Social: Moroni is captain of an army that has already been assembled. When he arrives in Manti he requests another army. He requests that the people “in that quarter of the land” participate in their own defense. This is a very standard means of raising an army in Mesoamerica. There may be those who are trained military, but the larger part of the army was raised from the people of the land. This description of the recruitment of a local militia is quite appropriate for the Mesoamerican context in which we are placing the Book of Mormon.