Alma 43:25-33

25  Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched over into the land of Manti.

26  And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the Lamanites.

27  And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.

Alma 43:25-27 (Emphasis mine)

Having received the word of Alma(2), Moroni(1) split his army.  He left some in Jershon.  It would have been a poor strategy to leave that land unprotected, since there was always the possibility of some or all of the army returning to Jershon. 

Then, he took the rest of the army to Manti where Alma(2) said he would find the Lamanite army.  He got the people there involved in their defense.   The army hid in a valley near the river Sidon.

The geography of the land worked in Moroni(1)’s favor.

“The Lamanites’ trek to the new target ‘round about in the wilderness’ (Alma 43:24) took them a long time, for Moroni₁ had time to send messengers to the prophet Alma(2) in Zarahemla to ask him for a revelation on the precise enemy objective, receive the response, then march an army from the east lowlands through the land of Zarahemla to the Manti area, where he laid a trap (see Alma 43:23–25)…

“On the basis of information about the distances involved in these maneuvers, we can say that the Lamanite march ‘round about in the wilderness’ took weeks. They were in no hurry; they assumed the Nephites would not know where they were headed anyway (see Alma 43:22). But could they not have found a shorter way to get at the Nephite homeland? Why couldn’t they have moved from Antionum straight to Gideon and then gone down to Zarahemla in much shorter order? The only reason apparent is that ‘the wilderness’ they were traversing, or skirting, was effectively impassable. Any route they took had to go over a major elevation to get from the eastern lowlands to either Zarahemla or Manti (see Alma 43:25). That barrier had to be the mountainous zone forming the easterly side of the Sidon basin. Judging by travel time, the one way through or around that eastern stretch of wilderness was wide as well as rugged. A statement from Helaman(2) to Moroni₁ understandably emphasizes that the Lamanites saw no viable targets between Manti and the east sea borders (see Alma 56:25; see also 43:25–26; 59:5–6).“ [1] (Emphasis mine)

28  And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come.

29  And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren, or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land;

30  And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, and their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem; therefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to take.

31  Therefore, he divided his army and brought a part over into the valley, and concealed them on the east, and on the south of the hill Riplah;

32  And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti.

33  And thus having placed his army according to his desire, he was prepared to meet them.

Alma 43:28-33 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) continued sending spies to keep an eye on where the Lamanites were.  Then we read something interesting about Moroni(1). He apparently has a problem with spying.  He obviously was not comfortable with what he did.  I don’t believe it would be going too far to say, at the very least, he didn’t think spying was fair in war.  However, he decided that, since they were fighting for their liberty, lands, and religion, it was not a sin to spy on the Lamanites.

Hugh Nibley comments:

“Informed of every Lamanite move by his spies and scouts, Moroni was able to lay a trap for the enemy, catching them off-guard as they were fording the river Sidon (Alma 43:28—35). Here the younger Moroni inserts an apology for the use of espionage, which he realizes is not playing fair, but since ‘it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, . . . therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem’ (Alma 43:30). The ensuing episode shows what a stickler Moroni was for fair play.” [2] Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) has people in place.  His forces were ready to face the Lamanite Army.

Ryan Davis discusses the efforts of Moroni(1).

“The wars of Captain Moroni ideally exhibit this phenomenon. Moroni knows that, in contrast to the Lamanite desire for conquest, the Nephites will fight to preserve their ‘lands, and their liberty, and their church’ (Alma 43:30). It would be difficult to express the benefits of the archetypal procedural democracy more clearly than with the three ideals of democracy Moroni recognizes—individually owned property, political freedom, private rather than official religiosity.” [3] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] The Surface of the Land, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 15, 2011.

[2] A Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 15, 2011.

[3] For the Peace of the People: War and Democracy in the Book of Mormon, Ryan W. Davis,
Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 15, 2011.