They Began to Stand with Power

We are first introduced to Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon in Alma 43 as the Nephites faced the Lamanites under Zarahemnah. In this chapter alone we see why he was so successful as the Nephite’s military commander in the way that he went about this war. First, he was prepared: the Nephites were protected by armor that brought great fear upon the unprepared Lamanites. Mormon recorded, “[Moroni] met the Lamanites in the borders of Jershon, and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war. And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing… they were exceedingly afraid” (v19-21). Moroni could make his army more numerous than the Lamanites, but he could make them far more prepared and protected from injury, and he did exactly that. Second, he sought revelation from the Lord’s prophet. When the Lamanites departed in fear after seeing the Nephite’s protective armor, Moroni didn’t relax or think that he had won the day. Instead, he sent men to the prophet Alma to get information about where the Lamanites were going: “Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites” (v23). Alma received revelation telling him that the Lamanites were planning to attack the city of Manti, and Moroni promptly responded to that information to save that city. He didn’t depend only on getting information from the Lord through Alma, but he was also persistent in doing all he could himself to learn what the Lamanites were going to do and “sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp.” Even after arriving in Manti, he again “placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come” (v28). He had received revelation from the prophet, but he also did everything in his own power to obtain the necessary information to win the battle for the Nephites.

                Lastly, and most importantly, Moroni knew how to pray to the Lord for help and inspire his men to do the same. Even with all their preparation and the extra information about their enemies they had received through the prophet and from their own spies, they still faced a fierce opponent who had an army more than twice the size of theirs. And so, the battle was harrowing and they were on the brink of disaster when Moroni showed how inspiring of a leader he was: “When the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage. And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage” (v48-49. Mormon recorded the effect of their pleading prayers to the Lord for strength against their enemies: “And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon” (v50). It was the strength of the Lord that protected them that day and turned the tide of the war. It was because Moroni motivated them to call upon their God for help that they found the courage to continue and the strength to fight. Moroni’s example encourages us to face all our serious challenges with the same four principles: prepare well in advance, seek to follow the prophet, be persistent in doing all things we can of our own power, and then pray to the Lord for strength with all our hearts.