11 Now his armies were not so great as they had
hitherto been, because of the many thousands who had been slain by the hand of
the Nephites; but notwithstanding their great loss, Amalickiah had
gathered together a wonderfully great army, insomuch that he feared not to come
down to the land of Zarahemla. 12 Yea,
even Amalickiah did himself come down, at the head of the Lamanites. And it was in the twenty and fifth year of
the reign of the judges; and it was at the same time that they had begun to
settle the affairs of their contentions concerning the chief judge, Pahoran.
13 And it came to pass that when the men who were called king–men
had heard that the Lamanites were coming down to battle against them, they were
glad in their hearts; and they refused to take up arms, for they were
so wroth with the chief judge, and also with the people of liberty, that they
would not take up arms to defend their country.
Alma 51:11 – 13 (Emphasis mine)
Amalickiah had put together “a wonderfully great army.” It wasn’t as great as his previous army
“because of the many thousands who had been slain by the hand of the
Nephites.” Still, he was confident
enough to lead the army himself.
Meanwhile in Zarahemla, the king-men were delighted. They were still angry that they were rejected
by the people. “[T]he royalists had not
played all their cards; their agitation had been timed to coincide with a move
from the direction of their banished leader Amalickiah, who ‘had again stirred
up the ... Lamanites ... and [was] preparing for war with all diligence’ (Alma
51:9). Counting on Amalickiah's aid, the beaten party ‘were glad in their
hearts’ of his approach, and ‘refused to take up arms’ to resist it, being ‘wroth
with the chief judge, and also with the people of liberty’ who had given them a
setback (Alma 51:13).”[1]
14 And it came to pass that when Moroni saw this, and also
saw that the Lamanites were coming into the borders of the land, he was
exceedingly wroth because of the stubbornness of those people whom he
had labored with so much diligence to preserve; yea, he was exceedingly wroth;
his soul was filled with anger against them. 15 And it came
to pass that he sent a petition, with the voice of the people, unto the governor of
the land, desiring that he should read it, and give him (Moroni) power to
compel those dissenters to defend their country or to put them to death.
16 For it was his first care to put an end to such
contentions and dissensions among the people; for behold, this had been
hitherto a cause of all their destruction.
And it came to pass that it was granted according to the voice of the
people.
Alma 51:14 – 16 (Emphasis mine)
Moroni(1) was a passionate man. His passion is shown when Mormon tells us
that he was “exceedingly wroth” with the king-men for their refusal to protect
Nephite society. “Because of the stubbornness
of those people whom he had labored with so much diligence to preserve; yea, he
was exceedingly wroth; his soul was filled with anger against them.”
He refused to allow this to go unchallenged. He petitioned the governor, “with the voice
of the people,” to grant him the “power to compel those dissenters to defend
their country or put them to death.” His
first responsibility was to “end … contentions and dissensions among the
people.” His request was approved by the
governor.
Even though Moroni(1) was a passionate man, there was a
limit to what he would do. He would not
use force until such time came that he was given no other choice. “Moroni did not use military force against
the king-men until ‘the Lamanites were coming into the borders of the land’
(Alma 51:14).”[2]
“Moroni saw all his work threatened by the same elements with whom he
had been forced to deal before. It was almost more than he could stand,
‘yea, he was exceedingly wroth; his soul was filled with anger against them’
(Alma 51:14). But he knew that the people were solidly behind him, and by popular
vote received special powers to ‘go against those king-men, to pull down their
pride and their nobility’ by force of arms—which he did. (Alma 51:16—19).”[3]
(Emphasis mine)
[1] A Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 19, 2012.
[2] Dissent:
Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed April 19, 2012.
[3] A
Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed April 19, 2012.
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