dissenters having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites; drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.

30. And now it came to pass that as soon as Amalickiah had obtained the kingdom, be began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers, against the Nephites; and thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch, that in the latter end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the Judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far; yea, having been made king over the Lamanites, he sought also to reign over all the land; yea, and all the people who were in the land, the Nephites as well as the Lamanites, therefore he had accomplished his design, for he had hardened the hearts of the Lamanites and blinded their minds, and stirred them up to anger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host, to go to battle against the Nephites. For he was determined, because of the greatness of the number of his people, to overpower the Nephites, and to bring them into bondage; and thus he did appoint chief captains of the Zoramites, they being the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites, and their places of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities; therefore he appointed them to be chief captains over his armies.

31. And it came to pass that they took their camp, and moved forth towards the land of Zarahemla in the wilderness. Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God; yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about, to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities, and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land; and in their weakest fortifications, he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites. And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their

children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians. And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people; yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath, to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

32. Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood, if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offence; yea, and never to raise the sword, except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives; and this was their faith, that by so doing, God would prosper them in the land; or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God, that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger; and also, that God would make it known unto them, whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies; and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them, and this was the faith of Moroni; and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood, but in doing good, in preserving his people; yea, in keeping the commandments of God; yea, and resisting iniquity. Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken for ever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah; yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God. Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people, than was Moroni: for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.

33. And thus they went forth, and the people did humble themselves because of their words, insomuch that they were highly favoured of the Lord, and thus they were free from wars and contentions among themselves; yea, even for the

space of four years: but as I have said in the latter end of the nineteenth year, yea, notwithstanding their peace amongst themselves, they were compelled reluctantly to contend with their brethren, the Lamanites; yea, and in fine, their wars never did cease for the space of many years with the Lamanites, notwithstanding their much reluctance. Now they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all; they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world unprepared to meet their God; nevertheless they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by joining the Lamanites; yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over the blood of the Nephites, so long as there were any who should keep the commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they should keep his commandments, they should prosper in the land.

34. And now it came to pass, in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year, on the tenth day of the month, the armies of the Lamanites were seen approaching towards the land of Ammonihah. And behold, the city had been re-built, and Moroni had stationed an army by the borders of the city, and they had cast up dirt round about, to shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites; for behold, they fought with stones, and with arrows. Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been re-built. I say unto you, yea, that it was in part re-built, and because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it would again become an easy prey for them. But behold, how great was their disappointment: for behold, the Nephites had dug up a ridge of earth round about them, which was so high that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and their arrows at them, that they might take effect, neither could they come upon them, save it was by their place of entrance. Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security. Now the leaders of the Lamanites had supposed, because of the greatness of their numbers; yea, they supposed that they should be privileged to come upon them as they had hitherto done; yea and they had also prepared themselves with

shields, and with breast-plates; and they had also prepared themselves with garments of skins; yea, very thick garments to cover their nakedness. And being thus prepared, they supposed that they should easily overpower and subject their brethren to the yoke of bondage, or slay and massacre them according to their pleasure. But behold, to their uttermost. astonishment, they were prepared for them, in a maner which never had been known among the children of Lehi. Now they were prepared for the Lamanites, to battle, after the manner of the instructions of Moroni.

35. And it came to pass that the Lamanites, or the Amalickiahites, were exceedingly astonished at their manner of preparation for war. Now if king Amalickiah had come down out of the land of Nephi, at the head of his army, perhaps he would have caused the Lamanites to have attacked the Nephites at the city of Ammonihah; for behold, he did care not for the blood of his people. But behold, Amalickiah did not came down himself, to battle. And behold, his chief captains durst not attack the Nephites at the city of Ammonihah, for Moroni had altered the management of affairs among the Nephites, insomuch that the Lamanites were disappointed in their places of retreat, and they could not come upon them; therefore they retreated into the wilderness, and took their camp, and marched towards the land of Noah, supposing that to be the next best place for them to come against the Nephites; for they knew not that Moroni had fortified or had built forts of security for every city in all the land round about; therefore, they marched forward to the land of Noah, with a firm determination; yea, their chief captains came forward, and took an oath that they would destroy the people of that city. But, behold, to their astonishment, the city of Noah, which had hitherto been a weak place, had now, by the means of Moroni, become strong; yea, even to exceed the strength of the city Ammonihah. And now behold, this was wisdom in Moroni : for he had supposed that they would be frightened at the city Ammonihah; and as the city of Noah had hitherto been the weakest part of the land, therefore they would march thither to battle; and thus it was, according to his desires. And behold, Moroni had appointed Lehi to be chief captain over the men of that city; and it was that same Lehi who fought with the Lamanites in the valley, on the east of the river Sidon.

36. And now behold it came to pass, that when the Lamanites had found that Lehi commanded the city, they were again disappointed, for they feared Lehi exceedingly; nevertheless their chief captains had sworn with an oath, to attack the

city; therefore, they brought up their armies. Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security, by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about, save it were by the entrance. And thus were the Nephites prepared to destroy all such as should attempt to climb up to enter the fort by any other way, by casting over stones and arrows at them. Thus they were prepared; yea, a body of their most strong men, with their swords and their slings, to smite down all who should attempt to come into their place of security by the place of entrance: and thus were they prepared to defend themselves against the Lamanites.

37. And it came to pass that the captains of the Lamanites brought up their armies before the place of entrance, and began to contend with the Nephites, to get into their place of security; but behold, they were driven back from time to time, insomuch that they were slain, with an immense slaughter. Now when they found that they could not obtain power over the Nephites by the pass, they began to dig down their banks of earth, that they might obtain a pass to their armies, that they might have an equal chance to fight; but behold in these attempts they were swept off by the stones and arrows which were thrown at them: and instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down the banks of earth, they where filled up in a measure, with their dead and wounded bodies. Thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies; and thus the Lamanites did attempt to destroy the Nephites, until their chief captains where all slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain; while on the other hand, there was not a single soul of the Nephites which was slain. There were

about fifty who were wounded, who had been exposed to the arrows of the Lamanites through the pass, but they were shielded by their shields, and their breast-plates, and their head-plates, insomuch that their wounds were upon their legs, many of which were very severe.

ness.

38. And it came to pass, that when the Lamanites saw that their chief captains were all slain, they fled into the wilderAnd it came to pass that they returned to the land of Nephi, to inform their king, Amalickiah, who was a Nephite by birth, concerning their great loss. And it came to pass that he was exceeding angry with his people, because he had not obtained his desire over the Nephites; he had not subjected them to the yoke of bondage; yea, he was exceeding wroth, and he did curse God, and also Moroni, and swearing