- 17When Abinadi had finished speaking, the king ordered the priests to take him and have him put to death. 2But there was one among them named Alma, a young man and a descendant of Nephi, who believed Abinadi’s words, since he could see the iniquity Abinadi had testified against them. Therefore he started to plead with the king not to be angry with Abinadi, but to let him leave in peace. 3But the king became even angrier and had Alma thrown out and sent servants to kill him. 4But he escaped and hid and they didn’t find him. While in hiding for many days, Alma wrote down everything Abinadi had said.
- 5The king had his guards surround Abinadi and take him, tie him up, and throw him in prison. 6The king consulted with his priests and after three days, he had Abinadi brought back. 7Then he announced: Abinadi, we’ve found you guilty, and you deserve to be executed. 8You claim that God Himself would come down among mankind. And now for saying this, you’ll be put to death unless you retract everything you’ve falsely testified about me and my people.
- 9And Abinadi said to him: I won’t retract anything I’ve said to you, because it’s all true. To prove I’m testifying of the truth, I’ve let you capture me. 10And I will let you execute me, but I won’t retract my words, and they’ll stand as a testimony condemning you. If you kill me, you will shed innocent blood, which will also condemn you on the last day.
- 11Now king Noah was about to release him, because he was afraid of what he had been told, and worried God’s judgments would fall on him. 12But the priests cried out loudly in opposition, accusing and claiming: He’s insulted the king! So the king was provoked to anger against him, and he instead decided to have him executed.
- 13They then took him, tied him up, set him atop firewood, and burned him to death. 14And when the flames began to burn him, he yelled to them, saying: 15Just as you’ve done to me, your descendants will also do to many others who will suffer the same pain that I suffer — painful death by fire — because they believe in the salvation of the Lord who is God. 16You’ll be infected by many diseases because of your iniquities. 17You’ll be attacked on all sides and driven and scattered, just like a wild flock driven by hungry predators. 18At that time you’ll be hunted and taken by your enemies. Then you will, like me, feel the pain of being executed by burning. 19This is how God repays those who destroy His people. O God, receive my spirit! 20Now when Abinadi had said this, he collapsed, dying in the fire, having been executed because he wouldn’t deny God’s commandments, having sealed the truth of his words through his death.
- 18Now Alma, who escaped from king Noah’s servants, repented of his sins and iniquities and began secretly teaching Abinadi’s words to others: 2about what was coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of mankind, which was accomplished through Christ’s power, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. 3He taught all those who would listen to him, teaching them privately so it wouldn’t become known to the king. And many believed what he taught. 4Those who believed him went to a place called Mormon, which was in the frontier of the land. It had received its name from the king and was sometimes overrun by wild animals. 5There was a spring of pure water in Mormon, and Alma hid there during the day in a thicket of small trees near the water, to avoid the king’s pursuit. 6And all those who believed him went there to hear him teach. 7After many days, a large group who believed gathered at Mormon to hear Alma’s teaching. He instructed them about repentance, redemption, and faith in the Lord.
- 8He told them: Here are the waters of Mormon (referring to what they were called). Do you have a desire to enter God’s fold and be called His people? Are you willing to help carry each other’s burdens, to lighten them for one another? 9Are you willing to mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who need comforting? Will you stand and testify as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, wherever you go, for the rest of your lives? Do you want to qualify for redemption by God and be included with those of the first resurrection, receiving eternal life? 10If this is the desire of your hearts, are you now willing to be baptized in the Lord’s name, as a witness before Him that you’ve made a covenant with Him? Are you willing to commit to serve Him and keep His commandments, so He can pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon you? 11Now when the people heard this, they applauded and shouted: This is our heart’s desire!
- 12Then Alma took Helam — one of the first — and went and stood in the water and prayed: O Lord, pour out Your Spirit upon Your servant, so he can do this work with holiness of heart. 13And when he had prayed these words, the Spirit of the Lord filled him and he said: Helam, I baptize you, having authority from Almighty God, as a demonstration that you’ve made a covenant to serve Him for the remainder of your mortal life. And may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you, and may He grant you eternal life through Christ’s redemption, which He prepared from the beginning of creation. 14After Alma said these words, both Alma and Helam submerged in the water. And they resurfaced rejoicing, filled with the Spirit. 15Then Alma took another and went into the water again and baptized him in the same way as the first, only he didn’t submerge himself again. 16He baptized every one in this way — about 204 people — who gathered at the place of Mormon. And they were baptized in the waters of Mormon and were filled with God’s grace. 17They were called the congregation of God, or the congregation of Christ, from that time forward. And whoever was baptized by God’s power and authority was added to His congregation.
- 18And Alma, having authority from God, ordained priests, one priest for every 50. He ordained them to preach and teach concerning God’s kingdom. 19And he commanded them to only teach the things he and the holy prophets had taught. 20To be clear, he commanded them to preach nothing but repentance and faith in the Lord, who had redeemed His people. 21And he commanded them not to have any heated arguments with each other, but to look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts bound together in unity and love toward each other. 22This is how he commanded them to preach. And so they became God’s children.
- 23He also commanded them to keep the Sabbath holy, and to give thanks to the Lord God every day. 24He also commanded them that the priests he ordained were to work with their own hands for their support. 25And there was one day in every week set apart for them to gather, to teach the people and to worship the Lord their God. They met as often as they could. 26And the priests didn’t depend on the people to pay them, but they were to receive God’s grace as payment, so they could grow in faith, receiving inspiration from God, enabling them to teach with power and authority from God.
- 27Alma also commanded the congregation members to give freely of their material possessions, each one based upon what they had. If they had a lot, they were to give a lot. But only a little would be expected of those who only had a little. And those who had nothing were to receive. 28So they were to give their donations voluntarily, out of their love for God, including to priests in need, and also to every needy, helpless soul. 29He told them this was a commandment from God. And they obeyed God, giving to each other both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and circumstances.
- 30Now this was accomplished in the place called Mormon, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon. The place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon — how sacred a place for those who came to know their Redeemer there! How blessed they are! They’ll sing praises to Him forever!
- 31These things were done in the outskirts of the land to escape the notice of the king. 32But the king, noticing the conduct of the people, sent his servants to follow them. So on the day they assembled to hear the Lord’s word, they were betrayed and revealed to the king. 33Now the king accused Alma of inciting the people to rebellion against him. So he sent his army to kill them. 34But Alma and the Lord’s people learned the king’s army was coming. Therefore they took their tents and families and fled into the wilderness, 35about 450 people in number.
- 19And the king’s army was unable to locate them and therefore returned. 2Now the king’s soldiers were reduced to only a few. A disagreement arose involving the rest of the people. 3The minority started making threats against the king and a great struggle began. 4Then a man named Gideon — a strong man who was an enemy of the king — drew his sword and swore in anger he would kill the king. 5And he fought with the king. When the king saw Gideon was going to overpower him, he fled, running up the tower near the temple. 6But Gideon chased him and was getting ready to climb the tower to kill the king when the king noticed a Lamanite army was invading from the land of Shemlon. 7Now the king pleaded pitifully: Gideon, spare me! The Lamanites are about to attack us and they’ll kill my people. 8Now the king wasn’t really concerned about his people but valued his own life. Nevertheless, Gideon spared his life.
- 9And the king ordered the people to flee from the Lamanites, and he ran in front of them. They fled into the wilderness with their women and children. 10But the Lamanites pursued and caught up with them, and began killing them. 11So the king ordered the men to abandon their wives and children and run from the Lamanites. 12However, there were many who refused to leave them, preferring to stay and die with them. But the rest abandoned their wives and children and ran away.
- 13Those who stayed with their wives and children had their beautiful daughters go out and beg the Lamanites not to kill them. 14And because they were attracted by the beauty of their women, the Lamanites took pity on them. 15So the Lamanites spared their lives, taking them prisoner. They took them back to the land of Nephi, allowing them to live there under the condition that they would hand over king Noah to the Lamanites and pay them half of everything they owned — half their gold, silver, and valuables. They would have to pay this tribute to the king of the Lamanites yearly. 16One of king Noah’s sons, named Limhi, was among the prisoners. 17Although Limhi didn’t want his father to be killed, he was aware of his father’s iniquities. Limhi was a righteous man.
- 18Gideon secretly sent men into the wilderness to search for the king and those with him. They located the missing people, all except for the king and his priests. 19Now these people had vowed they would return to the land of Nephi; and if their wives, children, and those who remained with them had been killed, then they would take revenge and die with them. 20But the king ordered them not to return, and they became so angry with the king they executed him by burning him to death. 21They were about to execute the priests too, but they escaped.
- 22They were returning to the land of Nephi when they met Gideon’s soldiers, who told them everything that had happened to their wives and children. They learned the Lamanites allowed them to live on the land as long as they paid them a tax of half of all they owned. 23They informed Gideon’s soldiers that they had killed the king and that his priests ran into the wilderness. 24After they finished the discussion, they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing because their wives and children hadn’t been killed; and they told Gideon they executed the king.
- 25Following this the king of the Lamanites committed to them that his people wouldn’t kill them. 26And Limhi, the king’s son, by a vote of the people, had the kingdom conferred on him. He also agreed with the king of the Lamanites that his people would pay taxes to him of half of everything they had.
- 27So Limhi began to administer the kingdom and there was peace among his people. 28The king of the Lamanites put guards surrounding the land to confine Limhi’s people, so they couldn’t escape into the wilderness. He supported his guards from the taxes paid by the Nephites. 29Now king Limhi had two years of peace in his kingdom, and the Lamanites didn’t harass them or try to kill them during that time.
- 20There was a place in Shemlon where the Lamanite young women went to sing, dance, and entertain themselves. 2One day a small number of them gathered to sing and dance. 3Because king Noah’s priests were ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, and fearing the people would kill them, they didn’t dare return to their wives and children. 4They hid in the wilderness and discovered the Lamanite young women, watching them and waiting in ambush. 5When there were only a few of them gathered to dance, they emerged from their hiding place, took 24 of them, and forced them into the wilderness.
- 6When the Lamanites found out their daughters were missing, they blamed Limhi’s people, concluding that they were the ones who had kidnapped them. 7So they sent their armies out — led by the king himself — and they went up to the land of Nephi to attack and kill Limhi’s people. 8Now Limhi saw them from the tower preparing to attack. So he gathered his people and waited in ambush for them in the fields and forests. 9Then, when the Lamanites arrived, Limhi’s people began to ambush and kill them.
- 10The battle became very severe, because they fought like lions for their prey. 11And despite not being half as many as the Lamanites, Limhi’s people began to prevail over the Lamanites, since they were fighting for their lives, wives, and children. Therefore they drove themselves onward, fighting like wild predators.
- 12After the battle was over, they found the king of the Lamanites alive among the bodies of the fallen Lamanites. His people abandoned the fight so quickly that he had been forgotten, wounded on the ground. 13So they took him, bandaged his wounds, and brought him to Limhi, saying: Here is the king of the Lamanites. He was wounded and fell among their dead, and they left him. We’ve brought him here to you. Let’s kill him! 14But Limhi told them: Don’t kill him, bring him here to see me. So they brought him, and Limhi asked: Why have you come up to fight my people? My people haven’t broken the agreement I had with you. So why have you broken the agreement you swore to my people? 15The king replied: I’ve broken the agreement because your people kidnapped some of my people’s daughters. I was furious because of that, and so I had my people attack your people. 16Now Limhi had heard nothing about this. So he said: I’ll search for them among my people, and whoever has done this will die. Therefore he searched for them among his people.
- 17Now when Gideon, the king’s captain, heard about this, he came and said to the king: Please don’t bother investigating our people; don’t accuse them of this. 18Don’t you remember your father’s priests we tried to kill? Aren’t they hiding in the wilderness? Isn’t it apparent they’ve kidnapped the Lamanite young women? 19Think about it and go tell the king about them, so that he can explain it to his people and they can be reassured about us. They’re already getting ready to attack again and we have only a few able to fight. 20Their large army outnumbers us and we will be killed unless their king explains we are innocent. 21It’s clear that Abinadi’s prophesy against us is happening — all because we refused to listen to the Lord’s word and turn from our iniquities. 22So let’s satisfy the king and fulfill the agreement we have made with him. Slavery is better than death. Therefore let’s put a stop to all this killing. 23Then Limhi told the king all about his father and the priests who had fled into the wilderness, attributing their daughters’ kidnapping to them.
- 24So the king of the Lamanites was satisfied with Limhi’s people, and he said to them: Let’s go out unarmed to meet my people; and I give you my solemn oath that my people won’t kill your people. 25They followed the king, going out unarmed to meet the Lamanites. When they met the Lamanites, the king of the Lamanites bowed before them and pled on behalf of Limhi’s people. 26When the Lamanites saw Limhi’s people were unarmed, they felt sympathy for them and were satisfied, and returned peacefully with their king to their own land.
- 21Then Limhi and his people returned to the city of Nephi, living again in peace. 2As time passed, however, the Lamanites once more became angry with the Nephites, and they began to cross the borders of the surrounding land. 3Now they didn’t dare kill them because of their king’s commitment to Limhi, but they would hit them in the face, exercise authority over them, lay heavy loads on their backs, and drive them like pack mules. 4This was all done to fulfill the Lord’s word. 5The Nephites were tormented. But there was no way for them to free themselves, since the Lamanites surrounded them on all sides.
- 6The people began to complain to the king because of their afflictions, wishing to retaliate. They greatly troubled the king with their complaints, so that he let them do as they wanted. 7They gathered again, put on their armor, and went out against the Lamanites to push them off their land. 8But the Lamanites beat them, drove them back, and killed many of them. 9That resulted in great mourning and lamentation among Limhi’s people, the widow mourning her husband, the son and daughter mourning their father, and brothers mourning brothers.
- 10Now there were many widows in the land, and they complained continually every day, because a great fear of the Lamanites terrorized them. 11Their continual complaining stirred up the rest of Limhi’s people to be angry at the Lamanites, so they went once more to battle. But they were defeated again, and many were killed. 12But they tried again a third time and suffered similarly, and those who survived returned to the city of Nephi. 13Then they humbled themselves to the dust, submitting themselves to the burdens of slavery, letting themselves be beaten, herded here and there, and treated like pack mules, according to their enemies’ whims. 14They humbled themselves in the depths of humility, praying humbly to God — indeed, they prayed to God all day long, asking Him to end their suffering.
- 15Now the Lord was slow to answer their prayers because of their iniquities. Nevertheless, the Lord answered their prayers and began to soften the Lamanites’ hearts, and they began to ease their burdens. But the Lord didn’t see fit to free them from slavery.
- 16Gradually they began to make progress in the land raising grain, flocks, and herds more successfully, so they didn’t suffer hunger. 17Now there were many more women than men. Therefore king Limhi ordered the men to help support the widows and their children, to prevent starvation. This was because so many had been killed. 18Now Limhi’s people stayed close together when possible to protect their grain and flocks. 19And the king himself didn’t feel safe outside the city walls unless he had his guards with him. He feared being captured by the Lamanites. 20He had his people watch the surrounding land, hoping to capture those priests who had fled into the wilderness and kidnapped the Lamanite young women, causing them such great destruction. 21They wanted to capture them to punish them. They came into the land of Nephi at night and stole their grain and valuable property. Therefore they set an ambush for them.
- 22There had been no more unrest between the Lamanites and Limhi’s people, up to the time that Ammon and his men came into the land. 23And the king, while outside the city gates with his guard, encountered Ammon and his men. Thinking them to be Noah’s priests, he had them arrested, tied up, and thrown in prison. Had they been Noah’s priests, he would have had them executed. 24But when he found they were not, and they were fellow Nephites who had come from Zarahemla, he was delighted.
- 25Now king Limhi, before Ammon’s coming, had sent a small number of men to search for the land of Zarahemla, but they couldn’t find it. They got lost in the wilderness. 26Despite that, they found a place that had been inhabited and was now covered with dry bones. It obviously had been occupied by people who were destroyed. They assumed it was Zarahemla, so they returned to the land of Nephi, arriving at the outskirts of the land only a few days before Ammon’s arrival. 27And they carried with them a record engraved on metal plates of the people whose bones they had found. 28Now Limhi was again very pleased upon learning from Ammon that king Benjamin had a gift from God that let him interpret such engravings. Ammon was also pleased. 29But Ammon and his men grieved because so many of Limhi’s people had been killed 30and that king Noah and his priests had led the people to commit so many sins and iniquities against God. They also mourned Abinadi’s death and the departure of Alma and the people who went with him, who had formed a congregation of God through God’s strength and power and through faith in the words spoken by Abinadi. 31Indeed, they missed them because they didn’t know where they could be found. If they knew how to locate them, they would have gladly joined them, since they too had made a covenant with God to serve Him and keep His commandments. 32Since Ammon’s arrival, king Limhi and many of his people had also made a covenant with God to serve Him and keep His commandments.
- 33And king Limhi and many of his people wanted to be baptized, but there was no one available who had authority from God. Ammon declined to do it because he considered himself an unworthy servant. 34Therefore they didn’t form themselves into a congregation at that time, waiting on the Spirit of the Lord. Now they wanted to become just like Alma and his people who had fled into the wilderness. 35They wanted to be baptized as a witness and testimony they were willing to serve God with all their hearts. Nevertheless, they waited, and an account of their baptism will be included later. 36Now the entire focus and planning of Ammon, king Limhi, and his people was to escape from the Lamanites and get free from slavery.
Chapter 9