Alma 43:41 - 43:45

Alma 43: 41 And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the valley, on the other side of the river Sidon, and began to fall upon them and to slay them.

As the Lamanites attempted to cross to the other side of the river, they were met with the army of Moroni which continued to work of death upon them.

Alma 43: 42 And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of Manti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni.

The Lamanites then attempted to flee towards the land of Manti but were met with another part of Moroni’s army.

Alma 43: 43 Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning.

With no escape possible from the armies of Moroni, the Lamanites began to fight with greater fierceness. They began to fight with a motivation that had never been seen before in the history of warfare from the Nephites and the Lamanites.

Alma 43: 44 And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.

The leadership of the Lamanites, the Zoramites, Amalekites along with their commander Zarahemnah, began to push their solders to fight harder if they were to save themselves. With that, the Lamanites were striking with greater force in order to pierce the Nephite armor. They were also hitting the unprotected areas such as the arms and cutting them off. This surprised the Nephites as they had never seen the Lamanites fight with such vigor.

Alma 43: 45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

The Nephites were fighting for a different reason. They were trying to protected their rights of religion, families and their freedoms. The Lamanites were only inspired to conquer and dominate along with whatever they could plunder.