Welcome back, everybody.

This is week 21 of Our Mothers Knew It, and this week we

have a lot of ground to cover.

We're going to go from Mosiah 18 all the way through Mosiah 24.

And the reason we have such a big block of scripture is because

we're covering two deliverance stories that happen side by side.

both over the course of about 25 years or so.

You're going to study the story of Alma and his people.

Remember we left off last week and Alma's testimony was just beginning to

be ignited by Abinadi and he takes off.

You're going to find out that that fire of testimony that Abinadi lit becomes

this bonfire that draws people in and you're going to see what happens when

those people gather and become one.

And we'll follow them all the way through This period of the waters of

Mormon where they have some joy and then periods of bondage where they

struggle and then ultimately deliverance back up to the land of Zarahemla.

Then side by side with that story, we study the people of Limhi.

Limhi is Noah's son who's left behind by his dad to sort of Manage things.

He becomes the king according to the people's choice and he's

not a king by normal standards.

Remember, we studied him a few weeks ago.

He's somebody who is running his part of the kingdom, but he's under

the thumb of the Lamanites and his people are paying heavy taxes and

dealing with heavy burdens due to this bondage that they're stuck under, but

ultimately they also get delivered.

We saw that a few weeks ago when we read about the story of Ammon

and the 16 men who are coming down.

This is where you get the backstory in the middle and more depth and understanding

about the process of deliverance.

To me, the coolest part about both of these stories is I think they

actually teach you about both sides of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I think we often think about the atonement being something that, you know, offers

us a remission of sins and offers to help us in these desperate times of need.

regarding repentance.

I think the Atonement also covers enabling power.

It is something that gives us access to strength and power

that we didn't have otherwise.

And I like that you see that with both groups of people.

You see Lim Hai's people who need one side of the Atonement desperately, and

then you see Elma's people who use the other side of the Atonement, and both

of them rely on this gift in order to get delivered and get back to life.

to Zarahemla.

Get back home.

There's this great quote from Elder Bednar.

You can find the full one in the notes, but this is what he said.

Most of us know that when we do things wrong and need help to overcome the

effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has made it possible for us to become

clean through his redeeming power.

But do we also understand that the Atonement is for faithful men and

women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious, and who are striving to

become better and serve more faithfully?

I wonder if we fail to fully acknowledge this strengthening

aspect of the Atonement in our lives.

and mistakenly believe that we must carry the load all on our, all alone, through

sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.

It's one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us, but we need

also appreciate that the Lord desires, through his atonement and by the power

of the Holy Ghost, to enliven us.

Not only to guide, but also to strengthen and to heal us.

God's goal for these people, I think, is not just to get them home, but to

help them become the kind of people that we'll feel at home when they get there.

Who will feel that they're a part of this people in Zarahemla, and they belong.

And I think it's the same thing He hopes for us as well.

No matter what kind of journey we're on, or what sort of rocky path we are

headed towards, He can find a way to get us home, if we will follow His

And by watching these two groups of people, you'll get ideas from the spirit

on how you can be delivered as well.

It's just a fantastic section of scripture.

So grab your scriptures, grab your notes.

It's time to get started.

For those of you who are new here, let me tell you how we run things.

Basically, we have three, three, and three.

We're going to do three sparks.

Three things that caught my eye on this reading that maybe I'd never

seen before or just got me intrigued to dig deeper into my scriptures.

I'm going to share three of those sparks here.

Then I'll also share three really good questions to help

you have good conversations with your families or your classes.

And then we'll do a second video of three object lessons so that you can

take some other parts that are in these.

chapters and find ways to get your kids excited about them the same way you are.

So you're gonna see all of that in two separate videos.

Before we jump into the sparks though, I thought it would be helpful

to just break down these chapters.

We've got a lot of them this week, so I thought I would just help you

know where you are in the story so that that way when we jump into the

sparks, you'll have your bearings.

So let's kick off in chapter 18.

This is where you're going to see this really beautiful Zion building phase.

So remember, we're seeing two stories that happen sort of simultaneously.

In 18, you're following Alma and those who will go with

him into the waters of Mormon.

It's this incredible chapter that teaches you what it means

to be a child of the covenant.

What it means to bear one another's burdens and to reach out and be knit.

I think it's what we all hope for when it comes to building Zion today.

And you'll have some beautiful instruction from Alma in that chapter.

Nineteen things shift when you go back in to find out what's happening with Noah.

So almost going back to find out where things have gone

with that group of people.

This is when you see Noah abandon his family.

Those wives and concubines that we learned about last week, they get abandoned.

This is where he directs his guards to take him into the wilderness and protect

him and leave their families behind.

And then it goes pretty, pretty bad.

Poorly for Noah.

This is, you see him executed by his own guards as they realize

the kind of king he really is.

Um, you see Limhi's compromise in this chapter.

Limhi, who was left behind by his own dad and now has to figure out how to make

peace with the Lamanites to some degree.

So he finds a way to accept their rules about bondage and,

and deal with consequences.

All of that happens in 19.

You see, That kingdom passed from father to son, but not in the way we

saw it with Benjamin and Mosiah where there was this clear line of, you

know, the king passing the crown to his son and letting the people know.

Noah's method is much, much different and much harder for his son to pick

up the pieces that are left behind.

20, that's that interesting chapter where you find out that the wicked

priests who have escaped the guards and those who wanted to take them down have

ventured into the wilderness and they happen upon those Lamanite daughters and

this is when they abduct the daughters.

I think you get a feel for the kind of hard cold hearts they have that they

left their own families behind in the land of Nephi and now just grab new ones

like just it's kind of staggering to see it happen because of their choice

to abduct these daughters from the Lamanites it's Limhi's people who will

suffer because the Lamanites think that Limhi's people must have been the ones

who abducted their daughters and so they attack and it causes all of this

confusion so you'll see that happen in 20.

Chapter 21 is what I would call Limhi's liberty jail.

This is the low point for Limhi and his people.

They are under a weight of bondage that has pushed them to the dust.

And the only good part about that is that there's nowhere to go but up.

As they finally turn to the Lord and seek deliverance, you see their story at

least start to take a turn in chapter 21.

22 is where the deliverance sequence happens.

It almost reminds me of like a prison break movie.

You know, like you can see them plotting how they're gonna escape and

they want all the voices of all the people to chime in to get the best

strategy and then they Get to work.

We know from the chapters that most of these people are women and children

who've been left behind because there's been a series of wars and a lot of the

men have left and they scrap together and with the help of Gideon and Limhi

and then Ammon, this epic rescuer, and his other 15 guys, they find a way

with the help of the Lord to escape.

And it's this, you know, awesome story about getting guards drunk and

working their way past them in the

23 is a little different.

Now we're going to shift gears and go back to Alma.

So Alma and his people have set up camp in Helam.

They're starting to build a thriving city, and it's doing great.

And by some really serious misfortune, those wicked priests who've been

wandering out in the wilderness and have now attached themselves to the

Lamanites, they're going to be killed.

They stumble upon the people of Alma who are thriving and, of

course, subject them to bondage.

This is where you're introduced to Amulon, that other wicked priest who

takes advantage of Alma and makes his life just miserable, along with all the

other Nephites who are seeking for help.

So that all happens in chapter 23.

24 is when their deliverance finally comes.

Remember, both these groups of people are in bondage for at least

two decades, maybe more, 20 25 years or so, but by the time you get to

chapter 24, there is deliverance.

Alma's people get their burdens lifted, you know, they feel the weight of their

shoulders, can't feel the heaviness of their burdens thanks to the help

of the Lord, and they eventually make their way back to Zarahemla and join

the people of King Mosiah as well.

So by the end of these chapters, all of these groups of people

have made their way home.

They just take very different roads to get there.

So now let's get into how that happens in the Sparks.

Spark number one, I call Heart Knitting 101, because I think Alma and Joseph

Smith are expert heart knitters.

They know how to create a Zion society where people are of

one heart and of one mind.

But they have to begin at the 101 level.

Neither Alma nor Joseph Smith knew how to do this at the beginning.

They get really Revelation upon revelation and, you know, light upon

light and they slowly understand what the Lord wants them to do.

It must have happened that way for Alma because he's in that

same spot where he doesn't have anyone he can turn to for guidance.

There's no one he can ask when he wonders, like, how many people

should be in a congregation?

How many leaders should I have over this group of 50 or 100?

He doesn't have anyone to turn to, so he has to turn to the Lord.

And you, it must have happened that way from the very beginning.

Because what Alma received from Abinadi is just this ignition, right?

This ignition of a spark in him and some understanding of the doctrines

so that he could go and write it all down and share it with those people.

But I think, much like Joseph, As he chose to share what he knew so far, you know,

what he had come to an understanding of so far, then the Spirit pours in and he

gets added light and added knowledge.

It's one of my favorite parts of studying the story of the Restoration,

because you can see Joseph wrestling with these puzzle pieces.

You know, he gets these ideas from Moroni and from the Lord and from others, and

he doesn't exactly know how they're all gonna, you know, fit together.

He just keeps turning those puzzle pieces until he can find a way to make them fit.

And sometimes that takes You know decades before he figures things out, and I just

think you see that in Alma as well He is he is determined to teach truth And

he's gonna teach it simply so that he can grow in wisdom and knowledge and I

really loved seeing their stories side by side It's possible that these came to my

mind simply because I'm in the middle of teaching foundations of the Restoration

So I'm right in that Kirtland and Nauvoo period and I saw so many cool parallels

with the waters of Mormon and Helam You story and the Kirtland and Nauvoo story.

But let me just share a few of the ones that jumped out at

me for this particular spark.

First off, I love that both Joseph Smith and Alma seem to

seek for direct revelation.

You know, I think Joseph had his sacred grove experience and

I think Alma has his thicket.

If you go in the verses you can see That he has to go and hide

at the waters of Mormon when he's hiding from Noah's guards.

He finds this little thicket of woods that he can go to to

cover himself from the guards.

This is in verse five of Mosiah 18.

Now there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water and Alma resorted to there there

being near the water a thicket of small trees where he did hide himself in the

daytime from the searches of the king.

This is his Place of revelation, I imagine.

I'm not pretending it's the same as the sacred grove.

I just think this must be a place where he's got time on his hands.

He doesn't have to be afraid because nobody's gonna find him in here

and he can simply study and pray.

This is where I imagine he writes all those words of Abinadi and he

gets inspiration on how things are supposed to go and what it's supposed

to look like and And as he starts to understand and as he starts to teach

and testify in those little homes in the city, you know, under the cover of

darkness, it starts to click for him.

Those puzzle pieces click together and he knows what he's supposed to do next.

And then more people come and more testimonies go out.

I just think there's so many cool parallels between Alma

and Joseph, especially in those early stages of the church.

I also love that both Alma and Joseph have this focus on helping people create

covenant connections with the Lord.

That's what Alma urges his people to do.

So if you look in verse 10 and 11, this is where you see that massive baptism,

you know, string of baptisms occur, because he knows where their hearts are.

These are changed people.

They don't want the life they had in King Noah's court or in his city.

They want to be new creatures.

And so they're going through that repentance process.

Alma's already gone through it.

And so he's guiding them through it.

And so he invites them to to receive baptism so that they can have the

Spirit more abundantly upon them.

And I love that piece.

I think that's what Joseph was really careful about as well.

He was constantly trying to urge people to covenants so that the

Spirit could fill them up and they could get, you know, solidly

planted as he felt solidly planted.

He was never trying to put himself on this you know, this pillar, so

that everybody would look up to him.

He was constantly saying, like, I want you to know what I know.

I want you to understand how I know what I know.

And I think you see that with Alma and with Joseph.

I also love that they both invite all to come unto them.

So if you look in verse 17, And they were called the church of God and the

church of Christ from that time forward.

And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority

of God was added to his church.

There were no boundaries.

There were no limits.

There were, if you were willing to repent and keep the commandments of God, and

be worthy of baptism, and then come into those waters, you were welcome.

And I think you see that all over the story of the Restoration.

People came from all kinds of different backgrounds, and they gravitated to that.

The gospel message that was taught in such purity and such simplicity,

they were pulled in and they belonged.

I also love that both of them were so focused on creating Zion.

And that one of the cool ways they did that is by empowering others to teach.

You're going to see Alma in these verses talk about Setting up leadership and then

telling those leaders what they can teach.

They're just going to focus on those fundamentals of the gospel

and let people build from there.

I don't know what that means.

Alma knew a whole bunch more than that and he just wanted

them to begin at that level.

Early level or if Alma himself is still figuring out deeper understandings

I just think he's saying like this is where conversion happens.

We need them deeply converted to Jesus Christ So we're gonna focus

in on those core fundamentals.

So you'll see some of that that direction for others to preach I think it's not just

so much about the conversions that will happen in the hearts But I think it's also

for those who are teaching and preaching, that they then will be filled up.

You know, as you testify and teach and preach to others, your own heart gets

filled with the spirit and you get this witness that what you're teaching is true.

So I think it's this really dynamic way to connect.

Bring converted hearts together.

They, the teachers and the students grow in strength together.

I also think Alma is really good at keeping the commandments with purpose.

You'll hear a few of them in the verses.

He directs them to keep the Sabbath day holy and to gather together

for good reasons and you hear those same messages from Joseph.

It's, it's not the version of the commandments that

the wicked priests taught.

It's purified true doctrine.

He has stripped away all the distortions that the wicked priests put on these

Law of Moses type commandments, and he is teaching them in purity and truth.

And I see that effort in Joseph as well.

He is someone who hoped to find the light and truth that was in the gospel and

to let it shine again by removing all the things that men had attached to it.

And so you see that heart in both of these men.

I also love that the Law of Consecration is a big piece of both of their stories.

Because I think it's their way of increasing dignity.

I taught a YSA lesson all about the Law of Consecration recently,

and for me, I really think that's a fundamental purpose behind it.

Because you have all these people coming from all different places.

Many of them, especially those early saints in Joseph Smith's time

who were traveling to Kirtland, or traveling to Nauvoo, they

had to leave everything behind.

Their professions, their families, their wealth, everything had to be left behind.

So they came.

with nothing.

And I imagine there were people who came to the waters of Mormon like that

too, who had to leave family behind and had to leave all of their possessions

and their father's inheritance and everything else behind so that they could

come and join this waters of Mormon.

And that means their hands are empty.

And so the consecrated hearts of the people there who are willing

to just give creates dignity.

It creates a unity and a dignity among them.

You can see it in verse 27.

And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should

impart of their substance everyone according to that which he had.

If he had more abundantly, he should impart more abundantly.

And of him that had but little, but little should be required.

And to him that had not should be given.

And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will

and good desires toward God, and to those priests that stood in need,

yea, to every needy naked soul.

That's what I feel when I study the Law of Consecration, especially in

Joseph Smith's day, that Kirtland era.

I just think that's where their hearts were.

It wasn't compulsory.

There were no negative emotions behind it.

It was simply to help others have dignity and then to come and be knit together.

So you see that.

I also love the last connection point I see is that they teach you how

you can have this kind of covenant heart, and it comes through service.

There's this really interesting way it's phrased, especially

when it comes to Alma's people.

It's this invitation, I think, to lose yourself so that you can find yourself.

It's in verse 26.

It says, And the priests were not to depend on the people for their

support, but they were to labor, for their labor they were to receive

the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the spirit, having

knowledge God, that they might teach with the power and authority from God.

This I just love.

This is basically God's payment plan.

When you choose to serve in his work, no matter where you're called to

serve, his promise is that you will still need to work in the real world.

He's not going to provide for all of your material needs, but as you serve and

do good, he will abundantly bless you.

I mean, look at that gift, especially these new, young converts who are

trying to change their ways and not ever retreat back, this promise that

they'll wax strong in the spirit, that they'll have a knowledge of God, that

they'll be able to teach with the power and authority of God, is a huge promise.

And that is a weighty payment for the amount of sacrifice it takes to diligently

teach or diligently serve in your calling.

So I love all of those comparisons between Joseph and Alma, but

there's probably many more.

Spark number two I call beasts and beauty because you see this really cool

transition about the waters of Mormon in the verses We tend to picture the waters

of Mormon as this like lush Tropical, you know with this gorgeous waterfall.

It's in the printables.

I made last week you guys like that's How I've painted the Waters

of Mormon in my mind all the time.

But I think what's interesting is, that's not what the verses say.

If you look in verse 4 of chapter 18, you see what the

Waters of Mormon are known for.

It says, And it came to pass that as many as did believe him did go forth to a place

that was called Mormon, having received its name from the king, being in the

borders of the land, having been infested by times or at seasons by wild beasts.

This is not a place that's generally lived in, right?

This is a place that it's risky to live in because there are wild beasts there.

I don't know what this place looks like, but the very fact that it's kind of

close to the city, but nobody wants to live there, should tell us something.

It may not be this lush oasis that we've always pictured.

It might be, uh, This dusty, barren part of the landscape that has a thicket of

trees and a spring of water, who knows?

What I do know is that over the course of this one chapter, where we learn about

hearts being knit, and, you know, lifting up the hands that hang down, and bearing

each other's burdens, and taking care of the needy, naked souls, that beautiful

chapter of what a Zion society looks like, Changes how they see this land.

So by verse 30 of the same chapter, they start describing

the waters of Mormon again.

This is that verse that has like the forests of Mormon, the waters

of Mormon, the lands of Mormon.

But this is how it ends.

How beautiful are they to the eyes of them who came, who there came

to a knowledge of their Redeemer.

Yea, how blessed are they, for they shall sing his praise forever.

It's the transition that sparked for me.

There's something so sweet about seeing a place that is at first known

by others as being infested by wild beasts, meaning you, when you first

go there, you're scared and you don't know how things are going to shake out.

And then by the time you've finished becoming a disciple of

Christ, things look different.

And something that used to be frightening to you has become beautiful.

And I think there's places like this in all of our lives.

I think there are places that we could call our personal waters of Mormon.

They're a place that's set apart from the world, a place where covenant connections

happen, a place where All are alike.

They share things, they take care of each other, so all are alike and they

serve each other in love and peace.

A place where you're nourished and you're taught truth that's undiluted.

In fact, as I started stacking up all of these things that create Waters of Mormon,

for me, Waters of Mormon is the temple.

I think the temple is our place where we have this secluded break from the world.

It's not permanent.

It's a temporary spot to be nourished and strengthened.

A place where when you walk in the doors, you are all alike unto God.

You even dress the same.

You, you, there are no distinctions between you, and

you all have a common purpose.

And that is to serve and to learn.

To serve those around you and to learn in the house of God.

To learn from the Spirit of Revelation and no other sources.

It is a place of learning.

I found myself picturing a temple like setting for these people.

Whether or not that those kind of covenants happen doesn't matter to me.

It's, it's what the Lord is creating for them.

This little haven that they can enjoy for a season.

I like it because I've seen that same transition that's from beast to beast.

to beauty happened for me with the temple.

When I first went to the temple, yeah, I went pretty young.

I was right before Jason and I got married and I didn't know a whole lot

and it was a bit jarring, to be honest.

It was just different than I anticipated and then we kind of lived

away from the temple for a while and so I couldn't go very frequently

and I never really craved it.

It sounds terrible now, but like, I went through a period where I

almost resisted going to the temple because I didn't feel at home there.

I felt great at church and I felt great in other, in my scriptures

and in other places, but the temple didn't feel like home to me.

It was a place that was, you know, Infested with doubts.

I found myself the same way they described this land that's infested by wild beasts.

To me, at first, the temple caused doubts in me.

It caused worries.

It caused insecurity in me.

I thought things were supposed to be happening spiritually that weren't, and

it kind of troubled me for a season.

And what I found is the only way that place could transition to a place

of beauty is for me to get there.

Get there more often to study the scriptures so that I can understand the

temple better and then just to show up.

The same way these people, when they stepped away from their old life and they

stayed in the waters of Mormon and they became this group of people and were all

in, then things started to shift for them.

And then they could start to see the beauty that was there all along.

It just Didn't look that way at the beginning.

This is why I love this phrase about coming to a knowledge of your Redeemer

I think that's what happened for me at the temple It's not so much that I

know the routines and the you know, the layout of the temple that makes me more

comfortable It makes me feel at home.

It's that I feel like I've started to come to a knowledge of my Redeemer

right there I've started to understand who he is in a deeper way I started

to trust him more profoundly as I attend the temple more regularly.

I it's changed for me You What used to feel like a place of insecurity

has become a place of peace.

Tethering myself to God and it's, it's been a powerful transition.

That's why I love what President Nelson said in his,

just his least this last talk.

He said, this list of attributes is much more than a description of a temple.

It's a promise about what will happen to those who serve and

worship in the house of the Lord.

They can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation.

greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.

Time in the temple will help you think, help you to think celestial and

to catch a vision of who you really are and who you can become and the

kind of life you can have forever.

Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how

you fit into God's magnificent plan.

I promise you that.

I think you can almost hear those same words coming from someone like Alma.

As they choose to be all in and be a part of this covenant connection and

part of this hearts knit community, they have these experiences to come

to a knowledge of their Redeemer.

As they get a chance to serve Him and testify of Him and learn of Him

in this sacred little setting, they, they come to know for themselves

who He is and how they are a part of this great, great plan of God.

The other thing I love about the Waters of Mormon being almost a temple like

experience is they can't stay here.

As wonderful as the Waters of Mormon are, you sit in chapter 18 and

you could stay there for a minute.

It sounds idyllic, but I think the Lord's gospel is designed to enrich

you and strengthen you and nourish you so that you can then go out

and do good things in the world.

And you see that with Alma's people too.

They have enough time in this little place.

to have peace and to be strengthened and then they're directed to go out.

King Noah's men are going to come in soon and so Alma gets

a warning and they head out.

And they're going to head to an even more beautiful land called Helam,

but they can't stay in this one.

Which reminds me of how Elder Bednar talked about the temple as being a

place that you get this flow of the power of God coming into you so that you

can go out into the world and do good.

He says this, do not come to the temple to hide from or

escape the evils of the world.

Rather, we come to the temple to conquer the world of evil.

As we invite into our lives the power of godliness by receiving priesthood

ordinances and making and keeping sacred covenants, we are blessed with

the strength beyond our own to overcome the temptations and challenges of

mortality and to do and become good.

I think this is why when they get to Helam, the Lord puts them to the test.

They don't get to stay in their little bubble.

It's as wonderful as that bubble is.

They don't get to stay there.

They're going to be put to the test because that's how you're

going to grow and strengthen.

We can't stay in the temple where everybody gets along with us so there's

no contention and everybody looks the same and you don't ever have insecurities.

You got to go out into the world and put those, that strengthening power

to the test to see what you will do.

It's the same way I'm talking to you.

Like if you If you have a young woman's lesson on charity, it's great to have

that lesson in a classroom on charity.

It's even better than to take your girls to girls camp and see if they

will live those lessons about charity.

If they'll let that cute little 12 year old sleep in their tent, or if they'll

help that, you know, 13 year old that's younger than them learn the camp songs.

That's when you see if the lessons on charity actually did something.

And that's what we see happen with Alma's people as well.

They go to Helam.

They start to set up this beautiful city.

It's thriving.

And then the Lamanites swoop in, and they get stuck in bondage.

So this is what you see in the verses.

So this is 23 verses 20 and 21.

And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the

land of Helam, and they built a city, which they called the city of Helam.

Nevertheless, the Lord did seeth fit to chasten his people.

He trieth their patience and their faith.

It's almost like Job, right?

Job was doing great, and he had no reason to be tried and

tested as severely as he was.

Except for in the story, It's his chance to prove his integrity, that

he will never deviate from God.

No matter if his friends leave him and he loses all his property, he believes

he has this testimony that is riveted to his heart and he will stand by it.

That's what I think happens with Alma and his people.

They are tested and tried, not because the Lord wants to toy

with them, but because the Lord knows exactly how strong they are.

The same way as a coach, sometimes you would sign up your kids to go

against a really hard opponent.

Not because you want to punish them by any stretch, but because you know how

good they are and how prepared they are.

And so you're excited to put them in a place where they will get pushed to

those limits and see what they can do.

Even if they fail, they'll get pushed enough that they'll see how far they've

come and they'll yearn to get better.

I think that's what happens.

in Alma's story, especially that part in Helam when Amulon comes

and he's this puppet king and he makes their lives miserable.

When they turn to the Lord and they pray for help and he lifts the

burdens off their backs so that they can't feel them anymore, this is

God's way of saying like, great job.

You know, they're, he's, they've done, they don't just believe

the gospel, they will live it.

And that's powerful.

And so you see the promise.

in those same verses of how, how they did in this test.

This is in 22, 23, and 24.

Nevertheless, whoso putteth his trust in him, the same shall

be lifted up at the last day.

Yea, and thus it was with this people.

For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into bondage, and none

could deliver them but the Lord their God.

Yea, even the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

And it came to pass that he did deliver them, and he did show

forth his mighty power unto them, and great were their rejoicings.

that's the result of being pushed to those limits and stretching and increasing

and coming closer to God in the process.

You have great rejoicing.

Okay, after two sparks with Alma's people, we've got to give at least one to Limhi's

people because I love their story too.

It's a different kind of story of deliverance.

It's more of a repentant story and I love seeing this spark, this light

of Christ start to build in them.

I think there's a slower build.

It, it takes longer for them, but You do see it build, especially in Limhi himself.

So remember, Limhi is that son of the king.

We don't know if he's the oldest or not.

He just is the one that is chosen by the people to be the next king.

And he's not a king by any normal stretch.

He's a king underneath the power of the Lamanites.

So he's the one that's supposed to gather all the taxes and pay

the tribute to the Lamanites.

And they are struggling under the weight of it.

In fact, in my brain, I started thinking of that movie A Bug's Life.

Like it kind of feels like that first season where they just are

pushed down by these oppressors and they can't find a way out.

And then there's this really interesting exchange that happens.

So basically this is after those 24 girls were abducted and the Lamanites

come and attack Limhi's people.

So Limhi's people try to fight back against the This unwarranted attack

and in the process, the king of the Lamanites gets wounded and is

kind of left behind among the dead.

I think people thought he was dead and the Lamanites leave him behind

and limb high's guards find that king.

They bandage up his wounds and they bring him to limb high.

Almost like Limhi now has this really powerful bargaining chip, right?

He could execute the king.

He could, he could take out his frustration and aggression on this

king who just unfairly attacked him.

But in this moment of intense differences, Limhi chooses to be

what I would call a peacemaker.

I don't know.

I don't know what's happening in Limhi's heart, but I feel like you can see the

light of Christ just starting to flare up in him, because he chooses this very

brave course, which is, I don't want you to kill him, I want you to ask him why.

Why did they attack us?

Why did they break their oath not to hurt us?

What has happened here?

He's trying to bridge this gap, and that to me is just

this remarkable, um, Diplomacy.

It is Christ like diplomacy that is staggering to me.

So this is in Mosiah 20, 13 and 14.

13 is when the guards bring him and say, we want to kill him, or at

least have you kill him, basically.

And 14, you see Limhi's response.

But Limhi said unto them, Ye shall not slay him, but bring

him hither that I may see him.

And they brought him.

And Limhi said unto him, What cause have ye to come to war against my people?

Behold, my people have not broken the oath that I made unto you.

Therefore, why should you break the oath that ye made unto my people?

He in this moment lets his anger be swallowed up.

In this desire for understanding and a desire for peace.

That's one of the things I really like about Limb Heights.

The same reason I think it's so cool that he loves those 24 plates that

they found in the Jaredite lands.

He really wants to know what's on those records.

He really wants to know what happened to that land of people that are now bones.

He has this inquisitive mind and he wants to know and understand things.

I think that's what makes him such a good king for this group of people.

And in this moment, I feel like his people are almost like Jonah.

on the boat.

Like they are getting to that point when, remember in Jonah's story, he's, he's

supposed to go to Nineveh, instead he goes to Tarshish, and on the boat ride

things get so stormy and scary that they realize the men on the ship are wondering

what God is angry at, and Jonah finally kind of announces that it's his fault

and that they should throw him overboard.

I feel like that's Limhi's people are.

Because Limhi and Gideon, who's this awesome guard that you see play into

this story, they have this exchange, this conversation where you can see

them kind of saying like, Oh, I think I know why there's such a storm, and I

think he needs to throw us overboard.

And you see it in chapter 20, verse 21 and 22.

This is Gideon speaking to Limhi.

For are not the words of Abinadi fulfilled, which he prophesied against us?

And all this because we would not hearken unto the words of the

Lord and turn from our iniquities.

And then 22.

And now let us pacify the king, that we fulfill the oath which we have made unto

him, for it is better that we should be in bondage than we should lose our lives.

Therefore let us put a stop to the shedding of so much blood.

These are two, uh, warriors, right?

And for them to choose this course of peace and say, it's better for me to

be in bondage than it is to continue this never ending trail of blood

where we just exchange blow for blow.

It is better for this to stop.

And I feel like this is their moment when they say, throw me overboard.

You know, when Jonah says to the men on the ship, You'll have peace

in the storm if you just let me go.

And Jonah doesn't know what's going to happen to him.

And I don't think Limhi or Gideon know what's going to happen to them

in the Lamanite bondage either.

But they know that the prophecies of Abinadi are coming true.

And those commandments that Abinadi taught about not killing, those also can tie them

back to where they have some sort of hope.

And so they voluntarily get thrown overboard.

They get into the bondage of the Lamanites.

And I just think this wail of bondage holds them for a season,

the same way it did with Jonah.

Because Jonah needs some time to process, to repent, and to change.

And I think that's what's happening with Lim High's people too.

It takes time.

Time for their hearts to soften and to change.

They choose in this moment to bury their weapons of war Theoretically

and they choose to become peacemakers This is what President Nelson said

in his peacemakers needed talk.

The Savior made this clear in his sermons to followers in both

hemispheres Blessed are the peacemakers.

He said whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek shall

turn to him the other also.

And then of course, he gave the admonition that challenges each of

us, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that

hate you, and pray for them, which despitefully use you and persecute you.

Before his death, the Savior commanded his 12 apostles to love

one another as he had loved them.

And then he added, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,

if ye have love one to another.

The Savior's message is clear.

His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire.

No matter how difficult the situation, true disciples of

Jesus Christ are peacemakers.

I think these two men, Gideon and Limhi, and all the people that will follow them

in this course are trying to be this.

They're trying to set down their old selves and pick up this invitation

to be something better from Abinadi.

They don't have a prophet with them anymore, they don't know

exactly how this is supposed to look, but they are gonna try.

And I think the Lord rejoices when they try.

What's interesting is they don't do it perfectly.

You know, in the next couple chapters, you're gonna see that

they try to get deliverance from their own hands for a season.

Like, I think they're just like the rest of us.

Their repentance process is not this perfect trajectory back up

to where they were supposed to be.

It's undulating, you know?

Like, they make mistakes, they figure things out.

They tried to save themselves from the Lamanites with battle a few times.

They almost recede back into their old habits.

and then have to go, oh wait, we know that wouldn't work.

You remember they're, they're like stuck in that whale and they haven't

quite figured out how to get free yet, but over the course of time they do.

After three defeats against the Lamanites, where they have heavy losses

each time, they get to this point, low, low point where they need deliverance.

And they've realized that there's nothing that can save them from

this whale but the hand of God.

So this is Messiah 21.

This is verse 14.

And they did humble themselves.

Even in the depths of humility.

They did cry mightily to God.

They even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would

deliver them outta their afflictions.

And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities.

Nevertheless, the Lord did hear their cries and began to soften their heart.

Lamanites, that they began to ease their burdens, yet the Lord did not

see fit to deliver them out of bondage.

And it came to pass that they began to prosper by degrees in the

land, and began to raise grain more abundantly, and flocks, and herds,

and did not suffer with hunger.

I love this exchange.

I feel like this is the Lord saying, like, I'm gonna let you out slowly.

this whale of bondage that you're stuck in.

I'm going to bless you in every way I can, but I'm not going to deliver you just yet.

I need you to come to trust me.

I need you to understand our connection.

And I like that they aren't perfect at it.

There's this great talk from Brother Wilcox where he talked about how

we have to take a better view of this when it comes to repentance.

That sometimes we assume that once you start the repentance path, you're

just going to zoom and it'll be perfect and everything will go great.

And that's not always the case.

This is what he said.

It's in his 2021 October talk.

Considering how long he was talking about a boy named Damon, who had struggled for

a long time and was now coming around.

It was unhelpful and unrealistic for parents and leaders assisting him to

say never again, to quit too quickly or arbitrarily set some standard of

abstinence to be considered worthy.

Instead, they started with small, reachable goals.

They got rid of the all or nothing expectations and focused on incremental

growth, which allowed Damon to build on a series of successes instead of failures.

He, like the enslaved people of Limhi, learned that he could prosper by degrees.

Some mistakenly receive the message that God is waiting

to help until after we repent.

God's message is that he will help us as we repent.

Can't you see him doing that with the people of Limhi?

He's helping their crops grow so that they can have food.

He's helping soften the Lamanites hearts towards them.

He's helping them in these small incremental ways so

that they come to trust him.

This is back to Elder Wilcox.

He said this, His grace is available to us no matter where

we are on the path of obedience.

Elder Uchtdorfer said, God does not need people who are flawless.

He seeks those who will offer their heart and a willing mind, and He

will make them perfect in Christ.

We, I think, have all prospered by degrees as we've gone through the repentance

process, as we continue in the repentance process, day after day, and we make

some strides forward and then we make some strides back, and we, the promise

is that as long as our hearts are in the right place, He is right there.

We can be delivered from our wails of bondage, whatever they are, as we take

one step at a time and do our best to keep those steps going forward.

When we're ready to accept his deliverance in his way, the same way once these

people were ready to accept God's deliverance in his way, Ammon swoops in

for them and deliverance comes in for us.

That's his promise.

All right, now that we've had some sparks to think about, let's get into

the questions so that you can have some good conversations and just dig into

your scriptures and see what you find.

My first question is kind of all over the chapters this week.

One of the areas is in Mosiah 19, verses 16 and 17.

I think it's really interesting that women are mentioned so

many times in this week's study.

Not necessarily in a good way.

Like, for example, the women are abandoned by their husbands.

There's this part where the guards are directed to follow King Noah

into the wilderness and to leave their women and children behind.

And they do.

Not all of them.

Some stay, but the guards leave their wives and their children

and head out to protect King Noah.

That eventually comes back to bite King Noah and he is

executed by those same guards.

But that's one of the times women are mentioned.

Another time is another chapter or two later when you learn about those

24 young girls of the Lamanites who are stolen from their families, right?

They're out dancing in some sort of, I don't know what they're doing out

there, some sort of ceremony perhaps, and the wicked priests are watching them

and then they swoop in and they abduct them and they become their wives and

it's just this I don't know, just it gives you this heaviness in your heart

that this is a part of their story.

Another part happens when those who stay behind, those who don't abandon the women

and children and stay with their wives and families, they send their daughters out in

order to appease the Lamanites, at least to try and get them to slow down their

attack, that they'll be charmed by their daughters and then stop, which it works.

These daughters essentially save the Lamanites.

There are people, but it's in this really hard way.

And I guess my question is, sorry that was a big lead up, but I wonder if

there's a link between the way these women are treated in these various verses.

And what had been happening in the city, especially those breaches of

commandments regarding the law of chastity, having many wives and concubines

and treating people as commodities.

I just think there's some sort of connection between that sort of disrespect

of the commandments and then the way it trickles into how women are treated.

The thing I guess I would point out, though, is I think Limhi

seeks to break that cycle.

The way he cares for the widows who are left behind, some of them might be, you

know, the widows of the Those who went out to protect his dad in the forest or

others, like, he cares for these widows and he directs others to care for them.

So, I'm wondering, as you get into the verses, where do you think the connections

are between the commandments and this?

Treatment of women.

And how do you see Limhi seeking to break that cycle?

Okay, question number two.

This is from Mosiah 24.

This is verses 8 and 9.

This is when you're introduced to Amulon.

So you find out he's one of the wicked priests of King Noah, who has made

an alliance with the Lamanites, and then eventually is placed in power

over that land of Helam, where Alma and his people have built up a city.

So he kind of, uh, Forms an alliance.

He turns his back on being a Nephite altogether and chooses to become a

Lamanite and then by By default he is put in power probably because he speaks

their language But he's put in power over them and then it's kind of interesting

to see his decline What I thought was really interesting is to read Amulon's

story and to compare it with what we get from Doctrine and Covenants So if you go

to DNC 121 if you go This is that part that talks about many are called and

fewer chosen You Except for it's the one that talks about unrighteous dominion.

I want you to go and read those verses, like 37 to 39, but you could stretch it

on either end there and get a little more.

And tell me what connections you see between what Joseph taught in those

verses and what you see in Amulon's story.

how that slippery slope of unrighteous dominion applies to someone like Amulot.

Okay, third question.

This comes from Mosiah 26, or sorry, 23 verse 6, and then also 23 verse 13.

This is a really cool part of the story.

It's a small one, but when they get to the waters of Mormon, the people

of Alma want him to be their king.

He's a good man, he's righteous, and they want a leader like that.

And so they Plead to him to be their king and he says no, you know, he's

seen kings and he knows what can happen and In my mind, I think Alma almost has

buried those weapons of his past and he is not going back there again but he

He refuses their You know, persuasion, and says, no, we won't have a king.

And then he teaches them that he wants them to stand fast in

this liberty, this deliverance that they've received from God.

He wants them to grab hold of it.

And then he says they should trust no man to be a king over them.

What's fascinating to me is, by the time they get to Zarahemla, many years later,

They are encouraged, I imagine, by Alma to become subject to King Mosiah the Second.

They all become one people under King Mosiah, which is interesting.

I wonder, my question is, why does Alma change his perspective when they finally

do get to Zarahemla after 25 years and 20 plus of them being in bondage?

Why is it then good for them to be under a king?

And do you see seeds being planted in these verses for what will come next?

Because remember, it's King Mosiah the second and Alma who will change

the government of the Nephites.

They will start the reign of the judges where there is no more king.

You can almost see these little sprouts shooting up.

So I'm hoping you go on the verses and look for connection points

and tell me what you can find.

Before we head into the object lessons, let me wrap up with

one last little thought.

I really love that so much of this week's story is a deliberate story.

Because I think All of us can imagine what it must have felt like for both of these

groups of people to finally step inside the safety of those walls of Zarahemla.

You know, like, after so many years of bondage and so much loss and

being separated and scattered, to finally be back with their people

must have been such a relief.

You can almost picture them just like, Setting down their bags.

It's the same way I picture the Brother of Jared's people when they finally

emerged from those barges after a year of being on stormy waters, to just almost

fall to your knees in gratitude for being on a place that is safe and solid.

And there's these beautiful applications when it comes to us returning home.

But I think since all of us have had those little deliverance moments.

You know, the miracles that we've all experienced, when our sorrows

are lifted, or our pains are lifted, or we find relief, I think our job

is to pass that relief on to others.

to be that channel for relief to come.

I love the way it's phrased by President Johnson.

So she said it this way, Our covenantal blessing is to partner with Jesus Christ

in providing relief, both temporal and spiritual, to all of God's children.

We are a conduit through which he provides relief.

And so, like the friends of men with palsy, we succor the weak,

lift up the hands which hang down, strengthen the feeble knees.

We bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

As we do, We come to know him, become like him, and find his relief.

That's the promise.

As we study these stories of deliverance and seek to be that conduit for

others, we feel our burdens lifted.

We feel that light of Christ that swells up in us and that eases

our burdens and lightens our load.

That's the promise.