Mormon ended verse 22 noting that the Nephites were reluctant to fight against the Lamanites. These verses give us the conflicting emotions of the Nephites, the sorrow at the shedding of blood, but the necessity to defend their wives and children.
Social: When Mormon describes the potential effects of the conflict with the Lamanites, he notes that the Nephites are protecting themselves from the “barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren.” Mormon tells us no more about what this “barbarous cruelty” might have been. We may expect that it entailed something more than the casualties associated with battle since that kind of death, while tragic, is not typically described as “barbarous.” Indeed, the Nephites would be killing Lamanites in much the same way, and it would be unreasonable to assume that death in war is barbarous when the enemy does it, but understandable when we do it (though all cultures do have something of that opinion).
It is possible that we are seeing here another oblique reference to the practices of military conquest among Mesoamerican peoples, particularly the Maya. Not only were may of the captives subjected to human sacrifice, which is barbarous in and of itself, but they also frequently subjected their captives to torture (Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller. The Blood of Kings. George Braziller, Inc. 1986, pp 217-8). In the cultural context of Mesoamerican war, there were certainly precedents for the fear of “barbarous cruelty” that might befall Nephites taken captive by the Lamanites.
“They Were Sorry to Take Up Arms Against the Lamanites”
Mormon ended verse 22 noting that the Nephites were reluctant to fight against the Lamanites. These verses give us the conflicting emotions of the Nephites, the sorrow at the shedding of blood, but the necessity to defend their wives and children.
Social: When Mormon describes the potential effects of the conflict with the Lamanites, he notes that the Nephites are protecting themselves from the “barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren.” Mormon tells us no more about what this “barbarous cruelty” might have been. We may expect that it entailed something more than the casualties associated with battle since that kind of death, while tragic, is not typically described as “barbarous.” Indeed, the Nephites would be killing Lamanites in much the same way, and it would be unreasonable to assume that death in war is barbarous when the enemy does it, but understandable when we do it (though all cultures do have something of that opinion).
It is possible that we are seeing here another oblique reference to the practices of military conquest among Mesoamerican peoples, particularly the Maya. Not only were may of the captives subjected to human sacrifice, which is barbarous in and of itself, but they also frequently subjected their captives to torture (Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller. The Blood of Kings. George Braziller, Inc. 1986, pp 217-8). In the cultural context of Mesoamerican war, there were certainly precedents for the fear of “barbarous cruelty” that might befall Nephites taken captive by the Lamanites.