Moroni and Pahoran Exchange Epistles

Event 121

Reference: Alma 59:1-13; 60:1-36; 61:1-21

NOW it came to pass in the thirtieth year of the reign of thejudges over the people of Nephi, after Moroni had receivedand had read Helaman’s epistle, he was exceedinglyrejoiced because of the welfare, yea, the exceeding successwhich Helaman had had, in obtaining those lands whichwere lost. 2 Yea, and he did make it known unto all hispeople, in all the land round about in that part where hewas, that they might rejoice also.MormonCamp of Moroni62 B.C.3 And it came to pass that he immediately sent an epistle toPahoran, desiring that he should cause men to be gatheredtogether to strengthen Helaman, or the armies of Helaman,insomuch that he might with ease maintain that part of theland which he had been so miraculously prospered inregaining.4 And it came to pass when Moroni had sent this epistle tothe land of Zarahemla, he began again to lay a plan that hemight obtain the remainder of those possessions and citieswhich the Lamanites had taken from them.5 And it came to pass that while Moroni was thus makingpreparations to go against the Lamanites to battle, behold,the people of Nephihah, who were gathered together fromthe city of Moroni and the city of Lehi and the city ofMorianton, were attacked by the Lamanites. 6 Yea, eventhose who had been compelled to flee from the land ofManti, and from the land round about, had come over andjoined the Lamanites in this part of the land. 7 And thusbeing exceedingly numerous, yea, and receiving strengthfrom day to day, by the command of Ammoron they cameforth against the people of Nephihah, and they did begin toslay them with an exceedingly great slaughter.City of Nephihah8 And their armies were so numerous that the remainder ofthe people of Nephihah were obliged to flee before them;and they came even and joined the army of Moroni.Camp of Moroni9 And now as Moroni had supposed that there should bemen sent to the city of Nephihah, to the assistance of thepeople to maintain that city, and knowing that it was easierto keep the city from falling into the hands of the Lamanitesthan to retake it from them, he supposed that they would easily maintain that city. 10 Therefore he retained all hisforce to maintain those places which he had recovered. 11And now, when Moroni saw that the city of Nephihah waslost he was exceedingly sorrowful, and began to doubt,because of the wickedness of the people, whether theyshould not fall into the hands of their brethren. 12 Now thiswas the case with all his chief captains. They doubted andmarveled also because of the wickedness of the people, andthis because of the success of the Lamanites over them.MormonCamp of Moroni62 B.C.13 And it came to pass that Moroni was angry with thegovernment, because of their indifference concerning thefreedom of their country.1 AND it came to pass that he wrote again to the governor ofthe land, who was Pahoran, and these are the words whichhe wrote, saying:Behold, I direct mine epistle to Pahoran, in the city of Zarahemla,who is the chief judge and the governor over the land, and also toall those who have been chosen by this people to govern andmanage the affairs of this war. 2 For behold, I have somewhat tosay unto them by the way of condemnation; for behold, yeyourselves know that ye have been appointed to gather togethermen, and arm them with swords, and with cimeters, and allmanner of weapons of war of every kind, and send forth againstthe Lamanites, in whatsoever parts they should come into our land.3 And now behold, I say unto you that myself, and also my men,and also Helaman and his men, have suffered exceedingly greatsufferings; yea, even hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and all manner ofafflictions of every kind. 4 But behold, were this all we hadsuffered we would not murmur nor complain.Moroni5 But behold, great has been the slaughter among our people; yea,thousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwisebeen if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength andsuccor for them. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us. 6And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedinglygreat neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtlessstate. 7 Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state ofthoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work ofdeath around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands ofyour brethren— 8 Yea, even they who have looked up to you forprotection, yea, have placed you in a situation that ye might havesuccored them, yea, ye might have sent armies unto them, to havestrengthened them, and have saved thousands of them from fallingby the sword. 9 But behold, this is not all—ye have withheld yourprovisions from them, insomuch that many have fought and bledout their lives because of their great desires which they had for the welfare of this people; yea, and this they have done when theywere about to perish with hunger, because of your exceedinglygreat neglect towards them.MoroniCamp of Moroni62 B.C.10 And now, my beloved brethren—for ye ought to be beloved;yea, and ye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for thewelfare and the freedom of this people; but behold, ye haveneglected them insomuch that the blood of thousands shall comeupon your heads for vengeance; yea, for known unto God were alltheir cries, and all their sufferings— 11 Behold, could ye supposethat ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceedinggoodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain. 12 Doye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have beenkilled it is because of their wickedness? I say unto you, if ye havesupposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, thereare many who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to yourcondemnation; 13 For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slainthat his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked;therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost becausethey are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lordtheir God.14 And now behold, I say unto you, I fear exceedingly that thejudgments of God will come upon this people, because of theirexceeding slothfulness, yea, even the slothfulness of ourgovernment, and their exceedingly great neglect towards theirbrethren, yea, towards those who have been slain. 15 For were itnot for the wickedness which first commenced at our head, wecould have withstood our enemies that they could have gained nopower over us.16 Yea, had it not been for the war which broke out amongourselves; yea, were it not for these king-men, who caused somuch bloodshed among ourselves; yea, at the time we werecontending among ourselves, if we had united our strength as wehitherto have done; yea, had it not been for the desire of power andauthority which those king-men had over us; had they been true tothe cause of our freedom, and united with us, and gone forthagainst our enemies, instead of taking up their swords against us,which was the cause of so much bloodshed among ourselves; yea,if we had gone forth against them in the strength of the Lord, weshould have dispersed our enemies, for it would have been done,according to the fulfilling of his word. 17 But behold, now theLamanites are coming upon us, taking possession of our lands, andthey are murdering our people with the sword, yea, our womenand our children, and also carrying them away captive, causingthem that they should suffer all manner of afflictions, and thisbecause of the great wickedness of those who are seeking forpower and authority, yea, even those king-men.18 But why should I say much concerning this matter? For weknow not but what ye yourselves are seeking for authority. We know not but what ye are also traitors to your country. 19 Or is itthat ye have neglected us because ye are in the heart of our countryand ye are surrounded by security, that ye do not cause food to besent unto us, and also men to strengthen our armies? 20 Have yeforgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have yeforgotten the captivity of our fathers? Have ye forgotten the manytimes we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies? 21Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we situpon our thrones and do not make use of the means which theLord has provided for us? 22 Yea, will ye sit in idleness while yeare surrounded with thousands of those, yea, and tens ofthousands, who do also sit in idleness, while there are thousandsround about in the borders of the land who are falling by thesword, yea, wounded and bleeding? 23 Do ye suppose that Godwill look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold thesethings? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I would that ye shouldremember that God has said that the inward vessel shall becleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.MoroniCamp of Moroni62 B.C.24 And now, except ye do repent of that which ye have done, andbegin to be up and doing, and send forth food and men unto us,and also unto Helaman, that he may support those parts of ourcountry which he has regained, and that we may also recover theremainder of our possessions in these parts, behold it will beexpedient that we contend no more with the Lamanites until wehave first cleansed our inward vessel, yea, even the great head ofour government. 25 And except ye grant mine epistle, and comeout and show unto me a true spirit of freedom, and strive tostrengthen and fortify our armies, and grant unto them food fortheir support, behold I will leave a part of my freemen to maintainthis part of our land, and I will leave the strength and the blessingsof God upon them, that none other power can operate against them— 26 And this because of their exceeding faith, and their patiencein their tribulations— 27 And I will come unto you, and if there beany among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be evena spark of freedom remaining, behold I will stir up insurrectionsamong you, even until those who have desires to usurp power andauthority shall become extinct. 28 Yea, behold I do not fear yourpower nor your authority, but it is my God whom I fear; and it isaccording to his commandments that I do take my sword to defendthe cause of my country, and it is because of your iniquity that wehave suffered so much loss.29 Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand, that except ye dobestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your littleones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fallupon you and visit you even to your utter destruction. 30 Behold, Iwait for assistance from you; and, except ye do administer untoour relief, behold, I come unto you, even in the land of Zarahemla,and smite you with the sword, insomuch that ye can have no morepower to impede the progress of this people in the cause of ourfreedom. 31 For behold, the Lord will not suffer that ye shall liveand wax strong in your iniquities to destroy his righteous people. 32 Behold, can you suppose that the Lord will spare you and comeout in judgment against the Lamanites, when it is the tradition oftheir fathers that has caused their hatred, yea, and it has beenredoubled by those who have dissented from us, while youriniquity is for the cause of your love of glory and the vain thingsof the world? 33 Ye know that ye do transgress the laws of God,and ye do know that ye do trample them under your feet. Behold,the Lord saith unto me:MoroniCamp of Moroni62 B.C.If those whom ye have appointed your governors do not repentof their sins and iniquities, ye shall go up to battle against them.The Lord34 And now behold, I, Moroni, am constrained, according to thecovenant which I have made to keep the commandments of myGod; therefore I would that ye should adhere to the word of God,and send speedily unto me of your provisions and of your men,and also to Helaman. 35 And behold, if ye will not do this I comeunto you speedily; for behold, God will not suffer that we shouldperish with hunger; therefore he will give unto us of your food,even if it must be by the sword. Now see that ye fulfil the word ofGod. 36 Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not forpower, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, butfor the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of mycountry. And thus I close mine epistle.Moroni1 BEHOLD, now it came to pass that soon after Moroni hadsent his epistle unto the chief governor, he received anepistle from Pahoran, the chief governor. And these are thewords which he received:MormonLand of Gideon2 I, Pahoran, who am the chief governor of this land, do send thesewords unto Moroni, the chief captain over the army. Behold, I sayunto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, itgrieves my soul. 3 But behold, there are those who do joy in yourafflictions, yea, insomuch that they have risen up in rebellionagainst me, and also those of my people who are freemen, yea, andthose who have risen up are exceedingly numerous. 4 And it isthose who have sought to take away the judgment-seat from methat have been the cause of this great iniquity; for they have usedgreat flattery, and they have led away the hearts of many people,which will be the cause of sore affliction among us; they havewithheld our provisions, and have daunted our freemen that theyhave not come unto you. 5 And behold, they have driven me outbefore them, and I have fled to the land of Gideon, with as manymen as it were possible that I could get.Pahoran6 And behold, I have sent a proclamation throughout this part ofthe land; and behold, they are flocking to us daily, to their arms, inthe defence of their country and their freedom, and to avenge ourwrongs. 7 And they have come unto us, insomuch that those whohave risen up in rebellion against us are set at defiance, yea,insomuch that they do fear us and durst not come out against us tobattle. 8 They have got possession of the land, or the city, of Zarahemla; they have appointed a king over them, and he hathwritten unto the king of the Lamanites, in the which he hath joinedan alliance with him; in the which alliance he hath agreed tomaintain the city of Zarahemla, which maintenance he supposethwill enable the Lamanites to conquer the remainder of the land,and he shall be placed king over this people when they shall beconquered under the Lamanites.PahoranLand of Gideon62 B.C.9 And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it matterethnot; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I,Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people.My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath madeus free. 10 And now, behold, we will resist wickedness even untobloodshed. We would not shed the blood of the Lamanites if theywould stay in their own land. 11 We would not shed the blood ofour brethren if they would not rise up in rebellion and take thesword against us. 12 We would subject ourselves to the yoke ofbondage if it were requisite with the justice of God, or if he shouldcommand us so to do. 13 But behold he doth not command us thatwe shall subject ourselves to our enemies, but that we should putour trust in him, and he will deliver us.14 Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, andwhatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such asrebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, thatwe may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the greatprivilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and ourGod. 15 Therefore, come unto me speedily with a few of yourmen, and leave the remainder in the charge of Lehi and Teancum;give unto them power to conduct the war in that part of the land,according to the Spirit of God, which is also the spirit of freedomwhich is in them. 16 Behold I have sent a few provisions untothem, that they may not perish until ye can come unto me. 17Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither,and we will go speedily against those dissenters, in the strength ofour God according to the faith which is in us. 18 And we will takepossession of the city of Zarahemla, that we may obtain more foodto send forth unto Lehi and Teancum; yea, we will go forth againstthem in the strength of the Lord, and we will put an end to thisgreat iniquity.19 And now, Moroni, I do joy in receiving your epistle, for I wassomewhat worried concerning what we should do, whether itshould be just in us to go against our brethren. 20 But ye have said,except they repent the Lord hath commanded you that ye shouldgo against them. 21 See that ye strengthen Lehi and Teancum inthe Lord; tell them to fear not, for God will deliver them, yea, andalso all those who stand fast in that liberty wherewith God hathmade them free. And now I close mine epistle to my belovedbrother, Moroni.