In Alma 3:26-27 we find Mormon's true purpose in describing this war. To him everything was not only spiritual, but an extension of covenants. In a covenant setting there are no fence-sitters. One is either for his Lord or against Him. Thus in an eternal covenant setting, one reaps "their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one." The reader should understand here that if Mormon were just speaking of good and bad, he should be mentioning all the shades of gray involved, but Mormon doesn't speak of any shades of gray because his was a covenant perspective, a Lord-servant relationship: "For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey."
It is worth noting here that the phrase "listeth to obey" is also found in the great covenant sermon of King Benjamin:
But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit . . . for behold, there is a wo [a covenant curse] pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit . . . for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the [covenant] law of God contrary to his own knowledge." (see Mosiah 2:32-33).
Thus the Amlicites have provided Mormon with a real life historical fulfillment to King Benjamin's warning words--suitable material for the themes of Mormon's abridgment. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]