BOOK OF MORMON


Mosiah - Chapter 10 Critique

 

Setting: The record of Zeniff continues with the death of king Laman and Zeniff's battle with the Lamanites. Mormon date calculations are from 178 BCE until 160 BCE in America.

 

Verse 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 weapons 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.

Note: The descendants of Joseph were never promised land in America.

Genesis 48:3-4 Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.'"

 

Verse 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.

Note: The fictional Zeniff forgot to put his trust in God.

2 Samuel 22:2-3 And he said: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence."

 

Verse 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.

Note: The descendants of Abraham were never promised land in America.

Genesis 17:8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

 

Verse 4: And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all manner of grain and all manner of fruit of every kind.

Note: The fictional Zeniff did not have all manner of grain and fruit in America.

Wheat was brought to the Americas by explorers and settlers from many European countries. In 1493, Christopher Columbus introduced wheat to the New World on his second trip to the West Indies. Wheat from Spain reached Mexico in 1519 and Argentina by 1527. Spanish missionaries later carried wheat with them to the American Southwest. In Canada, French settlers began growing wheat in Nova Scotia in 1605. Most of the fruits that are widely raised in North America were originally brought from other regions. For example, apples, cherries, and pears originated in Europe and western Asia. Apricots and peaches first came from China, and lemons and oranges from China and Southeast Asia. All these fruits are now grown in any part of the world that has a favorable climate. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.

 

Verse 5: And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work, and work all manner of fine linen, yea, and cloth 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.

Note: The fictional Zeniff did not have all manner of linen in America.

The first American settlers planted flaxseed so that they could make linen. At one time, almost all households in the American Colonies raised flax, spun the yarn, and wove it into linen. However, cotton began to be used in place of linen after the invention of Eli Whitney's cotton gin in 1793. Whitney's gin made cotton yarn cheaper to produce than linen yarn. For that reason, the United States never produced large amounts of fiber flax. Today, fiber flax is not raised commercially in the United States or Canada. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.

 

Verses 6-7: And it came to pass that king Laman 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. But I had sent my spies out round about the land of Shemlon, that I might discover their preparations, that I might guard against them, that they might not come upon my people and destroy them.

Note: The fictional Zeniff forgot to put his trust in God.

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

 

Verse 8: And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land of Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men armed with bows, 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.

Note: American Indians never had swords and cimeters as weapons.

The bow and arrow was probably the most common Indian weapon throughout North and South America. Some South American tribes put poison on their arrowheads. Many Indians fought with spears and war clubs. The Indians of eastern North America developed a special type of club known as the tomahawk. A weapon of the Aztec consisted of pieces of obsidian (volcanic glass) stuck into a wooden club. South American Indians used blowguns and slings. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.

 

Verses 9-10: 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. 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 strength of the Lord to battle.

Note: The strength of the Lord is the power to tell people about God your Savior.

Psalm 71:15-16 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

 

Verse 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 strength of men.

Note: Are you boldly confessing Jesus Christ as your Savior?

Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

 

Verses 12-13: They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition 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 wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea; And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord--therefore he 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.

Note: No Jews escaped from Jerusalem to American at the time of Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah 13:19 The cities of the South shall be shut up, and no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; it shall be wholly carried away captive.

 

Verses 14-15: And his brethren were wroth with him because they understood not the dealings of the Lord; they were also wroth with him upon the waters because they hardened their hearts against the Lord. And again, they were wroth with him when they had arrived in the promised land, because they said that he had taken the ruling of the people out of their hands; and they sought to kill him.

Note: The Israelites were never promised land in America.

Exodus 6:4 "I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers."

 

Verse 16: And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them.

Note: The Jews used scrolls as the normal method of record keeping.

Jeremiah 36:32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.

 

Verse 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.

Note: Ungodly people will not be permitted to hate eternally.

Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

 

Verse 18: For this very cause has king Laman, by his cunning, 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.

Note: Sidney Rigdon forgot that Zeniff had 22 great years in the American promised land.

Verse 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.

 

Verses 19-20: 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. 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.

Note: The Israelites were not stimulated to battle by their might.

Deuteronomy 20:3-4 "And he shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'"

 

Verses 21-22: And it came to pass that we returned again to our own land, and my people again began to tend their flocks, and to till their ground. And now I, being old, did confer the kingdom upon one of my sons; therefore, I say no more. And may the Lord bless my people. Amen.

Note: The fictional Zeniff forgot to exhort his son Noah to obey God.

1 Kings 2:1-4 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: "I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the LORD may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, 'you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'"

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