3 Nephi 4

In the 18th year after the birth of Jesus Christ the army of robbers were ready to do battle and came down from the mountains to fight. They easily took possession of the undefended land and cities that had been abandoned by the Nephites. But there was no wild game or food for the robbers in the abandoned areas because the Nephites had left it desolate. They had taken all of their harvests and livestock with them when they left. Without wild game to hunt, or Nephite farms to plunder, the robbers found subsistence outside their wilderness lands impossible. Their only option was to attack and overcome the Nephites at their stronghold. The Nephites had stripped the land of all subsistence and had gathered together enough horses, cattle, and provisions to endure a siege of seven years duration.

In the 19th year Giddianhi resolved that it was necessary to attack the Nephites. His robbers had no interest in becoming farmers themselves, or growing crops on the abandoned Nephite lands. If they did, he reasoned, the Nephites would merely attack their scattered farms as his robbers had previously done to them. Their only chance of success lay in robbing and plundering the Nephites.

When the time of the great battle arrived the robbers came dressed in lambskin loincloths dyed in blood. Their heads were shaved and protected by helmets, and their bodies were protected by fearsome looking armor. When the Nephites saw the terrifying appearance of the robbers’ army they fell to the ground and cried out to God to deliver them from this horrible enemy. Seeing this, the robbers roared with joy because they supposed that the Nephites had fallen from fear and terror of their army. But they were mistaken. The Nephites were not afraid of anything but their God to whom they prayed for protection. When the robbers rushed forward to attack, the Nephites were prepared to meet them with the strength of God on their side.

The great battle was terrible. It was the biggest slaughter of Lehi’s descendants since their ancestors had left Jerusalem hundreds of years ago. In spite of Giddianhi’s boasting, threats and oaths, the Nephites prevailed and drove the robbers’ army back. Gidgiddoni ordered the Nephite army to pursue the robbers to the edge of the wilderness border, and not to spare any of the robbers that fell into their hands. In the course of this bloody retreat the robbers’ leader, Giddianhi, fought hard but was overtaken and killed.

The robbers’ army was pushed back to the edge of the wilderness, and the Nephites returned to their own stronghold and waited. For the next two years all was quiet. In the 21st year after the birth of Jesus Christ the robbers came forward again and surrounded the Nephites’ stronghold, thinking that they could cut them off from their lands and force them to surrender. By this time the robbers had a new leader named Zemnarihah who led the siege against the Nephites.

While the Nephites were well supplied and prepared for a long siege, the robbers lacked any provisions of their own. The lands around Zarahemla were void of the wild game that the robbers normally depended upon to feed themselves. Their only source of food came from their hunters, who brought it to them from the wilderness. This resulted in further depletion and scarcity of wild game along the wilderness boundaries. The invaders were starving while they laid siege to the Nephites. Partly because of the robbers’ persistent hunger the Nephites were able to fight successfully every day, and killed tens of thousands of the invaders. As a result of the cumulative destruction of their forces the robbers lost their motivation, and wanted to withdraw. So Zemnarihah ordered his army to retreat to the lands far north of Zarahemla.

Gidgiddoni knew of their plans, of their weakness from starvation, and of the massive depletion of their army’s numbers. So that night he sent out his own army to cut off their path of retreat. When the weakened robber army awoke the next morning they found themselves facing the Nephite army from all sides. Thousands of robbers surrendered to the Nephites, and the rest were killed.

Zemnarihah was captured and hung from a tree until he was dead. Afterwards the Nephites felled the tree and cried out to God. “May God preserve his people in righteousness and holiness of heart,” they shouted out, “so that all those who seek to kill them through force and secret conspiracies will fall, just as this man Zemnarihah has been felled. May the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob1 protect this people in righteousness as long as they call on him for their protection.”

The entire body of Nephites broke into song together, praised God for the great victory he had given them, and thanked him for deliverance from their enemies. “Hosanna to the God Most High,” they cried out. “Blessed is the name of the Lord God Almighty.”

Their hearts were filled with joy and their eyes were filled with tears. They knew that it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.