# Alma 43

*Paraphrase*

### Back to the Wars

Alma’s sons went out among the people to preach God’s word. And Alma himself couldn’t stay home either—he went out too. We won’t say more about their preaching, except that they taught the truth through the Spirit’s power and revelation. They preached with the authority God gave them.

Now let me get back to the wars between the Nephites and Lamanites in the eighteenth year of the judges.

### Zerahemnah Leads the Lamanite Armies

The Zoramites had joined forces with the Lamanites. When the eighteenth year began, the Nephites saw the Lamanites coming and prepared for war. They gathered their armies in the land of Jershon. The Lamanites came by the thousands into Antionum—Zoramite territory. A man named Zerahemnah led them. The Amalekites were more violent and bloodthirsty than the Lamanites themselves, so Zerahemnah put Amalekites and Zoramites in charge as chief captains over the Lamanite armies. He did this to keep their hatred toward the Nephites burning hot, so he could control them and accomplish his plans. His plan was to stir up the Lamanites to rage against the Nephites. This way he could seize power over them and eventually conquer the Nephites and make them slaves.

The Nephites, on the other hand, wanted to protect their land, their homes, their wives, and their children from enemy hands. They wanted to preserve their rights and freedoms—especially the freedom to worship God however they chose. They knew that if they fell into Lamanite hands, anyone who worshiped the true and living God would be killed. They also knew the Lamanites hated the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi—now called the people of Ammon. These people had made a covenant never to take up weapons again, and they wouldn’t break it. If they fell into Lamanite hands, they’d be slaughtered. The Nephites wouldn’t let that happen, so they gave the people of Ammon land to live on. The people of Ammon gave the Nephites a large portion of their wealth to support the Nephite armies. That meant the Nephites had to stand alone against the Lamanites—who were made up of descendants of Laman, Lemuel, and Ishmael, plus all the Nephite defectors: Amalekites, Zoramites, and descendants of Noah’s priests. These defectors were nearly as numerous as the Nephites themselves. So the Nephites were forced to fight their own relatives to the death.

The Lamanite armies gathered in Antionum, and the Nephite armies stood ready to meet them in Jershon.

### Captain Moroni Takes Command

The man appointed as chief captain over all the Nephite armies was named Moroni. Moroni took command of all their military forces and strategy. He was only twenty-five years old when he was appointed chief commander.

He met the Lamanites at the borders of Jershon. His soldiers carried swords, scimitars, and all kinds of weapons. When the Lamanite armies saw that Moroni had equipped his men with breastplates, arm shields, and helmets to protect their heads—and that they wore thick armor— they realized Zerahemnah’s army had nothing like that. They only had swords, scimitars, bows and arrows, stones and slings. They wore almost nothing—just a loincloth. Everyone was nearly naked except the Zoramites and Amalekites. But even they had no breastplates or shields. Despite outnumbering the Nephites, they were terrified of the Nephite armor.

They didn’t dare attack the Nephites at Jershon. So they left Antionum and headed into the wilderness, circling around by the head of the Sidon River, planning to enter the land of Manti and take it. They thought Moroni’s armies wouldn’t know where they’d gone.

### Moroni Seeks the Lord’s Help

But as soon as they left for the wilderness, Moroni sent spies to watch their camp. And because Moroni knew about Alma’s prophetic gift, he sent messengers asking Alma to inquire of the Lord where the Nephite armies should go to defend themselves. The Lord spoke to Alma, and Alma told Moroni’s messengers that the Lamanite armies were circling through the wilderness to attack Manti from its weakest side. The messengers carried this news back to Moroni.

Moroni left part of his army in Jershon in case some Lamanites tried to take the city. Then he took the rest of his men and marched to Manti. He rallied all the people in that region to gather for battle against the Lamanites—to defend their land, their country, their rights, their freedoms. So they were ready when the Lamanites arrived.

### Setting the Trap

Moroni hid his army in a valley near the west bank of the Sidon River, in the wilderness. He posted spies all around to watch for the Lamanite camp.

Moroni knew the Lamanites intended to destroy or enslave the Nephites so they could set up their own kingdom over the whole land. And he knew the Nephites only wanted to preserve their land, their freedom, and their faith. So he saw nothing wrong with defending them through strategy. His spies showed him which route the Lamanites would take. He divided his army and brought part of it into the valley, hiding them on the east and south sides of the hill Riplah. The rest he concealed in the west valley, on the west side of the Sidon River, down toward the borders of Manti. With his army positioned exactly as he wanted, he was ready to meet them.

### The Battle Begins

The Lamanites came up north of the hill where part of Moroni’s army was hidden. After the Lamanites passed the hill Riplah and entered the valley, they started crossing the Sidon River. That’s when the army hidden south of the hill—led by a man named Lehi—charged out and surrounded them from behind on the east side.

When the Lamanites saw Nephites attacking from their rear, they turned and began fighting Lehi’s army. The killing began on both sides. But it was far worse for the Lamanites. Their exposed bodies took the full force of the Nephites’ swords and scimitars. Nearly every blow brought death. Meanwhile, only a few Nephites fell from sword wounds and blood loss. Their armor shielded the vital parts of their bodies—their breastplates, arm shields, and helmets protected them from the worst of the Lamanite strikes. And so the Nephites dealt death among the Lamanites.

The Lamanites became terrified by the massive slaughter and started fleeing toward the Sidon River. Lehi and his men chased them and drove them into the waters of Sidon. They crossed to the other side, and Lehi held his armies at the riverbank to stop them from crossing back. Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the valley on the far side of the river. They fell on them and cut them down. The Lamanites fled again, this time toward the land of Manti. But they ran straight into Moroni’s armies once more.

### Fighting for Freedom

This time the Lamanites fought with everything they had. Never before had the Lamanites fought with such strength and courage—not since the beginning. They were driven on by the Zoramites and Amalekites who served as their chief captains, and by Zerahemnah, their supreme commander. They fought like wild beasts. Many Nephites fell under their hands. They split helmets in two, pierced through breastplates, and hacked off arms. The Lamanites struck with savage fury.

But the Nephites were inspired by something greater. They weren’t fighting for power or conquest. They were fighting for their homes, their freedoms, their wives, their children—everything they had. They were fighting for the right to worship and for their faith. They were doing what they felt was their duty to God. The Lord had told them—and their ancestors—“As long as you’re not the ones who start the fight, you don’t have to let your enemies kill you.” And again, the Lord had said, “Defend your families, even if it means bloodshed.” That’s why the Nephites were fighting the Lamanites—to defend themselves, their families, their land, their country, their rights, and their faith.

When Moroni’s men saw the fierce rage of the Lamanites, they were about to panic and run. Moroni saw what was happening and rallied their hearts, filling their minds with thoughts of their land, their freedom, their release from slavery. They turned on the Lamanites and cried out together to the Lord for their freedom from bondage. They made their stand against the Lamanites with renewed power. At the very moment they cried to the Lord for freedom, the Lamanites started fleeing before them. They ran all the way to the waters of Sidon.

The Lamanites outnumbered the Nephites—more than two to one. But they were driven back until they were all forced together in one place in the valley, at the riverbank by the Sidon. Moroni’s armies surrounded them on all sides—on both sides of the river. Lehi’s men were on the east. When Zerahemnah saw Lehi’s men on the east side of the Sidon and Moroni’s armies on the west, and realized they were completely surrounded by Nephites, terror struck them. When Moroni saw their fear, he commanded his men to stop the killing.

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/alma/43)*
