The Collected Works. Joseph Smith Jr.
43:45
45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause,
for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were
fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and
their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship
and their church.
Alma 43:46
46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which
they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also
unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the
first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves
to be slain by the hands of your enemies.
Alma 43:47
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your
families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the
Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and
their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights,
and their religion.
Alma 43:48
48 And it came to pass that 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.
Alma 43:49
49 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.
Alma 43:50
50 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.
Alma 43:51
51 Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than
double the number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven
insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the
valley, upon the bank by the river Sidon.
Alma 43:52
52 Therefore the armies of Moroni encircled them about, yea,
even on both sides of the river, for behold, on the east were the
men of Lehi.
Alma 43:53
53 Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of
the river Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on the west of the
river Sidon, that they were encircled about by the Nephites, they
were struck with terror.
Alma 43:54
54 Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that
they should stop shedding their blood.
Alma 44 Chapter 44
Alma 44:1
1 And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace
from them. And Moroni said unto Zerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah,
that 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.
Alma 44:2
2 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; yea, and ye are angry with us
because of our religion.
Alma 44:3
3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold
that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that
ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our
religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot
destroy this our faith.
Alma 44:4
4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see
that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we
are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and
never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we
should fall into transgression and deny our faith.
Alma 44:5
5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that
all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have
gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our
rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support
which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which
binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the
maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our
happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—
Alma 44:6
6 Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires
which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war
unto us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your
lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against
us.
Alma 44:7
7 And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I
will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict
the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct;
and then we will see who shall have power over this people; yea,
we will see who shall be brought into bondage.
Alma 44:8
8 And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these
sayings he came forth and delivered up his sword and his cimeter,
and his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold,
here are our weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you,
but we will not suffer ourselves to take an oath unto you, which
we know that we shall break, and also our children; but take our
weapons of war, and suffer that we may depart into the
wilderness; otherwise we will retain our swords, and we will
perish or conquer.
Alma 44:9
9 Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is
God that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that