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Annotations |
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Chapter 22
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1 And now it came to pass that Ammon and king Limhi began
to consult with the people how they should deliver themselves out of bondage;
and even they did cause that all the people should gather themselves together;
and this they did that they might have the voice of the people concerning the
matter.
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2 And it came to pass that they could find no way to
deliver themselves out of bondage, except it were to take their women and
children, and their flocks, and their herds, and their tents, and depart into
the wilderness; for the Lamanites being so numerous, it was impossible for
the people of Limhi to contend with them, thinking to deliver themselves out
of bondage by the sword.
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The only pre-Columbian weapon I can find that was similar
to a sword was the macuahuitl which was made with a plank of wood similar in
shape to a cricket bat with obsidian blades mounted on the edges. It is
similar enough to a sword that it is often referred to as the Aztec sword.
However, the macuahuitl does not seem to fit the Book of
Mormon time frame. “Some groups of Central Mexico, principally in the
transition between the Early and the Late Post-Classic, probably
developed this weapon” (emphasis added, Dr. Marco Antonio Cervera Obregón, “The
macuahuitl: an innovative weapon of the Late Post-Classic in Mesoamerica”,
Arms & Armour, Vol.3, Nov. 2, 2006, p. 146, article from a research journal).
The Post-Classic period is between 900 CE and the Spanish conquest.
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3 Now it came to pass that Gideon went forth and stood
before the king, and said unto him: Now O king, thou hast hitherto hearkened
unto my words many times when we have been contending with our brethren, the
Lamanites.
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4 And now O king, if thou hast not found me to be an
unprofitable servant, or if thou hast hitherto listened to my words in any
degree, and they have been of service to thee, even so I desire that thou
wouldst listen to my words at this time, and I will be thy servant and
deliver this people out of bondage.
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5 And the king granted unto him that he might speak. And
Gideon said unto him:
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6 Behold the back pass, through the back wall, on the back
side of the city. The Lamanites, or the guards of the Lamanites, by night are
drunken; therefore let us send a proclamation among all this people that they
gather together their flocks and herds, that they may drive them into the
wilderness by night.
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7 And I will go according to thy command and pay the last
tribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be drunken; and we will pass
through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and
asleep.
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8 Thus we will depart with our women and our children, our
flocks, and our herds into the wilderness; and we will travel around the land
of Shilom.
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9 And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the
words of Gideon.
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10 And king Limhi caused that his people should gather
their flocks together; and he sent the tribute of wine to the Lamanites; and
he also sent more wine, as a present unto them; and they did drink freely of
the wine which king Limhi did send unto them.
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11 And it came to pass that the people of king Limhi did
depart by night into the wilderness with their flocks and their herds, and
they went round about the land of Shilom in the wilderness, and bent their
course towards the land of Zarahemla, being led by Ammon and his brethren.
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12 And they had taken all their gold, and silver, and
their precious things, which they could carry, and also their provisions with
them, into the wilderness; and they pursued their journey.
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13 And after being many days in the wilderness they
arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah’s people, and became his
subjects.
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14 And it came to pass that Mosiah received them with joy;
and he also received their records, and also the records which had been found
by the people of Limhi.
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15 And now it came to pass when the Lamanites had found
that the people of Limhi had departed out of the land by night, that they
sent an army into the wilderness to pursue them;
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16 And after they had pursued them two days, they could no
longer follow their tracks; therefore they were lost in the wilderness.
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