Redaction:Having introduced the eventual moral, Mormon tells the story. Because it relates the perspective of Alma’s people, Mormon obviously had a record created by Alma or under Alma’s direction.
Culture: Verses 25 and 26 accurately describe a Mesoamerican village. Verse 25 differentiates the land and the city of Helam. The “land” was the farming area around the central village. Because the people were tilling the “land,” they could see a Lamanite army in “the borders of the land,” or the area that lay beyond the cultivated area. Quickly they retreat to the more defensible city where resistance can be more easily organized.
This description contrasts with Gideon’s and Noah’s discovery of Lamanite army from the tower in Lehi-Nephi. They sounded the alarm from the city, not from the “borders of the land.” Later, Limhi could see the Lamanite army assembling from this same tower.
In contrast, Alma’s people have no warning from a centralized location. Instead, the army comes upon the tillers fairly suddenly, though at a sufficient distance that the people could flee to the city and consult Alma. This scenario suggests that the fields were near the city and that the area between the fields and the “borders” was relatively open. Helam is in a valley whose pass was perhaps an hour or two away from the tilled fields. The image of the valley also fits the description of Helam as a land of “pure water”—possibly a lake, but certainly a river or copious stream.
What size was the city? Not long before Helam is founded, Alma’s church numbered 450 members (Mosiah 18:35). Given the comparatively short lapse of time, probably natural increase had not produced a significantly larger population. Possibly Alma’s people peacefully incorporated other groups or individuals they encountered, but the record remains silent on this point. As John Sorenson points out, however, that “size had little to do with the use of the label; many a ‘town’ or even a ‘village’ could have had more inhabitants than certain cities, but they lacked the crucial criteria to qualify for the name ‘city.’” He defines two crucial characteristics: It was “a governmental center (including a temple or cult center as a symbol of royal patronage or presence),” and it was prepared “to be defended militarily.”
Apparently, this city did not have a “tower” (Mesoamerican-style stepped pyramid), which would suggest that the Almaites lacked the manpower and time required to construct it. If they had one, perhaps they had no sentry posted. However, since Alma’s group had fled from the Lamanites, they presumably would have been wary of an approaching enemy.
Another suggestion that the population is small is that they obviously fear the Lamanites and do not even consider the option of fighting. We do not know the size of the Lamanite army, but it would have been hard to move a large body quickly through mountain passes and to keep it supplied. Therefore, this army was likely a smaller force, but still possibly around a thousand soldiers. A general would be certain to send a force sufficient to outnumber its expected opposition, if possible.
Translation: Verse 25 contains the peculiar phrase: “… while they were in the land of Helam, yea, in the city of Helam, while tilling the land round about.… ” No doubt, these farmers were in the “land of Helam” rather than in the heart of the city, yet the land would have been subject to city’s authority.
Variant: The printer’s manuscript has “Helaman” here, which was corrected prior to the first printed edition to “Helam.” (See commentary accompanying Mosiah 18:12.)