pgs. 190 and 191...ye shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another.

7 And I will go according to thy command and pay the last ^atribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be ^bdrunken; and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and asleep.

8 Thus we will depart with our women and our children, our flocks, and our herds into the wilderness; and we will travel around the land of ^aShilom.

9 And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the words of Gideon.

10 And king Limhi caused that his people should gather their flocks together; and he sent the tribute of wine to the Lamanites; and he also sent more wine, as a present unto them; and they did drink freely of the wine which king Limhi did send unto them.

11 And it came to pass that the people of king Limhi did ^adepart by night into the wilderness with their flocks and their herds, and they went round about the land of ^bShilom in the wilderness, and bent their course towards the land of Zarahemla, being led by Ammon and his brethren.

12 And they had taken all their gold, and silver, and their precious things, which they could carry, and also their provisions with them, into the wilderness; and they pursued their journey.

13 And after being many days in the wilderness they ^aarrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah’s people, and became his subjects.

14 And it came to pass that Mosiah ^areceived them with joy; and he also received their ^brecords, and also the ^crecords which had been found by the people of Limhi.

15 And now it came to pass when the Lamanites had found that the people of Limhi had departed out of the land by night, that they sent an ^aarmy into the wilderness to pursue them;

16 And after they had pursued them two days, they could no longer follow their tracks; therefore they were lost in the wilderness.

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

An account of Alma and the people of the Lord, who were driven into the wilderness by the people of King Noah. Comprising chapters 23 and 24.

CHAPTER 23

Alma refuses to be king—He serves as high priest—The Lord chastens his people, and the Lamanites conquer the land of Helam—Amulon, leader of King Noah’s wicked priests, rules subject to the Lamanite monarch. Between 145 and 121 B.C.

1 Now Alma, having been ^awarned of the Lord that the armies of king Noah would come upon them, and having made it known to his people, therefore they gathered together their flocks, and took of their grain, and ^bdeparted into the wilderness before the armies of king Noah.

2 And the Lord did strengthen them, that the people of king Noah could not overtake them to destroy them.

3 And they fled ^aeight days’ journey into the wilderness.

4 And they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water.

5 And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were ^aindustrious, and did labor exceedingly.

6 And the people were desirous that Alma should be their ^aking, for he was beloved by his people.

7 But he said unto them: Behold, it is not expedient that we should have a king; for thus saith the Lord: Ye shall ^anot esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another; therefore I say unto you it is not expedient that ye should have a king.

8 Nevertheless, if it ^awere possible that ye could always have just men to be your ^bkings it would be well for you to have a king.

9 But remember the ^ainiquity of king Noah and his ^bpriests; and I myself was ^ccaught in a snare, and did many things which were abominable in the sight of the Lord, which caused me sore ^drepentance;

10 Nevertheless, ^aafter much ^btribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an ^cinstrument in his hands in bringing ^dso many of you to a knowledge of his truth.

11 Nevertheless, in this I do not glory, for I am unworthy to glory of myself.

12 And now I say unto you, ye have been ^aoppressed by king Noah, and have been in bondage to him and his priests, and have been ^bbrought into iniquity by them; therefore ye were bound with the ^cbands of iniquity.

13 And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of these bonds; yea, even out of the ^ahands of king Noah and his people, and also from the ^bbonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should ^cstand fast in this ^dliberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that ye trust ^eno man to be a king over you.

14 And also trust no one to be your ^ateacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments.

15 Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should ^alove his ^bneighbor ^cas himself, that there should be no ^dcontention among them.

16 And now, Alma was their ^ahigh priest, he being the founder of their church.

17 And it came to pass that none received ^aauthority to preach or to teach except it were by him from God. Therefore he ^bconsecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just men.

18 Therefore they did watch over their people, and did ^anourish them with things pertaining to righteousness.

19 And it came to pass that they began to prosper exceedingly in the land; and they called the land ^aHelam.

20 And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the land of Helam; and they built a city, which they called the city of Helam.

21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to ^achasten his people; yea, he trieth their ^bpatience and their faith.

In this reading the people of King Limhi escape their bondage to the Lamanites by getting the guards drunk and sneaking away in the night. Eventually they will reunite with Alma and the group that escaped King Noah's army at the Waters of Helaman. Chapter 23 takes us back to the story of Alma's group and they are settling in a beautiful place they call Helam.

I like the lesson Alma teaches his people when they ask him to be their king in this new place. He declines saying, "it is not expedient that we should have a king; for thus saith the Lord; Ye shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not think himself above another." He also goes on to explain that King Noah was a wicked leader and led himself and many others into sin.

Much of our world today is captive to an evil king, dictator, or terrorist group. These "leaders" consider themselves better than the people that they "lead." Even though our political system here in the United States is not perfect it is such a blessing. I am so thankful for the freedom and agency we are all able to enjoy because of the inspired foresight of the founders of this nation.