pgs. 338 and 339...while Moroni was breaking down the wars and contentions among his own people...the Lamanites had come into the land.

21 And thus Moroni put an end to those king-men, that there were not any known by the appellation of king-men; and thus he put an end to the stubbornness and the pride of those people who professed the blood of nobility; but they were brought down to humble themselves like unto their brethren, and to fight ^avaliantly for their freedom from bondage.

22 Behold, it came to pass that while ^aMoroni was thus breaking down the wars and contentions among his own people, and subjecting them to peace and civilization, and making regulations to prepare for war against the Lamanites, behold, the Lamanites had come into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the seashore.

23 And it came to pass that the Nephites were not sufficiently strong in the city of Moroni; therefore Amalickiah did drive them, slaying many. And it came to pass that Amalickiah took possession of the city, yea, possession of all their fortifications.

24 And those who fled out of the ^acity of Moroni came to the city of Nephihah; and also the people of the city of Lehi gathered themselves together, and made preparations and were ready to receive the Lamanites to battle.

25 But it came to pass that Amalickiah would not suffer the Lamanites to go against the city of Nephihah to battle, but kept them down by the seashore, leaving men in every city to maintain and defend it.

26 And thus he went on, taking possession of ^amany cities, the city of ^bNephihah, and the city of ^cLehi, and the city of ^dMorianton, and the city of Omner, and the city of ^eGid, and the city of ^fMulek, all of which were on the east borders by the seashore.

27 And thus had the Lamanites obtained, by the cunning of Amalickiah, so many cities, by their numberless hosts, all of which were strongly fortified after the manner of the ^afortifications of Moroni; all of which afforded strongholds for the Lamanites.

28 And it came to pass that they marched to the ^aborders of the land Bountiful, driving the Nephites before them and slaying many.

29 But it came to pass that they were met by Teancum, who had ^aslain Morianton and had ^bheaded his people in his flight.

30 And it came to pass that he headed Amalickiah also, as he was marching forth with his numerous army that he might take possession of the land Bountiful, and also the land ^anorthward.

31 But behold he met with a disappointment by being repulsed by Teancum and his men, for they were great warriors; for every man of Teancum did exceed the Lamanites in their strength and in their skill of war, insomuch that they did gain advantage over the Lamanites.

32 And it came to pass that they did harass them, insomuch that they did slay them even until it was dark. And it came to pass that Teancum and his men did pitch their tents in the borders of the land Bountiful; and Amalickiah did pitch his tents in the borders on the beach by the seashore, and after this manner were they driven.

33 And it came to pass that when the night had come, Teancum and his servant stole forth and went out by night, and went into the camp of Amalickiah; and behold, sleep had overpowered them because of their much fatigue, which was caused by the labors and heat of the day.

34 And it came to pass that Teancum stole privily into the tent of the king, and ^aput a javelin to his heart; and he did cause the ^bdeath of the king immediately that he did not awake his servants.

35 And he returned again privily to his own camp, and behold, his men were asleep, and he awoke them and told them all the things that he had done.

36 And he caused that his armies should stand in ^areadiness, lest the Lamanites had awakened and should come upon them.

37 And thus endeth the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus endeth the days of Amalickiah.

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 52

Ammoron succeeds Amalickiah as king of the Lamanites—Moroni, Teancum, and Lehi lead the Nephites in a victorious war against the Lamanites—The city of Mulek is retaken, and Jacob the Lamanite is slain. About 66—64 B.C.

1 And now, it came to pass in the *twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, behold, when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they found Amalickiah was dead in his own tent; and they also saw that Teancum was ^aready to give them battle on that day.

2 And now, when the Lamanites saw this they were affrighted; and they abandoned their design in marching into the land northward, and retreated with all their army into the city of ^aMulek, and sought protection in their fortifications.

3 And it came to pass that the ^abrother of Amalickiah was appointed king over the people; and his name was ^bAmmoron; thus king Ammoron, the brother of king Amalickiah, was appointed to reign in his stead.

4 And it came to pass that he did command that his people should maintain those cities, which they had taken by the shedding of blood; for they had not taken any cities save they had lost much blood.

5 And now, Teancum saw that the Lamanites were determined to maintain those cities which they had taken, and those parts of the land which they had obtained possession of; and also seeing the enormity of their number, Teancum thought it was not expedient that he should attempt to attack them in their forts.

6 But he kept his men round about, as if making preparations for war; yea, and truly he was preparing to defend himself against them, by ^acasting up walls round about and preparing places of resort.

7 And it came to pass that he kept thus preparing for war until Moroni had sent a large number of men to strengthen his army.

8 And Moroni also sent orders unto him that he should retain all the prisoners who fell into his hands; for as the Lamanites had taken many prisoners, that he should retain all the prisoners of the Lamanites as a ^aransom for those whom the Lamanites had taken.

9 And he also sent orders unto him that he should fortify the land ^aBountiful, and secure the ^bnarrow pass which led into the land ^cnorthward, lest the Lamanites should obtain that point and should have power to harass them on every side.

Moroni and his people lost some battles in this reading because they were fighting among themselves. This is a great lesson to all of us that if we allow ourselves to become distracted by contention it weakens our defense against evil. We as members of the church should remember this as the attacks against the church become stronger.

This weekend we had our stake conference and the Apostle David A. Bednar came to speak. I learned so many new things and felt the love of the Lord so richly during his talks! One of the things he taught us is that the Book of Mormon was not given to the people who it is written about. The Lord commanded the authors of the Book of Mormon to keep their record for US. They were preparing for the first coming of the Savior Jesus Christ and we are preparing for the second coming. Their experiences have been given to us by the Lord to help us in this preparation. This is just another reminder to me of what a treasure the Book of Mormon is and how incredibly blessed we are to be able to read and study it.