Once upon a time there was a man named Morianton. He, and another man named Moroni had a dispute over land leading to a division between them. Morianton lost in the dispute leading to Morianton and his ilk dissenting and making plans to depart the area they were in and go northward to eventually wage war on their former alliances, the Nephites of Moroni. Well, it wasn't certain that they'd wage war. Moroni assumed they would though, once he found out of course.
In the midst of this disputing, Morianton, for no explicable reason other than being a man with a bad temper, decides to beat on his maid servant. Why he's angry with her is never stated. That's not to say his beating her would have been right had there been a reason. Nothing is good about beating someone. But it would help if there were a tad more context.
Suffice it to say, all three of those mentioned in the story were Nephites. And this is important because they did share a common bond, that being Nephites.
The unnamed Maiden takes off and escapes the Morianton camp to go to Moroni's camp, or the enemy camp. Why she does this isn't clear. Was she hoping that Moroni would protect her? Given that she was a servant to Morianton, would Moroni have even considered protecting her? Who knows! And we never find out.
What we do find out is that she not only flees to Moroni's camp, she tells him about the beating but also spills the beans about Morianton's plan. This leads to a skirmish, with Moroni's side coming out on top and the two groups having peace afterwards.
Happy ending- except we never find out what happened to this woman who, by LDS standards, is supposedly a heroine. She's attributed with "espionage" skills and hailed as a star in preventing more death and destruction (for a while anyway).
The church has, on its website, a story for children focused on her [ click here ].
Now the obvious question is: Why title this blog after this particular character?
The answer is simple: Because she's a nameless heroine. At least according to LDS interpretations.
What's left out of church-based illuminations on the story is the fact that she was a victim of abuse. A victim who decided she'd had enough. And perhaps a victim seeking retribution for that abuse. We don't know. The Book of Mormon text makes it seem as though her recounting Moriantons' plan to Moroni was an afterthought. The first thing she did was tell Captain Moroni about the abuse.
Perhaps not so coincidental is the fact that the two men, Morianton and Moroni, ended up making peace with one another while the maiden disappears into nothingness.
Why did she have to add that there was a plan to move northward? Wasn't Morianton's abuse of a Nephite woman (remember, Moroni was also Nephite) enough to alarm Moroni?
Apparently not. And while the efforts to make her a heroine sound nice, they emphacize her reporting the plans of Morianton, not so much her bravery in leaving the abuse.
If I were to summarize the story, I would do it thusly:
Morianton was beating her because he felt like it. So she ran away. We can only assume she traveled through some dangerous areas for a woman to travel alone, but she made it to safety. And though she reported the abuse, it took warning Moroni about something that could directly affect him before he did anything. And she was never heard of again.
The story doesn't sound so uplifting now, does it?
But for many children, women, and yes men, who have been through abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its how their stories often end.
In fact, for many people there need not be physical abuse. They've suffered from a long list of doctrines, policies, procedures and practices, that have cause other types of damage, including mental, emotional and spiritual damage.
And so many of these victims, these survivors, are never heard from again, even if they report it. They can't be heard. Once the leaders are happy, the issue is no longer a matter of concern.