he loses the 116 pages that he pushed the

Maria: 00:30:10

Lord to be able to give to Martin Harris.

Maria: 00:30:12

Like that moment when you realize This is what the Lord was trying to warn me about.

Maria: 00:30:17

This is what I couldn't see.

Maria: 00:30:19

Because as soon as, as soon as Zenith departs from the prophet and from

Maria: 00:30:24

the Lord's direction to go and live in the land of Zarahemla, he starts

Maria: 00:30:28

to lose his ability to discern.

Maria: 00:30:30

I mean, that happens for all of us, right?

Maria: 00:30:31

Anytime I detach myself from the words of leadership, prophets,

Maria: 00:30:36

and the scriptures, I start to get a duller sense of the Spirit.

Maria: 00:30:40

I start to get duller promptings, to the point where my discernment gets worse.

Maria: 00:30:44

wacky, right?

Maria: 00:30:45

And my judgment is off.

Maria: 00:30:46

This is why I think, I don't think the Lamanite kings were that

Maria: 00:30:50

clever and machinacious that they could like make these huge plans.

Maria: 00:30:53

I think The sad part is, I think Zenith, because of his choices,

Maria: 00:30:58

was dull to what normally would have prompted him to change.

Maria: 00:31:03

You know, I think he couldn't get the kind of promptings that the Lord would

Maria: 00:31:06

have given had he been doing what the Lord wanted him to do in the first place.

Maria: 00:31:09

I think he's, it's duller, right?

Maria: 00:31:12

He still has a connection to the Lord the same way all of us do when we make stupid,

Maria: 00:31:15

rebellious decisions, but it's duller.

Maria: 00:31:17

And so he doesn't get, he doesn't pick up on things, he doesn't realize that

Maria: 00:31:21

this was a plot by the Lamanite king.

Maria: 00:31:22

He doesn't catch, you know, any of those red flags.

Maria: 00:31:27

And I wonder how he feels in this moment.

Maria: 00:31:29

What I love about Zenith is the same thing I love about the Prodigal and

Maria: 00:31:33

about Joseph Smith with the 116 pages.

Maria: 00:31:36

What they do in this moment is not retreat or hide or crawl into a hole.

Maria: 00:31:40

What they do is they come to themselves and they turn to the Lord.

Maria: 00:31:44

Because what other alternative is there?

Maria: 00:31:46

And, you know, like, I think in those moments of, Oh, this is what

Maria: 00:31:50

you wanted me to do all along.

Maria: 00:31:52

You know, I've had those moments where I've taken my own course down this

Maria: 00:31:55

mountain instead of the one that the Lord set for me, and I realize how rocky the

Maria: 00:31:59

path is, and then I say, Oh, I get it now.

Maria: 00:32:02

This is why you wanted me over here.

Maria: 00:32:04

And I think that's where Zenef is in his mind.

Maria: 00:32:07

And so he comes to himself, and true to form, God rushes to meet him.

Maria: 00:32:12

Just like in the prodigal story, as soon as that son comes into view, God rushes

Maria: 00:32:17

in, the father rushes to meet his son.

Maria: 00:32:20

And this is where you see it in Zenef's story.

Maria: 00:32:22

So this is Mosiah 7, 7, or sorry, Mosiah Yea, in the strength of the Lord did we

Maria: 00:32:29

go forth to battle against the Lamanites.

Maria: 00:32:30

For I and my people did cry mightily to our Lord, that he would deliver

Maria: 00:32:34

us out of the hands of our enemies.

Maria: 00:32:35

For we were awakened to the remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers.

Maria: 00:32:39

And then 18.

Maria: 00:32:40

And God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers.

Maria: 00:32:44

That, to me, is the dad rushing to his son.

Maria: 00:32:48

As soon as Zenith and all the people who followed him realize that they're

Maria: 00:32:52

off course and turn to the Lord for help, the Lord rushes to meet them.

Maria: 00:32:57

He answers their cries.

Maria: 00:32:59

He can't solve all of the problems that they have.

Maria: 00:33:01

I I'm sure the Lord could.

Maria: 00:33:02

He doesn't solve all the problems that they have by living among the Lamanites

Maria: 00:33:06

because they chose this course, and He can't prevent the consequences

Maria: 00:33:09

that have to happen because they chose this course, but He can bless

Maria: 00:33:13

them as abundantly as possible to help them in their moments of need.

Maria: 00:33:18

He can put on a robe and a ring, you know, I think that's

Maria: 00:33:21

what he does for these people.

Maria: 00:33:22

He grants him time and space to regroup and come to him.

Maria: 00:33:27

I think their moment of deliverance is when Ammon comes generations later.

Maria: 00:33:33

That's their moment when things really come together.

Maria: 00:33:36

But I love this middle stage when they're just This is Elder Uchtdorf

Maria: 00:33:41

when he gave this talk in 2023.

Maria: 00:33:43

If you go in the notes, you can see that I've taken pieces of his talk and

Maria: 00:33:46

laid them against many parts of this chapter, because I think you see that

Maria: 00:33:49

whole prodigal story in this chapter.

Maria: 00:33:52

But this is Elder Uchtdorf's words.

Maria: 00:33:55

Though the individual is a great way off, the father knows in

Maria: 00:33:58

an instant that it is his son.

Maria: 00:34:00

He runs to him, throws his arm around him, and kisses him.

Maria: 00:34:03

Father, the son cries out in words he must have rehearsed a thousand times.

Maria: 00:34:07

I have sinned against both heaven and you.

Maria: 00:34:09

I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

Maria: 00:34:11

All I ask is that you take me in as a hired servant.

Maria: 00:34:14

But the father scarcely lets him finish.

Maria: 00:34:16

Tears in his eyes, he commands his servants, bring the finest robe in the

Maria: 00:34:19

house and place it on my son's shoulders.

Maria: 00:34:21

Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Maria: 00:34:24

Make a feast to celebrate.

Maria: 00:34:25

My son has returned.

Maria: 00:34:27

I think this is the way the Lord feels with Zenith on this battlefield.

Maria: 00:34:31

I think it's what he feels with us whenever we ditch our rebellious paths

Maria: 00:34:35

and we say, I'm sorry, I wish I would have taken your path from the beginning.

Maria: 00:34:39

Can you help me get back to where I'm supposed to be?

Maria: 00:34:42

I feel like that's, that's the kind of God we worship.

Maria: 00:34:46

That's his character.

Maria: 00:34:48

It doesn't matter how far off the road you went.

Maria: 00:34:49

It doesn't matter if you took your people to a whole nother land and now

Maria: 00:34:52

generations that come after you are going to struggle with the Lamanites.

Maria: 00:34:55

It doesn't matter.

Maria: 00:34:56

When you turn to him, the Lord delivers.

Maria: 00:34:58

That's his nature and that I love.

Maria: 00:35:01

What's interesting to me is, Zenith doesn't go back to

Maria: 00:35:03

Zarahemla at this point in time.

Maria: 00:35:05

You would think At several points in his life, he would

Maria: 00:35:08

have said we shouldn't be here.

Maria: 00:35:10

We should go back.

Maria: 00:35:11

I don't know why he doesn't go back, but I do think it's powerful to see how

Maria: 00:35:15

staying in his circumstances that he has created, the Lord stays with him.

Maria: 00:35:20

For multiple battles, the Lord helps them.

Maria: 00:35:22

In fact, that big climactic battle at the end of Zenith's life when he's old

Maria: 00:35:25

and he's still on the battlefield with the Lamanites happens and the Lord,

Maria: 00:35:29

the strength of the Lord is with them.

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The reason I like that so much is I feel like all of us are

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kind of in one way or another.

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None of us.

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when we repent, go perfectly back to what we were supposed to do.

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All of us are in some form of making our way back to him.

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And what I love is the Lord is with you at every step of that

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process, at the beginning stage, at the middle, and at the end.

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Immanuel means God is with us, and I think Zenith's story proves that.

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It's powerful to me.

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Time to get into some questions.

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Okay, most of these come from Chapter 7.

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Just because I felt like we spent a lot of time in 8, 9, and 10 in

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our Sparks, so I thought I'd go in 7 for some of these questions.

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There's a few things that happen here that I think are just Fascinating.

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My first question comes from Mosiah 7.

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This is around verse 15 or so.

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This is when you hear, so after Ammon has come into town, right?

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He's come in to help find these Nephites and then hopefully bring them home.

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And you hear Limhi talk to Ammon about the state of their bondage.

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So he talks about how heavily they're being taxed and how they're basically

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slaves to the Lamanites take their crops and take their things and that

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heavy burden that's on their shoulders.

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And the whole time I was reading it, I kept hearing these.

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Almost mirror images of what we heard from King Benjamin.

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Do you remember on the tower, before he starts teaching the angel's words,

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he speaks about his rule, that as a king he chose to not have any slaves.

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He chose not to put people in prison.

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He chose not to have heavy taxes and to work on his own.

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And I just thought it was really interesting to lay these two side by side.

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So, my question to you is, there seem to be these counterpoints between

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Benjamin's description of what a good king looks like and contrasts with

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what the Lamanite kings are doing.

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We're going to see even more next week when we get into the story of Noah and

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Abinadi, but I think you see plenty right here, and I'm curious if you see

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others that I haven't mentioned here.

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Okay, second question.

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This is from Mosiah 7.

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It's around verse 25.

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There's this really interesting phrase.

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You'll see it a few times in scripture.

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It says, For this people had not fallen into transgression, oh sorry, If this

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people had not fallen into transgression, the Lord would not have suffered that

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this great evil should come upon them.

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I think the word choice of falling into transgression is a really fascinating one.

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It's almost as if the natural man version of us has some

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sort of, like, cosmic gravity.

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You know what I mean?

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Like, if we don't have the help or the strength of the Lord,

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that we can't help but fall down.

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We stumble into traps.

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We stumble into mistakes.

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And I guess I'm curious.

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about your thoughts in this area.

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Why is fallen a really good word choice when it comes to transgression and sin?

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And what are your thoughts about how this ties into the natural man?

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Third, this is Mosiah 7, round verse 18 and 19.

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It spreads a little bit but kind of hovers there.

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This is when Ammon arrives.

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So when he comes into the city, Limhi rejoices.

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Because remember, his people have been in bondage basically since the

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time of his grandpa, and they're struggling under the weight of it now.

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They have a 50% tax, they're giving a ton of their stuff to the Laymanites

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and they don't see how to get out of it.

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He sent an expedition to try and find Zara Hemla, and instead

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those 43 men find the land of the Jaredites and it's covered in bones.

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And so they think Za Helo might be destroyed completely.

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And so when he sees Amman and these 16 men come.

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He rejoices, like he, not just that they might have deliverance, but

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that, that Zarahemla still exists.

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I think he's delighted at all of that.

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And then he does this really cool thing, where he gathers all his people around,

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and he basically tells them to rejoice.

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You know, the same way the Savior often would say, lift up your head and

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rejoice, or, you know, those words, like, choose to have joy in these moments.

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He says that to his people while they're still in bondage.

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None of their taxes have been relieved.

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There's no, they don't know how Amon's gonna help them, or even if he can really

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help them, they just are so excited about the hope they feel that they Rejoice.

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Here's what I think is interesting.

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Tell me, how do you think it's possible to genuinely rejoice

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when you don't know the outcome?

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They don't have any promised outcome of what Ammon and his fellow guys

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can do, but they choose to rejoice.

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I think you see that a lot in scripture.

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People who choose to have joy or to change their countenance

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based on a promise rather than.

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Seeing the actual results play out.

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One of the phrases I really like that Lim Hai uses, he basically says

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to them, There, there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made, but

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lift up your heads and rejoice.

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It's that combination that I like, and this is where

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this question kind of hovers.

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I'm curious what this phrase teaches you about Heavenly Father's plan.

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Because I think that combination of an assurance of deliverance

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from a strong Savior person and our effectual struggle, what we

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contribute, together create a powerful, powerful tool to get deliverance.

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And I guess I'm hoping that you'll study these words, study these verses,

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and see what you learn about Heavenly Father's plan from this story.

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If you need extra help, I would recommend you go into verse 33 of chapter 7 and

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see What you learn from that verse to help you understand how this story

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actually has much broader application.

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Before we head into the object lessons, let me leave you with

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just one last little thought.

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Rolling on this prodigal theme, if Zenith, the grandpa, is the original prodigal, I

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think his grandson, Lemai, who's feeling the weight of all those choices on his

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people, also has his Prodigal moment.

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I feel like there's a sweetness to the end of this story because when Ammon does

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come and he finds Limhi and they explain the situation they're in and Ammon and his

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men will deliver them, I think there is this, it's almost as if Ammon in this case

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is the dad coming to find the prodigal.

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That seems to be what happens here, because it's not Limhi's

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fault that they're in this mess.

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He's just dealing with all the consequences of grandparents and

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parents who didn't listen to the Lord.

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You know, his dad Noah is pretty terrible and kills a prophet, and Limhi knows

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that, and so he's struggling with the consequences of generations of mistakes.

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What I love is when Amman comes into town, LIHI makes this

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almost prodigal like statement.

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So this is Mosiah seven, verse 15 says, for behold, we are in bondage

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to the laminates and are taxed with attacks, which is grievous to be born.

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And now behold, our brethren will deliver us out bondage.

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Speaking about.

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Ammon and his people were out of the hands of the Lamanites and we will be

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their slaves for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay

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tribute to the king of the Lamanites.

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This to me sounds so much like the prodigal story when the son says,

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I'll just work in my dad's house.

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Like I don't expect to be treated like I should be, like I was treated.

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I know I made this mistake.

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I just want to go back home in any way.

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And that's basically what Limhi is saying in this moment.

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He's saying, we know that we got ourselves into this mess, and my grandpa left,

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and, but we just want to be home, and I'll be a servant if you need me to be.

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Please let me come home.

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What I love about Ammon and Mosiah the second, who's king in Zarahemla,

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is they know the way of God is there are no second class citizens when

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it comes to the children of Christ.

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They come home with dignity.

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They come home rescued.

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They come home And Zarahemla rejoices because those who are lost are now found.

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And it doesn't matter where, how far off they've gone or how

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many years they've been gone.

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When they're finally home, there's a robe and a ring and a fatted calf.

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And I think it's exactly what Mosiah's dad would have wanted him to do.

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Mosiah the second brings all of his people together.

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We're gonna see this play out throughout the book of Mosiah, but Was I the second?

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Has all these people finally come back to Zarahemla and they become one, just

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like King Benjamin taught them to do?

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And it's one of those moments where I feel like, as a ruler, there must

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have been so much peace to be able to give deliverance and dignity to

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these people who desperately need it, no matter what their backstory was.

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I think it's something that would have made his dad very proud.