Alma 61
I wonder if Moroni was surprised at the speed of the reply. I also wonder how much of that speed was because of Pahoran being in a hurry to respond (some I’m sure) and how much may have been a result of Pahoran, in Gideon, being physically closer to Moroni than if he had been in Zerahemla where Moroni thought he was. It sounds like the problem of people seeking for power was concentrated in the area of Zerahemla. People outside of Zerahemla were flocking to help Pahoran. I wonder why Pahoran questioned the justice of going against the kingmen – perhaps he felt that their choice was a matter of agency in which he could not interfere. His uncertainly lessened his effectiveness against them. Moroni, on the other hand, knew that he was in the right, and that those who desired to join the Lamanites should do so by leaving the land of the Nephites, not by fighting them from the inside. He knew that those who chose to fight the Nephites were subject to the full power that he could bring to bear against them.