Moroni has ceased speaking to the Lamanites. Zerahemnah presented his sword, cimeter, and
bow to Moroni, giving up the weapons of war as Moroni had demanded. Then, we
see a glimpse of how important oaths were to the Nephites (Zerahemnah was a
Nephite though he viewed himself politically and culturally a Lamanite). As early as the beginning of the Book of
Mormon, we see the importance of oaths. “And
it came to pass that when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease
concerning him” (1 Nephi 4:37).
Taking an oath was binding on those involved. Zerahemnah
refused to take the oath demanded by Moroni.
He told Moroni, “we know that we shall break” the oath (Alma 44:8). He then gave Moroni a choice. Accept their weapons of war and let them go
knowing they will not keep the oath. The
other choice was to let them retain their weapon of war and they would “perish
or conquer” (Alma 44:8).
Zerahemnah rejects Moroni’s claim that God was responsible
for their situation. The only reason
they were losing the battle was because of the Nephite cunning, breastplates,
and shield.
While Mormon demonstrates that the
success of the Nephites can be found in the correlation between their
appropriate clothing and their religious motivations for fighting, he shows
that Zerahemnah, the leader of the Zoramite/Lamanite army, suffered from an
inappropriate focus on clothing—the battle attire of the Nephites—while
ignoring the power of religious faith. Zerahemnah completely overlooked the
powerful motivations that spurred the Nephites to victory and attributed their
victory solely to their clothing and their cunning … That the connection had
been misunderstood by the enemies of the Nephites is demonstrated in a
subsequent war (led by Amalickiah and Ammoron, descendants of the original
Zoram, according to Alma 54:23) in which the Lamanites chose to copy the
Nephite mode of armor but failed again to be guided by true, empowering
religious principles (49:5–6). As a result, their overreliance on clothing and
on material strength again led to their defeat.[1]
Moroni rejected the terms he was offered. He returned Zerahemnah’s sword and weapons of
war. Moroni was ready to end the
conflict.
Moroni made it clear he could not recall his words. He gave
him a last chance to take the oath. It
was either that or they would die.
I don’t know what he expected from Moroni. Zerahemnah became angry with Moroni and was
prepared to attack and kill him. As he
raised his sword a Nephite soldier hit his sword and broke it. He struck him and his scalp fell off.
The soldier put the scalp on the point of his sword. He called out to the Lamanites, warning them
that as their leader’s scalp had fallen to the earth, they will also fall
unless they surrendered, gave up their weapons of war, and took the oath
demanded by Moroni.
Many Lamanites feared what would happen. Many came before Moroni, threw down their
weapons and took the oath of peace. All
who did were allowed to depart. Seeing his army turning their back on him,
Zerahemnah became angry. He stirred up
the remainder of his army to fight the Nephites.
Moroni had had enough.
He ordered his army to attack, and they began to decimate the Lamanite
army though they fought with all their might. Having no protection against the
Nephite onslaught, they were losing and on the verge of total defeat. Seeing his army was about to be destroyed,
Zerahemnah cried out to Moroni they would take the oath which he had refused
earlier.
Moroni had his army cease fighting. The weapons of war were taken and the
survivors took the oath of peace.
There were so many dead on both sides they weren’t
numbered. The bodies were thrown into
the river Sidon and carried out to seas.
Both sides returned to their land and homes, ending the war.
[1] The
Zoramites and Costly Apparel: Symbolism and Irony, Parrish Brady and Shon
Hopkin, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 22/1
(2013): 49.
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