Alma 53

Securing the Victory

They posted guards over the Lamanite prisoners and forced them to bury the dead—both the Lamanites and the Nephites who had fallen. Moroni stationed soldiers to watch them while they worked.

Moroni went with Lehi to the city of Mulek and handed command of the city over to him. Lehi had fought at Moroni’s side through most of his battles. He was a man cut from the same cloth as Moroni. They were glad to see each other safe, loved each other deeply, and were both beloved by all the Nephites.

After the prisoners finished burying the dead, they were marched back to the land of Bountiful. Under Moroni’s orders, Teancum put them to work digging a trench around the city of Bountiful. He had them build a timber wall on the inner side of the trench, then pile the dirt from the ditch against the wall. In this way they forced the Lamanite prisoners to labor until they had surrounded the city with a towering wall of timber and earth. From that day on, the city became an incredibly strong fortress. They kept the Lamanite prisoners there, locked inside a wall the prisoners had built with their own hands. Moroni made the Lamanites work because it was easier to guard them while they labored, and he wanted all his forces ready when it came time to attack. Through all this, Moroni had won a victory over one of the greatest Lamanite armies and captured Mulek, one of their strongest fortresses in Nephite territory. And now he’d built a secure prison to hold his captives.

He didn’t try any more battles with the Lamanites that year. Instead, he put his men to work preparing for war—building fortifications to hold off future attacks, and rescuing their women and children from starvation and suffering by securing food for the armies.

Trouble on the Coast

Meanwhile, the Lamanite armies on the southern coast of the West Sea had gained ground during Moroni’s absence. Some scheming and betrayal among the Nephites had caused divisions, and the Lamanites had exploited the chaos to capture several cities in that region. So because of wickedness among themselves—because of betrayal and plotting—they found themselves in the most dangerous situation imaginable.

The People of Ammon

Now let me tell you about the people of Ammon. They had started out as Lamanites, but Ammon and his brothers—or rather, God’s power and word working through them—had converted them to the Lord. They’d been brought to the land of Zarahemla and had lived under Nephite protection ever since. Because of their oath, they’d been kept from taking up weapons against their brothers. They had sworn never to shed blood again, and according to that oath, they would have died rather than fight. They would have let themselves fall into enemy hands if Ammon and his brothers hadn’t felt such deep pity and love for them. That’s why they’d been brought to Zarahemla—so the Nephites could protect them.

But when they saw the danger the Nephites faced, and all the hardship and suffering the Nephites were enduring on their behalf, they were moved with compassion. They wanted to take up weapons to defend their adopted country.

Just as they were about to pick up their weapons, though, Helaman and his brothers talked them out of it. They were on the verge of breaking their sacred oath. Helaman was afraid that if they broke their promise, they’d lose their souls. So all those who had made this covenant were forced to stand by and watch their Nephite brothers wade through terrible suffering in a time of extreme danger.

Two Thousand Young Warriors

But here’s what happened: they had many sons who had never made that covenant. These young men had never promised not to take up weapons to defend themselves. So they gathered together—as many as were old enough to bear arms—and they called themselves Nephites. They made a covenant to fight for the freedom of the Nephites, to protect the land even if it cost them their lives. They swore they would never surrender their liberty but would fight to the end to keep themselves and the Nephites from bondage. Two thousand young men entered into this covenant and took up weapons to defend their country.

They’d never been a burden to the Nephites before, and now they became a tremendous source of strength. They took up their weapons and asked Helaman to be their leader. They were all young, and they had exceptional courage, strength, and energy. But that wasn’t all—they were completely trustworthy in everything entrusted to them. They were honest and disciplined, because they’d been taught to keep God’s commandments and to live with integrity before him.

Helaman marched at the head of his two thousand young soldiers to reinforce the people defending the southern border along the West Sea.

And so the twenty-eighth year of the judges' rule over the Nephites came to an end.