Moroni the Emancipator
Book of Mormon Notes - Monday, November 6, 2023, Alma 55
Moroni did not allow the wicked Ammoron to dictate the conditions of warfare. Moroni set the conditions, and he determined what to do when Ammoron refused to abide by those conditions. If Achilles’ rage is a major theme in the Iliad, then certainly Moroni’s anger, a more righteous anger than that of Achilles, is a major theme in the Book of Alma. Moroni “was more angry” not just because Ammoron had lied, but because he knew that Ammoron knew that he was lying. Moroni “knew that Ammoron had a perfect knowledge of his afraud” and “he knew that Ammoron knew that it was not a just cause that had caused him to wage a war against the people of Nephi.” (Alma 55:1)
Until recently in my life, I thought that people like Ammoron were very rare. I still hope that they are very rare. But experience has shown me that some people who have a perfect knowledge of their own fraud, and who know that their cause is unjust, will nevertheless persist in their fraudulence and lies even under duress. Ammoron’s fraudulence was more consequential because he was the king and the military leader of an entire people. Nevertheless, I can see that the prophecy of the Apostle Paul is being fulfilled in the last days:
This know also, that in the alast days perilous btimes shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, acovetous, boasters, bproud, blasphemers, cdisobedient to parents, dunthankful, unholy,
Without anatural baffection, ctrucebreakers, dfalse accusers, eincontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
aTraitors, bheady, chighminded, lovers of dpleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a aform of godliness, but bdenying the power thereof: from such turn away.
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly awomen laden with sins, led away with divers blusts,
Ever alearning, and never able to come to the bknowledge of the ctruth.
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also aresist the truth: men of bcorrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
But they shall proceed no further: for their afolly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
But thou hast afully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what apersecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yea, and all that will live agodly in Christ Jesus shall bsuffer cpersecution.
But evil men and aseducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:1-13)
How long can a society of Ammorons endure?
Moroni discovered that reasoning with, or negotiating with Ammoron was futile, and therefore he took matters into his own hands. Moroni devised a stratagem in order to rescue the Nephite prisoners and recapture the city of Gid. First Moroni initiated a search among his people for a descendent of Laman. They found a man named Laman, one of the servants of the king whom Amalickiah had murdered. Laman was chosen to carry out Moroni’s strategy.
Moroni’s strategy was for Laman and a small group of men to approach the Lamanites who were guarding the city of Gid at night, and to claim that they had escaped from the Nephites with some of their wine. Moroni’s strategy worked once again, and the Lamanite guards partook freely of the strong wine until they were all drunk and fast asleep. Meanwhile Moroni had prepared his men with weapons of war for the Nephite prisoners within the city of Gid and then to surround the Lamanites from the perimeter as well. When the Lamanites awoke in the morning and discovered that they were surrounded without and the Nephites were armed within, the same Lamanites immediately surrendered.
There a couple of things that stand out to me about Moroni’s strategy. The first is that Mormon notes once again that Moroni’s purpose and strategies were to obtain victory over the Lamanites with the least violent means possible:
But had they awakened the Lamanites, behold they were drunken and the Nephites could have slain them.
But behold, this was not the desire of Moroni; he did not adelight in murder or bloodshed, but he delighted in the saving of his people from destruction; and for this cause he might not bring upon him injustice, he would not fall upon the Lamanites and destroy them in their drunkenness. (Alma 55:18-19)
The second is that Moroni armed women and children, just as Moroni had promised Ammoron that he would do if Ammoron did not comply with his command (see Alma 54:12):
And now this was according to the design of Moroni. And Moroni had prepared his men with weapons of war; and he went to the city Gid, while the Lamanites were in a deep sleep and drunken, and cast in aweapons of war unto the prisoners, insomuch that they were all armed;
Yea, even to their women, and all those of their children, as many as were able to use a weapon of war, when Moroni had armed all those prisoners; and all those things were done in a profound silence. (Alma 55:16-17)
Moroni liberated the captives and took the surrendering Lamanites as prisoners of war. Moroni employed these prisoners of war in the fortification of the same city over which they had once stood guard over the Nephite prisoners of war. Then Moroni took those same prisoners to Bountiful. The tide of the war was turning once again in favor of the Nephites:
And it came to pass that the Nephites began aagain to be victorious, and to reclaim their rights and their privileges. (Alma 55:28)
Nevertheless, the Lamanites attempted, unsuccessfully, to use the same tactics against the Nephites that the Nephites had successfully used against them. The Lamanites attempted to encircle the Nephites during the night, but the Lamanites suffered many losses in these attempts. The Lamanites also tried to poison the Nephites or to make them drunk. But the Nephites were much more alert:
But behold, the Nephites were not slow to aremember the Lord their God in this their time of affliction. They could not be taken in their snares; yea, they would not partake of their wine, save they had first given to some of the Lamanite prisoners.
And they were thus cautious that no poison should be administered among them; for if their wine would poison a Lamanite it would also poison a Nephite; and thus they did try all their liquors. (Alma 55:31-32)
Even though the Lord blessed and strengthened the Nephites, the Lamanites continued to prepare for war, particularly in the city aMorianton. It became necessary for Moroni to plan an attack on Morianton because it was becoming a Lamanite stronghold.