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CHAPTER 62
Moroni marches to the aid of Pahoran in the land of Gideon—The
king-men who refuse to defend their country are put to death—Pahoran
and Moroni retake Nephihah— |
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1 AND now it came to pass that when Moroni
had received this epistle his heart did take courage, and was filled with
exceedingly great joy because of the faithfulness of Pahoran, that he was not
also a atraitor to the freedom and cause of his country.
2 But he did also mourn exceedingly because of the iniquity of those who had driven Pahoran from the judgment-seat, yea, in fine because of those who had rebelled against their country and also their Goda.
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2a had rebelled against their country and also their God The connection between rebelling against the cause of 'liberty' and that of God is but one in the same concern. For it was the matter of agency and man's right to choose which did become one of the great issues in the preexistance and the war fought there as it was Satan who sought to destroy the angency of man and to bring all into subjection to himself that he might rule and reign over them. |
1a
Alma 60:18
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3 And it came to pass that Moroni took a small number of men,
according to the desire of Pahoran, and gave Lehi and Teancum
command over the remainder of his army, and took his march
towards the land of Gideona.
4 And he did raise the astandard of bliberty in whatsoever place he did enter, and gained whatsoever force he could in all his march towards the land of Gideon. 5 And it came to pass that thousands did aflock unto his standard, and did take up their swords in the defence of their freedom, that they might not come into bondage.
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a took his march towards Gideon Now Moroni, Lehi and Teancum had taken the city of Mulek and the city of Gid. Both of these were in the north upon the sea east round about the borders south from the city of Bountiful. But they were still in that upper northeast quarter of the land. From that position there would be two routes to take to the land of Gideon and the valley thereof. Moroni could continue south round about the east sea shore and thus continue inland past the land of Nephihah to the eastern entrance the west-east running valley of Gideon. But this would run the possibility of discovery by the Lamanites in Nephihah and it would have been through the less populated portion of the land. The most probable route for Moroni to take to both avoid discovery of motion and to effect the recuitment of the most men to his army would be to travel up the Sidon river valley passing through the 'chief parts of the land', yea, even the 'most captial parst of the land' where there many cities and lands to be found (Helaman 1:23-27) between the lands of Bountiful, Mulek and Gid, and that of Zarahemla and even on past the land of Zarahemla upon the east of the river Sidon and Zarahemla and thence to Gideon by the western entrance to that valley. It must be noted that these 'chief populated parts of the land' are alluded to in the Book of Helaman but never named by name. |
4a
Alma 46:36 (12-13, 36) b TG Liberty 5a Alma 61:6
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6 And thus, when Moroni had gathered together whatsoever men he could
in all his march, he came to the land of Gideon; and uniting his forces with
those of Pahoran they became exceedingly strong, even stronger than the men
of Pachus, who was the aking of those dissenters who had
driven the bfreemen out of the land of Zarahemla and had
taken possession of the land.
7 And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran went down with their armies into the land of Zarahemla, and went forth against the city, and did meet the men of Pachus, insomuch that they did come to battle.
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6a
Alma 61:8 (4-8) b Alma 51:6-7
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8 And behold, Pachus was slain and his men were taken prisoners,
and Pahoran was restored to his judgment-seat.
9 And the men of Pachus received their trial, according to the law, and also those king-men who had been taken and acast into prison; and they were bexecuted according to the law; yea, those men of Pachus and those cking-men, whosoever would not take up arms in the defence of their country, but would fight against it, were put to death. 10 And thus it became expedient that this law should be strictly observed for the safety of their country; yea, and whosoever was found denying their freedom was speedily aexecuted according to the law. 11 And thus ended the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; Moroni and Pahoran having restored peace to the land of Zarahemla, among their own people, having ainflicted death upon all those who were not true to the cause of freedom.
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9a
Alma 51:19 b TG Capital Punishment c Alma 51:5, 17, 21; Alma 60:16 10a 1 Kings 2:46 11a Alma 44:7; Alma 57:19
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12 And it came to pass in the *commencement of the
thirty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi,
Moroni immediately caused that provisions should be sent, and also an army of
six thousand men should be sent unto Helaman, to assist him in preserving
that part of the land.
13 And he also caused that an army of six thousand men, with a sufficient quantity of food, should be sent to the armies of Lehi and Teancum. And it came to pass that this was done to fortify the land against the Lamanites. 14 And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran, leaving a large body of men in the land of Zarahemla, took their march with a large body of men towards the land of Nephihah, being determined to aoverthrow the Lamanites in that city.
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12*
[61 B.C.] 14a Alma 59:11 (5-11)
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15 And it came to pass that as they were marching towards the
land, they took a large body of men of the Lamanitesa, and slew
many of them, and took their provisions and their weapons of war.
16 And it came to pass after they had taken them, they caused them to enter into a acovenant that they would no more take up their weapons of war against the Nephites. 17 And when they had entered into this covenant they sent them to adwell with the people of Ammon, and they were in number about four thousand who had not been slain.
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15a as they were marching towards the land, they took a large body of men of the Lamanites What this large army of Lamanites were doing west of Nephihah in the couse of Aaron is not so stipulated in the Book of Mormon's abridgement. One might suppose that either they were moving upon the land of Aaron or had their intent upon coming down into Zarahemla to the aid of the king-men in accordance with the alliance which the king-men and Lamanites had struck. |
16a
Alma 44:15, 20;
3 Ne. 5:4 17a Alma 47:29
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18 And it came to pass that when they had sent them away they pursued
their march towards the land of aNephihah. And it came to
pass that when they had come to the city of Nephihah, they did pitch their
tents in the plains of Nephihah, which is near the city of Nephihah.
19 Now Moroni was desirous that the Lamanites should come out to battle against them, upon the plains; but the Lamanites, knowing of their exceedingly great courage, and beholding the greatness of their numbers, therefore they durst not come out against them; therefore they did not come to battle in that day. 20 And when the night came, Moroni went forth in the darkness of the night, and came upon the top of the wall to spy out in what part of the city the Lamanites did camp with their army.
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18a
Alma 50:14;
Alma 51:26 (24-26)
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21 And it came to pass that they were on the east, by the entrance;
and they were all asleep. And now Moroni returned tohis army, and caused
that they should prepare in haste strong cords and ladders, to be let down
from the top of the awall into the inner part of the wall.
22 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his men should march forth and come upon the top of the wall, and let athemselves down into that part of the city, yea, even on the west, where the Lamanites did not camp with their armies. 23 And it came to pass that they were all let down into the city by night, by the means of their strong cords and their ladders; thus when the morning came they were all within the walls of the city.
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21a
Alma 49:13, 18-24 22a Alma 55:16
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Out the East Gate and Directly to Moroni |
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24 And now, when the Lamanites awoke and saw that the armies of
Moroni were within the walls, they were affrighted exceedingly,
insomuch that they did flee out by the pass.
25 And now when Moroni saw that they were fleeing before him, he did cause that his men should march forth against them, and slew many, and surrounded many others, and took them prisoners; and the remainder of them fled into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the seashore. 26 Thus had Moroni and Pahoran obtained the apossession of the city of Nephihah without the loss of one soul; and there were many of the Lamanites who were slain.
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26a
Alma 59:8
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27 Now it came to pass that many of the Lamanites that were prisoners
were desirous to ajoin the people of Ammon and become a
free people.
28 And it came to pass that as many as were desirous, unto them it was granted according to their desires. 29 Therefore, all the prisoners of the Lamanites did join the people of Ammona, and did begin to labor exceedingly, tilling the ground, raising all manner of grain, and flocks and herds of every kind; and thus were the Nephites relieved from a great burden; yea, insomuch that they were relieved from all the prisoners of the Lamanites.
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29a all the prisoners of the Lamanites did join the people of Ammon Care must be taken here in considering just what is being stated here. The Lamanite forces consisted of both descendants of Laman and those others originaly considered Lamanites such as Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael. There were also the discenters of from the Nephites in the ranks of the Lamanite army. Since they desired to join themselves to the other 'Lamanites' of the people of Ammon, one might consider that the reference to 'all the prisoners of the Lamanites' does exclude the 'prisoners of the dissenting Nephites, the Amaliakites, Amulonites, Zoramites and so forth. So while the burdern of prisoner care was relieved of the 'Lamanites', there were still possibly prisoners of the dissenting Nephites who were also in the ranks. |
27a
Alma 24:26 (25-27)
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30 Now it came to pass that Moroni, after he had obtained
possession of the city of Nephihah, having taken many prisoners,
which did reduce the armies of the Lamanites exceedingly, and
having regained many of the Nephites who had been taken
prisoners, which did strengthen the army of Moroni exceedingly;
therefore Moroni went forth from the land of Nephihah to the land of
aLehia.
31 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that Moroni was coming against them, they were again frightened and fled before the army of Moroni. 32 And it came to pass that aMoroni and his army did pursue them from city to city, until they were met by Lehi and Teancum; and the Lamanites fled from Lehi and Teancum, even down upon the borders by the seashore, until they came to the land of Moroni.
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30a therefore Moroni went forth from the land of Nephihah to the land of Lehi As stated, Moroni, instead of coming next to Moroni, which would have been a strategic error for the strength of the Lamanite army there. therefore advanced upon Lehi to the north of Moroni also upon the east sea shore. Only Mulek and Gid had been regained and thus Moroni's next intent was to secure the rest of the Nephite cities north of Moroni, between Moroni and Gid. These would have included Lehi, Morianton, and Omner and likely other unnamed villages and towns round about the lands of those cities of defense. Alson Moroni could use the added assistance of the armies of Lehi and Teancum before attacking the greatest army of the Lamanites in the city of Moroni. |
30a
Alma 50:15;
Alma 51:26 (24-26) 32a Alma 50:13; Alma 51:22-23; 3 Ne. 8:9
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33 And the armies of the Lamanites were all gathered together,
insomuch that they were all in one body in the land of Moroni.
Now, Ammoron, the king of the Lamanites, was also with them.
34 And it came to pass that Moroni and Lehi and Teancum did encamp with their armies round about in the borders of the land of Moroni, insomuch that the Lamanites were encircled about in the borders by the wilderness on the south, and in the borders by the wilderness on the east. 35 And thus they did encamp for the night. For behold, the Nephites and the Lamanites also were weary because of the greatness of the march; therefore they did not resolve upon any stratagem in the night-time, save it were Teancum; for he was exceedingly angry with Ammoron, insomuch that he considered that Ammoron, and Amalickiah his brother, had been the acause of this great and lasting war between them and the Lamanites, which had been the cause of so much war and bloodshed, yea, and so much famine.
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35a
Alma 48:1
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36 And it came to pass that Teancum in his anger did go forth into
the camp of the Lamanites, and did let himself down over the walls of the
city. And he went forth with a cord, from place to place, insomuch that he
did find the king; and he did acast a javelin at him, which
did pierce him near the heart. But behold, the king did awaken his servants
before he died, insomuch that they did pursue Teancum, and slew him.
37 Now it came to pass that when Lehi and Moroni knew that Teancum was dead they were exceedingly sorrowful; for behold, he had been a man who had afought valiantly for his country, yea, a true friend to liberty; and he had suffered very many exceedingly sore afflictions. But behold, he was dead, and had gone the way of all the earth. 38 Now it came to pass that Moroni marched forth on the morrow, and came upon the Lamanites, insomuch that they did slay them with a great slaughter; and they did drive them out of the land; and they did flee, even that they did not return at that time against the Nephites.
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36a
Alma 51:34 37a IE througthout the Amalichiah-Ammoron wars, Alma 50:35; 51:29-34; 52; 61; 62:3-37
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39 And thus *ended the thirty and first year of the
reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus they had had wars, and
bloodsheds, and famine, and affliction, for the space of many years.
40 And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the arighteous' sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared. 41 But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their aafflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.
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39*
[60 B.C.] 40a Alma 45:15-16; Alma 46:10 41a TG Adversity; TG Affliction
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42 And it came to pass that after Moroni had fortified those
parts of the land which were most exposed to the Lamanites, until
they were sufficiently strong, he returned to the city of
Zarahemla; and also Helaman returned to the place of his
inheritance; and there was once more peace established among the
people of Nephi.
43 And Moroni yielded up the acommand of his armies into the hands of his son, whose name was bMoronihah; and he retired to his own house that he might spend the remainder of his days in peace. 44 And Pahoran did return to his judgment-seat; and Helaman did take upon him again to preach unto the people the word of God; for because of so many wars and contentions it had become expedient that a aregulation should be made again in the church.
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43a
Hel. 4:16 (10, 16) b Alma 63:15 44a Alma 45:21
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45 Therefore, Helaman and his brethren went forth, and did declare
the word of God with much power unto the aconvincing of
many people of their wickedness, which did cause them to repent of their sins
and to be baptized unto the Lord their God.
46 And it came to pass that they did establish again the church of God, throughout all the land. 47 Yea, and regulations were made concerning the law. And their ajudges, and their chief judges were chosen.
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45a
Alma 21:17;
D&C 18:44 47a Mosiah 29:39
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48 And the people of Nephi began to aprosper again
in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the
land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich.
49 But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they aslow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him. 50 Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had adelivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of bafflictions and he had cdelivered them out of the hands of their enemies.
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48a
Alma 50:20 49a Alma 55:31 50a 2 Cor. 11:26 (24-33) b TG Adversity b TG Deliver, Deliverance
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51 And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch
that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax
strong and aprosper in the land.
52 And it came to pass that all these things were done. And aHelaman died, in the *thirty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
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51a
Gen. 26:22;
TG
Prosper 52a His gret career spans Alma chapters 31-62 * [57 B.C.]
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| * Verse 12 [61 B.C.]; Verse 39 [60 B.C.]; Verse 52 [57 B.C.]. | ||
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