“Do Ye Not Remember the Priests of Thy Father”

Alan C. Miner

During the war with the Lamanites, the Lamanite king was captured (Mosiah 20:12) and brought before Limhi. The Lamanite king explained that they had attacked Limhi’s people because the Lamanite daughters had been carried away (Mosiah 20:15). Limhi was about to search among his people to see who had done this deed when Gideon asked, “Do ye not remember the priests of thy father?” (Mosiah 20:18). Apparently, a number a months or years had passed since the death of Noah and the flight of his priests. How much time had elapsed? We must take into consideration Mosiah 21:21 which says that the priests of Noah ”had come into the land of Nephi by night and carried off their grain and many of their precious things." If these raids were going on just before the Lamanites attacked as recorded here in Mosiah 20, then why wouldn’t Limhi immediately think to blame the priests of Noah for the disappearance of the Lamanite daughters rather than needing Gideon’s prompting? [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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