14 And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran, leaving a large body of men in the land of Zarahemla, took their march with a large body of men towards the land of Nephihah, being determined toaoverthrow the Lamanites in that city.
15 And it came to pass that as they were marching towards the land, they took a large body of men of the Lamanites, and slew many of them, and took their provisions and their weapons of war.
16 And it came to pass after they had taken them, they caused them to enter into a acovenant that they would no more take up their weapons of war against the Nephites.
17 And when they had entered into this covenant they sent them to adwell with the people of Ammon, and they were in number about four thousand who had not been slain.
18 And it came to pass that when they had sent them away they pursued their march towards the land of aNephihah. And it came to pass that when they had come to the city of Nephihah, they did pitch their tents in the plains of Nephihah, which is near the city of Nephihah.
19 Now Moroni was desirous that the Lamanites should come out to battle against them, upon the plains; but the Lamanites, knowing of their exceedingly great courage, and beholding the greatness of their numbers, therefore they durst not come out against them; therefore they did not come to battle in that day.
20 And when the night came, Moroni went forth in the darkness of the night, and came upon the top of the wall to spy out in what part of the city the Lamanites did camp with their army.
21 And it came to pass that they were on the east, by the entrance; and they were all asleep. And now Moroni returned to his army, and caused that they should prepare in haste strong cords and ladders, to be let down from the top of the awall into the inner part of the wall.
22 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his men should march forth and come upon the top of the wall, and let athemselves down into that part of the city, yea, even on the west, where the Lamanites did not camp with their armies.
23 And it came to pass that they were all let down into the city by night, by the means of their strong cords and their ladders; thus when the morning came they were all within the walls of the city.
24 And now, when the Lamanites awoke and saw that the armies of Moroni were within the walls, they were affrighted exceedingly, insomuch that they did flee out by the pass.
25 And now when Moroni saw that they were fleeing before him, he did cause that his men should march forth against them, and slew many, and surrounded many others, and took them prisoners; and the remainder of them fled into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the seashore.
26 Thus had Moroni and Pahoran obtained the apossession of the city of Nephihah without the loss of one soul; and there were many of the Lamanites who were slain.
27 Now it came to pass that many of the Lamanites that were prisoners were desirous to ajoin the people of Ammon and become a free people.
28 And it came to pass that as many as were desirous, unto them it was granted according to their desires.
29 Therefore, all the prisoners of the Lamanites did join the people of Ammon, and did begin to labor exceedingly, tilling the ground, raising all manner of grain, and flocks and herds of every kind; and thus were the Nephites relieved from a great burden; yea, insomuch that they were relieved from all the prisoners of the Lamanites.
30 Now it came to pass that Moroni, after he had obtained possession of the city of Nephihah, having taken many prisoners, which did reduce the armies of the Lamanites exceedingly, and having regained many of the Nephites who had been taken prisoners, which did strengthen the army of Moroni exceedingly; therefore Moroni went forth from the land of Nephihah to the land of aLehi.
31 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that Moroni was coming against them, they were again frightened and fled before the army of Moroni.
32 And it came to pass that aMoroni and his army did pursue them from city to city, until they were met by Lehi and Teancum; and the Lamanites fled from Lehi and Teancum, even down upon the borders by the seashore, until they came to the land of Moroni.
33 And the armies of the Lamanites were all gathered together, insomuch that they were all in one body in the land of Moroni. Now Ammoron, the king of the Lamanites, was also with them.
34 And it came to pass that Moroni and Lehi and Teancum did encamp with their armies round about in the borders of the land of Moroni, insomuch that the Lamanites were encircled about in the borders by the wilderness on the south, and in the borders by the wilderness on the east.
35 And thus they did encamp for the night. For behold, the Nephites and the Lamanites also were weary because of the greatness of the march; therefore they did not resolve upon any stratagem in the night-time, save it were Teancum; for he was exceedingly angry with Ammoron, insomuch that he considered that Ammoron, and Amalickiah his brother, had been the acause of this great and lasting war between them and the Lamanites, which had been the cause of so much war and bloodshed, yea, and so much famine.
36 And it came to pass that Teancum in his anger did go forth into the camp of the Lamanites, and did let himself down over the walls of the city. And he went forth with a cord, from place to place, insomuch that he did find the king; and he did acast a javelin at him, which did pierce him near the heart. But behold, the king did awaken his servants before he died, insomuch that they did pursue Teancum, and slew him.
37 Now it came to pass that when Lehi and Moroni knew that Teancum was dead they were exceedingly sorrowful; for behold, he had been a man who had afought valiantly for his country, yea, a true friend to liberty; and he had suffered very many exceedingly sore afflictions. But behold, he was dead, and had gone the way of all the earth.
38 Now it came to pass that Moroni marched forth on the morrow, and came upon the Lamanites, insomuch that they did slay them with a great slaughter; and they did drive them out of the land; and they did flee, even that they did not return at that time against the Nephites.
39 And thus *ended the thirty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and thus they had had wars, and bloodsheds, and famine, and affliction, for the space of many years.
40 And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the arighteous’ sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared.
Reading verse 40 teaches us that the righteous hearts and prayers of a few people can benefit a whole society. This reminds me of a lesson I learned a few months ago at Womens Conference. There was a woman who was conducting the singing in the Marriott Center for one of the morning sessions. Usually the person who conducts the singing doesn't say anything but this woman was a firecracker!!! She didn't just want us to sing half-heartedly, she wanted every woman in that room to SING with conviction! She told us that every person makes a difference when they walk into a room whether they say a word or not. We all have an energy and spirit which influences those who are around us. It is up to us to choose whether we will have an uplifting influence or a negative influence. And she showed us that we could use that energy to sing and and uplift each other with the hymn. We sang "Now Let Us Rejoice" and I have no doubt that every person in that room understood what she meant. Tears were flowing freely as we all realized the power of our influence. Even if those who are righteous are few in number, as it says in verse 40, they have the power to make an incredible difference!
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