After Ammon and his people were all situated in their new land of Jershon, there was a battle between the Lamanites and the people of Nephi. A big battle. In fact, it was the biggest battle anyone had ever seen since the very beginning of the Book of Mormon when Lehi and his children left Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of Lamanites died.
And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness. 28.1
And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad. 28.2
Other than the body count, though, we don't get too many of the details of the battle. Many Nephites died as well, and it was a very sad time for the people of Nephi.
Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were driven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land. 28.3
And now this was a time that there was a great mourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi -- 28.4
Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain. 28.5
They do tell us a date here, though. The battle finished right around the end of the 15th year of the judges.
And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; 28.7
That's pretty much all of the action in this chapter. The rest is just them talking about how bad the battle, and how the bodies of the slain were "mouldering in heaps upon the face of the earth". Sounds pretty nasty. But although some of the people were mourning for their loss, others were rejoicing, because of how awesome God was and whatnot.
And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo. 28.11
While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness. 28.12
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