Chapter 44
Moroni commands the
Lamanites to make a covenant of peace or be destroyed—Zerahemnah rejects the
offer, and the battle resumes—Moroni's armies defeat the Lamanites. About 74–73
B.C.
The two armies were separated. Before fighting began, Moroni addressed the
Lamanite leader, Zerahemnah. “And it
came to pass that the Lamanites came with their thousands; and they came into
the land of Antionum, which is the land of the Zoramites; and a man by the name
of Zerahemnah was their leader” (Alma 43:5).
He made it clear the Nephites did not desire to fight a
bloody war. He made it clear to
Zerahemnah they were at the mercy of the Nephite army, but they did not want to
kill any in the Lamanite army. “Nevertheless,
the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for
monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties,
their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship
and their church” (Alma 43:45).
Moroni reminded Zerahemnah they were fighting against begin
placed in bondage. “For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man
devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man
smite you on the face. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak”
(2 Corinthians 11:21-22).
“Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy
hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this
generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and
shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be
slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts,
shall devour their flesh” (Mosiah 12:2).
He made it clear he understood Zerahemnah’s intent. He knew he wanted to place the Nephites into
bondage because of their hate of them as well as their religion. “For behold,
[Zerahemnah’s] designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the
Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that
he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage” (Alma
43:8).
Moroni declared the Lord is with them and He delivered the
Lamanites into the hands of the Nephites The Lord is preserving them because of
their religion and faith in Christ. “The
LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and
my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the
horn of my salvation, and my high
tower” (Psalms 18:2).
“O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the
proud doer” (Psalms 31:23).
“The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the
wicked will he destroy” (Psalms 145:20).
The Nephites have a true faith in God. He will support, keep, and preserve the
Nephites as long as they remain faithful and true to their faith and
religion. The only way the Nephites will
be destroyed is if they sin or deny their faith. “And inasmuch as ye shall keep
my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea,
even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above
all other lands. For behold, in that day that [Laman and Lemuel] shall rebel
against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no
power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also” (1 Nephi 2:20, 23).
Moroni commanded Zerahemnah in God’s name, He who has
strengthened their armies and helped them to gain power over them to
surrender. He again emphasizes the
things that matter to the Nephites. “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 … Nevertheless, the
Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for
monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties,
their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship
and their church” (Alma 43:9, 45).
Moroni demanded the Lamanites give the Nephite army their
weapons. Their lives will be spared if
the leave and do not start any future wars.
If they do not accept Moroni’s terms, the Nephite army will
attack them and inflict death on the Lamanite armies. “[W]e will see who shall be brought into
bondage.” (Alma 44:7).
Moroni threatened his Amalekite led
enemies with extinction if they did not surrender their murderous purpose (Alma
44:7). By evoking the biblical story of the Amalekite attack, to be remembered
“from generation to generation,” Captain Moroni and Mormon, his admiring
narrator, emphasized how the Lord did “great things” for their fathers(Book of
Mormon title page). God supported and delivered them as long as they remained
faithful, just as he had delivered the Israelites under Moses from their
Amalekite enemies.[1]
[1] Insights,
The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Volume
32 Number 4 2012, pg. 8.
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