Moroni would have seen yet another parallel between the destruction of the Jaredites and Nephites. Not only were they at the same hill, but he notes that there is a time when all the people are gathered together for a final battle. This recalls the words of Mormon: “And I, Mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the Lamanites, and desired of him that he would grant unto us that we might gather together our people unto the land of Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah, and there we could give them battle” (Mormon 6:2).
There is a difference, of course. The Jaredites gather for four years, and we don’t have the timing to know how long Mormon had to prepare. Four years would appear to be a very long time, and it is possible that the number is more symbolic than literal. The number four was a number of completeness among Mesoamerican peoples, similar to the Hebrew use of seven. When we see seven in the Bible, we pay attention because it may be symbolic more than literal, and the same should occur in the New World with the number four. As a number of completeness, it signaled that this was the end of the gathering.