View source for Limhi

{{short description|Book of Mormon king}}
{{other uses|Lemhi (disambiguation)}}{{Infobox person
| name               = Limhi
| honorific_suffix   = Nephite king in the Book of Mormon
| image              = Limhi, in Arrest of Ammon by the Guards of King Limhi.png
| caption            = As depicted in ''Ammon Arrested by the Guards of King Limhi'' ({{circa|1924}})
| era                = Before the reign of the judges
| known_for          = Last king of the Nephite colony in the land of Lehi-Nephi
| predecessor        = [[King Noah]]
}}

In the [[Book of Mormon]], '''Limhi''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɪ|m|h|aɪ}})<ref>[http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/pronunciation?lang=eng churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"] (retrieved 2012-02-25), [[Wikipedia:IPA for English|IPA]]-ified from «lĭm´hī»</ref> is the third and final king of the second [[Nephite]] habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeds his father, [[King Noah|Noah]]. Led by [[Ammon (Book of Mormon explorer)|Ammon]] (a descendant of Zarahemla), Limhi and his people escape from the [[Lamanites]] with his people to the land of [[Zarahemla]].

== Synopsis ==
{{Figures in the Book of Mormon}}
After the death of their previous king, Noah, the surviving members of the Nephite colony living in the land of Lehi-Nephi appoints one of his sons, Limhi, to the throne.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Gee|1992|pp=54–55, 60–61}}.</ref> Living under occupation by a Lamanite army, Limhi's colonists attempt three violent revolts, all of which the Lamanites quash.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hardy|2010|p=167}}.</ref>

When a band of Nephites from Zarahemla, led by [[Ammon (Book of Mormon explorer)|an explorer named Ammon]], rediscover the Lehi-Nephi colony, Limhi gathers his community, and he and Ammon read and recite their respective people's histories to each other and before the convocation.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|p=69}}.</ref>

Resolving to escape subjugation, Limhi consults with Ammon about what to do, and Gideon, an advisor, devises a plan to intoxicate and incapacitate the Lamanite guards with a gift of alcohol. The plan is successful, enabling Limhi and his people to flee the land of Lehi-Nephi and travel with Ammon to Zarahemla.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hardy|2010|p=167}}; {{Harvtxt|Austin|2024|p=83}}.</ref>

On reaching Zarahemla, Limhi exchanges histories with [[King Mosiah II|King Mosiah]], ruler of the Nephites there, and their peoples unite.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|pp=69–70}}.</ref>

== Interpretations ==
Records play a significant role in Limhi's arc. Limhi's dialogue includes numerous allusions to and citations from records in the setting, such as the brass plates, Abinadi's trial, and the [[Record of Zeniff]], his grandfather. In the words of John Gee, this implies Limhi "spent a good deal of time studying and memorizing the records of his people" and that he is somewhat bookish, "probably more comfortable in the library than the throne room".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Gee|1992|pp=64–66}}.</ref> According to Gee, this may implicitly be why Limhi's virtuous character diverges substantially from that of his flagitious father Noah.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Gee|1992|p=66}}.</ref> [[Richard Bushman]] calls the exchanges and recitations of histories that Limhi participates in "public ceremoni[es]" as part of a pattern where "[i]n the Book of Mormon world, histories nourished and instructed people" and provided the basis "of their conceptual lives".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|pp=69–70}}.</ref> In this interpretation, Limhi's recitation of history with Mosiah and Ammon is a microcosm of the Book of Mormon's self-constructed purpose of unifying world identity by reaffirming the Abrahamic covenant and reinvigorating Christianity.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2004|pp=70–76}}.</ref>

== Reception ==

=== Visual art ===
[[File:Baptism of Limhi, by George Ottinger.png|thumb|Limhi (left) being baptized by [[Alma the Elder|Alma]] (right) in [[George M. Ottinger]]'s 1888 ''Baptism of Limhi'']]
American artist [[George M. Ottinger]]'s painting ''Baptism of Limhi'', depicting the [[Book of Mosiah|Mosiah]] 25:17–18 scene of Alma baptizing Limhi, was completed in 1872 and displayed at the Utah Territorial State Fair that year.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Carmack|2008|pp=120–121}}.</ref> The full painting was seven and a half feet by five feet.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Carmack|2008|p=120}}.</ref> A version of this image, likely less detailed than the original was, was later published as an illustration in the 1888 ''The Story of the Book of Mormon''.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Carmack|2008|p=121}}.</ref>

In approximately 1883, landscape painter [[Reuben Kirkham]] produced a panorama of Book of Mormon scenes (the location or survival of which are unknown) which included ''Last Battle of King Limhi'' and ''The Last Battles of the People of Limhi''.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Poulton|2012|pp=124, 203}}.</ref>

=== Namesakes ===
Nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint settlers in [[Oregon Territory|territorial Oregon]] named Fort Limhi after king Limhi.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hartley|2001|p=139}}; {{Harvtxt|Bigler|2003|p=25}}.</ref> They also named the [[Lemhi River]] after the Book of Mormon king's name (albeit misspelled).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hartley|2001|p=139}}; {{Harvtxt|Garner|2019|loc=paragraph 2}}.</ref> [[Lemhi County, Idaho]] receives its name from a misspelling of Limhi.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bigler|2003|p=25}}.</ref> 

== Lineage ==
{{Tree chart/start}}
{{Tree chart| ZEN |y| UNN | | | |ZEN=[[Zeniff]]|UNN=(unnamed)}}
{{Tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | NOA |y| UNN | NOA=[[King Noah]]|UNN=(unnamed)}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | |!|| | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | LIM | | | LIM='''Limhi'''}}
{{Tree chart/end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Latter-day Saints}}
* [[The Record of Zeniff]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite book |last=Austin |first=Michael |title=The Testimony of Two Nations: How the Book of Mormon Reads, and Rereads, the Bible |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780252045356}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bigler |first=David L. |title=Fort Limhi: The Mormon Adventure in Oregon Territory, 1855–1858 |publisher=Arthur H. Clark |year=2003 |isbn=0-87062-324-9 |series=Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bushman |first=Richard Lyman |title=Believing History: Latter-day Saint Essays |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-231-13006-6 |editor-last=Neilson |editor-first=Reid L. |pages=65–78 |language=en |chapter=The Book of Mormon in Early Mormon History |editor-last2=Woodworth |editor-first2=Jed}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Carmack |first=Noel A. |date=2008 |title='A Picturesque and Dramatic History': George Reynolds's ''Story of the Book of Mormon'' |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=115–141 |jstor=43044637}}
* {{Cite web |last=Garner |first=Bridget |date=February 12, 2019 |title=The Rise and Fall of Fort Limhi |url=https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/286 |website=Intermountain Histories}}
* {{cite journal |last=Gee |first=John |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jbms/article-abstract/1/1/54/274351/Limhi-in-the-Library?redirectedFrom=fulltext |title=Limhi in the Library |journal=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies |volume=1 |year=1992 |pages=54–66 |doi=10.2307/44758621|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite book <!--Citation Bot --> |last=Hardy |first=Grant |title=Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780199745449}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Hartley |first=William G. |date=Fall 2001 |title=Dangerous Outpost: Thomas Corless and the Fort Limhi/Salmon River Mission |journal=Mormon Historical Studies |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=135–162}}
* {{Cite book |last=Poulton |first=Donna L. |title=Reuben Kirkham: Pioneer Artist |publisher=Cedar Fort |year=2012 |isbn=978-1599553801 |language=en}}

== Further references ==

* {{Cite journal |last=Hardy |first=Heather |date=2007 |title=Another Testament of Jesus Christ: Mormon's Poetics |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jbms/article-abstract/16/2/16/275420/Another-Testament-of-Jesus-Christ-Mormon-s-Poetics?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=16–27, 93–95 |doi=10.5406/jbookmormstud.16.2.0016|url-access=subscription }}

==External links==
{{Wikisourcepar|A_Dictionary_of_the_Book_of_Mormon/Limhi|''A Dictionary of the Book of Mormon''}}
*[https://bookofmormonartcatalog.org/figures/Limhi/ Visual art of Limhi, in the Book of Mormon Art Catalog]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box | before = [[King Noah]]| title = [[Nephites#Kings|King]] of a tribe of the [[Nephites]]| years = ?-124 B.C.| after = [[King Mosiah II]]}}
{{S-end}}

[[Category:Book of Mormon people]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]