Amalickiah Prepares for War
As soon as Amalickiah became king, he began to turn the Lamanites against the Nephites. He had men speak to the Lamanites from towers. The men spoke against the Nephites. He turned their hearts against the Nephites. By the end of the nineteenth year, he had done what he planned. He had become king of the Lamanites. He wanted to rule over all the land. He wanted to rule all the people in the land. He wanted to rule the Nephites and the Lamanites. He had done what he planned. He had made the Lamanites hard-hearted. He had blinded their minds. He had stirred them up to be angry. He had gathered a huge army to fight the Nephites.
His army was very large. He wanted to defeat the Nephites. He wanted to make them slaves. He chose Zoramite leaders to be his top captains. They knew the most about the Nephites’ strength. They knew where the Nephites went. They knew the weak parts of their cities. So he made them the leaders of his armies. They set up their camp. Then they moved toward the land of Zarahemla through the wilderness.
Moroni Strengthens the Nephites
While Amalickiah got power by lying and cheating, Moroni was doing something different. He was preparing the people’s minds to be faithful to the Lord their God. He had been making the Nephite armies stronger. He built small forts where they could go for safety. He threw up piles of dirt around the armies. He also built stone walls around them. He did this around their cities and along the borders of their lands. He did this all around the land. In the weakest forts, he put more men. This is how he made the Nephite land stronger and safer. He was preparing to protect their freedom. He wanted to protect their lands, their wives, and their children. He wanted to protect their peace. He wanted them to live for the Lord their God. He wanted to keep what their enemies called the cause of Christians.
The Character of Moroni
Moroni was a strong and powerful man. He understood things well. He did not like killing. He loved the freedom of his country. He wanted to keep his people free from slavery. He was thankful to God for the many good things God gave his people. He worked very hard for the safety of his people. He was firm in his faith in Christ. He made a promise to defend his people, his rights, his country, and his religion. He would do this even if it meant he would die.
The Nephites were taught to defend themselves from their enemies. They could kill if they had to. But they were also taught never to attack first. They were taught never to use the sword unless an enemy attacked them. They only fought to save their lives. They believed that if they did this, God would help them in the land. In other words, if they kept God’s commandments, he would help them. He would warn them to run away or get ready for war when they were in danger. They also believed God would tell them where to go to defend themselves. If they did this, the Lord would save them. This was what Moroni believed. He was happy about this. He was not happy about killing. He was happy about doing good and keeping his people safe. He was happy about keeping God’s commandments and fighting against evil.
I tell you the truth. If all people had been like Moroni, and were like him, and always would be like him, the powers of hell would have been shaken forever. The Devil would never have power over people’s hearts. He was like Ammon, the son of Mosiah. He was like the other sons of Mosiah too. He was like Alma and his sons. They were all men of God.
Helaman and the Preachers
Helaman and his brothers helped the people just as much as Moroni did. They preached God’s word. They baptized everyone who would listen to their words and wanted to turn from their sins. And so they went out teaching. The people humbled themselves because of their words. God blessed them very much. They were free from wars and fights among themselves for four years.
The Nephites Fight Against Their Will
But as I said, in the end of the nineteenth year something changed. Even though they had peace among themselves, they had to fight their brothers, the Lamanites. They did not want to fight. In fact, their wars with the Lamanites did not stop for many years. They really did not want to fight.
They were sad to pick up weapons against the Lamanites. They did not like killing. That was not all. They were sad to send so many of their brothers out of this world into the next world. These people were not ready to meet God. But they could not let their wives and children be killed by cruel people. These people had once been their brothers. They had left the church. They had left them and tried to destroy them by joining the Lamanites. They could not let their brothers be happy about killing Nephites. Not as long as there were people who kept God’s commandments. The Lord had promised that if they kept his commandments, they would do well in the land.