Moroni offered some pretty strong warnings. He essentially told Pahoran that he would come to the city and stir up insurrections among the people if they desired freedom. He threatened to come in and clean house if the government languished in their luxury. That was more than a warning, it was a threat.
Also characteristic was his use of warnings of divine retribution: “Except ye do bestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your little ones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall upon you and visit you even to your utter destruction” (v. 29).
There are a lot of good adjectives to use here. I think too often when we talk about this letter, people only think of how angry he was and how impetuous he appeared to be, jumping to a conclusion when he did not really know all the facts. We need to be careful about putting ourselves in that situation. However, chief captain Moroni had a great reputation and he had certainly paid a very heavy price for everything that he had done. He deserved, in a way, to be able to speak his mind openly.
He was certainly an honest man. He was not mincing words or hiding behind any kind of protocol, and maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt for his circumstances.
In the end, Pahorah wrote back to Moroni (61:1–21). Pahoran himself had fled to the city of Gideon when Pachus and his deserters had taken over Zarahemla.