Wartime communication is a perennial problem for any military commander. While busy on the east coast, Moroni seems to have been uninformed as to the events on the west coast prior to this letter from Helaman. What is amazing is that Helaman has to recount four years of fighting (see v. 9)! From 66 BC to 62 BC, Moroni was apparently too busy on the eastern front to visit his forces on the west. Such is the problem with a war on two fronts.