Limhi -- A True Leader

One of my favorite passages from the Book of Mormon is this exhortation of King Limhi to his 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.  Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob” (Mosiah 7:18-19).  These words illustrate the great faith that he had and show the exemplary kind of leader that he was at a very difficult time for his people.  We don’t know a lot about King Limhi, but the details we do have about his reign as king show a man of humility and faith whose example shows us the kind of leader that we should strive to be. 

               King Limhi was thrust into a bad situation when he suddenly became king over his father’s people.  The record tells us that he “was not ignorant of the iniquities of his father, he himself being a just man” (Mosiah 19:17).  It doesn’t appear that he really sought to be king, but whether he wanted it or not he found himself ruler of his people and subject to the Lamanites.  Unlike his father, he showed that he truly cared for his people.  When the Lamanites were first approaching, Limhi “discovered them from the tower,” showing that he was actively watching out for them and trying to protect them (Mosiah 20:8).  He also showed that he was not a bloodthirsty man when he did not kill the Lamanite king but rather used great wisdom in how he dealt with him.  It was King Limhi’s humility, though, that saved the people.  When he was told by the Lamanite king that someone from among his people had stolen the daughters of the Lamanites, he was about to conduct a search among them.  But that would have left them vulnerable to the pending attack and they likely would have been wiped out.  Even though he was the king, he was humble enough to take counsel from Gideon and put his people’s best interest above his pride.  He also showed that he cared for his people when, after so many men had been killed in battle, “Limhi commanded that every man should impart to the support of the widows and their children, that they might not perish with hunger” (Mosiah 21:17).  Unlike his father, King Limhi had a genuine love for his people.

               What’s most impressive to me was the humility that King Limhi showed at the end of the story.  He again was willing to listen to Gideon and follow his counsel, and with the help of Ammon and his brethren they escaped and he took his people back to King Mosiah.  This was essentially an acceptance of the end of his reign.  We read that they “joined Mosiah’s people and became his subjects” (Mosiah 22:13).  Limhi did not try to hang on to his power; as far as we know he simply stepped down and became a subject of Mosiah as well.  He was a true leader who cared more about serving his people than anything else.  Surely he is a model of leadership for us to follow.