146 Now they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all; they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world unprepared to meet their God;
147 Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their church, and had left them, and had gone to destroy them, by joining the Lamanites;
148 Yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over the blood of the Nephites, so long as there were any who should keep the commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they should keep his commandments, they should prosper in the land.
149 And now it came to pass, in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year, on the tenth day of the month, the armies of the Lamanites were seen approaching towards the land of Ammonihah.
150 And behold, the city had been rebuilt, and Moroni had stationed an army by the borders of the city, and they had cast up dirt round about, to shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites: for behold, they fought with stones, and with arrows.
151 Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt. I say unto you, yea, that it was in part rebuilt, and because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it would again become an easy prey for them.
152 But behold, how great was their disappointment; for behold, the Nephites had dug up a ridge of earth round about them, which was so high that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and arrows at them, that they might take effect, neither could they come upon them, save it was by their place of entrance.
153 Now at this time, the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security.
154 Now the leaders of the Lamanites had supposed, because of the greatness of their numbers; yea, they supposed that they should be privileged to come upon them as they had hitherto done;
155 Yea, and they had also prepared themselves with shields, and with breastplates; and they had also prepared themselves with garments of skins; yea, very thick garments, to cover their nakedness.
156 And being thus prepared, they supposed that they should easily overpower and subject their brethren to the yoke of bondage, or slay and massacre them according to their pleasure.
