A Lesson from Nephite Generals

In the first part of the great war between the Lamanites and the Nephites, the Lamanites came to attack the Nephites in Ammonihah thinking that it would be easy to take.  They were disappointed, though, because the Nephites “were prepared for them, in a manner which never had been known among the children of Lehi.”  The Lamanites were “exceedingly astonished at their manner of preparations for war” and did not attempt an attack on the city but turned to go to another.  In the telling of this story Mormon at this point made this parenthetical comment: “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 come down himself to battle” (Alma 49:8-11).  Besides pointing out the inhumanity of Amalickiah and his disdain for life itself, I think one of the points that Mormon was making here was that if Amalickiah had been a true and good leader he would have been with his people in battle.  Mormon who himself was a military commander much of his life knew well what it was like to lead an army and risk his own life alongside those of his men.  He told us that he “led them many times to battle” and in the final battle of Cumorah he led ten thousand men and “fell wounded in their midst” (Mormon 3:12, 6:10).  I think one of the themes that he highlighted in abridging the Book of Mormon in the various battles that he recounted is that righteous leaders always fight with their army and put their own lives on the line with their men.   

We see this in several of the stories in the text in addition to that of Mormon himself.  Mormon clearly admired King Benjamin and described his military experiences this way: “And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people.  But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban” (Words of Mormon 1:13).  Another leader who fought with his men was Zeniff.  He told us, “And it came to pass that I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent, and I and my people did go forth against the Lamanites to battle.  Yea, in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies” (Mosiah 9:16-17).  I like that little phrase that he repeated: “I and my people”—the people didn’t fight for him, but he and the people together fought to preserve their families.  A third leader who likewise risked his life to fight with his men was Alma.  When the Amlicites rebelled and fought against the Nephites, Alma the prophet led the Nephite army against them, and we read that “And it came to pass that Alma fought with Amlici with the sword, face to face; and they did contend mightily, one with another” (Alma 2:29).  When in the next chapter the Lamanites came again to fight the Nephites, Alma did not go with them but Mormon was quick to make sure we understood why:  “Now Alma himself being afflicted with a wound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites” (Alma 3:22).  In the major war of the later chapters of the book of Alma we likewise see the great Nephite leaders fighting at the front of their armies.  For example, when Moroni was fighting with his men to take over the city of Mulek he battled side by side with them and ultimately was wounded in the battle (Alma 52:35).  Teancum of course was the most prominent example of a leader who gave no thought for his own life as he risked it in slaying Amalickiah in the middle of the night and then made the ultimate sacrifice when he did the same to Ammoron.  Other of the major leaders such as Helaman, Lehi, and Pahoran likewise put themselves in the midst of battle as they led the Nephites in the protection of their freedoms.  All of them were a stark contrast to Amalickiah who, at least in the beginning, did not even go with his army to battle.  The broad lesson for our day then would be something like this: true leaders will never ask anything of those they lead that they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.