Bomdict A

LA'BAN: The man slain by Nephi in Jerusalem (600 B. C.) in order to get the brass plates of which L. was custodian. He was an Israelite of the tribe of Joseph the same as Lehi, and the brass plates which he hold contained the genealogy of Lehi's father and many other important documents which made them of incalculable value to the departing company who were about to cross the sea to the American continent. After Lehi's family had retired to the wilderness he was directed to send Nephi and his brethren back to Jerusalem to secure the plates. Laman was the first to approach L., with an explanation of the object of their errand. But L. thrust him out with the threat of death. Next they went unitedly to L., with gold, silver and precious things which they offered him in reward if he would comply with their entreaty. Again they were thrust out, and their riches fell into the hands of L. Thirdly and finally Nephi went alone to the house of L. in the night; found him drunk, slew him, put L.'s clothes on himself and went to the treasury of L. and secured the plates. Zoram, L.'s servant, accompanied him on his return to his brethren and father. 1 Ne. i:59-130, 164-168.
LA-CHO'NE-US, The First: Chief judge and governor over the land of Zarahemla of the Nephites; also a prophet. We do not know when his judgeship commenced, but he was administering at the time of the birth of Christ, 3 Ne. i: 1. Neither is the date of the conclusion of his public service definitely stated, but we read that in A. D. 29, L., the son of L., did fill the seat of his father and did govern the people that year; from which one is inclined to the belief, with some presumption, that it was that year that L. II succeeded L. 1st. It was during the administration of L. 1st that the Nephites underwent their greatest struggle with the Gadianton robbers. In A. D. 15 L. received an epistle from Giddianhi, the Gadianton leader, demanding a surrender to them on the part of the Nephite nation, both politically and religiously. L. ignored this audacious document, save that he had his people fortify and prepare for the attack that it had threatened to make upon non-compliance. Under the able and God-directed management of L. and Gidgiddoni, who was his chief captain and also a prophet and a "chief judge," the wicked band of robbers was repulsed and overthrown, chap. ii. The observation that Gidgiddoni was "chief judge" is probably to be understood in the sense of association. The items of the birth or death of L. are not recorded. (See Gadianton Robbers and Gidgiddoni).
LA-CHO'NE-US, The Second: The last of the judges over the Nephites. He was the son of L. the preceding and it is said that he filled the seat of his father A. D. 29. He was assassinated and the government was destroyed the same year. (See King Jacob.) 3 Ne. iii:21, 36.
LA'ISH: The Bible L., a place in Palestine; mentioned only in 2 Ne. ix: 111 in a quotation from Isa. x.
LA'MA: A Nephite general who was slain with his command of ten thousand men in the battle of Cumorah, A. D. 384. Morm. iii:15.
LA'MAN: (1) Eldest son of Lehi and Sariah. It is probable that he was born in or at Jerusalem from which the family emigrated 600 B. C. He was married in the Arabian wilderness to one of the daughters of Ishmael, and though a stubborn murmurer and a jealous despiser of his brother Nephi and of the revelations the latter received on account of his faithfulness, he was one of the migrating company till some time after their settlement in America. He accompanied his brethren to Jerusalem to get the brass plates, and he accompanied them on their second mission thither when they brought Ishmael and family into the wilderness. In his father's dying blessing upon his children he declared that the seed of L. should not perish or be utterly destroyed. 2 Ne. iii:l-16. After the death of his father the persecutions by himself and those who took sides with him were so severe against Nephi that the latter with all who would go with him departed by revelation into the wilderness. Laman lost the birthright blessing by his unfaithfulness, chap. i:52-7 1. His personal career sinks behind the horizon of history upon the separation from him and his allies of Nephi and his following (about 575~570 B. C.),
LA'MAN: (2) A Lamanite king, in the land of Nephi. He it was as acting monarch that ceded to Zeniff and people the cities of Lehi-Nephi and Shiblon with the surrounding country, when the latter went there from the land of Zarahemla, later than 200 B. C. After they had occupied the land for twelve years, L., envious of their prosperity, stirred his subjects up to violence against them. After the Lamanite invaders were defeated and peace had prevailed for twenty-two years, L. died and was succeeded by his son, B. C. 165-14,0; Mos. v:25-39; vi: 1-36.
LA'MAN: (3) Apparently the son and successor of the preceding, Lamanite king in the land of Nephi. If he was the son, which is probable, (and not the grandson of L. I); if he is the one who acceded in Mos. vi:34-36, his reign was extensive in period as well as in area, for Zeniff was reigning over the Nephites in Shemlon and Lehi-Nephi at the time of his accession; his reign continued during and after the period of Noah, Zeniff's successor; and he was reigning yet at the time when under Limhi, Noah's successor, the people of Limhi fled to the land of Zarahemla (about 121 B. C.) His reign would therefore extend from the latter period back to probably not later Than 140 B. C. and not possibly earlier than 165 B. C. He was a cruel oppressor of the people of Limhi till they left his dominions, and later he oppressed the people of Alma, the first, whom his servants discovered while in search of the people of Limhi. Mos. xi:44-53; vi:34; xi:59.
LA'MAN: (4) Formerly a servant of the Lamanite king slain by Amalickiah-73 B. C.; latterly a soldier or inferior officer in the army of Moroni-62 B. C. Under these two conditions of activity he is brought before us in the history. He was probably born in the land of Nephi from whence he fled when his master was slain; and it is probable that he spent the remainder of his life in the land of Zarahemla. When his royal master was slain by the treachery of Amalickiah and the deed was laid to the charge of the king's servants, he fled for his life to Zara-hemla. He is successfully employed by Moroni in his stratagem of releasing the Nephite prisoners held by the Lamanites in the city of Gid. Al. xxi:99-112; xxv:27-50.
LA'MAN: City of. One of the cities destroyed by fire at the time of the convulsions which defaced the American continent when Christ was crucified. It is not definitely located, but it was probably a Gadianton city in C. A. or southern Mex. 3 Ne. iv:36-40.
LA'MAN, River of: An Arabian river emptying into the northern waters of the Red Sea. So named by Lehi in honor of his eldest son. It was in the valley of this stream that the company sojourned until the brass plates and the Ishmael family were brought from Jerusalem. 1 Ne. i:l-35.
LA'MAN-ITES: The title applied to those and their descendants who joined in the support of Laman, Lehi's eldest son, in his rebellion against his brother, Nephi. Down to about 570 B. C., the company of Lehi were together in the region of their debarkation and landing. About the period given, Nephi and co-believers separated themselves from the persecuting element of unbelievers headed by Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael and established themselves in the land of Nephi, 2 Ne. iv. Jacob speaking of events occurring about 545 B. C. says that whereas the descendants of the various tribal heads had thereunto been designated by the titles derived from the names of those respective heads, (i. e. Lamanites, Nephites, Jacobites, Zoramites, etc.) he would no longer conform to those numerous distinctions, but would call them L., and Nephites. Jac. i:13, 14. The L. occupied successively, the land of their first inheritance; the land of Nephi subsequently to its evacuation by the Nephites about 200 B. C.; the land of Zarahemla after the evacuation of it and every portion of the southern regions occupied by the Nephites in A. D. 349; and also the northern territory as they were in pursuit of the Nephites until they entirely destroyed the latter as a people and a nation at Cumorah A. D. 384. See Blackness; also see L. in B. of M. concordance.
LA'MAN-I-TISH: The servants of King Lamoni are called "L. servants" in Al. xii:35-39.
LA-MO'NI: Lamanite king over the land of Ishmael in the land of Nephi. He was acting monarch when Ammon came to him, 91 B. C. We have no account of his birth or of his death. It was fourteen years later (77 B. C.) when Ammon and brethren returned to Zarahemla with their converts, the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. It is not stated whether L. was still living and accompanied them or not. He was the first Lamanite converted to Christianity by Mosiah's sons. He accompanied Amman to the land of Middoni to accomplish the release of the brethren of Ammon who were imprisoned there by king Antiomno; which was successfully done through the influence L. had with the king. His counsel was sought by the missionaries and others later in the immergency of rebellion and persecution by the unconverted. With this mention of him he fades from view. His conversion was extraordinary, in that he was king, and also in the irregular manner in which it was achieved. Al. xii: 28-xiv:33.
LA-MO'NI, Father of: Lamanite king over all the land of Nephi, constituted by is various subdivisions, save it were the land of Ishmael" (Al. xiii:23-31). He was the father of the preceding; his name is not given. He at first opposed Ammon, but was afterward visited and converted by Aaron. He was wrought upon by the spirit similarly to his son. He lent his influence to the propagation of the gospel message. He conferred the kingdom upon his son Anti-Nephi-Lehi, and died in the same year that the Lamanites made preparations for war against the people of God. Al. xii:75-81, 181-214; xiii:23-xiv:33.
Le'ah: -See Money.
LEB'A-NON: The Bible L.; occurs four times in quota-tions from Isa.
LE'HI: (1) The father of Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph. He was a prophet and a patriarch, having dwelt at Jerusalem from his birth up to the time of the migration-600 B. C. The date of his birth is not given, but he died at an old age about thirty years after they left Jerusalem and about twenty years after their settlement in America. He was of the tribe of Joseph by Manasseh (1 Ne. i:164-168; 2 Ne. ii:l-9; Al. viii:3. It was in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah over Judea that L. and family departed from Jerusalem, by command of the Lord. Lehi's wife's name Was Sariah. He had also daughters, but the time of their birth is not stated. The story of his personal career is embraced in 1 Nephi and 2 Ne. i-iii:23. He may probably be said to be the head and original leader of the first company of Israelites who come to America. Lehi died in the region of their landing. He was custodian of the brass plates. (See L. in B. of M. concordance.)
LE'HI: (2) Son of Zoram who was chief captain over the armies of the Nephites (81 B. C.) His brother's name was Aha. Al. xi:4-21.
LE'HI: (3 One of the most powerful military officers in the Nephite army. He was contemporary with Moroni and Teancum. It is more than possible that he was identical with the preceding character, but it is not so stated. Viewing him as a separate character, he first poses before us on the pages of history as a military commander under Moroni, where he does telling execution in the battle with the Lamanites under Zarahemla-73 B. C. The following year he is chief captain over the city of Noah and repulses the Lamanites under Amalickiah. In 63 B. C. he adds to his distinction by defeating Jacob between Mulek and Bountiful. We note service in 62, 61, 56, and on down to 51 B.C. He is last mentioned in connection with the 51st B. C. war with the Lamanites under Coriantumr. So, that his military history covers no less than twenty-two years. His entire life was probably spent in the land of Zarahemla. Al. xx:37 to Hel. i:34.
LE'HI: (4) Son of Helaman and brother of Nephi. The details of his birth or death are not recorded, but so far as history deals with him he spent his life, save while on missionary duties, in the land of Zarahemla; he was a Nephite. In comparison with his brother Nephi he "was not a whit behind him in righteousness. Lehi is referred to as the youngest son of Helaman in 43 B. C. He is lastly mentioned in 12 B. C. In his time the Lamanites conquered the land of Zarahemla. Through the preaching of himself and Nephi they converted the Lamanites to that extent that they made a voluntary relinquishment of their conquered possessions to the Nephites again. While relinquishment was made after the two missionaries had visited the land of Nephi and the power of God had been so phenomenally displayed in their preservation when they were imprisoned in the city of Lehi--Nephi (29 B. C.) Hel. ii:l5-iv:29.
LE'HI, City of: A Nephite city, probably on or very near the coast of the Caribbean Sea. It was founded in 71 B. C., the same year of the founding of the cities Moroni and Nephihah. It says it was north (of the Zarahemla settlement) "by the borders of the seashore." Al. xxii:14-25. In 67 B. C. there was a boundary dispute. In 66 B. C. it fell into the hands of the Lamanites on the second invasion of Amalickiah, Al, xxiii:32. It was retaken in 60 B. C., Al. xxix:34-38.
LE'HI, Land of: (1) The region of territory immediately surrounding the city of L. (q. v.) In B. C. 67 there was a boundary dispute between its occupants and the occupants of the land of Morianton which was settled by Moroni. Al. xxii:26-39.
LE'HI, Land of: (2) Applied to the "land south," in general in contradistinction to the land Mulek which was the "land north'; "for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south." Hel. ii:128-135.
LE'HI-NE'PHI, or NE'PHI, City of: In the land of Nephi. It was probably situated in Honduras. The country immediately surrounding was called the land of L.-N. It was occupied first, by the Nephites, its founders, till about 200 B. C. when under Mosiah I they evacuated it and came into the land of Zarahemla. Following this evacuation it was taken possession of by the Lamanites. The Lamanites held it till some time later than 200 B. C. when a company of Nephites under Zeniff returned from the land of Zarahemla; to them was the city and land of L.-N. ceded by the former. This company of Nephites reigned over successively by Zeniff, Noah and Limhi, returned during Limhi's reign to the land of Zarahemla, 121 B. C. Again it fell into the hands of the Lamanites. Thereafter it remained in Lamanite possession. It was at the city of L.-N. that Abinadi was burnt to death and in its locality that Alma I began his Christian labors. It was the capital city to the Nephites and when the Lamanites obtained final possession it became the seat of Lamoni (q. v.) who was king over all the land." It was visited by Aaron about 85 B. C. and by Nephi and Lehi 29 B. C. Mos. v:l-14; vi:l-13. It was sometimes called the city of Nephi, e. g, Mos. vi:16-18; ix:8-16; Al. iv:7-l0.
LE'HI-NE'PHI, Land of: A subdivision of the land of Nephi proper, though it is sometimes called the land of Nephi; which distinction the student will do well to note that he may not, on account of the confusion of names, mistake the whole country for that which was merely a state or province of it; and vice versa. The city of L.-N. (q. v.) was its capital, and the most that is said about the city is applicable to the land. It is used in the limited sense in Mos. v:3-14 as a variant for, or interchangeably with L.-N.; while in chap. xii:1-11, it is used in its extended sense as the sequences will show. Al. xii-xiii.
LE-HON'TI: A Lamanite officer in the land of Nephi. When Amalickiah failed in his attempt in the land of Zarahemla to enthrone himself there he fled to the land of Nephi and inflamed the king there with the war spirit, to go to war with the Nephites. Part of the population refused to do military service and made L. their leader at Onidah in their armed attempt to resist federal compulsion. They took a position on Mount Antipas. Here Amlickiah betrayed the federal troops into the hands of L., became second in command, and had L. put out of the way by slow poison, 73 B. C. Al. xxi:74-107.
LEM'U-EL: Second son of Lehi and Sariah. He was born at Jerusalem, and as a young man accom-panied his father's family in their migration to America, 600-590 B. C. He was the seconder of his elder brother, Laman, in all his rebellions against Nephi and against right. He married one of the daughters of Ishmael in the wilderness of Arabia, and died on the American continent undoubtedly. We have no record of his personal career after the Separation, about 570 B. C. I Ne. i to 2 Ne. iv.
LEM'U-EL, City of: One of the Lamanite cities in the land of Nephi converted through the preaching of the sons of Mosiah, (91-77 B. C., Al. xiv:7-16.
LEM'U-EL, Valley of: In Arabia, at the mouth of the river Laman which emptied into the Red Sea. It was so named by Lehi (600 B. C.) and it was three days journey from Jerusalem. It was here the Lehi family sojourned until the brass plates and Ishmael and family were brought unto them from Jerusalem. 1 Ne. i:33-46; vi:15, 16.
LEM'U-EL-ITES: Descendants of Lemuel; so called in Jac. i:13, 14. Lehi said to them: "thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed." 2 Ne. iii:14-16.
LEVI: (1) A Jaredite king; son of King Kim and father of Corom who succeeded him. He was born in captivity in which his father died. After serving in this condition for forty-two years after his father's death he made war and obtained the kingdom unto himself and reigned in righteousness. He was the thirteenth royal descendant of Jared. Eth. i:6; iv:52-90.
LEVI: (2) The Bible L., son of Jacob. The only mention of his name is in 3 Ne. xi:6 in a quotation from Mat. iii.
LI'A-HO'NA: The "compass," "director," or "ball," as it is variously called, found by Lehi at his tent door in the valley of Lemuel, in the wilderness, at their first sojourning place after their departure from Jerusalem, 600 B. C. It was composed of brass, round in shape, and had within it two spindles which pointed the way they should go. It also exhibited messages to them from the Lord in writing from time to time. It worked according to the faith that they exercised; and upon a sufficient provocation it would refuse its service. It (or the spindles at least) served to them a similar pur-pose that the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night served to ancient Israel. It was one of the "sacred things" that was handed down and was viewed by Joseph Smith and the witnesses. 1 Ne. v:l0-41, 190-210; 2 Ne. iv:7-17; Mos. i:22-26; Al. xvii:71-80; D. and C. xv:l.
LIB: (1) A Jaredite king; son and successor of Kish, and father of Hearthom who succeded him. His reign was characterized by righteousness and prosperity; the poisonous serpents were destroyed which had appeared in the days of King Heth and it was during the reign of L. that it is said, "the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants." He was the thirteenth royal progenitor of the prophet Ether. We would estimate his period at about 1200-1300 B. C. Eth. i:6; iv:60-90.
LIB: (2) A Jaredite king and general; the brother of Shiz and next to the last rival (who was Shiz) of Coriantumr the surviving Jaredite. He obtained the kingdom by murder and he was slain on the plains of Agosh in his third battle with Coriantumr. The scene of his reign and warfare probably did not extend farther north than Mexico. He lived in the last generation of the Jaredites, seventh century B. C., or later. Eth. vi:37-51.
Liberty: If there is any one principle upon which the B. M. is unequivocal and direct i. is 1. It stands first and last for the 'voice of the people" in appointing their rulers and leaders and in petitioning for their common needs. They migrated from the orient and they knew of the horrors of monarchies and dictatorships which they left behind. They came to what was dedicated by the Lord as a "land of 1." Its devotion to other or contrary purposes was to be followed with serious punitive consequences. See Government, Kingdom. See L. and voice in concordance.
LIM'HAH: One of the Nephite generals who fell with his ten thousand in the battle of Cumorah, A. D. 384. Morm. iii:15.
LIM'HER: One of the Nephite spies whom Alma sent in pursuit of the defeated Amlicites to watch their movements -86 B. C. He is only referred to in Alma i:76-82.
LIM-HI: Son of the wicked King Noah and the third and lost king over the Nephite company or detachment in the land of Lehi-Nephi. Said company returned to the land of Lehi-Nephi under Zeniff, the grandfather of L., later than 200 B. C., and were reigned over by Zeniff, Noah and L. successively. During the reign of L., when his people were oppressed by the Lamanites (Mos. vii:45-49) unto the exaction of "one-half of all they possessed" and had found themselves unable by force of arms to throw off the Lamanite yoke, he sent forty-three of his men in search of the land of Zarahemla that appeal might be made to their brethren to deliver them from bondage. Said forty-three men instead of finding Zarahemla, found the Jaredite ruins, and also the twenty-four gold plates of Ether which they brought back. Soon after their return Ammon and fifteen other men, subjects of Mosiah II, came to L. from Zarahemla, and the result was that through the strategy of Gideon and the leadership of Amman and brethren the people of L. escaped (121 B. C.) to Zarahemla, where L. probably remained till death. Mos. v, ix: 84-181; x; xi:51-83; xii:12-26; Eth. i:l-14. Limhi was baptized in Zarahemla.
Lim'nah: The name of a gold coin in use among the Nephites, equal to seven measures of grain. Al. viii:49-62. See Money.
LORD: God; used in the B. of M. in the same sense as it is in the Bible.
LU'CI-FER: The Bible L.; Satan. It occurs only in 2 Ne. x:26-45 in a quotation from Isa. xiv.
LURAM: A Nephite soldier in the army of Mormon; probably an officer. He lived in the fourth century A. D. Moro. ix:2.

L