The war with the Gadiantons heats up, and each side has its small victories. Nevertheless, Mormon prepares his audience for his upcoming message: “the sword of destruction did hang over them, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this because of their iniquity.” The Nephites still have not fully come to live by their covenants, and therefore they are forfeiting the promise of protection that is part of the covenant of the land.
This chapter does end a chapter in the 1830 edition.