It is remarkable that Mormon concludes this summary by saying that those converted by Mosiah’s sons “never did fall away.” Not many missionaries in the history of the world can say the same thing of those to whom they have taught the gospel. What was the difference here?
It seems logical to me that one important reason was the vast distance the Lamanites had to cross to accept the Nephite gospel. They not only had to learn and love a new religion, they had to learn and love a new God. They not only had to accept Yahweh, but they had to undo centuries of enculturation that taught them to hate anything Nephite. Under these circumstances, only those who powerfully felt the Spirit would have strength to change. It is doubtful that any Lamanites converted because their neighbors had. Each had to make a difficult individual choice, one that could be made only through the compelling power of the Spirit. Such a manifestation would be also unforgettable. It often seems that the reward for the larger sacrifice to join the Church is accompanied by a correspondingly greater confirmation by the Spirit that the action is correct.
Redaction: The phrase “so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth” is awkward. The presence of the “or” in the second clause indicates that perhaps the first clause was an error, and indeed it does not make much sense with the general direction of the verse. It is impossible to know, however, whether this was an error in Mormon’s written text, or in Joseph’s oral dictation. Both are possibilities. It is the type of error that can almost be predicted where an idea’s formulation and its presentation occur in close proximity. That is, whoever the author might have been, he conceived of the content of the paragraph and began a clause, then realized that the clause required correction. This is quite understandable in oral discourse. It is also understandable in written text if the text is being written down as conceived. Possibly Mormon was drafting his narrative directly onto the plates, instead of copying his composition.