Moroni Writes to Pahoran

What adjectives would you use to describe Captain Moroni’s letter? His tone?
His attitude?

• He is angry. This is about the fourth time that we read that Moroni was angry. This is usually not considered a great virtue.
• Moroni was discouraged with the people that he had tried so hard to teach.
• This war had been going on now for about a dozen years, so he was likely worn down and weary.
• He was harsh, but he thought he was justified. I think he was making some big assumptions and being judgmental against the government. He had no idea what had really been going on at the capital.
• Perhaps he was impulsive. He certainly jumped to conclusions.
• Discouraged and desperate. They had no supplies, no reinforcements, and many had fallen by the sword. I think he really cared about the people.

It may be easy for us to assume that Moroni was quite a hothead. However, Teancum killed Amalickiah with extraordinary daring, and maybe even foolhardiness—as we shall see when he tries to do it a second time. In this war, their backs were against the wall, and desperation sometimes requires more than just kind efforts to persuade. He did get Pahoran’s attention.

Moreover, he may have worried that a less pointed or bold correspondence would result in inaction by whoever was responsible for the deprivation of the Nephite armies. Afterall, he had already written once and received no answer. Pahoran revealed in his reply that he was up to his neck in his own problems. Perhaps the letter was delivered to Zarahemla after Pahoran had left. It may have not been delivered—on time anyway.

Further Reading

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Moroni Refer to Vessel Impurity in Condemning the Central Government? (Alma 60:23),” KnoWhy 169 (August 19, 2016).