Culture: Tensions between the Lamanites and the Noahites begin, as they had with the Zeniffites, with raiding parties, not all-out military attack. This point is significant because it allows some inferences about the political climate. First, the small-scale attacks against scattered groups in the fields show that this is not an organized assault against a political entity, but an attack against goods and secondarily against their possessors. A successful Lamanite raid yielded crops and flocks but probably not riches, since nobody would keep them in a field. These raids had no direct effect on the political balance. No king was attacked. No city was threatened. The motivation was small, not large.
Noah does not consider them to be threats against himself and his rule, but sees them for what they are—robbing bands. He reacts appropriately (sending out guards) but not effectively, because their numbers are too few to provide effective protection. Nevertheless, Mormon, possibly influenced by his personal involvement in Lamanite wars, seems to see the raids as more important than Noah did, based on his somber description of slaughter and “hatred.”