“Hewn Down All My People Save It Were Twenty and Four of Us”

Brant Gardner

Of the entire body of Nephites who made their final stand, only twenty four survived. This is actually a remarkably small number, not because of the rest of the slaughter, but because the more typical case would have been many more wounded than dead. This is a testimony to the particular viciousness of this attack. The function of this attack was not simply to gain dominance, but to assure a destruction. With the large body of Lamanite/Gadianton attackers, it would appear that they not only won, but made certain of a kill. Their intent was killing, not winning in this case.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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