How much trouble can one man cause for a nation? May I illustrate?

    In the 18th year of the reign of the judges Alma received word that Zoram was leading his people astray. This worried Alma because the land of the Zoramites bordered their enemies, the Lamanites, on the south. A Zoramite and Lamanite alliance would be a great loss.

    Understanding that the word of the Lord was the most powerful weapon they had to change men’s hearts, Alma and others went to them and preached to them. It worked, at least in part. Many were converted, especially among the poor.

    Unfortunately, those poor were cast out of the land. They came over and joined the people of Ammon, who, once being religious refugees themselves, welcomed the Zoramite converts into the land of Jershon.

    The Zoramites were angry and demanded the exiles be cast out. When the people of Ammon refused, Zoram and his followers entered into an alliance with the Lamanites. A massive Lamanite force under Zerahemnah moved north and joined the Zoramites in the land of Antionum. It would be war.

    Seeing these signs, the commander-in-chief of the Nephite forces, a young man only 25 years old, Moroni, gathered his forces and prepared for battle. On that day when Zerahemnah marched toward Jershon, he was met by Captain Moroni and his force. Instantly the men of Zerahemnah were stunned and frightened. The men of Moroni were prepared with shields, breastplates, helmets, and thick clothing. Never had such things been seen before.

    When the Lamanites considered that they had on nothing but a loin cloth, they withdrew and regrouped. They decided to march into the wilderness and by means of a roundabout journey attack the weaker city of Manti. They calculated that Moroni would not know where they went, but again, Moroni was prepared. He sent spies to follow them and messengers to the prophet Alma who told him the Lamanites were headed for Manti.

    Moroni marched his forces to Manti and waited. When spies returned word that the enemy was coming, Moroni divided his forces and prepared his trap.

    The Lamanites soon found themselves surrounded on all sides by the Nephites. They were terrified. Seeing this, Moroni commanded his forces to withdraw.

    “Behold Zerahemnah,” he cried, “we do not desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do not desire to slay you. Behold we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power, neither do we desire to bring any one to the yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come against us.” (Alma 43:2).

    Why were the Nephites fighting? They could have slaughtered their enemies and walked away with a decisive victory, but that is not why they were at war. They were fighting out of a God-given duty to defend their families, their country, and their church. Moroni did not measure success in slaughter, but in the security of his rights, worship, and loved ones. And God justified him in that!

    In the end Moroni prevailed. Notwithstanding that Zerahemnah’s forces outnumbered Moroni’s by more than double, Moroni took from them their weapons and an oath that they would not fight again, and he let them go. Because Moroni and the Nephites fought on God’s terms, God fought for them and they were delivered against all odds.

    We live in a day when every man, woman and child must learn to fight. Why? Because inevitably, whether the home, the heart, or the land, the battle will come to him.

    Glenn Rawson is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a resident of Blackfoot.