We learn here that Zeniff is only a member of the party, not the leader of it. With Zeniff’s hope of a treaty he puts himself directly at odds with the leader of the party, a man Zeniff describes as “an austere and a blood-thirsty man.” We must read that description with the understanding that it comes from Zeniff’s perspective, but we can understand something of the nature of the conflict between the two. The “blood-thirsty” description fits with the intent of the original force, which was to find a way to defeat the people of the city of Nephi militarily. As discussed, the possibility of hatred from Mosiah’s people toward those who had driven them from their homeland would be very understandable. Thus the leader of the band was intent on his mission of revenge, which Zeniff labels “blood-thirsty.” As to the label of “austere,” we really don’t have much information on what that might mean, but it may be that it describes the inability of the riches Zeniff saw in the land to sway his leader from his path of revenge. He was austere because he was unaffected by the “good” Zeniff saw in the land.
The conflict that Zeniff raises clearly becomes divisive in the attacking army. We must presume that others either saw at least some of what Zeniff saw, for they had to believe his contention that it was of value. Secondly, the argument had to have become divided between those who wanted to acquire the “good” by peaceful treaty and those who would have conquered militarily. A military action in the ancient world would not necessarily have destroyed visible “good,” but may have destroyed social connections. Those connections with other peoples would have been essential to the continuation of the lifestyle. Zeniff would have been arguing for a peaceful solution that would retain the social connections that supplied what he saw as “good,” rather than risk their destruction by military action. The ultimate choice was between bloody vengeance and a way to live peaceably in the land of their fathers.
At the end of a small civil war, Zeniff and those who believed as he did remained alive, and returned to Zarahemla to mount another venture back to the land of Nephi – this time to invade by treaty, not military might.