9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.
10 For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy.
11 Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon—and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it—therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed.
12 And the Nephites would not suffer that they should be destroyed; therefore they gave them lands for their inheritance.
Alma 43:9-12 (Emphasis mines)
Unlike the Lamanites, the Nephites simply wanted to live free, to support and care for their families. Their freedoms, rights, privileges, and liberty was for what they were fighting.
They knew the consequences of a Lamanite victory. They wanted to destroy them; to prevent them from being free to worship God. They also knew that the Lamanites wanted to kill the Ammonites. This was not going to happen. The Nephites were prepared to protect both themselves and the Ammonites.
“The tension between counterreligious systems in Nephite Book of Mormon culture is quite clearly shown in the account of the Zoramite war in which the Nephites were forced to fight the Lamanites led by Nehorite Amalekites and Zoramites. Mormon indicates that the Nephites understood the war to be a conflict between religious systems as well as political ideologies. ‘The design of the Nephites,’ according to Mormon, was to ‘preserve their rights and their privileges, yea and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires’ (Alma 43:9). The Nephites were fighting, among other things, for ‘their rites of worship and their church’ (Alma 43:45) … remember that most of the Lamanite captains were professing Nehors and religious Zoramites, many of whom had apostatized from the Nephite church…” [1] (Emphasis mine)
13 And the people of Ammon did give unto the Nephites a large portion of their substance to support their armies; and thus the Nephites were compelled, alone, to withstand against the Lamanites, who were a compound of Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, and all those who had dissented from the Nephites, who were Amalekites and Zoramites, and the descendants of the priests of Noah.
14 Now those descendants were as numerous, nearly, as were the Nephites; and thus the Nephites were obliged to contend with their brethren, even unto bloodshed.
Alma 43:13-14 (Emphasis mine)
In addition to protecting their own people, the Nephites also had an obligation to protect the Ammonites. They had been giving of the substance to support the Nephite armies.
The Nephites were facing a large army. This army was made up of descendents of Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael. Also included in this army were Nephite dissidents (Amalekites and Zoramites) as well as the descendants of the priests of Noah.
15 And it came to pass as the armies of the Lamanites had gathered together in the land of Antionum, behold, the armies of the Nephites were prepared to meet them in the land of Jershon.
16 Now, the leader of the Nephites, or the man who had been appointed to be the chief captain over the Nephites—now the chief captain took the command of all the armies of the Nephites—and his name was Moroni;
17 And Moroni took all the command, and the government of their wars. And he was only twenty and five years old when he was appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites.
Alma 43:15-17 (Emphasis mine)
Here we are introduced to a new character in our account – the chief captain Moroni(1). This is his first appearance in the record. Mormon records he was appointed chief captain when “he was only twenty and five years old.” We don’t know how old he was at this time as the record doesn’t give us enough information.
A. Brent Merrill writes about Moroni.
“Chief Captain Moroni was appointed to command all of the Nephite armies when he was ‘only twenty and five years old’ (Alma 43:16-17). The use of the term ‘only’ indicates he was considered a young commander, even by Nephite standards. No information is given regarding his early years, but few leaders have ranked with him in terms of devotion, courage, and strength of character. The later Prophet Mormon was undoubtedly so impressed with Captain Moroni's example that he gave his own son the same name. Moroni took command of the Nephite armies in approximately 74 B.C. This marked the beginning of a new era in Book of Mormon warfare. Apparently many of the practices introduced at this time continued throughout the remainder of Nephite history, and even up to the time of the Spanish conquest.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
[1] A More Perfect Priority? Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 13, 2011.
[2] Nephite Captains and Armies, A. Brent Merrill, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 13, 2011.
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