At one time the Nephites showed signs of weakening. Then the voice of General Moroni rang out, reminding his men of that for which they were fighting--their religion, their liberty, their wives and children, their houses and lands. His words filled their hearts with renewed courage, and with a cry to the Lord to help them, the Nephites rushed upon the Lamanites and slew them in great numbers. Seeing that his enemies were beaten, Moroni commanded his men to stop slaying them. Addressing Zerahemna, Moroni said, "You see now that you are in our power. It would be easy for us to slay you, but we do not desire to shed your blood. I, therefore, call upon you and your followers to deliver unto us your weapons of war, and to enter into a covenant that you will never again take up arms against us. If you refuse to do this, I will command my men to attack you again and utterly destroy you." When Moroni had finished speaking, Zerahemna stepped forward and handed him his sword, cimeter and bow. "We are willing," he said, "to surrender to your our weapons, but we will not enter into a covenant never to go to war with you again, because we know we would not keep our promise." On hearing that, Moroni handed Zerahemna back his weapons and the deadly conflict was resumed. The Lord gave great strength to the Nephites so that the Lamanites fell before them in large numbers. At last Zerahemna began to plead for mercy, so Moroni gave orders for the battle to cease. The conquered Lamanites laid down their arms at the feet of the Nephites, and after entering into the covenant proposed by Moroni, they were permitted to return to their own lands. Peace reigned throughout the land for a number of years. Then the Lamanites broke the covenant they had made with the Nephites and a series of terrible wars followed. Several times the people of Ammon (the Lamanites whom Ammon and his brethren had converted) were tempted to break their covenant with the Lord and to take up arms in defense of the Nephites. They refrained, however, from doing so. But among the people of Ammon there were two thousand young men who were little boys when their fathers made covenant with the Lord that they would never fight against their Lamanite brethren. These young men had not made such a promise, so they came forward and offered their services to the Nephites--to help them preserve their religion, their liberty, their houses and lands. Their kind offer was willingly accepted. They chose as their leader a man named Helaman. No father was ever more proud of his sons than was Helaman of his two thousand young soldiers. And well he might be, for no better army ever entered a field of battle. Besides their weapons of war, they were armed with a far greater thing--a perfect faith in God. That faith had been planted in their hearts through the teachings of their godly mothers. They had been taught from their childhood to have implicit faith in the Lord, and to tryst Him in every hour of trial.