This catalog of the tribal lineages ends with the simple two-part division into “Nephite” and “Lamanite.” The lineage list, however, repeats 4 Nephi 1:39. (See accompanying commentary.) And similarly, although they look like specific lineages, they are really generic designations. They become subsumed into the classical antagonists, Lamanites and Nephites. Those two groups are hostile and go to war.
Chronology: Mormon states that war occurs “in this year” but does not identify that year. The last named year was 320 after Christ’s birth (4 Ne. 1:49). The next named year is Mormon 2:2 where Mormon leads the Nephite armies in 326.
However, the war in verse 8 ends with a Lamanite withdrawal (v. 12) before Mormon begins to lead the armies, thus providing a timeframe for the battles. Four years of peace followed this battle (v. 12) but apparently ended before Mormon turned fifteen (v. 15). Subtracting the four years of peace from Mormon’s fifteenth birthday dates the war at the year after Mormon and his family moved to Zarahemla.
Clearly the Nephites have a fully functioning army, complete with a leader. This point becomes relevant at beginning of Chapter 2. Building on the earlier hypothesis that Mormon’s father may have been a court retainer, I add, still speculatively, that he may have had military training; Mormon himself did. (See commentary following Mormon 2:1.) Therefore, Mormon’s father may have gone to the most likely point of conflict, probably as a military leader. He may have been killed in this first action, as he disappears from the narrative, and Mormon becomes a general four or five years later as a sixteen-year-old. Family tradition, possible expertise, and a loss of leadership may provide the best explanation for Mormon’s military appointment in the next chapter.