Lamanites Defeated by Armies of Moroni

Event 117

Reference: Alma 51:23-37; 52:1-40; 53:1-6

And it came to pass that the Nephites were not sufficientlystrong in the city of Moroni; therefore Amalickiah did drivethem, slaying many.MormonCity of Moroni67 B.C.And it came to pass that Amalickiah took possession of thecity, yea, possession of all their fortifications.24 And those who fled out of the city of Moroni came to thecity of Nephihah; and also the people of the city of Lehigathered themselves together, and made preparations andwere ready to receive the Lamanites to battle.City of Nephihah25 But it came to pass that Amalickiah would not suffer theLamanites to go against the city of Nephihah to battle, butkept them down by the seashore, leaving men in every cityto maintain and defend it. 26 And thus he went on, takingpossession of many cities, the city of Nephihah, and the cityof Lehi, and the city of Morianton, and the city of Omner,and the city of Gid, and the city of Mulek, all of which wereon the east borders by the seashore. 27 And thus had theLamanites obtained, by the cunning of Amalickiah, so manycities, by their numberless hosts, all of which were stronglyfortified after the manner of the fortifications of Moroni; allof which afforded strongholds for the Lamanites.Cities near theeast sea28 And it came to pass that they marched to the borders ofthe land Bountiful, driving the Nephites before them andslaying many.Borders of land ofBountiful29 But it came to pass that they were met by Teancum, whohad slain Morianton and had headed his people in his flight.30 And it came to pass that he headed Amalickiah also, ashe was marching forth with his numerous army that hemight take possession of the land Bountiful, and also theland northward. 31 But behold he met with a disappointmentby being repulsed by Teancum and his men, for they weregreat warriors; for every man of Teancum did exceed theLamanites in their strength and in their skill of war,insomuch that they did gain advantage over the Lamanites.32 And it came to pass that they did harass them, insomuchthat they did slay them even until it was dark. And it came to pass that Teancum and his men did pitchtheir tents in the borders of the land Bountiful;MormonBorders of land ofBountiful67 B.C.and Amalickiah did pitch his tents in the borders on thebeach by the seashore, and after this manner were theydriven.Seashore nearborders of land ofBountiful33 And it came to pass that when the night had come,Teancum and his servant stole forth and went out by night,and went into the camp of Amalickiah; and behold, sleephad overpowered them because of their much fatigue,which was caused by the labors and heat of the day.34 And it came to pass that Teancum stole privily into thetent of the king, and put a javelin to his heart; and he didcause the death of the king immediately that he did notawake his servants.35 And he returned again privily to his own camp, andbehold, his men were asleep, and he awoke them and toldthem all the things that he had done. 36 And he caused thathis armies should stand in readiness, lest the Lamanites hadawakened and should come upon them. 37 And thus endeththe twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over thepeople of Nephi; and thus endeth the days of Amalickiah.Borders of land ofBountiful1 AND now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth year ofthe reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, behold,when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the firstmonth, behold, they found Amalickiah was dead in his owntent; and they also saw that Teancum was ready to givethem battle on that day.66 B.C.2 And now, when the Lamanites saw this they wereaffrighted; and they abandoned their design in marchinginto the land northward, and retreated with all their armyinto the city of Mulek, and sought protection in theirfortifications.City of Mulek3 And it came to pass that the brother of Amalickiah wasappointed king over the people; and his name wasAmmoron; thus king Ammoron, the brother of kingAmalickiah, was appointed to reign in his stead.4 And it came to pass that he did command that his peopleshould maintain those cities, which they had taken by theshedding of blood; for they had not taken any cities savethey had lost much blood. 5 And now, Teancum saw that theCities near theeast sea Lamanites were determined to maintain those cities whichthey had taken, and those parts of the land which they hadobtained possession of; and also seeing the enormity oftheir number, Teancum thought it was not expedient that heshould attempt to attack them in their forts. 6 But he kepthis men round about, as if making preparations for war;yea, and truly he was preparing to defend himself againstthem, by casting up walls round about and preparing placesof resort.MormonCities near theeast sea66 B.C.7 And it came to pass that he kept thus preparing for waruntil Moroni had sent a large number of men to strengthenhis army. 8 And Moroni also sent orders unto him that heshould retain all the prisoners who fell into his hands; for asthe Lamanites had taken many prisoners, that he shouldretain all the prisoners of the Lamanites as a ransom forthose whom the Lamanites had taken.9 And he also sent orders unto him that he should fortify theland Bountiful, and secure the narrow pass which led intothe land northward, lest the Lamanites should obtain thatpoint and should have power to harass them on every side.10 And Moroni also sent unto him, desiring him that hewould be faithful in maintaining that quarter of the land,and that he would seek every opportunity to scourge theLamanites in that quarter, as much as was in his power, thatperhaps he might take again by stratagem or some otherway those cities which had been taken out of their hands;and that he also would fortify and strengthen the citiesround about, which had not fallen into the hands of theLamanites. 11 And he also said unto him,Narrow pass byeast sea into landnorthwardI would come unto you, but behold, the Lamanites are upon us inthe borders of the land by the west sea; and behold, I go againstthem, therefore I cannot come unto you.Moroni12 Now, the king (Ammoron) had departed out of the landof Zarahemla, and had made known unto the queenconcerning the death of his brother, and had gatheredtogether a large number of men, and had marched forthagainst the Nephites on the borders by the west sea.MormonSouthwest of theland of Zarahemla13 And thus he was endeavoring to harass the Nephites, andto draw away a part of their forces to that part of the land,while he had commanded those whom he had left to possessthe cities which he had taken, that they should also harassthe Nephites on the borders by the east sea, and should take possession of their lands as much as it was in their power,according to the power of their armies. 14 And thus were theNephites in those dangerous circumstances in the ending ofthe twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over thepeople of Nephi.MormonSouthwest of theland of Zarahemla66 B.C.15 But behold, it came to pass in the twenty and seventhyear of the reign of the judges, that Teancum, by thecommand of Moroni—who had established armies toprotect the south and the west borders of the land, and hadbegun his march towards the land Bountiful, that he mightassist Teancum with his men in retaking the cities whichthey had lost—Between lands ofZarahemla andBountiful65 B.C.16 And it came to pass that Teancum had received orders tomake an attack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it if itwere possible.Land of Bountiful17 And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations tomake an attack upon the city of Mulek, and march forthwith his army against the Lamanites; but he saw that it wasimpossible that he could overpower them while they werein their fortifications; therefore he abandoned his designsand returned again to the city Bountiful, to wait for thecoming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to hisarmy.18 And it came to pass that Moroni did arrive with his armyat the land of Bountiful, in the latter end of the twenty andseventh year of the reign of the judges over the people ofNephi.19 And in the commencement of the twenty and eighth year,Moroni and Teancum and many of the chief captains held acouncil of war—what they should do to cause theLamanites to come out against them to battle; or that theymight by some means flatter them out of their strongholds,that they might gain advantage over them and take again thecity of Mulek.64 B.C.20 And it came to pass they sent embassies to the army ofthe Lamanites, which protected the city of Mulek, to theirleader, whose name was Jacob, desiring him that he wouldcome out with his armies to meet them upon the plainsbetween the two cities. But behold, Jacob, who was aZoramite, would not come out with his army to meet themupon the plains.City of Mulek 21 And it came to pass that Moroni, having no hopes ofmeeting them upon fair grounds, therefore, he resolvedupon a plan that he might decoy the Lamanites out of theirstrongholds. 22 Therefore he caused that Teancum shouldtake a small number of men and march down near theseashore; and Moroni and his army, by night, marched inthe wilderness, on the west of the city Mulek; and thus, onthe morrow, when the guards of the Lamanites haddiscovered Teancum, they ran and told it unto Jacob, theirleader.MormonWilderness westof city of Mulek64 B.C.23 And it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites didmarch forth against Teancum, supposing by their numbersto overpower Teancum because of the smallness of hisnumbers. And as Teancum saw the armies of the Lamanitescoming out against him he began to retreat down by theseashore, northward.Seashore north ofcity of Mulek24 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that hebegan to flee, they took courage and pursued them withvigor. And while Teancum was thus leading away theLamanites who were pursuing them in vain, behold, Moronicommanded that a part of his army who were with himshould march forth into the city, and take possession of it.25 And thus they did, and slew all those who had been leftto protect the city, yea, all those who would not yield uptheir weapons of war. 26 And thus Moroni had obtainedpossession of the city Mulek with a part of his army, whilehe marched with the remainder to meet the Lamanites whenthey should return from the pursuit of Teancum.City of Mulek27 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursueTeancum until they came near the city Bountiful, and thenthey were met by Lehi and a small army, which had beenleft to protect the city Bountiful. 28 And now behold, whenthe chief captains of the Lamanites had beheld Lehi with hisarmy coming against them, they fled in much confusion,lest perhaps they should not obtain the city Mulek beforeLehi should overtake them; for they were wearied becauseof their march, and the men of Lehi were fresh. 29 Now theLamanites did not know that Moroni had been in their rearwith his army; and all they feared was Lehi and his men. 30Now Lehi was not desirous to overtake them till theyshould meet Moroni and his army.Near city ofBountiful31 And it came to pass that before the Lamanites hadretreated far they were surrounded by the Nephites, by the men of Moroni on one hand, and the men of Lehi on theother, all of whom were fresh and full of strength; but theLamanites were wearied because of their long march. 32And Moroni commanded his men that they should fall uponthem until they had given up their weapons of war.MormonNear city ofBountiful64 B.C.33 And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader, beingalso a Zoramite, and having an unconquerable spirit, he ledthe Lamanites forth to battle with exceeding fury againstMoroni. 34 Moroni being in their course of march, thereforeJacob was determined to slay them and cut his way throughto the city of Mulek. But behold, Moroni and his men weremore powerful; therefore they did not give way before theLamanites.35 And it came to pass that they fought on both hands withexceeding fury; and there were many slain on both sides;yea, and Moroni was wounded and Jacob was killed. 36 AndLehi pressed upon their rear with such fury with his strongmen, that the Lamanites in the rear delivered up theirweapons of war; and the remainder of them, being muchconfused, knew not whither to go or to strike. 37 NowMoroni seeing their confusion, he said unto them:If ye will bring forth your weapons of war and deliver them up,behold we will forbear shedding your blood.Moroni38 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had heardthese words, their chief captains, all those who were notslain, came forth and threw down their weapons of war atthe feet of Moroni, and also commanded their men that theyshould do the same. 39 But behold, there were many thatwould not; and those who would not deliver up their swordswere taken and bound, and their weapons of war were takenfrom them, and they were compelled to march with theirbrethren forth into the land Bountiful. 40 And now thenumber of prisoners who were taken exceeded more thanthe number of those who had been slain, yea, more thanthose who had been slain on both sides.MormonLand of Bountiful1 AND it came to pass that they did set guards over theprisoners of the Lamanites, and did compel them to go forthand bury their dead, yea, and also the dead of the Nephiteswho were slain; and Moroni placed men over them to guardthem while they should perform their labors.2 And Moroni went to the city of Mulek with Lehi, and tookcommand of the city and gave it unto Lehi. Now behold,City of Mulek this Lehi was a man who had been with Moroni in the morepart of all his battles; and he was a man like unto Moroni,and they rejoiced in each other’s safety; yea, they werebeloved by each other, and also beloved by all the people ofNephi.MormonCity of Mulek64 B.C.3 And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had finishedburying their dead and also the dead of the Nephites, theywere marched back into the land Bountiful and Teancum,by the orders of Moroni, caused that they should commencelaboring in digging a ditch round about the land, or the city,Bountiful. 4 And he caused that they should build abreastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch; andthey cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork oftimbers; and thus they did cause the Lamanites to laboruntil they had encircled the city of Bountiful round aboutwith a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceedingheight.Land of Bountiful5 And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after;and in this city they did guard the prisoners of theLamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had causedthem to build with their own hands. Now Moroni wascompelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it waseasy to guard them while at their labor; and he desired allhis forces when he should make an attack upon theLamanites.City of Bountiful6 And it came to pass that Moroni had thus gained a victoryover one of the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites, andhad obtained possession of the city of Mulek, which wasone of the strongest holds of the Lamanites in the land ofNephi; and thus he had also built a stronghold to retain hisprisoners.City of Mulek