Mormon 2
Another War between the Nephites and Lamanites
Mormon 2:1–2
1 And it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.
2 Therefore it came to pass that in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away.
Comments
In Mormon 1:15, Mormon indicated that he had been fifteen and had “somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord.” After that statement, he spoke of the return of the Gadianton robbers. In the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, our chapters 1 and 2 were combined into the original chapter I (using the Roman numeral for the 1830 chapters).
This is important because we are beginning the next year in Mormon’s life, and the next phase of his career. Either somewhere in his fifteenth year, or early in his sixteenth, Mormon was made the leader of the Nephite armies. That one so young was selected probably tells us two things. First, that he was born to a military family and therefore had military training. Second, his father had probably died in the earlier war with the Lamanites.
The contrast between the previous war and this one is important and instructive and will be noted in the next verses.
Mormon 2:3–7
3 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and seventh year the Lamanites did come upon us with exceedingly great power, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would not fight, and they began to retreat towards the north countries.
4 And it came to pass that we did come to the city of Angola, and we did take possession of the city, and make preparations to defend ourselves against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did fortify the city with our might; but notwithstanding all our fortifications the Lamanites did come upon us and did drive us out of the city.
5 And they did also drive us forth out of the land of David.
6 And we marched forth and came to the land of Joshua, which was in the borders west by the seashore.
7 And it came to pass that we did gather in our people as fast as it were possible, that we might get them together in one body.
Comments
In Mormon 1:8–10 he described a war with the Lamanites where the Nephite armies defeated them and the Lamanites retreated. That was in the Nephite year 321. In the year 327, there is again war, and this time the results are dramatically different. This time, “the Lamanites did come upon us with exceedingly great power, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would not fight, and they began to retreat towards the north countries.”
What changed between the victorious Nephites in the Nephite year 321 and the Nephites of 327, who turned and fled rather than fight? While verse 3 simply indicates that the Lamanites had come, we should remember that this chapter should not be separated from the context of the end of our chapter 1. In those verses it mentions that “Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land” (Mormon 1:18).
What had changed? Now there were Gadiantons among them. In a Mesoamerican context, that would have been warriors from Teotihuacan, who were feared and whose military conquests were becoming unstoppable. The warriors of Teotihuacan also wore distinctive dress, as can be seen in the carved monuments among the Maya. Thus, the Nephite armies would have been able to see them clearly among the Lamanites. Their visual presence and plausible reputation might explain the difference between the previously victorious Nephites and these Nephites who saw their opposing armies and simply fled.
The new invasion was so effective that the Nephites were easily driven out of the more southern holdings.
Mormon 2:8
8 But behold, the land was filled with robbers and with Lamanites; and notwithstanding the great destruction which hung over my people, they did not repent of their evil doings; therefore there was blood and carnage spread throughout all the face of the land, both on the part of the Nephites and also on the part of the Lamanites; and it was one complete revolution throughout all the face of the land.
Comments
Lest we misunderstand Mormon’s description of this new invasion, “the land was filled with robbers and with Lamanites.” Mormon had declared in Helaman 2:13–14 that the Gadiantons would prove the downfall of the Nephite people. As he begins to tell the Nephite end story, Mormon intentionally emphasizes the presence of the Gadiantons. He blames them, and therefore emphasizes their presence.
Mormon also tells us that in spite of the terrible destruction created by the robbers and the Lamanites, the Nephite people “did not repent of their evil doings.” Perhaps, if they were to repent, the promise of the land might be invoked to save them. Even though the promise continued, the Nephite refusal to repent left them unqualified for that divine protection.
Mormon Sorrows for His People
Mormon 2:9–11
9 And now, the Lamanites had a king, and his name was Aaron; and he came against us with an army of forty and four thousand. And behold, I withstood him with forty and two thousand. And it came to pass that I beat him with my army that he fled before me. And behold, all this was done, and three hundred and thirty years had passed away.
10 And it came to pass that the Nephites began to repent of their iniquity, and began to cry even as had been prophesied by Samuel the prophet; for behold no man could keep that which was his own, for the thieves, and the robbers, and the murderers, and the magic art, and the witchcraft which was in the land.
11 Thus there began to be a mourning and a lamentation in all the land because of these things, and more especially among the people of Nephi.
Comments
Mormon may have been young, but he was not ineffective. The Nephites had suffered greatly, some of which was due to the fact that the Nephite armies had fled rather than engaged their enemies. In this particular engagement, three years into the war, Mormon finally notes a Nephite victory.
Along with the victory, Mormon notes that the Nephites finally “began to repent of their iniquity.” Nevertheless, “there began to be a mourning and a lamentation in all the land.” Even with repentance beginning, there was much sorrow for all the loss of life and lands. Sadly, even their repentance was perhaps too little, and too late.
Mormon 2:12–14
12 And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people.
13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.
14 And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives.
Comments
Verses 12 and 13 provide a sad contrast. Mormon has hope that their “lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow” would turn them to true repentance. The reality was that, as a people, it did not lead to repentance. It was simply sorrow. Therefore, rather than meriting God’s assistance, the Nephites preferred to struggle on their own, and to trust in their own flesh. With verse 14, Mormon puts the finishing touches on the foundation of the reason for the Nephite destructions. The Gadiantons had joined the Nephites, and the Nephites had abandoned their God.
Mormon 2:15–16
15 And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away.
16 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and forty and fifth year the Nephites did begin to flee before the Lamanites; and they were pursued until they came even to the land of Jashon, before it was possible to stop them in their retreat.
Comments
By verse 16, the war was into its eighteenth year. It was not getting any better for the Nephites. They continued to be pushed north. Mormon specifically notes that they were pursued into the land of Jashon, where they were finally able to hold up for a short time.
Mormon 2:17–19
17 And now, the city of Jashon was near the land where Ammaron had deposited the records unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed. And behold I had gone according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the plates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron.
18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man.
19 And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless, I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day.
Comments
Mormon takes a small deviation from his record of the wars to note that the city of Jashon was “near the land where Ammaron had deposited the records.” Mormon 1:3 informed us that they were deposited in the hill Shim. Mormon was to take the records from the hill when he was twenty-four. In the Nephite year 345, Mormon would have been thirty-five. Did he not obey the command of eleven years earlier?
Although we cannot know for certain, it is probable that he did retrieve the current Nephite record when he was twenty-four, as instructed. He forgot to mention it in the correct chronology, but when he got to this point in the record, he realized that he had not made it clear that he had taken the record from that hill. Therefore, he inserts that information here. It is the right location, but the wrong time. The location simply reminded Mormon that he needed to clarify that he had, and was keeping, the record according to the promise made to Ammaron.
It is also important to note that he says, “upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account.” Mormon is speaking of two sets of plates. The first, upon which he wrote the “full account,” was the current Nephite record. It was not the full archive, as will be clear in Mormon 4:23, when he again goes to retrieve records from the hill Shim.
The designation of “upon these plates,” is the abridgement that we know as the Book of Mormon, including the book of Mormon where he is recording his own history with the less than full account of the Nephite wickedness.
Mormon 2:20–23
20 And it came to pass that in this year the people of Nephi again were hunted and driven. And it came to pass that we were driven forth until we had come northward to the land which was called Shem.
21 And it came to pass that we did fortify the city of Shem, and we did gather in our people as much as it were possible, that perhaps we might save them from destruction.
22 And it came to pass in the three hundred and forty and sixth year they began to come upon us again.
23 And it came to pass that I did speak unto my people, and did urge them with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the Lamanites and fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes.
Comments
Once again, they were driven further north. The picture that there were breaks in the attacks and then a renewal of attacks in the following years is a reasonable depiction of Mesoamerican warfare. First, there would be the need to stop for harvests. Secondly, however, there are two seasons in Central America, the rainy season and the dry season. Warfare tended to be fought in the dry season and not during the rainy season. John L. Sorenson looked at the descriptions of the months in which battles were fought and found that they also tend to cluster into two seasons. Warfare was only common in the dry season, a condition common to cultures in that region.
Mormon 2:24–26
24 And my words did arouse them somewhat to vigor, insomuch that they did not flee from before the Lamanites, but did stand with boldness against them.
25 And it came to pass that we did contend with an army of thirty thousand against an army of fifty thousand. And it came to pass that we did stand before them with such firmness that they did flee from before us.
26 And it came to pass that when they had fled we did pursue them with our armies, and did meet them again, and did beat them; nevertheless the strength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren.
Comments
Along with the seasonal nature of warfare, it is also possible that not all the opposing armies were always the ones to fight the battles. At this point, they are simply the enemy, and Mormon makes no real distinction as to which groups might be attacking them.
It was also true that the early flight of the Nephites before the Gadianton and Lamanite armies at the beginning of this chapter did not mean that the Nephites were never victorious. In that case, they were. The problem was that it was not a lasting peace, but only a reprieve. The inexorable march toward Nephite destruction was on.
Ten-Year Peace Established by Treaty
Mormon 2:27–29
27 And my heart did sorrow because of this the great calamity of my people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. But behold, we did go forth against the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, until we had again taken possession of the lands of our inheritance.
28 And the three hundred and forty and ninth year had passed away. And in the three hundred and fiftieth year we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, in which we did get the lands of our inheritance divided.
29 And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward.
Comments
There is a temporary reprieve because the Nephites were able to be somewhat successful. The Nephites had been driven far enough north that they were now in the lands northward. Although Mormon does not reiterate it here, these are the lands that he had named Desolation, and were called Desolation because they were the lands where the Jaredites had met their end.
The treaty divides the land at the narrow neck. The Nephites lost the land southward which had been their homeland for about six hundred years by this time. They were now no longer in the land of their inheritance, but in the land of destruction, the land Desolation.
It is important to note that once again Mormon emphasizes that the robbers of Gadianton are among the Lamanites and that they were one of the parties to the treaty.
This is the end of the chapter in the 1830 Book of Mormon.
