Book of Mormon Commentary - Mosiah 10

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 10 King Laman dies—His people are wild and ferocious and believe in false traditions—Zeniff and his people prevail against them. [About 178—160 B.C.]
1 AND it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom and we again began to possess the land in peace. And I caused that there should be ^aweapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people. 2 And I set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us; and thus I did guard my people and my flocks, and keep them from falling into the hands of our enemies. 3 And it came to pass that we did inherit the land of our fathers for many years, yea, *for the space of twenty and two years.		1^a TG Weapon 3^* [About 178 B. C.]
4 And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all manner of ^agrain and all manner of fruit of every kind. 5 And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work, and work all manner of fine linen, yea, and ^acloth of every kind, that we might clothe our nakedness; and thus we did prosper in the land—thus we did have continual peace in the land for the space of twenty and two years.		4^a Mosiah 9:9 5^a Alma 1:29; Hel. 6:13; TG Clothing
6 And it came to pass that king ^aLaman died, and his son began to reign in his stead. And he began to stir his people up in rebellion against my people; therefore they began to prepare for war, and to come up to battle against my people. 7 But I had sent my spies out round about the land of ^aShemlon^a, that I might discover their preparations, that I might guard against them, that they might not come upon my people and destroy them.	7^a I had sent my spies out round about the land of Shemlon Now Shemlon was to the east of the land of Lehi-Nephi and their shared border was between them. And it was this border which concerned Zeniff, for certainly he would not set spies totally all around the land but on the one side only. Thus when it states 'round about' it is but a portion of the arch of a encirclement which is being spoken of. And thus Zeniff sent his spies from the north round about to the south on the east side of he land of Shemlon in order so discern what activities unto war the Lamanites were effecting and whence and when they would come against the Nephites when they would come.	6^a Mosiah 9:10-11; Mosiah 24:3 7^a Mosiah 11:12
8 And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land of Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men ^aarmed with ^bbows, and with arrows, and with swords, and with cimeters, and with stones, and with slings; and they had their heads shaved that they were naked; and they were girded with a leathern girdle about their loins. 9 And it came to pass that I caused that the women and children of my people should be hid in the wilderness; and I also caused that all my old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were able to bear arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle against the Lamanites; and I did place them in their ranks, every man according to his age. 10 And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and I, even I, in my old age, did go up to battle against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the ^astrength of the Lord to battle.		8^a 2 Ne. 5:14; Jarom 1:8; Alma 2:12 ^b Enos 1:20; Alma 2:5 (4-5) 10^a TG Strength; TG Trust in God
11 Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the ^astrength of men. 12 They were a ^awild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the ^btradition of their fathers, which is this—Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were ^cwronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea; 13 And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their ^a first inheritance^a, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord—therefore ^bhe was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the wilderness.	13^a they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance Having the land of first inheritance only footnote referenced to verse 23 of 1 Nephi chapter 18, is misleading. To do so seems to lead the reader to consider the 'land of first inheritance' in the promised land was precisely at the site were Lehi's party first landed in their new land. It was not. They did pitch their tents and planted crops in that first location in order to replenish their food supplies. But after their abundant harvest, they then commenced to 'journey in the wilderness' where they found animals of various kinds and also discovered metal ore deposits of various metals (1 Nephi 18:25). In the very next paragraph where is so briefly speaks of the 'journey in the wilderness' in the new land, the 1830 Book of Mormon further explains that Nephi was commanded to make metal plates and begin to keep his record, the 'large plates' record which contains a larger accounting of events. And it states that on that 'large plates' record it did give 'the more part of all their proceedings in the wilderness' on those 'first plates' (the large plates) than what was here on the small plates (1 Nephi 19:1-2). The brief map presented in chapter 8 of Mosiah in this commentary presents the course of this 'journeying in the wilderness' in the new land from their landing site to where the 'land of first inheritance' was actually located.	11^a TG Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh 12^a Alma 17:14 ^b 2 Ne. 5:1-3; Mosiah 1:5; Alma 3:8 ^c TG Injustice 13^a 1 Ne. 18:23-25; 1 Ne. 19:2 (1-2) ^b 1 Ne. 5:5-9 Land of First Inheritance There is some 'presumptions' that do not seem to hold that have been made and have filtered into the Book of Mormon footnotes. Those of a pure 'traditional model map' do suggest strongly that Lehi landed on the coast of Chili and they journeyed ever northward. Others presume that the first place of landing is where they remained and that is where the 'land of first inheritance' must be. The Book of Mormon does not state that. What the Book of Mormon states is that they landed, first pitched their tents and planted crops that grew bountiously in that first landing site. But is one continues to read beyound verse 23 that tells of that first encampments, such as through verse 25, it further states that they 'journeyed' in the land finding animals of every kind in the forests and they also journeyed so far as to find varous deposits of various metal ores. It has already been discussed in the previous chapter how the site of landing was just south of the isthmus of Darien and that from there they logically journeyed south to that first 'coastal land' of first inheritance which in these chapters of Mosiah we may come to find out they called a part of that by the name of Shemlon where the land of the Lamanies bordered the land of Lehi-Nephi. Very few lands of 'first landings' seldom contain all of the resources that a new Colony needs to grow and develop successfuly. And the Book of Mormon DOES NOT state that they DID NOT JOURNEY after their landing. In fact it states that they did journey in the land. Neither does the Book of Mormon ever state that from their first landing site that they did journey ever northward until they finally ended up at Cumorah in New York. That is another presumption forced by the presumption of the Chili landing site, which Joseph Smith did not teach. (See the map(s) and explanations found in the commentary of Mosiah chapter 8).
14 And his brethren were ^awroth with him because they ^bunderstood not the dealings of the Lord; they were also wroth with him upon the waters because they hardened their hearts against the Lord. 15 And again, they were ^awroth with him when they had arrived in the promised land, because they said that he had taken the ^bruling of the people out of their hands; and they sought to kill him. 16 And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the ^arecords which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he ^brobbed them^a.	16^a they said that he had robbed them Ironically, this was the same lie and claim which Laban had stated against the sons of Lehi when they came to obtain the brass plates according to the word of God. And the Law did justify the slaining of a robber, thus Laban had contrived to kill the sons of Lehi, thus calling them robbers. Now, even though it was Nephi who did finally obtain the plates of brass of himself without the aid of Laman or Lemuel, here again does Laman and Lemuel lie is stating that Nephi did rob them of the records, for it was Nephi who had obtained them, and it was God who did command that Nephit should take the records with him.	14^a 1 Ne. 18:10-11 ^b 1 Ne. 15:8-11; 2 Ne. 1:25 (24-27) 15^a 2 Ne. 5:1 ^b 2 Ne. 5:3 (1-4) 16^a 2 Ne. 5:12; Mosiah 28:11 ^b Alma 20:10, 13
17 And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi. 18 For this very cause has king Laman, by his ^acunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me, that I have brought this my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and we have suffered these many years in the land.		18^a Mosiah 9:10; Mosiah 19:28 (26, 28)
19 And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my people concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate them to go to battle with their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face to face. 20 And it came to pass that we did drive them again out of our land; and we slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not number them.
21 And it came to pass that we returned again to our own land, and my people again began to ^atend their flocks, and to till their ground. 22 And now I, being old, *did confer the kingdom upon one of my sons; therefore, I say no more. And may the Lord ^abless my people. Amen.		21^a Mosiah 9:14 (9, 14) 22^* [Probably about 160 B. C.] ^a Num. 6:24 (22-27)

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