44:1 And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace from
them. And Moroni said unto Zerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah, that we do
not desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we
do not desire to slay you.
44:2 Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might
shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the
yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come
against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.
44:3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he
has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should
understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our
faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.
44:4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that
God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful
unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord
suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into
transgression and deny our faith.
44:5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that
all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained
power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of
worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to
our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands
and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of
God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear
unto us—
44:6 Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which
ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us, and
we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will
go your way and come not again to war against us.
44:7 And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I
will command my men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the
wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we
will see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who
shall be brought into bondage.
44:8 And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these
sayings he came forth and delivered up his sword and his cimeter, and
his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are
our weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not
suffer ourselves to take an oath unto you, which we know that we shall
break, and also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer
that we may depart into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our
swords, and we will perish or conquer.
44:9 Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is God
that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your
cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your
breastplates and your shields that have preserved you.
44:10 And now when Zerahemnah had made an end of speaking these words,
Moroni returned the sword and the weapons of war, which he had
received, unto Zerahemnah, saying: Behold, we will end the conflict.
44:11 Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken, therefore as
the Lord liveth, ye shall not depart except ye depart with an oath that
ye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our hands
we will spill your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the
conditions which I have proposed.
44:12 And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his
sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he
might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s
soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he
also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the
earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his
soldiers.
44:13 And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off
the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the
hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth
unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice:
44:14 Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of
your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up
your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace.
44:15 Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the
scalp which was upon the sword, that were struck with fear; and many
came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni,
and entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a
covenant they suffered to depart into the wilderness.
44:16 Now it came to pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he
did stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend more
powerfully against the Nephites.
44:17 And now Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness of the
Lamanites; therefore he commanded his people that they should fall upon
them and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them;
yea, and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their might.
44:18 But behold, their naked skins and their bare heads were exposed
to the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea, behold they were pierced and
smitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the
Nephites; and they began to be swept down, even as the soldier of
Moroni had prophesied.
44:19 Now Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to be
destroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant
and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of
their lives, that they never would come to war again against them.
44:20 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of death
should cease again among the people. And he took the weapons of war
from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with him
of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.
44:21 Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the
greatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly
great, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites.
44:22 And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters
of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the
sea.
44:23 And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moroni, returned and came
to their houses and their lands.
44:24 And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges
over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was
written upon the plates of Nephi.