The war with the Lamanites continues. Moroni has defeated
the king-men who took over the government, restoring the people’s freedoms. The
armies had been supplies and reinforced. Moroni is ready to retake lands the
Lamanites held. They have camped around the city of Nephihah.
Under the cover of darkness, Moroni went to the top of the
city wall to spy on the Lamanites. He saw where they were camped and were
asleep.
He returned and had his army prepare strong cords and
ladders so they would be able to climb down the wall into the city. Moroni
moved his army to Nephihah and they entered the city away on the opposite part
of the city from where the Lamanites were camped. By morning, the whole army
was in the city.
Imagine going to sleep, your city secure and then enemy outside
the walls. When you wake up, you see the enemy army inside your city. The
Lamanites fled from the city.
Moroni followed them and killed many. The rest were taken
prisoner. Moroni and Pahoran had retaken Nephihah with no Nephite deaths.
Many Lamanite prisoners let it be known they wanted to join
the Ammonites and become free. Their desire was granted. Joining the Ammonites,
they became active members of the Ammonite community.
This helped the Nephite army because they did not have to
deal with many prisoners. They also freed Nephite prisoners. Moroni next moved
his army to the land of Lehi.
Seeing Moroni’s army approaching, the Lamanites fled. Moroni
pursued them from city–to–city until the Lamanites were met by the armies under
the leadership of Lehi and Teancum. The faced each other in the land of Moroni.
Ammoron, the Lamanite king, was with the army.
The Nephite armies camped around the borders of the land of
Moroni. Both armies were tired from the march so both sides ceased fighting for
the night. Except Teancum.
Teancum was angry with Ammoron. Ammoron and his brother,
Amalickiah, were responsible for the war that had caused so many deaths as well
as famine in many lands. He decided to take things into his own hands.
When hostility is fully grown, it
inevitably leads to war, and in war’s wake follows famine and poverty. The Book
of Mormon reports that a great and lasting war between the Lamanites and
Nephites caused much loss of life and famine (see Alma 62:35, 39). In our time,
the major famines in recent years—famines that have accounted for the deaths of
tens of millions of people—have all occurred in war zones: examples include
Biafra, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Chad, Sudan, Liberia, and Somalia.
War creates poverty in the
following ways. First, it removes young men and capable older men and women
from the workforce and sacrifices them for the war effort. Second, war teaches
combatants to hate each other so that the possibility of future commerce
between them is reduced. Finally, war soaks up resources that could otherwise be
put to productive uses to mitigate the plight of the poor. We can imagine a
similar situation among Book of Mormon peoples during periods of conflict.[1]
He left the camp at night and entered the city. He searched the
city until he found Ammoron. He killed him with a javelin. Before Ammoron died,
he cried out and woke up his servants. They followed Teancum and caught up with
him and killed him.
Teancum was a great man. He fought for the freedom of his
people and was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice ensuring those freedoms. It
is right he be remembered these two millennia later.
The next day, Moroni’s army met the Lamanites. The battle
was a rout. Thousands of Lamanites were killed and the rest were driven from
the land. They did not return to fight the Nephites.
In the Book of Mormon there are no
triumphal hero celebration scenes akin to the praise received by Saul or David
(see 1 Samuel 18:7; 2 Samuel 6:15–16). In fact, war is seen as the destructive
force that it is, leading not only to death by violent means but also to famine
(see Alma 62:35, 39), either because armies ravage the crops or because farmers
must leave their fields to fight and have no time to plant.[2]
In spite of the wickedness found among the Nephites, they
were spared. They were spared because of the prayers of the righteous. Because
of the length of the war, many had hardened their hearts and many were softened
because of their afflictions. They humbled themselves before God.
Moroni fortified the parts of the land most vulnerable to a
Lamanite attack. Once that was done, Moroni and Helaman returned to the land of
Zarahemla. At that time, Moroni stepped down as the commander of the Nephite
armies. His son, Moronihah, was appointed to take his place.
Pahoran was returned to the judgement seat. Helaman resumed his work with the
church. The word of God was declared to
the people. “And by your hands I will work a marvelous work among the children
of men, unto the convincing of many of their sins, that they may come unto
repentance, and that they may come unto the kingdom of my Father” (D&C 18:44).
Many were convinced to repent and were
baptized.
Things had been restored to normal. The church was reestablished throughout the
land. Judges were chosen. The people began to prosper in the land.
The people continued to remember the Lord. They were not lifted up in pride. They continued to humble themselves before
God. The remembered the Lord and all he
had done for them during the war.
[2] Women
in the Book of Mormon: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Interpretation, Camille S.
Williams, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 11/1 (2002): 78.
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