Social: Moroni’s purpose in writing is to remind Pahoran that they have been derelict in a duty. For our purposes, the interesting point is what they were to do. Pahoran is to gather together and arm the men. This reminds us that there is not a standing army. Even though the people who are to be recruited may have some defensive weapons, and certainly hunting weapons, there will be essential weapons of war that they do not have. Pahoran is to provide not only the men, but the weaponry.
In Mesoamerican warfare, the nature of the offensive weapons required frequent repair or replacement (Hassig 1988, p. 104). Even during battles the obsidian blades would be subject to shattering, and when replacement troops entered the front line, the relieved men could return to a location where they might repair their weapons. All of this tells us that it is quite important for Pahoran to arm the men coming in to the field. Even with large numbers of casualties, there was no guarantee that there would be large numbers of effective weapons available at the front.