“Captain Moroni Rejects Ammorons Offer”

Monte S. Nyman

How Moroni knew that Ammoron had “a perfect knowledge” of his fraud (v. 1) is not stated. Perhaps that knowledge was based on their acquaintance before Ammoron had apostatized, or he may have known by the Spirit, the Holy Ghost. The man named Laman, who was chosen by Moroni to free the prisons, had been a victim of Amalickiah’s fraud. Ten years earlier, the nineteenth year of the judges, he had fled to the Nephites after the king of the Lamanites had been killed by one of Amalickiah’s servants, and then placed the blame on the king’s servants (see Alma 46:37; 47:22–29). Undoubtedly he had earned the trust of Moroni in those ten years. Laman’s cleverness in getting the Lamanite guards drunk is admirable, and a lesson the Nephites learned from and used later (see Alma 55:30–31).

Book of Mormon Commentary: The Record of Alma

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