It is a natural inclination in the hearts of most people to retain an attachment to the place of their origin after they have moved away. So it is with Zeniff. Zeniff is a decent and principled individual, “having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance” (Mosiah 9:1). We gain insight into Zeniff’s honorable character when we learn that he refuses to participate in the destruction of the Lamanites according to the orders of his army leader, saying “When I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed” (verse 1).