Redaction: Verse 4 is clearly Mormon’s comment. The Limhites may not have explicitly connected their current burdens with their past actions and Abinadi’s prophecy, but Mormon knew the whole story and certainly saw its cause as their departure from Yahweh, Yahweh’s punishment for their apostasy, and the people’s repentance and reconciliation to Yahweh—in short, as a moral tale.
Verse 15 sets up the conflict of the current story with Mormon’s synopsis: The oppressed Limhites require deliverance. They cannot rescue themselves because the Lamanites have them surrounded. However, while Mormon knows this, the Limhites see things differently because they respond by attacking the Lamanites, not once but three times. Surely, if they expected total failure, this is not the course they would have chosen. But Mormon knows that their attempts failed.