Moroni Builds Forts
Moroni did not stop getting ready for war or to protect his people against the Lamanites. He told his armies to start at the beginning of the twentieth year of the judges. They started piling up dirt around all the cities in all the land that the Nephites owned. On top of these piles of dirt, he put wooden beams. The beams were as high as a man’s height and went around the cities. On top of the wooden beams, he built a fence of pointed stakes. The fence was strong and tall. He built towers that looked down over the fence. He made safe places on top of the towers so that the stones and arrows from the Lamanites could not hurt them. The people were ready to throw stones down from the towers. They could throw them as far as they wanted and kill anyone who tried to get close to the city walls. This is how Moroni built strong forts around every city in all the land to protect them from their enemies.
The Nephites Take New Land
Moroni sent his armies into the east wilderness. They went and pushed all the Lamanites out of the east wilderness. The Lamanites went back to their own lands south of Zarahemla. The land of Nephi ran in a straight line from the East Sea to the West. When Moroni had pushed all the Lamanites out of the east wilderness north of their own land, he told the people from Zarahemla and the land around it to move into the east wilderness. They moved all the way to the borders by the seashore and lived there. He also put armies in the south on the borders. He told them to build forts so they could keep their armies and people safe from their enemies. This is how he took away all the strong places of the Lamanites in the east wilderness. He also did the same in the west. He made a strong border between the Nephites and the Lamanites. The border ran between Zarahemla and the land of Nephi. It went from the West Sea along the top of the Sidon River. The Nephites owned all the land to the north. They owned all the land north of the land called Bountiful. Moroni’s armies got bigger every day. The people felt safe because of the forts he built. So they tried to take away the power of the Lamanites from the land. They did not want the Lamanites to have any power over their land.
New Cities Are Built
The Nephites started to build a city. They called it Moroni. It was by the East Sea. It was on the south by the border of the Lamanite lands. They also started to build a city between Moroni and Aaron. It touched the borders of Aaron and Moroni. They called the city Nephihah. In the same year, they started to build many cities in the north. One was called Lehi. It was in the north by the seashore. This is how the twentieth year ended.
Peace and Happiness
The people of Nephi were doing well at the start of the twenty-first year of the judges. They did very well. They became rich. They had many children and were strong in the land.
We can see how kind and fair the Lord is in everything he does. He keeps all his promises to people. We can see that his words come true. This is what he told Lehi: “You and your children are blessed. Your children will be blessed if they keep my commandments. They will do well in the land. But remember, if they do not keep my commandments, they will be cut off from me.” We can see that these promises came true for the Nephites. It was their fighting and arguing that hurt them. It was their killing and stealing. It was when they worshiped idols and did bad things. These things brought wars and trouble. The people who kept God’s commandments were saved every time. But thousands of bad people were made slaves or killed with swords. Some stopped believing and lived with the Lamanites.
There had never been a happier time for the Nephites since the days of Nephi than in the days of Moroni. This was true in the twenty-first year of the judges. The twenty-second year of the judges ended in peace. The twenty-third year also ended in peace.
A Fight Over Land
At the start of the twenty-fourth year, there would have been peace too. But there was a fight about the land of Lehi and the land of Morianton. Morianton was next to the border of Lehi. Both lands were by the seashore. The people from Morianton said that part of Lehi’s land was theirs. A big argument started. The people of Morianton picked up weapons against the people of Lehi. They wanted to kill them with swords. The people of Lehi ran to Moroni’s camp. They asked him for help. They had not done anything wrong.
The people of Morianton were led by a man named Morianton. When they found out that the people of Lehi had run to Moroni’s camp, they got scared. They were afraid that Moroni’s army would come and kill them. So Morianton told them they should run to the land in the north. That land had big lakes. They could go live in the land to the north. They would have done this plan. It would have been very bad. But Morianton got angry a lot. He got angry with one of his servant girls. He beat her badly. She ran away and came to Moroni’s camp. She told Moroni everything. She also told him that they were planning to run to the land in the north.
Moroni was afraid that the people in the land Bountiful would listen to Morianton. They might join him. Then he would control parts of the land. This would cause big problems for the Nephites. It could lead to them losing their freedom. So Moroni sent an army to stop the people of Morianton. He wanted to stop them from running to the land in the north. The army did not catch them until they got to the land Desolation. They caught them at the narrow pass that led to the land in the north. The pass went by the sea on the west and on the east. The army that Moroni sent was led by a man named Teancum. Teancum met the people of Morianton. The people of Morianton were stubborn. Morianton’s evil ways and lying words made them that way. So a battle started. Teancum killed Morianton and beat his army. He took them as prisoners and brought them back to Moroni’s camp. This is how the twenty-fourth year of the judges ended.
The people of Morianton were brought back. They promised to keep the peace. So they were allowed to go back to the land of Morianton. They made peace with the people of Lehi. They also got their lands back.
A New Chief Judge
In the same year that the Nephites got peace back, Nephihah died. He was the second chief judge. He had done his job right before God. But he had said no when Alma asked him to take care of the records and the sacred things that Alma and his fathers had kept. So Alma gave them to his son Helaman. Nephihah’s son was chosen to be the judge instead of his father. He was made chief judge and leader over the people. He made a promise to judge fairly. He promised to keep the peace and freedom of the people. He promised to let them worship the Lord their God. He promised to support God’s cause all his life. He promised to bring bad people to justice. His name was Pahoran. Pahoran took his father’s place. He started his time as judge at the end of the twenty-fourth year over the Nephites.