If something seems too good to be true it probably is.
We have all had experiences which taught us this principle, sometimes painfully. Coriantumr learned this lesson catastrophically as he plunged the Lamanite army into the center of Nephite territory, winning control of the capital city of Zarahemla and apparently believing as a result of the easy victory that his army was massively more powerful than the Nephites. (See Helaman 1:16-23.)
In reality, the victory had two other explanations:
- The Nephites had experienced “much contention and…much difficulty in the government,” which left them poorly prepared to defend their capital (Helaman 1:18).
- Their general, Moronihah, assuming that the Lamanite army would attack their border cities first, “had caused that their strong armies should maintain those parts round about by the borders,” leaving the capital city vulnerable (Helaman 1:26).
We can learn important lessons from the Nephite errors in defending themselves, but today I want to focus on Coriantumr’s mistakes. It must have been exhilarating to seize control of the enemy’s capital city, but as Mormon points out, “this march of Coriantumr through the center of the land gave Moronihah great advantage over them, notwithstanding the greatness of the number of the Nephites who were slain” (Helaman 1:25). Once Moronihah understood the situation, he was able relatively quickly to surround Coriantumr’s army and soundly defeat them. Coriantumr’s march was a suicide mission, and his sacking of Zarahemla a pyrrhic victory.
Coriantumr had to believe several fallacies in order to place his army in this unwinnable situation:
- We are stronger than the Nephite army. (See Helaman 1:16.)
- The Nephites’ strongest force is in their capital city. (See Helaman 1:22.)
- If we move quickly enough, the Nephites won’t have time to organize. (See Helaman 1:24.)
You can easily see how Coriantumr fell into this trap. All of these fallacies validated his pride, and all of them seemed to be consistent with the facts on the ground…until they weren’t. Clearly, he would have benefitted from some self-reflection or from a courageous advisor urging him to consider the risks he was taking. Instead, he just plunged forward, oblivious to the danger of his situation until it was too late.
During the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, many investors bought overvalued tech stocks, believing that inflated prices would continue to rise. Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan raised a cautionary voice during a talk at the American Enterprise Institute:
How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions? … We should not underestimate or become complacent about the complexity of the interactions of asset markets and the economy.
Remarks by Chairman Alan Greenspan at the Annual Dinner and Francis Boyer Lecture of The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., December 5, 1996
Today, I will avoid overestimating my capabilities, particularly when things go well. I will remember that there may be other factors contributing to my success, and I will strive to be clear-eyed about the risks I face. I will strive to avoid Coriantumr’s brashness, which gave his enemies “great advantage” over him.
The same kind of thing happened when Moroni was chief captain in a previous battle in the book of Alma. The Nephite army was hidden. But a smaller group went to tease the Lamanites and caused to get them into a “firesack” of sorts. When the Lamanites came into the valley, the Nephites surrounded them in the rear and shut off their means of escape. Military history should teach us what not to forget but egos sometimes shut off inspiration and the work of death begins.
Thanks for the connection. Yes, the Lamanites had already fallen into that trap at least once, and certainly should have known better. Our egos can lead us down very dangerous paths if we don’t learn to manage them!