Geography: The Nephite prisoners were being held in Gid, not far from Bountiful on the eastern front. Thus, despite Moroni’s victory at Mulek, pockets of Lamanite strength remain. Sorenson’s map shows Gid between Bountiful and Mulek, but not in the most direct line. It is also closer to the Nephite center, away from the coast that forms that eastern border. The prisoners that were to be exchanged were those on the eastern front. This is not only close to Moroni’s current location, but distant from Ammoron’s front on the west. If Moroni gained any advantage in the exchange, it would not have an immediate impact on Ammoron, perhaps another reason he was willing to make the exchange. When Moroni moves to take the prisoners rather than exchange them, he uses a stratagem rather than an attack on the city of Gid.
Culture: Moroni’s plan requires a Lamanite, in this case one of the former Lamanite king’s servants, scapegoated as his murderer by Amalickiah. It is not surprising to see someone so wronged pick up arms against the man (and now that man’s brother) who had driven him from home and would have killed him.
The interesting point is that Moroni needed a Lamanite. What could a Lamanite do that a non-Lamanite could not? For most readers, conditioned by years of assumptions, the assumption is that he is darker skinned while Nephites were “white.” However, this reason is unlikely, given the actual working-out of the plan (v. 8).
First, Laman is not alone. Moroni has selected other men to go with him. Moroni had searched for a Lamanite and found one. His companions, were, therefore, not Lamanites. However, they approach with the one “true” Lamanite. If skin color identified the one Lamanite, then his companions would obviously be recognized on sight as Nephites. Furthermore, the Lamanite armies are being led by a Nephite dissenter, and many of those in the city of Nephi who had ejected the people of Ammon were also Nephite dissenters. Skin color may never have been diagnostic, but at this point, it certainly cannot be the defining difference.
However, according to the record, Laman does all of the talking, and the guards immediately accept his announcement that he is a Lamanite. Thus, there is a language difference between the two groups. Clearly, this difference is not great, because Nephite dissenters easily assimilate into the Lamanite ranks. However, there must be some differences, either in dialect or accent, so that the target Lamanites identified Laman’s voice as soon as they heard it as truly “Lamanite.” As long as his companions remained silent, this ruse would be sufficient.