But Nephi would not agree to such a thing. He said he did not wish to be king over them; that he wanted to be like one of themselves, and that he would continue to be their leader and teacher. I must now take you back to Laman and Lemuel, and to the people who stayed with them. They, as I told you, were called Lamanites. O, dear, what a difference there was between them and the people of Nephi! What do you think had happened to Laman and the people who had stayed with him? The displeasure of the Lord had come upon them so that their skins had become dark, and they were fast becoming a wild and savage people. They had neither farms nor gardens, nor houses to live in. The only food they had to eat was fish and the flesh of wild beasts, and at night they slept in old, worn out tents. They had become dirty, idle, and lazy, just like the Indians we sometimes see going round begging food. Such, dear children, was the terrible condition into which the Lamanites were brought because of their disobedience to the commandments of God. ZENIFF AND HIS PEOPLE. Nephi lived with his people and taught them for many years. They all loved him, for he was a wise and a godly man, and had done many great things for them. At last he became old and feeble. He knew that he had but a short time to live, so he took the history he had written and gave it to his brother Jacob. Then he chose a good man to reign as king over the Nephites. Soon after that, Nephi died and his spirit went to Paradise to live with the righteous ones who had gone before. One day, long after the death of Nephi, a man named Zeniff called together a number of his Nephite brethren. He told them he wanted to go and see how the Lamanites were getting on. "How many of you are willing to go with me?" he asked. Nearly all of them agreed to go. They began at once to make preparations for the trip. When the time came for them to leave, they bade their loved ones good-bye and set out on their journy. After traveling many days, they came to the place where the Lamanites were. It was a fine country. Zeniff and those who were with him felt they would like to live there if the Lamanites would be willing for them to do so. After resting awhile, Zeniff took four men and went into the city to see the king of the Lamanites. The king received his visitors kindly. Zeniff told the king that he and his brethren who were with him would like to remain in that part of the land. King Laman said he would be pleased to have them stay, and that he would get the Lamanites who were in two of the cities to leave them and go to other places, so that the Nephites might go in and live in those cities.