Hugh Nibley
"Mormon said, 'And from this time forth did the Nephites gain no power over the Lamanites, but began to be swept off by them even as a dew before the sun [Mormon 4:18].' A very powerful expression. There's nothing left. Everything is swept away as the dew before the sun, combing the land. It wasn't just a spot engagement here and there that would lead to a conference between the rulers, or something like that. No, it was a total thing. The most violent element of war, like a violent natural force, like a plague sweeping a nation, appears when, 'freed from all conventional restrictions, it [breaks] loose with all its natural force. It is a natural phenomenon. There are no more artificial or other restraints. War is much nearer to real nature in absolutes.'" (Teachings From the Book of Mormon, Lecture 68, p. 136)