They Would Return

During the reign of King Noah, the Lamanites came upon their city and started to attack the Nephites. This came at just the right time to save Noah’s life from the hand of Gideon, and Mormon recorded, “And the king commanded the people that they should flee before the Lamanites, and he himself did go before them, and they did flee into the wilderness, with their women and their children.” The Nephites took off running, but they were too slow. The account continues, “And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them, and did overtake them, and began to slay them.” At that point, clearly concerned for his own life, King Noah “commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee before the Lamanites.” The response of the men was divided into two groups: “Now there were many that would not leave them, but had rather stay and perish with them. And the rest left their wives and their children and fled” (Mosiah 19:9-12). I have always viewed very negatively the men who followed King Noah, leaving their wives and children to the mercy of the Lamanites, but today I tried to think about this from their perspective. This must have been a terribly intense moment as thousands of people were fleeing from a terrible army, and few probably understood what was actually happening. Perhaps those who followed King Noah were simply trying to be obedient to their king. We do not know what King Noah said to them, but it is possible that he suggested to them that their wives and children would be preserved if they got the men out of there away from the Lamanites. It may have been out of reverence for their king, despite his wickedness, that some men obediently followed him further into the wilderness. It is easy to judge them looking back from our peaceful homes, but the violent melee and awful commotion in which they found themselves was not one that would have been easy to think clearly through.

               One indication that these men who left their wives and children were not so bad as their first choice might suggest is what happened afterwards. They traveled some distance to safety, probably not very far, and given the chance to finally consider their situation and think clearly about what was happening, they made a different choice: “They had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephi, and if their wives and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them.” Though they had missed their first chance to protect their families with their lives, they clearly regretted it and shortly thereafter they were determined to offer their lives for their families. They were not as selfish as King Noah, and they committed to themselves that if their wives and children had died, they would die too. King Noah’s response was all about saving his own life: “And the king commanded them that they should not return.” I believe it was at this point that they realized they could no longer follow or trust their king. Having perhaps first obeyed him out of duty, when they realized that he would not protect their families, they finally rebelled against him: “They were angry with the king, and caused that he should suffer, even unto death by fire” (Mosiah 19:19-20). To their credit, they returned to the danger and must have been overjoyed to find their families still alive. Their story should encourage us that when we fail to do for our families what we should, second chances do exist. The Lord will bless us for swift repentance and renewed commitment.