Page:A dictionary of the Book of Mormon.pdf/233

Rh whence they spread out and colonized, it is more often called the land of Nephi than the land of Lehi-Nephi; but it must not be confounded with the larger land of Nephi which grew out of it. This smaller land of Nephi is supposed to have been situated in the country now called Ecuador.  LEHONTI. A Lamanite officer, chosen by the opponents of the war policy of the reigning sovereign, as their leader in their armed resistance to the royal proclamation (B. C. 73).

When the Nephite traitor, Amalickiah, fled to the Lamanites, the first step he took to accomplish his ambitious, though at present defeated, purposes, was to excite public feeling against the Nephites. The king gave way before his wiles and persuasiveness, but the great mass of the people, not being brought in contact with his brilliant person and shining abilities, were averse to hostilities. They too well remembered the horrors and disasters of the previous campaign. Amalickiah had, however, gained such influence over the king's mind that he was inexorable, and insisted on the invasion of Zarahemla. For this purpose, he issued a proclamtion and sent it among all his subjects, commanding them to gather to his standard. The people greatly dreaded the arbitrary power of the throne, but they feared the Nephites more. Consequently, many refused to heed the proclamation, and assembled themselves at Onidah, the place of arms, for protection against an army the king had placed under the command of Amalickiah to bring them to terms, and which was now rapidly advancing towards them. Here they chose Lehonti as their leader and king, for they were strong in their determination not to go to war with the Nephites. Lehonti assembled his forces on a mount called Antipas, and there awaited the arrival of the royal troops.

Lehonti, however, little knew the temper or 