Mosiah 22 Make Effective Escape Plans, Then Act

Gideon steps forward with a plan: get the Lamanite guards drunk.  It works and they are able to escape. How do we plan our own escapes?  If we are held captive by a bad habit, it is unlikely that we will change by sheer will power.  Like Gideon we need a plan, an inspired plan.  Then we need to make our plan public and ask for input and help from wise friends, family, or advisors.  We must decide, deep within ourselves that failure to execute the plan is unacceptable.  We must be determined and realistic.  In the event of setbacks we must not flip and flop like a fish in a net, knocking ourselves out.  We must hold still and go to God for help. If we are thrashing about in our minds and feelings, we won’t hear the Still Small Voice.  When we hear him whisper, we must act.

Mosiah 21 Fish Stuck in a Net

When I worked at the trout farm for Jean’s dad, one of my duties was to net the fish and dump them in a large metal sorting pan. I would dip the net into a larger net of fish that had been hauled to the sorting station. Filled with heavy, flopping fish, the net was very heavy and awkward. I would then lift the net up to the pan and flip it over in such a way that the fish could not yet escape. They would flip and flip until they had knocked each other out. Then I would empty them into the pan for sorting. I would then take each fish and hold it up to the side of the pan to measure them. Each length represented a specific weight of fish. Then I would turn, and taking the fish by the head in my right hand, and the tail in my left, toss them into large milk cans. Then I would go and get another net full, let them flop until they were knocked out, and repeat the process until all the fish were sorted. After all the milk cans full of fish were lifted into the nearby building where the gutting station was located we would proceed to gut the fish. The fish guts were not thrown away. They were taken up to a barn where they were put into a large vat and cooked and ground up into “mush.” The mush was poured out on the cement floor of the barn and dried. Then the mush was cut up into bricks. The bricks were loaded onto a flat-bed, wooden wheeled wagon. The wagon was hitched to a team of horses and one of the workers would drive it to several locations on the farm where the fish were held in runs and ponds. The bricks were pitch forked by the worker into the ponds and canals to the waiting fish! Cannibalism at the trout farm was just a part of the process. The fish were also fed grain-based pellets purchased from Nelson Brothers Feed Company. My Grandfather Stone was the bookkeeper for that company.

Those fish struggling in my net until they knocked each other out, making it easy for me to handle them, reminded me of the Nephites struggling to free themselves from Lamanite bondage. They tried to escape on their own without help from the Lord and as a result they became weaker and weaker.

In Mosiah 21, the sad tale of Limhi’s people trying to escape their servitude to the Lamanites is told. They went to battle three times unsuccessfully before they humbled themselves to the dust and prayed for relief to Heavenly Father. But they knew that he would be slow to hear their prayers because of their wickedness that had led to their captivity. Yet, they were patient, and the Lord finally, heard their cries and caused their burdens to become light. Eventually, good news arrived from Zarahemla. Ammon came with a few good men and told them that there was a prophet in Zarahemla and the people there had the gospel. The people of Limhi had assumed that the Nephites in Zarahemla were dead because they had found a city of bones in one of their unsuccessful attempts to escape. In the ruins they had found a record on metal plates but had no means for translation. Ammon promised them that the prophet would be able to do that. Limhi had faith that Ammon was there to lead them successfully to Zarahemla. But they still needed a plan; time for Gideon to step up again.

Mosiah 20 Worth Fighting For

The wicked priests of Noah remained in hiding knowing if they returned to the land of Nephi they would be executed by the people of Limhi. Their wives and children had been abandoned. Slime balls that they were, they find the place where the Lamanite daughters went to sing and dance. They watched them and the abducted twenty four of them. (This made me wonder how many priests there were. I pictured about a dozen or so. If that is the case, the priests were planning on having multiple partners. ) When the Lamanites discovered that their daughters had been taken, they assumed Limhi’s men were the guilty ones. They came directly to destroy Limhi’s people and recover their daughters. However, as they advanced against the Nephites, they were observed from a watchtower and the Nephites were ready for them when they arrived, despite being out numbered. The account of the battle says that the Nephites fought like “lions for their prey” and “like dragons,” “…for they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children.”


This left me thinking about how important that it is for me as the head of my family to fight for my wife and for my children and grandchildren against any outside threat. I think the biggest threat is the wickedness portrayed in movies and internet media. Next, I worry about my children spending too much time chatting and texting. I want my posterity to be readers of good books, lovers of the outdoors, and good people interested in the needs of others. I don’t want them to be focused so much on themselves and the things of this world. I want them to be holy. I want them to seek after things that are virtuous, lovely, and worthwhile. I want the men to be motivated in there pursuits by the desire to provide and protect their wives and children, and not so much on themselves. I want them to put the needs and wants of their wives above their own.

Mosiah 19 Protect and Provide

A man named Gideon, who had not been converted by Alma, nevertheless, he was a good man, got fed up with King Noah and decided to kill him.  He fought with him but the king climbed a watchtower near the temple.  The tower was unmanned showing the general lack of readiness of the followers of  King Noah.  Gideon followed him to the top of the tower and would have killed him except Noah spotted the Lamanites coming to battle against his people.  When the Lamanites came Noah ordered his people to flee, then in a despicable act of cowardice, he commanded the men to leave their wives and children and flee.  Some men wouldn’t do it opting to remain behind and die with their families.  But the king and his male followers ran for it.  The Lamanites had mercy on those who remained because of the beauty of the women and girls.  But imposed a 50% tax on everything the Nephites produced and owned.   Meanwhile, guilt struck most of the men who had run away.  They burned the king to death fulfilling Abinadi’s prophecy and would have executed his priests as well, but they escaped.  We will hear about them shortly.  Meanwhile the penitent men, who had executed the king, returned to their families and accepted the new conditions under the Lamanite rule.  To my sons, may we always put the needs of our mother, sisters, and wives ahead of our own needs.  We must be providers and protectors. 

Mosiah 18 Get Out of Town

Sometimes you have to leave town.  Alma took his people and they left.  I have left town a couple of times in my life.  Once when I went on a mission to Arizona/New Mexico, once when Jean and I moved to Hyrum, once when we moved to Las Vegas, once when we moved to Tucson, once when we moved to Laramie, and finally, when we moved to American Fork.  I don’t know if we will move again.  There would need to be a compelling reason.  We haven’t found such a reason so far.  So, we will stay where we are.  “I’ll stay where you want me to stay dear Lord,” is our current motto.

Mosiah 17 Live for God

Alma was converted by Abinadi and tried to stand up for him when King Noah ordered that he be put to death. But Noah didn’t listen and ordered his servants to go after Alma and put him to death as well. Alma escaped and went into hiding. Abinadi convinced the king to release him but the wicked priests intervened and provoked the king to carry out the sentence. Abinadi, as he was dying by fire, proclaimed that a similar fate awaited his executioners. What I learn from this chapter is that when we have given our hearts to God, we become willing to die for Him. However, in most cases, I think God wants us to live for Him and do His will, living long, productive and happy lives.

Mosiah 16 Christ's Love

Abinadi finishes his message to the king and his wicked priests. All mankind was lost because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Physical and spiritual death had occurred and would be the fate of all mankind. Yet, our loving God provided a Savior. Christ redeemed us from the Fall. Redemption comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. Dear family, please know that Heavenly Father and Jesus love us and will help us though this life’s journey. Trust them. I love you my dear children. I love you my dear grandchildren.

Mosiah 15 Beautiful Feet

When Noah’s priests begin questioning Abinadi (see chapter 12:20-24) they thought they would stump him by asking what Isaiah meant by “beautiful feet” on the mountain. As they saw it, everyone knows that feet are anything but beautiful. They are dusty, dirty, and stinky. Abinadi knows better. He pounds them with the full meaning of “beautiful feet.” He explains that all of the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning Christ, all those who believe their words, and even Jesus Christ himself have beautiful feet. In poetic language the feet represent the actions of the righteous. Their message of peace comes from Christ who is the Prince of Peace. Isaiah taught that Christ had no apparent beauty that would have attracted followers. Feet are a less comely part of our bodies, yet, when we speak and act in righteousness, our feet our beautiful. The “mountains” spoken of by Isaiah represent the nations of the world. We are to take the words of Christ to the nations.

Mosiah 14 The Chastisement of our Peace

Abinadi quotes the words of Isaiah 53. In verses 4 and 5, we are taught that the Savior suffered our individual physical and mental pains along with our sins. The phrase that Isaiah uses: “the chastisement of our peace was upon him,” helps us to see that he stood in our place and experienced the guilt and the shame, and even the punishment or chastising for us so that “they might not suffer if they would repent.” (D&C 19:16). How much he must love us! “Oh dearly, dearly has he loved! and we must love him too; and trust in his redeeming blood, and try his works to do.” (“There is a Green Hill Far Away, #194)