Moriori: when extreme pacifism met massacre in the South Pacific
August 17, 2026 at 3:04 AM MT · via Times and Seasons · Summarized by Mormon News from original reporting
Times and Seasons draws parallels between the Book of Mormon's Anti-Nephi-Lehies and the Moriori people of the Chatham Islands, who maintained an oath of nonviolence even under invasion by mainland Maori. The Moriori outnumbered their attackers but refused to fight due to their sacred commitment to pacifism, resulting in widespread massacre, enslavement, and cannibalism. The essay examines what happens when a pacifist people face an enemy who does not stop — a scenario the Anti-Nephi-Lehies avoided when their attackers' conscience intervened, but the Moriori did not.
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