A Miraculous Reunion in Zarahemla

Book of Mormon Notes - Tuesday, August 1, 2023, Mosiah 25

Up to this point in Mormon’s narrative, the people of Zarahemla consisted of mainly two groups: the Nephites under the reign of King Mosiah and the Mulekites who had received these same Nephites. The addition of two more major groups of people (the Limhites and the people of Alma) was a miraculous occurrence that surprised everyone involved. This great gathering of Mulekites and different groups of Nephites meant that the Nephite civilization was growing in extraordinary ways. But the Nephites were not even half as numerous as the Lamanites who inhabited the lands southward.

The descendants of Mulek (son of King Zedekiah in the Old Testament) were more numerous than the people of King Mosiah. But even combined together, and even with the addition of the Limhites and the people of Alma, the Lamanite population exceeded them all by more than half. Why did Mormon share this interesting detail with us? Why did the Lamanite population increase so rapidly and so much in comparison to the Nephite population?

Remember that the Mulekites received King Mosiah and his people, and that the Mulekites were a less civilized people at the time:

And they discovered a people, who were called the people of Zarahemla. Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews.

Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon.

And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.

And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them.

But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language. And it came to pass that after they were taught in the language of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his memory; and they are written, but not in these plates.

And it came to pass that the people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah, did unite together; and Mosiah was appointed to be their king. (Omni 1:14-19)

The Lord brought the Mulekites into the land North, which they called Zarahemla:

Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south. (Helaman 6:10)

And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all— (Helaman 8:21)

Zarahemla was a descendent of Mulek, son of King Zedekiah:

Now there were not so many of the children of Nephi, or so many of those who were descendants of Nephi, as there were of the people of Zarahemla, who was a descendant of Mulek, and those who came with him into the wilderness. (Mosiah 25:2)

Why don’t we have a more detailed record of the Mulekites? For one thing, the Mulekites brought no records with them in the journey from the Old World to the New World. Also, when King Mosiah discovered the Mulekites, their language had been corrupted to such an extent that King Mosiah and his people could not understand them. With no records and a corrupt language, the Mulekites had degenerated so much that they denied the being of their Creator. But when King Mosiah and his people arrived in Zarahemla, they soon began to teach them the Nephite language, to civilize them, and eventually to bring them into the fold of God, especially when Alma arrived and began to preach faith unto repentance among them all.

Thus the Lord brought Lehi and his people into the Southern region of the Promised Land (perhaps modern day Florida or somewhere near modern day Florida) and the Lord brought Mulek and his people into the Northern region of the Promised Land (into Zarahemla, perhaps somewhere in or near modern day Missouri… the place of the New Jerusalem. We know that Lehi and his people were of Joseph through Manasseh, and Ishmael and his people were of Joseph through Ephraim. Were the Mulekites descendants of Joseph as well? Mulek was a son of Zedekiah, the wicked King of Judah who had imprisoned the prophet Jeremiah. As far as I can tell, Zedekiah was of the tribe of Judah, a direct descendant of David. Thus the Mulekites were of the tribe of Judah. This is something that I haven’t thought about before, that the Lord brought both Judah and Joseph into the Promised Land.

As I mentioned previously, the gathering of new groups of people into Zarahemla was a momentous event:

And now all the people of Nephi were assembled together, and also all the people of Zarahemla, and they were gathered together in two bodies.

And it came to pass that Mosiah did read, and caused to be read, the records of Zeniff to his people; yea, he read the records of the people of Zeniff, from the time they ^aleft the land of Zarahemla until they ^breturned again.

And he also read the account of Alma and his brethren, and all their afflictions, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time they returned again.

And now, when Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his people who tarried in the land were struck with wonder and amazement. (Mosiah 25:4-7)

Are we struck with wonder and amazement when we read the account of Mosiah’s people?

The people of Zarahemla, which now included Alma and his people, Limhi, Gideon, and their people, the Mulekites, and the Nephites under the reign of King Mosiah (and perhaps other people as well), were certainly struck with wonder and amazement by each other’s stories. They were also filled with pain and anguish for the welfare of the souls of their Lamanite brothers and sisters… this concern for the Lamanites may have planted the first seeds of love in the hearts of Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah, even though they started off in a state of rebellion.

I forgot to mention that there was yet another group of people among the people of Zarahemla. Technically these were part of the people of Limhi and Gideon, but they might be considered a separate group because Mormon mentions them as such: the descendants of Amulon and the wicked priests of King Noah. These people were displeased with the conduct of their fathers and therefore chose to call themselves children of Nephi instead.

After all of these great events, King Mosiah wanted Alma to speak to the people. King Mosiah was the chief prophet and king in the land, but Alma was also a prophet and leader among them. With his conversion to Christ and zeal for the work of the Lord, Alma went among the people to preach unto them faith in Christ unto repentance. Thus Abindadi’s efforts began to bear fruit for the entire Nephite civilization.

I find it interesting that Alma exhorted the people of Limhi to remember that it was the Lord who delivered them out of bondage. Alma and his people knew that the Lord had delivered them, not just because they had escaped, but because the Lord caused the deep sleep to come upon the Amulonite guards. Perhaps King Limhi and his people might have been tempted to think that it was Gideon’s wisdom or their own good luck that paved the way for their deliverance from the Lamanites and their successful journey to Zarahemla:

And he did exhort the people of Limhi and his brethren, all those that had been delivered out of bondage, that they should remember that it was the Lord that did deliver them. (Mosiah 25:16)

Alma’s preaching caused King Limhi and his people to desire to be baptized. They were baptized, just as Alma and his people had been baptized in the waters of Mormon. King Mosiah commissioned Alma to form the Church of God, or churches, among all of the people. Thus Alma began to organize the Church of Jesus Christ among all of the people of Zarahemla. There were many churches, but they were all one ^achurch, yea, even the church of God. Why were they all one Church? Because there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God. Alma established seven churches and the churches welcomed anyone who desired to take upon himself or herself the name of Jesus Christ. These people were blessed:

And they were called the ^apeople of God. And the Lord did pour out his ^bSpirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land. (Mosiah 25:24)

Students of the Book of Mormon know what often happens when the Lord blesses and prospers His people in this way… and we’ll pay attention to how these Nephites respond to their blessings of peace and prosperity.