A Back Pass to Peace

King Limhi had the difficult responsibility to try to help his people deliver themselves from bondage to the Lamanites.  They first fought against the Lamanites when the Lamanites came upon them because of the loss of their daughters to the priests of Noah, but the people of Limhi “fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight” and they were able to preserve their lives (Mosiah 20:11).  But the Lamanites began to “exercise authority over them” and the people wanted to go up to battle again against the Lamanites, and therefore Limhi “granted unto them that they should do according to their desires.”  They tried to fight the Lamanites, but “it came to pass that the Lamanites did beat them, and drove them back, and slew many of them.”  The people mourned but then cried again unto Limhi such that “their continual cries did stir up the remainder of the people of Limhi to anger against the Lamanites; and they went again to battle, but they were driven back again, suffering much loss.”  They then “went again even the third time, and suffered in the like manner.”  They had gone against the Lamanites four times total in battle, and they weren’t any closer to freeing themselves from bondage than they had been in the beginning.  They gave up for the time and “did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage” (Mosiah 21:6, 8, 11-13).   

                Though they knew then that they couldn’t succeed against the Lamanites in battle without something changing, it seems to me that for a while Limhi likely saw a successful battle against their enemies as the only way that they could escape. When Ammon and his brethren arrived from the land of Zarahemla, this boosted the spirits of the people and Limhi declared, “O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings, which have been in vain; yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made” (Mosiah 7:18).  Limhi was confident that the people would be able to escape with the advent of these Nephite men to help them, and from this language it seems that he still believed that it would be through a battle—a “struggle”—that they were going to escape.  They had had many “strugglings” in physical combat and he had faith that they would yet have a fight with the Lamanites that they would win.  I imagine that in his mind he really wanted to win against his enemies, perhaps wanting to avenge all those who had been killed among the Nephites.  These were Lamanites who had harassed and killed and subjected his people to cruel bondage, and he saw only one path forward: redeem those who had been lost by defeating the Lamanites and delivering themselves out of bondage in glory.

            But to his credit, Limhi allowed himself to see another way and to accept the fact that there would be no successful battle with the Lamanites, no glory of physical victory over his enemies, even with the help of Ammon and his brethren.  He consulted with the people and realized that “it was impossible for the people of Limhi to contend with [the Lamanites], thinking to deliver themselves out of bondage by the sword.”  He humbly accepted the proposal of Gideon to simply slip out “the back pass, through the back wall, on the back side of the city” (Mosiah 22:2, 6).  Instead of trying again to avenge themselves of the enemies, the Nephites simply slipped away into the night, leaving the possessions they couldn’t take with them for the Lamanites to take.  They gave up their pride, gave up their desires for some kind of revenge against their enemies, and saved their lives instead of their pride in a humble escape.  I think this has a lesson for us as we face our own challenges.  Sometimes, after figuratively fighting against a problem that we are determined to conquer in our way, we may need likewise admit defeat and realize that we must approach it in a humbler, different path.  There may be a solution that we simply cannot see because we want to conquer the problem the way we have already been attacking it.  Limhi’s example shows us that indeed with the Lord’s help there will be “an effectual” way to solve our problems, but it may be by giving up the glory of winning the struggle and simply walk out our figurative back pass to peace.