Welcome back you guys.

This is week 19 of Our Mothers Knew It.

And this week we get to go from Mosiah 10.

And this is a week of deliverance.

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

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

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

and they all get delivered.

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

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

and then it works its way down.

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

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

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

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

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

but there will be a time of peace.

coming back together.

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

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

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

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

to guide you through it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

he gives us these middle chapters.

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

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

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

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

collateral damage as possible.

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

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

This is verse 20 and 21 for me.

This almost typified the whole week's study.

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

that he suffer with his people?

Yay.

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

For they will not seek wisdom.

Neither do they desire that she should rule over them.

Yay.

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

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

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

You can see that this week.

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

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

he wants every one of us back home.

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

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

reaches out and gathers his children home.

It's a beautiful section of scripture.

So grab your scriptures, grab your notes.

It's time to get started.

Time to head into our 3 3 3 approach.

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

I call these sparks.

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

to dig into the verses a little bit more.

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

at home or in your classes.

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

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

life for your kids or for your classes.

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

what happens in this week's chapters.

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

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

You'll start with Mosiah seven.

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

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

King Mosiah the First's reign.

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

they take a bunch of people with them.

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

It almost sounds like a movie, right?

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

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

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

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

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

But Xenith's people are in bondage.

They're in a bind.

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

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

rescue party, guide these people.

He's not going to rescue them yet.

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

Like way down the line.

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

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

since they've been gone.

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

missed with King Benjamin's words.

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

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

got from the land of the Jaredites.

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

9 and 10 are a little bit different.

9 and 10 we actually are in a flashback.

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

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

We learn that in seven and eight.

Nine and ten is where you find out why.

How they got into bondage in the first place.

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

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

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

back to the land of first inheritance.

You sort of see Zenith's story play out.

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

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

He's pretty transparent about mistakes.

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

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

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

And he's going to teach us about it.

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

delivered in one way or another.

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

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

Okay, let's head into spark number one.

I call this one the other Ammon.

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

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

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

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

Lamoni, they loved the story of Ammon.

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

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

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

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

at the end of Mosiah and into Alma.

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

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

Mosiah, named after this Ammon?

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

And let me tell you why.

He comes into the story in chapter 7.

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

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

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

Nephites, find the lost Nephites.

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

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

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

He's not just any Munikite.

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

a leader of the Munikites.

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

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

talk about the king named Zarahemla.

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

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

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

be a lot like the next Ammon.

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

into a high leadership position.

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

King Mosiah, the first could rule.

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

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

Zara Hemla, who was named Zara Hemla.

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

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

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

I just think That's why he is it.

So you look in the verses.

This is Mosiah 7, 2, and 3.

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

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

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

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

Zarahemla, and he was also their leader.

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

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

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

At least, not directly his people.

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

They're Nephites.

He's Mulekite, but he will go.

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

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

go and bring the Lamanites home.

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

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

I think the big reason that Ammon goes is because he

believes King Benjamin's message.

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

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

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

Which means these people, these lost Nephites from three generations

ago, they are his family.

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

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

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

the line in order to offer it.

That's what Ammon does.

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

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

They're going to struggle.

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

they're immediately grabbed.

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

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

So this is what happens.

This is why he reminds me of the other Ammon.

So look in verse 12 and 13.

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

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

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

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

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

suffered that I had worn these bands.

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

the land of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren whom

Zenneph brought up out of the land.

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

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

but I am from this royal line.

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

he's a descendant of Zarahemla.

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

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

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

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

I think you see that with this Ammon as well.

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

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

Ammon, this Ammon's choices.

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

got themselves into this mess.

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

to go and try and rescue these people.

Ammon could have easily said, They chose to leave.

Good riddance.

These aren't my people.

That's not where his heart is.

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

I also think he loves King Benjamin's words.

You're going to see that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It means he is valiant in the cause of Christ.

And so he will reach after these people.

He will deliver them if he can.

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

mess or if their grandpa did.

They need deliverance.

And so he steps up and he delivers.

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

of Mosiah, Ammon, down the road.

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

Nephites for countless generations.

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

There's just similar hearts.

between them, and I love that.

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

and you can find it in Mosiah 8, 18.

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

faith, might work mighty miracles.

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

I think this is who Ammon is.

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

even though I appear small.

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

He didn't demand anything.

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

efforts, great work happens.

I think that's the pattern of the Lord.

You see it in so many cool ways.

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

people can do a great amount of good.

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

atonement that happens with one person that then reaches throughout all

time and becomes this infinite gift.

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

later understood it and live up to it.

Spark number two I call the best intentions.

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

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

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

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

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

back to where the Lord sent them from.

He, he goes back.

And this is where you get his backstory.

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

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

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

the land that his father's built.

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

temple that Nephi made with his own hands.

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

to get back for the land.

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

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

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

It's really possible.

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

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

as pretty, wasn't as comfortable.

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

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

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

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

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

I could see something like that motivating Zenith to return to

the land of first inheritance.

I can also see Another one.

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

I'd never really noticed it before.

You see it in verse 1.

So this is Mosiah 9, verse 1.

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, this is fascinating to me.

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

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

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

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

people who are now off in Zarahemla.

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

he wants them not to be destroyed.

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

if this is just his military captain.

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

and wanted to attack the Lamanites.

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

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

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

And then there's this infighting that occurs.

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

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

military spy group and blood is shed.

People die.

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

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

their husbands and their fathers died.

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

battle with other Nephites.

And I can't imagine what those conversations must

have felt like for Zenith.

And I could see where.

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

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

motivate you to want to go down.

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

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

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

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

inheritance you're missing out on it.

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

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

Let me prove it to you.

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

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

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

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

I think you're misjudging them.

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

It's this really interesting thing.

It plays out in the verses.

He basically makes an alliance with the Lamanite king.

His name is Laman.

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

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

But you can see that play out in the verses.

He makes this alliance.

Basically, it goes to the Lamanite king.

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

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

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

I'm going to prove that this can work.

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

lands, we'll develop them.

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

this at the end of his life.

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

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

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

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

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

And you can almost hear that happening in the verses.

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

I think we do this same thing.

At least I know I do.

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

nudging the prophet towards something.

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

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

living right next to the Lamanites.

He's made a big mistake, right?

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

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

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

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

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

You heard this a little bit in conference.

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

about avoiding speculation?

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

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

information about Heavenly Mother.

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

goes and why it's not fruitful.

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

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

in our gospel library application.

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

that I know on the subject.

I wish I knew more.

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

Seeking greater understanding is an important part of spiritual

development, but please be cautious.

Reason cannot replace revelation.

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

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

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

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

better than the Lord in some respect.

And he's pushing things.

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

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

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

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

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

he didn't want them to have to travel.

He's with them.

And that happens in Zenith's story too.

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

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

to have happen, doesn't happen.

But you can hear his retrospect thoughts.

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

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

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

Zenif underestimated the hatred of the Lamanites.

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

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

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

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

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

you know, their wrath about being wronged.

And there's a whole bunch of great verses.

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

ferocious and a bloodthirsty people.

Remember, this is Zenith speaking.

Zenith who who?

really thought the Lamanites were worth saving, right?

He wanted to preserve them.

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

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

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

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

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

the land of their first inheritance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

He tried.

He wanted to live peacefully.

He tried.

But he can't do it on his own.

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

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

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

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

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

we're left to our own strength.

And that's what happens to Zenith.

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

They struggle because of it.

The Lord still helps them.

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

battles, but they're still not safe.

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

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

have accomplished amazing things.

Look how industrious and talented and capable he is.

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

what he could have accomplished?

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

him, but he has limited success.

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

the Lamanites, and they're Hopeless.

They feel hopeless until Ammon finally comes into town.

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

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

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

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

Spark number three, I call the overzealous.

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

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

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

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

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

He just.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That's home.

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

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

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

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

make that alliance with the Lamanite king.

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

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

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

Things thrive for a long time.

Their crops are growing.

It seems like relations are good.

There's been no battles.

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

the back to say, see, I knew it.

I knew this was going to work out.

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

I knew this was going to work.

And then King Layman springs his trap.

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

way with the prodigal had a season of.

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

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

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

and then things abruptly shift.

This is in Mosiah 9.

This is 13 and 14.

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

they should contend with my people.

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

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

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

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

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

flocks, and the corn of their fields.

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

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

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

I really think King, sorry.

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

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

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

to scramble to defend his people.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lord to be able to give to Martin Harris.

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

This is what I couldn't see.

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

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

to lose his ability to discern.

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

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

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

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

wacky, right?

And my judgment is off.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

rebellious decisions, but it's duller.

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

this was a plot by the Lamanite king.

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

And I wonder how he feels in this moment.

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

about Joseph Smith with the 116 pages.

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

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

Because what other alternative is there?

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

you wanted me to do all along.

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

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

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

This is why you wanted me over here.

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

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

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

in, the father rushes to meet his son.

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

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

go forth to battle against the Lamanites.

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

us out of the hands of our enemies.

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

And then 18.

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

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

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

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

He answers their cries.

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

I I'm sure the Lord could.

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

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

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

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

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

what he does for these people.

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

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

That's their moment when things really come together.

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

when he gave this talk in 2023.

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

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

whole prodigal story in this chapter.

But this is Elder Uchtdorf's words.

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

an instant that it is his son.

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

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

I have sinned against both heaven and you.

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

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

But the father scarcely lets him finish.

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

house and place it on my son's shoulders.

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

Make a feast to celebrate.

My son has returned.

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

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

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

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

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

That's his character.

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

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

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

It doesn't matter.

When you turn to him, the Lord delivers.

That's his nature and that I love.

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

Zarahemla at this point in time.

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

have said we shouldn't be here.

We should go back.

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

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

For multiple battles, the Lord helps them.

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

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

the strength of the Lord is with them.

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

kind of in one way or another.

None of us.

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

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

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

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

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

It's powerful to me.

Time to get into some questions.

Okay, most of these come from Chapter 7.

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

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

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

My first question comes from Mosiah 7.

This is around verse 15 or so.

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

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

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

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

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

heavy burden that's on their shoulders.

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

Almost mirror images of what we heard from King Benjamin.

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

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

He chose not to put people in prison.

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

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

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

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

what the Lamanite kings are doing.

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

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

others that I haven't mentioned here.

Okay, second question.

This is from Mosiah 7.

It's around verse 25.

There's this really interesting phrase.

You'll see it a few times in scripture.

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

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

this great evil should come upon them.

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

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

sort of, like, cosmic gravity.

You know what I mean?

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

that we can't help but fall down.

We stumble into traps.

We stumble into mistakes.

And I guess I'm curious.

about your thoughts in this area.

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

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

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

It spreads a little bit but kind of hovers there.

This is when Ammon arrives.

So when he comes into the city, Limhi rejoices.

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

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

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

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

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

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

And so they think Za Helo might be destroyed completely.

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

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

that, that Zarahemla still exists.

I think he's delighted at all of that.

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

and he basically tells them to rejoice.

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

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

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

None of their taxes have been relieved.

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

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

Here's what I think is interesting.

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

when you don't know the outcome?

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

can do, but they choose to rejoice.

I think you see that a lot in scripture.

People who choose to have joy or to change their countenance

based on a promise rather than.

Seeing the actual results play out.

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

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

lift up your heads and rejoice.

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

this question kind of hovers.

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

Because I think that combination of an assurance of deliverance

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

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

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

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

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

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

actually has much broader application.

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

just one last little thought.

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

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

people, also has his Prodigal moment.

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

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

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

is the dad coming to find the prodigal.

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

fault that they're in this mess.

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

parents who didn't listen to the Lord.

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

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

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

almost prodigal like statement.

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

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

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

Speaking about.

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

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

tribute to the king of the Lamanites.

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

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

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

I know I made this mistake.

I just want to go back home in any way.

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

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

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

Please let me come home.

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

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

it comes to the children of Christ.

They come home with dignity.

They come home rescued.

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

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

many years they've been gone.

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

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

Mosiah the second brings all of his people together.

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

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

like King Benjamin taught them to do?

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

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

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

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