Mercy?

The Content:

Alma 43

Verse 54

Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that they should stop shedding their blood.

The Comments:

Moroni orders his men to stop their attack.

A footnote on terror in this verse takes us to Alma 47:2, which talks about some Lamanites who refused to obey their king because they were afraid.

Did Zerehemna lose control over some of his men here? What did they fear more, Zerehemna or Moroni?  We can’t really answer that now, but its something to think about.

Back to Moroni. He and the armies of the Nephites have the Lamanites right where they want them.  The Nephites could completely massacre the Lamanites, but Moroni tells his men to stop.

Imagine the emotions of the Nephites through this.  At one point the Nephites were faltering, but Moroni inspired them through the Spirit, and the tide turned. The Nephites are a few minutes away from total victory.

But they never wanted to fight in the first place.  They’ve never been the agressors through this. So I wonder if it came as a great relief to them when Moroni called up. I kind of doubt they really wanted to kill all of the Lamanites.