Maintaining perspective

If Moroni didn’t maintain a clear vision of his goal – to secure his people – it would be easy to hurt his long term prospects by taking the easy road to short term gains such as killing the Lamanites at the city of Gid while they were drunken. Had he done that he would have freed the Nephite prisoners and not taken the added burden of providing for more Lamanite prisoners. At the same time such butchery would have given him a reputation for brutality that might have inspired the Lamanites but certainly would have lost the blessings of heaven in his efforts.