Did Moroni like this war? Moroni was a professional soldier. At least he would be classified as such today, but he was still a reluctant participant in the war. He sorrowed that it had to happen this way. “[The Nephites] were compelled reluctantly to contend with their brethren, the Lamanites.”
“Compelled reluctantly” is a picturesque phrase. They were forcefully driven, compelled, and yet remained reluctant. They were very mindful of the oath that they had sworn. All of these people had made a vow, and vows in ancient Israelite religion were virtually irrevocable. They were taken very seriously. So Captain Moroni was compelled not only by the circumstances, but by the oath that he had made before God and all of those witness that he would fight, as unpleasant as it became.
He tried to avoid the situation, “Let us cut them off; let us give them the choice of the covenant.” He tried everything else he could, and now, in the end, he was compelled to lead armies in actual combat. This expression hints at the turmoil he must have felt as he was torn in two directions by a very hard situation.