David Journal

Category: Scripture Notes

  • Contrasting expectations

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    Because Coriantumr expected something different than Moronihah he was able to quickly capture the largest cities in the land (the internal different didn’t help). Also because they had different expectations Coriantumr was not prepared for the response by Moronihah.

  • Apples and trees

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    Pahoran, who spent his life defending liberty for the Nephites, had three sons going to succeed him but one of them acted just like those who had been the greatest threat to his father. We have to take each person individually, we can’t make assumptions based on who raised them.

  • Settling

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    David
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    After years of turmoil and existential threat the people spent several years in peace just expanding and living without anyone trying to rock the boat.

  • Reckless

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    David
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    Teancum seems to have been reckless when he went after Ammoron at the end of the war. When he had killed Teancum he was desperate to end the Lamanite advance while he had minimal support. In contrast, when he killed Ammoron the neighbors were firmly in control of their position and the momentum was in…

  • Five words vs Ten Thousand

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    David
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    Paul would rather speak 5 Paul words than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue. He makes a good point that speaking in unknown tongues when there is nobody to interpret does not edify the church. Because it is more impressive Paul says that speaking in tongues is a sign for unbelievers. Conversely, prophesying is a…

  • Turning the tide

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    David
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    Once Moroni had all the information he changed the directions of his efforts and the tide of the war quickly shifted. There was new energy among the Nephites and the Lamanites were suddenly having to defend from new directions.

  • Surprised, relieved, concerned

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    David
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    I’m confident that Moroni was surprised with the speed of the answer from Pahoran. (I expect that Gideon was closer to Moroni than Zerahemla was.) When he read the response he was likely first relieved that Pahoran was not a traitor and also that there were many fighting in defense of liberty with Pahoran but…

  • Looking for reasons

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    David
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    Moroni is not just accusing Pahoran of neglect, pride, etc, he is also looking to find some reason for the actions (or lack of actions) that were plaguing the military. He considers many options including malice, pride, and relatively benign thoughtlessness.

  • Gathering information

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    David
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    Moroni was aware of his own situation but his understanding of the progress of the overall war was more complete after reading the epistle of Helaman. When the city of Nephihah fell he recognized another piece of information that he had been blind to. It was then that he could see the pattern of neglect…

  • They have received many wounds

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    David
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    We remember that the sons of Helaman were presented but we should not forget that they still received many wounds while keeping the covenant that had made.