pgs. 160 and 161...if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them.

3 And it came to pass that on the morrow they started to go up, having with them one ^aAmmon, he being a strong and mighty man, and a ^bdescendant of Zarahemla; and he was also their leader.

4 And now, they knew not the course they should travel in the wilderness to go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi; therefore they wandered many days in the wilderness, even ^aforty days did they wander.

5 And when they had wandered forty days they came to a ^ahill, which is north of the land of ^bShilom, and there they pitched their tents.

6 And ^aAmmon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they went down into the land of ^bNephi.

7 And behold, they met the king of the people who were in the land of Nephi, and in the land of ^aShilom; and they were surrounded by the king’s guard, and were ^btaken, and were ^cbound, and were committed to ^dprison.

8 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 ^acommanded, that they should answer the questions which he should ask them.

9 And he said unto them: Behold, I am ^aLimhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the ^bland of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a ^cking by the ^dvoice of the people.

10 And now, ^aI desire to know the cause whereby ye were so bold as to come near the walls of the city, when I, myself, was with my guards without the ^bgate?

11 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. Ye are permitted to speak.

12 And now, when Ammon saw that he was permitted to speak, he went forth and ^abowed himself before the king; and rising again he said: O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and am permitted to speak; and I will endeavor to speak with boldness;

13 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 ^adescendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the ^bland of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren, whom ^cZeniff brought up out of that land.

14 And now, it came to pass that after Limhi had heard the words of Ammon, he was exceedingly ^aglad, and said: Now, I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla are ^byet alive. And now, I will rejoice; and on the morrow I will cause that my people shall rejoice also.

15 For behold, we are in bondage to the Lamanites, and are ^ataxed with a tax which is grievous to be borne. And now, behold, our brethren will deliver us out of our ^bbondage, or out of the hands of the Lamanites, and we will be their ^cslaves; for it is better that we be slaves to the Nephites than to pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites.

16 And now, king Limhi commanded his guards that they should no more bind Ammon nor his brethren, but caused that they should go to the hill which was north of Shilom, and bring their brethren into the city, that thereby they might eat, and drink, and rest themselves from the labors of their journey; for they had suffered many things; they had suffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue.

17 And now, it came to pass on the morrow that king Limhi sent a proclamation among all his people, that thereby they might gather themselves together to the ^atemple, to hear the words which he should speak unto them.

18 And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves together that he ^aspake unto them in this wise, saying: 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 ^bremaineth an effectual struggle to be made.

19 Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your ^atrust in ^bGod, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who ^cbrought the children of ^dIsrael out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red ^eSea on dry ground, and fed them with ^fmanna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.

20 And again, that same God has brought our fathers ^aout of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is ^bbecause of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage.

21 And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being ^aover-zealous to inherit the land of his fathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king Laman, who having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff, and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land, or even the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom; and the land round about—

22 And all this he did, for the sole purpose of ^abringing this people into subjection or into bondage. And behold, we at this time do pay ^btribute to the king of the Lamanites, to the amount of one half of our corn, and our barley, and even all our grain of every kind, and one half of the increase of our flocks and our herds; and even one half of all we have or possess the king of the Lamanites doth exact of us, or our lives.

23 And now, is not this grievous to be borne? And is not this, our affliction, great? Now behold, how great reason we have to ^amourn.

24 Yea, I say unto you, great are the reasons which we have to ^amourn; for behold how many of our brethren have been slain, and their blood has been spilt in vain, and all because of iniquity.

25 For if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them. But behold, they would not hearken unto his words; but there arose contentions among them, even so much that they did shed blood among themselves.

This section is proof that no one likes to pay 50% taxes! (verse 22) It's also a great reminder of what we already know...if you transgress the laws of God he can't bless you. If you keep his commandments he is able to bless you. It seems so simple and yet it can be so hard.