Jerry Ainsworth notes that at age eleven, in A.D. 322, Mormon was carried by his father from the land northward to the land of Zarahemla (Mormon 1:6). Being carried this distance is probably an accurate description of what actually happened and is possibly indicative of Mormon's socio-economic position. In Part 2 of the text of Izapa Sculpture, Garth Norman states, "Maya dignitaries are known to have been transported in sedan chairs carried by two attendants" (see illustrations). Indeed, regal, wealthy, and aristocratic families were commonly carried in litters over an excellent highway system of this time period. [Jerry L. Ainsworth, The Lives and Travels of Mormon and Moroni, p. 153]
Mormon 1:6 I [Mormon] was carried . . . into the land southward ([Illustration]): (76) Rolled-out watercolor painting from a Mayan vase in Ratinlixul, Guatemala, showing use of a litter. Used by permission of the University of Pennsylvania. (77) Tracing of a small portion of Stela 21, showing use of a litter, from Izapa, southern section of the state of Chiapas, Mexico. (78) Use of litter in transportation, from Codice Magliabechi, p. 35. [Jerry L. Ainsworth, The Lives and Travels of Mormon and Moroni, p. 154]
“I Being Eleven Years Old, Was Carried by My Father into the Land Southward”
John Tvedtnes tells the story about one of his students who suggested that Mormon, the father of the abridger of the Nephite record, was a professional soldier. As evidence, the student noted that the younger Mormon was eleven years of age when his father took him into the "land southward" (Mormon 1:6) and that "in this year there began to be a war between the Nephites . . . and the Lamanites (Mormon 1:8). The family's departure into the war zone hints at a military transfer. In light of this possibility, Tvedtnes suggests that the historian/general/prophet Mormon was, in fact, from a line of army leaders who belonged to a military caste. . . . There appear to have been two distinct warrior castes in the Book of Mormon. The first was that of the Zoramites. The other warrior caste comprised men such as the earlier Moroni and Moronihah and probably Mormon and his father Mormon, as well as his son Moroni and another Moronihah. It may not be out of line to suggest that this caste descended from the ancient kings. . . . The earlier Moroni, who was Nephite chief captain when the war with the Lamanites broke out about 74 B.C. . . . may have been a descendant of King Benjamin or the first Mosiah, and hence of the royal seed. This would give more meaning to the claim of Mormon not only to be "a descendant of Nephi" (Mormon 1:5), but to be a "pure descendant" of Nephi (see 3 Nephi 5:20). It should be noted that Nephi personally wielded the sword of Laban in the defense of his people (Jacob 1:10), and only descendants of Nephi were chosen as kings (see Mosiah 25:13). It should be noted that Mormon took possession of both the sword of Laban and the records of the kings, and they were duly passed on to his son Moroni. [John A. Tvedtnes, "Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes," in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, pp. 317-322]