Alma 60:9-14

⁹ But behold, this is not all—ye have withheld your provisions from them, insomuch that many have fought and bled out their lives because of their great desires which they had for the welfare of this people; yea, and this they have done when they were about to perish with hunger, because of your exceedingly great neglect towards them. ¹⁰ And now, my beloved brethren—for ye ought to be beloved; yea, and ye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for the welfare and the freedom of this people; but behold, ye have neglected them insomuch that the blood of thousands shall come upon your heads for vengeance; yea, for known unto God were all their cries, and all their sufferings—¹¹ Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?  Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain.

Alma 60:9-11 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni₁’s charges against the government continue.  You have withheld provisions.  Many have fought, bled, and died because “they were about to perish with hunger, because of your exceedingly great neglect towards them.”

His “beloved brethren-for ye ought to be beloved,” even though “ye have neglected [his soldiers] so much.”  The government, Moroni₁ explains, is responsible for these deaths.  The day will come when “the blood of thousands shall come upon your heads for vengeance.” 

Do you think you could sit on your thrones and do nothing?  Do you believe that “because of the exceeding goodness of God you could do nothing and he would deliver you?”  If this is what you think, he says, you are so wrong!

Richard Rust looks at this part of Moroni₁’s epistle.

“The second phase of the epistle consists of Moroni's mounting accusations against the government leaders, prefaced by phrases such as ‘can you think’ or ‘could ye suppose.’ ‘Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor,’ he asks disdainfully, ‘while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? … Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?’ (Alma 60:7, 11) Twice he declares, ‘if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain’ (Alma 60:11, 12). (A comparison might be made here with George Washington's letters to the Second Continental Congress.)”[1] (Emphasis mine)

¹² Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed it is because of their wickedness?  I say unto you, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are many who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to your condemnation; ¹³ For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

¹⁴ And now behold, I say unto you, I fear exceedingly that the judgments of God will come upon this people, because of their exceeding slothfulness, yea, even the slothfulness of our government, and their exceedingly great neglect towards their brethren, yea, towards those who have been slain.

Alma 60:12-14 (Emphasis mine)

 Richard Rust examines this part of Moroni₁’s epistle.

“In the third phase, Moroni develops a series of cause-and-consequence arguments in fearing that ‘the judgments of God will come upon this people’: ‘Were it not for the wickedness which first commenced at our head, we could have withstood our enemies... Yea, had it not been for the war which broke out among ourselves ... we should have dispersed our enemies (Alma 60:14–16). Current military insufficiency, he says, is caused by recent civil strife instigated by those who sought to replace judges with a king.”[2] (Emphasis mine)

Unexpectedly, Moroni₁ accuses them of believing those who were killed were “because of their wickedness.”  (He has no evidence for this accusation, of course.)  If you believe this, you’re wrong.  Those who have died were righteous men.  “[T]he Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked.”

Hugh Nibley observes:

“Swept on by the momentum of his pent-up emotions, the frustrated commander, who has just seen his favorite project for ending the war go to pot, piles one accusation on another. The government officials, he claims, in their comfortable offices, ‘sit upon [their] thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor’ (Alma 60:7; a wonderful expression), and have trusted in the goodness of God to justify their neglect, and blandly attributed the calamities overtaking the soldiers in the field not to their own high and mighty indifference but, of all things, to the wickedness of the poor soldiers themselves and other suffering victims of the war (Alma 60:12).”[3] (Emphasis mine)

Moroni₁ reminds them why they are having these problems.  It is because of the slothfulness and wickedness of the people and the government.  The “judgments of God will [also] come upon this people, because of … their great neglect towards their brethren, yea, towards those who have been slain.”

“In general, history is a recorded account of things that were perceived to have happened. Doctrine consists of a statement of principles, tenets, and beliefs. In the Book of Mormon, the two are often intertwined. For example, Alma 60 contains 36 verses, including the words of Moroni's letter to Pahoran, the governor. The letter may look like 36 historical verses. However, in Alma 60:13, a verse that is integral to the accompanying discourse, Moroni presents the doctrine of the war-afflicted righteous: ‘For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.’ ”[4]  (Emphasis mine)

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[1] "Their Fathers" - Letters and Autobiography, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed May 21, 2012.

[2] Ibid.

[3] A Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed May 21, 2012.

[4] A Detailed Chronology of the Book of Mormon, Randall P. Spackman, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed May 21, 2012.