Mosiah 7:6 - 7:10

Mosiah 7:6 And Ammon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they went down into the land of Nephi.

From the hill Ammon took three of his party down into the land.

Mosiah 7:7 And behold, they met the king of the people who were in the land of Nephi, and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by the king’s guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison.

Their first encounter with the people of that land was the king himself with his guards. Upon being seen, they were immediately taken captive by the guards and thrown into prison.

[On would wonder why they were not taken to be Nephites and welcomed as guest? In addition, why did they not blurt out that they were from Zerahemla.]

Mosiah 7:8 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 commanded, that they should answer the questions which he should ask them.

The four men remained in prison for two days before the king had them brought before him to explain to him who they were; friend or foe.

[Wonder if it was a custom that they could only speak to a king if spoken to, the penalty being death if they should say anything before being asked. We see this custom in the Old Testament and elsewhere in the Book of Mormon.]

Mosiah 7:9 And he said unto them: Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by the voice of the people.

The king introduces himself to be Limhi and gives his genealogy to his guests. Limhi was the grandson of the original king that was the leader to the people that returned to the land of Nephi from Zarahemla.

Mosiah 7:10 And now, I 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 gate?

King Limhi now wanted to know why these strangers had been so bold as to approach the king and his guards when he was outside the city walls.

[Apparently one had to set up an appointment to see this king. No one could approach him and say hello, I guess. However as we will see the people were on full alert because of their enemies the Lamanites had been attaching the outskirts of the settlement.]