Limhi

And it came to pass when they had been in prison two days they were again brought before the king, and their bands were loosed, and they stood before the king and were permitted, or rather commanded, that they should answer the questions which he should ask them.

And he said unto them, Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zerahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by the voice of the people.

And now I desire to know the cause whereby you were so bold as to come near the walls of the city, when I myself was with my guards without the gate.

And now for this cause have I suffered that ye should be preserved, that I might inquire of you, or else I should have caused that my guards should have put you to death.

For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would not have suffered that I should have worn these bands.

For I am Ammon, and am a descendant of Zerahemla, and have come up out of the land of Zerahemla to inquire concerning our brethren, whom Zeniff brought up out of that land.

And now it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceedingly glad, and said, Now I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of Zerahemla are yet alive, and now I will rejoice, and on the morrow I will cause that my people should rejoice also.

For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites, and are taxed with a tax which is grievous to be borne.

he might have said, oh, how great is the stupidity or foolishness of the children of men.

King Limhi described the same condition in powerful imagery saying this, oh, how marvelous are the works of the Lord and how long does he suffer with his people and how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men.

For they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she, meaning wisdom, should rule over them.

Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd and scattereth and are driven and are devoured by the beasts of the forest.

Yeah, but when you're Joseph Smith and you don't know how this is all going to go and you've already built your reputation on being a seer, you better damn well make sure that everybody respects a seer above a prophet.

And that's King Limhi in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah chapter 8.

So actually, I think that might go in the list as well of instances where the Book of Mormon seems to interact with its environment.

Well, we have eaten up a lot of time, and I apologize.