Alma 48:14-19

¹⁴ Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.  ¹⁵ And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;

¹⁶ And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

Alma 48:14-16 (Emphasis mine)

Mormon reminds us the Nephites have rules for battle.  War, “if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.”  Offensive war was not acceptable.  War to avenge or take revenge for wrongs inflicted on them was prohibited. 

The only time war was acceptable in the eyes of the Lord was if they “are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.  And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed.  Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion” (Alma 43:46-47).

We will read seven decades later the Nephites will ask their leader, Gidgiddoni, to “[p]ray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands” (3 Nephi 3:20), He would respond, “[t]he Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands; therefore we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us; therefore as the Lord liveth, if we do this he will deliver them into our hands” (3 Nephi 3:21).

By following the Lord’s rules, Mormon tells us “that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them.”  In an earlier battle, the chief captain, Zoram, “knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites. And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the matter.  And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti.  And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.  And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river Sidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon” (Alma 16:5-7).

Moroni(1) had gone to Alma(2) in a previous battle.  Moroni(1) “sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites.  And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might come over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack upon the weaker part of the people.  And those messengers went and delivered the message unto Moroni” (Alma 43:23-24). 

“The Nephites were additionally taught ‘never to give an offense’ (Alma 48:14; see 43:46). This teaching had practical, moral, and spiritual value. Note that the Nephites were always far fewer in number than the Lamanites. In about 120 B.C., the people of Nephi and the people of Zarahemla together were not half as numerous as the Lamanites (see Mosiah 25:3). If anything, this situation probably grew more severe over the years because of Nephite desertions.

“As a result, it was imprudent for the Nephites to initiate hostilities and to rely much on offensive operations. Instead, the Nephites became more adept at using fortifications to achieve local economy of forces and maintained a grand strategy of protecting the land north (of the narrow neck of land).”[1] (Emphasis mine) 

Mormon wants us to understand just what type of man Moroni(1) was.

¹⁷ Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. ¹⁸ Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.

¹⁹ Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.

Alma 48:17-19 (Emphasis mine)

He begins his description of Moroni(1) using the words “verily, verily I say unto you.”  The use of “verily” is unusual in the Book of Mormon. Most of the uses of this term are by Christ when he teaches the Nephites.  In fact, there are only three uses of “verily” that are not spoken by Christ.  The first time, the Lord is speaking  He tell the people, “ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor's trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation” (Emphasis mine) (Mosiah 26:31).

The second time is during Korihor’s confession to Alma(2) and the people.  “But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God … I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon me” (Emphasis mine) (Alma 30:53).

The final time is when Alma(2) is teaching the poor among the Zoramites.  “For I do not mean that ye all of you have been compelled to humble yourselves; for I verily believe that there are some among you who would humble themselves, let them be in whatsoever circumstances they might” (Emphasis mine) (Alma 32:25).

“Verily” means “in truth” or “certainly.”  It comes from the Middle English word, verray, meaning "true, real."[2]  “Verily” is a powerful word.  Mormon is trying to get our attention, telling us what he is now saying is very important. 

What type of man is Moroni(1)?  He writes, “if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.”  Remember, what we know about Moroni(1) is what Mormon shares with us.  What he shares with us tells us he is a very unusual warrior; he is a warrior who avoids bloodshed whenever possible, who allows his defeated enemy to go free after they have given the Nephites their weapons, and relies on the guidance of the Lord as he leads his people into battle.  I can’t help but wonder what Mormon left out of his record.  It must be quite powerful and interesting!

He doesn’t stop there.  He tells us he was like Ammon(1), a great spiritual leader and warrior.  Ammon(1) is one of the most important people in the Book of Mormon record.  Not only was he like Ammon(1), he was also like “the other sons of Mosiah.” 

He continues telling us that he was also like “Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.”  Mormon puts Moroni(1) in very good company, among the most spiritual, faithful, and great servants of the Lord in the Book of Mormon.  Moroni(1) was a great servant of the Lord.

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[1] Nephite Captains and Armies, A. Brent Merrill, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 7, 2012.

[2] Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed April 7, 2012.