The themes for Mosiah 7-10 that most stood out for me were learning from our parents, faith during affliction, and the importance of record-keeping. I felt the theme in the Come Follow Me manual for this set of scriptures was a great umbrella term for these themes that stood out for me: "In the Strength of the Lord."
Summary of the history covered in Mosiah 7-10
In Mosiah 7-10, King Mosiah sends 16 strong men, led by Ammon, to find out what happened to the men that left to inhabit the city of Lehi-Nephi, who left with Zeniff. They had never heard from them again. What happened is that Zeniff struck a deal to live peacefully in Nephi-Lehi, and did so for twelve years, before the Lamanites attacked them with King Laman's blessing. From then on, the people of Zeniff had to guard their people, and with God's help, they defeated and slayed 3,043 Lamanites in one day and one night but they also lost 279 of their own brethren. They were watchful from that point forward. 22 years later, King Laman's son had taken reign and the attacks began again. By the time Ammon found the people, they are in bondage, paying a 50% tax on all they had to the Lamanites, a heavy burden.
We learn that this land was huge, and it was a miracle that Ammon found them because a descendent of Zeniff, King Limhi, had also sent people out to find the city of Zarahemla - 43 people that were lost in the wilderness for any days and found a city that had been destroyed, but they never found Zarahemla.
Strength in the Lord
Throughout the story, we learn about how turning to the Lord, or turning away from the Lord, had consequences for people. We learn that the reason the Lamanites were so vile against the descendants of Zeniff was that they held a grudge taught to them by their fathers, that they felt they had been unfairly wronged by Nephi. We have a great responsibility to influence for kindness and good instead of nurturing generations-old grudges that can be based on untruths and often the selfish bending of the truth. Why nurture anger when we can nurture Christ-like attributes that seek to serve and bring kindness to others?
Our decisions can truly affect generations to come. We see this as I have mentioned in the past, with the strong leadership of men like King Benjamin and King Mosiah, who labored with their people and taught the importance of faith, hard work, and obedience to God. We see this in the opening lines of the Book of Mormon, as Nephi declares that he has been born to "goodly parents."
We see this as King Limhi joyfully welcomes Ammon into his land after realizing that he, too, is a descendant of Zarahemla. He holds a meeting of all of his people and focuses on a God of mercy that helps his people through their trials. He says in Mosiah 7:18-20:
"O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted ... put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them. And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage."
Nurturing Strength in the Lord
Bringing these two strong lessons together, that of being an example in teaching goodness, and that of turning to the Lord, we can see examples of how this happens effectively.
During a Sunday School lesson many months ago, a woman in church shared that she has a young daughter that experiences some anxiety. They read together an account of one of her ancestors that shared that she struggled from anxiety, too! Hearing that her ancestor was just like her, but was still a great woman, brought this child a lot of comfort. This wouldn't have happened if the mother wasn't faithfully following the direction to work on family history, if an ancestor hadn't focused on good record-keeping, and if the mother hadn't worked to instill in her daughter that we can turn to the Lord in our struggles.
In another example shared in the Sunday School manual, Elder Donald L.Hallstrom shared his story in "Turn to the Lord," of grandparents that suffered a devastating loss (their only daughter died in childbirth trying to bear twins) and how they turned to the Lord despite their heartbreak. Years later, another descendant died giving birth at 34, leaving behind four children. Says Hallstrom, "With the example that they had seen in the previous generation, my parents - without hesitation - turned to the Lord for solace."
We can always turn to the Lord in our struggles, and like the quote from King Limhi above shows, the timeline of when the struggle will end is not always clear, but the Lord will provide a way and lift our burdens for us as we faithfully trust in him.
Summary of the history covered in Mosiah 7-10
In Mosiah 7-10, King Mosiah sends 16 strong men, led by Ammon, to find out what happened to the men that left to inhabit the city of Lehi-Nephi, who left with Zeniff. They had never heard from them again. What happened is that Zeniff struck a deal to live peacefully in Nephi-Lehi, and did so for twelve years, before the Lamanites attacked them with King Laman's blessing. From then on, the people of Zeniff had to guard their people, and with God's help, they defeated and slayed 3,043 Lamanites in one day and one night but they also lost 279 of their own brethren. They were watchful from that point forward. 22 years later, King Laman's son had taken reign and the attacks began again. By the time Ammon found the people, they are in bondage, paying a 50% tax on all they had to the Lamanites, a heavy burden.
We learn that this land was huge, and it was a miracle that Ammon found them because a descendent of Zeniff, King Limhi, had also sent people out to find the city of Zarahemla - 43 people that were lost in the wilderness for any days and found a city that had been destroyed, but they never found Zarahemla.
Strength in the Lord
Throughout the story, we learn about how turning to the Lord, or turning away from the Lord, had consequences for people. We learn that the reason the Lamanites were so vile against the descendants of Zeniff was that they held a grudge taught to them by their fathers, that they felt they had been unfairly wronged by Nephi. We have a great responsibility to influence for kindness and good instead of nurturing generations-old grudges that can be based on untruths and often the selfish bending of the truth. Why nurture anger when we can nurture Christ-like attributes that seek to serve and bring kindness to others?
Our decisions can truly affect generations to come. We see this as I have mentioned in the past, with the strong leadership of men like King Benjamin and King Mosiah, who labored with their people and taught the importance of faith, hard work, and obedience to God. We see this in the opening lines of the Book of Mormon, as Nephi declares that he has been born to "goodly parents."
We see this as King Limhi joyfully welcomes Ammon into his land after realizing that he, too, is a descendant of Zarahemla. He holds a meeting of all of his people and focuses on a God of mercy that helps his people through their trials. He says in Mosiah 7:18-20:
"O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted ... put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them. And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage."
Nurturing Strength in the Lord
Bringing these two strong lessons together, that of being an example in teaching goodness, and that of turning to the Lord, we can see examples of how this happens effectively.
During a Sunday School lesson many months ago, a woman in church shared that she has a young daughter that experiences some anxiety. They read together an account of one of her ancestors that shared that she struggled from anxiety, too! Hearing that her ancestor was just like her, but was still a great woman, brought this child a lot of comfort. This wouldn't have happened if the mother wasn't faithfully following the direction to work on family history, if an ancestor hadn't focused on good record-keeping, and if the mother hadn't worked to instill in her daughter that we can turn to the Lord in our struggles.
In another example shared in the Sunday School manual, Elder Donald L.Hallstrom shared his story in "Turn to the Lord," of grandparents that suffered a devastating loss (their only daughter died in childbirth trying to bear twins) and how they turned to the Lord despite their heartbreak. Years later, another descendant died giving birth at 34, leaving behind four children. Says Hallstrom, "With the example that they had seen in the previous generation, my parents - without hesitation - turned to the Lord for solace."
We can always turn to the Lord in our struggles, and like the quote from King Limhi above shows, the timeline of when the struggle will end is not always clear, but the Lord will provide a way and lift our burdens for us as we faithfully trust in him.
