The coming conflict sees all of the brothers gathered together in the land of Midian, which is still a land within the Lamanite-controlled land of Nephi. The signs were clear that there would be a war, but the resolution of the council was perhaps unexpected. In verse 6 we learn that “there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren.” Indeed, that remarkable position appeared to have been a major part of their conversion process. It was specifically mentioned in Alma 23:7 and Alma 23:13.
The next verses begin to explain why that might have been an integral part of their conversion. It will become an integral part of the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies and the coming war with the unconverted Lamanites who had made no such covenant.