In these war chapters, careful readers will spot a number of interesting words and phrases that one does not encounter elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. These bold and colorful expressions may reflect the exigencies and experiences of war. They may reflect parts of Mormon’s vocabulary and personality, which come through more directly here than in other parts of his writing. This list is just a few of these new wordings that jumped out at me. Others may occur to you. Ask yourself: In what context do they appear? What do they say to me personally today? Can I relate to these situations in light of some past experience in my own life? What lessons can I extract from the way Mormon has crafted the narratives in these chapters?
- "they were affrighted" (Alma 52:2; also 62:24, only these 2 times in the Book of Mormon. Ancient war, with its hand-to-hand combat and face-to-face encounters, was a theater of fear.)
- "power to harass them on every side" (52:10; the word harass appears only 4x in the Book of Mormon, all of them in this section; 51:32, 52:9, 52:13, 52:13)
- "as much as was in his power" (52:10; careful commanders are constantly assessing their strengths and weaknesses, the limits of their power)
- "to wait for the coming of Moroni" (52:17; this phrase reappears in 58:3. 58:4, 58:7, 60:30, infrequent in this sense in the Book of Mormon, but the anxieties and uncertainties of soldiers needing to wait are intense, and unforgettable; we too must learn to wait and not jump too soon)
- "held a council of war" (52:19, only here and in Alma 24:5 and Mosiah 12:17; these councils must have been high-level, high-stakes meetings; we hold ward councils, which also are high-stakes meetings, but in another sense)
- "that he might decoy the Lamanites out" ("to decoy," used here as a verb, see 52:21 and 58:1, the only 2 times this language is found in Book of Mormon; the use of stratagems and ploys are always high-risk experiments that hope for good luck and good fortune)
- "having an unconquerable spirit" (52:33, "unconquerable spirit" also appears in 3 Nephi 3:4, the only other time in the Book of Mormon; obviously the way that a commander such as Mormon would describe the quality of courage in a strong man of war)
- "conquer" appears only six times in Book of Mormon, all of them in writings composed by Mormon (Alma 44:8; 56:17; 58:12; 61:8; Moroni 9:2, 6)
- "being much confused" (only in 52:28, 56:51; reflects awareness of the actual chaos and tumult of battle; the word "confusion" only in 52:28, 52:37; and note Isaiah 8:5; 2 Nephi 19:5, in particular where it is the "battle of the warrior" that "is with confused noise")
- "they rejoiced in each other’s safety" (53:2; safety appears dominantly in 48:12, 49:27, 53:2, 62:10, 3 Ne 2:12, in these military contexts, and is no small matter in a military setting, but also something that should be rejoiced over in ordinary daily life as well)
- "they were beloved by each other, and also beloved by all the people of Nephi" (53:2, used prominently here, as Mormon knows the power of deep gratitude for those who render services at great expense)
- "they were exceedingly valiant for courage, strength and activity" (the word valiant appears only in 53:20, 56:13, and in Isaiah 10:13; 2 Nephi 20:13 as a high term of honor and praise)
- "they were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted" (the word "entrusted" appears only in the sense of military duty, in 53:20, but otherwise when talking about being entrusted with records or ministry, Alma 37:1, 14, 39:4; Mormon 6:6; being trusted is the first order of importance in the Marines, semper fideles)
- "they were men of truth and soberness" (53:21; "truth and soberness" are words that come from Benjamin in Mosiah 4:15, otherwise used only here and by Alma in 42:31)
- "they were taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him" ("walk uprightly" is found here in Alma 53:21 and 5 other times in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 16:3; Mosiah 18:29; Alma 1:1; 45:24; 63:2; it being a prominent virtue mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, see Psalms 15:2; 84:11; Proverbs 2:7; 10:9; 15:21; 28:18, Isaiah 33:15; Micah 2:7, inviting people today to consider what this word is trying to tell us)
- "I am in my anger" (54:13; see Deuteronomy 31:17; also Mosiah 12:1; 20:15)
- "I will avenge his blood upon you" (Alma 54:16; "avenge themselves of the blood" Mormon 3:9; in Ether 14:24 we find that this was part of the forbidden Jaredite oaths)
- "we will wage a war which shall be eternal" (the term "wage war" is found in the Book of Mormon only in Alma 54:5, 20, 24; 55:1; and 57:7, an expression one would expect from Mormon)
- "t was not a just cause that had caused him to wage a war" (55:1, reminding us that one must be careful to wage war only on just grounds)
- "he did not delight in murder or bloodshed, but he delighted in the saving of his people" (55:19, in this description Mormon is no doubt reflecting his own deepest personal desires as well as his abhorrence of murder and bloodshed)
- "if their wine would poison a Lamanite it would also poison a Nephite" (55:3, 32, 32, perhaps reminding us of our own limitations, we are not invulnerable; poison was mentioned in Alma 47:18 because it had been used to kill King Lehonti, and in Ether 9:31 it appears as a Jaredite tactic, but the use of poison would have been considered by Mormon well beyond the scope of justifiable rules of military engagement)
