Nephi and Lehi's Prison

After Nephi, son of Helaman, gave up the judgment seat, he and his brother Lehi went forth to preach the gospel “from one city to another, until they had gone forth among all the people of Nephi who were in the land southward.” After this they went to Zarahemla, the former Nephite city that had recently been captured by the Lamanites, and they preached there. Amazingly, there were 8000 Lamanites who were converted because of their missionary work, but even after that Nephi and Lehi did not consider their work done. They went further south into heart of the Lamanite territory in the land of Nephi. Mormon recorded what happened when they arrived: “And it came to pass that they were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into prison; yea, even in that same prison in which Ammon and his brethren were cast by the servants of Limhi” (Helaman 5:16-21). As I read this today I wondered why Mormon would mention that this was the same prison that Ammon had been in—is there any significance to that?

               There certainly are some similarities between what happened to Ammon and his group (16 in total) and what happened to Nephi and Lehi when they arrived in the land of Nephi. When Ammon was found there, Limhi’s people threw the group in prison because they thought they were the wicked priests of Noah who were out roaming around somewhere. Though Ammon and his group would ultimately provide the temporal salvation that Limhi’s group was searching for, they were mistaken for an enemy and put in prison. After some time Limhi came to see him ready to put them to death, but that changed once Limhi realized who they were and what their visit meant. He was overjoyed and Ammon helped to get Limhi’s people out of bondage from the Lamanites. In a similar manner, when Nephi and Lehi arrived, the Lamanites did not realize that these two men would be the means of bringing them spiritual salvation. Instead, they took them for enemies and cast them into prison. Like for Ammon’s group, after some time the Lamanites “went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them” (Helaman 5:22). Instead they had a miraculous experience that ultimately led to the conversion of the Lamanites. The experiences of both Ammon’s group and Nephi and Lehi provide a warning that sometimes we at first may be inclined to reject that which has come to help us.

               I wonder if as well the fact that Nephi and Lehi found themselves locked in the same prison as Ammon and his brethren brought comfort to them about how they might be delivered. Surely they had read the records and perhaps even knew the details of the deliverance of King Limhi’s people that Ammon and his brethren had helped facilitate. Maybe they remembered this powerful promise from Limhi as they pondered the history: “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…. If ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage” (Mosiah 7:19,33). The fact that Mormon knew that this was the same prison undoubtedly meant that Nephi and Lehi recorded it, and so they likely knew when they were there. With this knowledge, surely they took comfort in the miraculous deliverance that Limhi’s people had experienced at the hand of the Lord. Nephi and Lehi likewise trusted in the Lord despite the fact that all odds were against them, and their own deliverance was indeed no less incredible as the Lord brought angels and fire and the power of His voice to free them from bondage.