Alma 52:12-20

¹² Now, the king (Ammoron) had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and had made known unto the queen concerning the death of his brother, and had gathered together a large number of men, and had marched forth against the Nephites on the borders by the west sea. ¹³ And thus he was endeavoring to harass the Nephites, and to draw away a part of their forces to that part of the land, while he had commanded those whom he had left to possess the cities which he had taken, that they should also harass the Nephites on the borders by the east sea, and should take possession of their lands as much as it was in their power, according to the power of their armies. ¹⁴ And thus were the Nephites in those dangerous circumstances in the ending of the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

Alma 52:12 – 14 (Emphasis mine)

The war is not going well.  There are two fronts and the army is spread out.  Ammoron was harassing the Nephites in hopes of drawing the forces away from the places and weakening the areas.  They did this to “take possession of [Nephite] lands as much as it was in their power.”

At the end of the year, Mormon tells us “the Nephites [were] in those dangerous circumstances.”

¹⁵ But behold, it came to pass in the twenty and seventh year of the reign of the judges [65 B.C.], that Teancum, by the command of Moroni—who had established armies to protect the south and the west borders of the land, and had begun his march towards the land Bountiful, that he might assist Teancum with his men in retaking the cities which they had lost—¹⁶ And it came to pass that Teancum had received orders to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it if it were possible.

¹⁷ And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and march forth with his army against the Lamanites; but he saw that it was impossible that he could overpower them while they were in their fortifications; therefore he abandoned his designs and returned again to the city Bountiful, to wait for the coming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to his army.

Alma 52:15 – 17 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) began “his march towards the land of Bountiful, the he might assist Teancum.”  His goal was to retake lost cities.  “Moroni followed up these instructions with ‘orders to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it if it were possible’ (Alma 52:16), for Moroni was determined to get things moving. It is a neatly authentic touch, however, that Teancum after sizing up the situation decided against an attack on Mulek and sat and waited in Bountiful for Moroni to show up (Alma 52:16—17).”[1]

¹⁸ And it came to pass that Moroni did arrive with his army at the land of Bountiful, in the latter end of the twenty and seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. ¹⁹ And in the commencement of the twenty and eighth year [64 B.C], Moroni and Teancum and many of the chief captains held a council of war—what they should do to cause the Lamanites to come out against them to battle; or that they might by some means flatter them out of their strongholds, that they might gain advantage over them and take again the city of Mulek. ²⁰ And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army of the Lamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to their leader, whose name was Jacob, desiring him that he would come out with his armies to meet them upon the plains between the two cities.  But behold, Jacob, who was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army to meet them upon the plains.

Alma 52:18 – 20 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1)’s army arrived at the end of the year.  “When the commander-in-chief finally got through with an army, a top-level ‘council of war’ was at once convened to study the situation; at this conference it was agreed that the first thing on the agenda was for the united forces of Teancum and Moroni to take the city of Mulek, which was the eastern anchor of the main defense-line (Alma 52:18—19).”[2]

They had a problem.  “[H]ow was a major city, superbly fortified by Moroni's own foresight, to be taken? The first step was a logical one. It was the ancient custom of warfare to invite the occupants of a city to come out on the open plain and engage in a fair set contest, or, as the Nephites put it, ‘upon fair grounds’; the Nephite commanders in issuing such an invitation to the comfortably ensconced opposition hardly expected the Lamanites to comply with a request so disadvantageous to themselves, but they thought it was worth a try and at any rate it was the conventional thing to do (Alma 52:19—20).”[3]

They sent “embassies to the army of the Lamanites” asking their leader, Jacob (a “bad Nephite”) challenging him to “come out with his armies to meet them upon the plains between the two cities.” 

“Actual battlefield operations usually represented only a small portion of the time of a campaign, but they were inevitably the most important. Battles began with the dispatching of scouts to reconnoiter for food, trails, and the location of enemy troops. Most ancient armies used spies and other means to gain intelligence, and the Book of Mormon frequently mentions the importance of spies and other Nephite intelligence operations.  Military leaders generally made battle plans shortly before the army encountered the enemy. Such plans were frequently formulated by a council of officers and professional soldiers who discussed the situation and offered suggestions, which is precisely what Moroni does in preparation for battle (see Alma 52:19).”[4]

Jacob, a Zoramite, “would not come out with his army to meet them upon the plains.”

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[1] A Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 23, 2012.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] The Importance of Warfare in Book of Mormon Studies, William J. Hamblin, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed April 23, 2012.