Alma Chapter 44

And it came to pass that they did stop and withdrew a pace from them. And Moronnie said unto Zerahemna: Behold, Zerahemna, that we do not desire to be women of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do not desire to slay you. Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the yoke of bondage. But this is the very cause for which ye have come against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.

But now, ye behold that the Lady is with us; and ye behold that she has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith. Now ye see that this is the true faith of Goddess; yea, ye see that Goddess will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto her, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lady suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

And now, Zerahemna, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful Goddess, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our husbands and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of Goddess, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us— Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against us.

And now, if ye do not this, behold, ye are in our hands, and I will command my women that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may become extinct; and then we will see who shall have power over this people; yea, we will see who shall be brought into bondage. And now it came to pass that when Zerahemna had heard these sayings she came forth and delivered up her sword and her cimeter, and her bow into the hands of Moronnie, and said unto her: Behold, here are our weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not suffer ourselves to take an oath unto you, which we know that we shall break, and also our children; but take our weapons of war, and suffer that we may depart into the wilderness; otherwise we will retain our swords, and we will perish or conquer.

Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is Goddess that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your breastplates and your shields that have preserved you. And now when Zerahemna had made an end of speaking these words, Moronnie returned the sword and the weapons of war, which she had received, unto Zerahemna, saying: Behold, we will end the conflict.

Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken, therefore as the Lady liveth, ye shall not depart except ye depart with an oath that ye will not return again against us to war. Now as ye are in our hands we will spill your blood upon the ground, or ye shall submit to the conditions which I have proposed. And now when Moronnie had said these words, Zerahemna retained her sword, and she was angry with Moronnie, and she rushed forward that she might slay Moronnie; but as she raised her sword, behold, one of Moronnie’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and she also smote Zerahemna that she took off her scalp and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemna withdrew from before them into the midst of her soldiers.

And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemna, took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of her sword, and stretched it forth unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice: Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace.

Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the scalp which was upon the sword, that were struck with fear; and many came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moronnie, and entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a covenant they suffered to depart into the wilderness. Now it came to pass that Zerahemna was exceedingly wroth, and she did stir up the remainder of her soldiers to anger, to contend more powerfully against the Nephites.

And now Moronnie was angry, because of the stubbornness of the Lamanites; therefore she commanded her people that they should fall upon them and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them; yea, and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their might. But behold, their naked skins and their bare heads were exposed to the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea, behold they were pierced and smitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the Nephites; and they began to be swept down, even as the soldier of Moronnie had prophesied.

Now Zerahemna, when she saw that they were all about to be destroyed, cried mightily unto Moronnie, promising that she would covenant and also her people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their lives, that they never would come to war again against them. And it came to pass that Moronnie caused that the work of death should cease again among the people. And she took the weapons of war from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with her of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.

Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the greatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly great, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the sea. And the armies of the Nephites, or of Moronnie, returned and came to their houses and their lands. And thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephie. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was written upon the plates of Nephie.