Page:A dictionary of the Book of Mormon.pdf/221

Laman, River. stained people rejected, cast out and slew the prophets and saints of God who were sent among them.  LAMAN, RIVER. A small Arabian river which emptied into the upper waters of the Red Sea. When Lehi and his little colony had traveled for three days in the wilderness which bordered on the Red Sea, they reached a pleasant valley through which this stream flowed, and Lehi gave to it the name of Laman, in honor of his eldest son. In the valley the company rested for some time; and it was during their sojourn here that Nephi and his brothers twice returned to Jerusalem — once for the plates of brass, and once for Ishmael and his family. When, by the Lord's command, Lehi's party continued their journey, they crossed the river Laman and proceeded southward.   LAMANITES, THE. The people who, in connection with their kindred, the Nephites, occupied the American continent from about B. C. 590 to A. C. 385, in which latter year they destroyed the Nephites and remained possessors of the entire land. The American Indians are their degraded descendants. These people were of Hebrew origin, being members of the half tribe of Manasseh, and are called Lamanites, from Laman, the eldest son of Lehi, who was the leading spirit in the events that led to their separation from the Nephites and their formation as a distinct people. Originally, the Lamanites were the children of Laman, Lemuel, and some of the family of Ishmael; but as the centuries passed there were many defections in both nations, when the dissatisfied would join the opposing race and affiliate and intermix with them, so that the two names at last became more an indication of religion and civilization than of birth.   LAMONI. The Lamanite king of the land of Ishmael. He was the first of his race converted 