And it came to pass that he wrote again to the governor of the land, who was Pahoran, and these are the words which he wrote, saying, behold, I direct mine epistle to Pahoran, in the city of Zarahemla, who is the chief judge and the governor over the land, and also to all those who have been chosen by this people to govern and manage the affairs of this war; for behold, I have somewhat to say unto them by the way of condemnation; for behold, ye yourselves know that ye have been appointed to gather together men, and arm them with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war, of every kind, and send forth against the Lamanites, in whatsoever parts they should come into our land. And now behold, I say unto you, that myself, and also my men, and also Helaman and his men, have suffered exceeding great sufferings; yea, even hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and all manner of afflictions of every kind. But behold, were this all we had suffered, we would not murmur nor complain; but behold, great has been the slaughter among our people; yea, thousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwise been, if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength and succor for them. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us. And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceeding great neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state. Can you think to sit upon your thrones, in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren; yea, even they who have looked up to you for protection, yea, have placed you in a situation that ye might have succored them; yea, ye might have sent armies unto them, to have strengthened them, and have saved thousands of them from falling by the sword? But behold, this is not all, ye have withheld your provisions from them, insomuch that many have fought and bled out their [p. 417]