Gideon again demonstrates his leadership. He seems to have followed the formula given to Oliver Cowdery:
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me. [D&C 9:8–9]
The convictions Gideon had were true and could have come to him from the Lord. Gideon’s reasoning that it was better to be in bondage than to lose their lives (Mosiah 20:22) is not always true, but was in this case. The Lord knows “the end from the beginning” (Abraham 2:8; Isaiah 46:10), and the fulfilling of prophecy and the sacredness of keeping the oath were considered as more important than death at this time. The Lord’s will was what needed to be known, and Gideon seems to have known what it was for the Nephites in their situation.