Fast forward to about 73 B.C. a group who dissented from the Nephites and aligned themselves with the Lamanites, proceeded to stir up the Lamanites to go to battle against the Nephites.
It is of note that those who dissented from the Nephites ALWAYS stirred the Lamanites up to go to war using the Lamanites' long standing, yet baseless, feud to enact their vengeance for their own perceived wrongs. The goal of these dissenting groups was always about usurping power.
It is of note that those who dissented from the Nephites ALWAYS stirred the Lamanites up to go to war using the Lamanites' long standing, yet baseless, feud to enact their vengeance for their own perceived wrongs. The goal of these dissenting groups was always about usurping power.
During this particular time of war (there were many) a young man named Moroni was chosen to be the Chief Captain over the Nephite armies. Not much is known about him prior to his commission but we do know that he was made Captain at the age of twenty-five. He had a family or at least we know of a son that was later made chief captain when his father retired.
There were those who wanted to destroy the free government and establish a king over the people and had succeeded in dividing them. Upon hearing about these dissensions, he rent his coat (cloak) and made a standard for the people, a symbol to rally them to action which he titled The Title of Liberty. He wrote upon it these words:
Alma 46
12...In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children...He hoisted it upon a pole, put on his armor, prayed to the Lord and then went forth throughout the land-
19...waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice, saying:Moroni also knew the biggest threat to the Nephites existence and their freedom didn't come from the Lamanites but from within.
20 Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.
28 And...he went forth...and gathered together all the people who were desirous to maintain their liberty...
Alma 50It was no doubt taxing to Captain Moroni who was having to not only defend the land from being overtaken by the Lamanites but also having to put down rebellions within. He tried to stamp those out swiftly. He knew that united they stand, divided they fall.
21...for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destructions.
Alma 53
9 And thus because of iniquity amongst themselves, yea, because of dissensions and intrigue among themselves they were placed in the most dangerous circumstances.
Of one particular account it is written:
2 for behold, there were a part of the people who desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered.
5 [they] were called king-men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land.
6 And those who were desirous that...[there] should remain [a] chief judge over the land took upon them the name of freemen; and thus was the division among them, for the freemen had sworn or covenanted to maintain their rights and the privileges of their religion by a free government.
13 And it came to pass that when the men who were called king-men had heard that the Lamanites were coming down to battle against them, they were glad in their hearts; and they refused to take up arms...to defend their country.
17 And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his army should go against those king-men, to pull down their pride and their nobility and level them with the earth, or they should take up arms and support the cause of liberty.
21 ... Moroni put an end to those king-men...he put an end to the stubbornness and the pride of those people...
About 10 years later, the people had grown more wicked and the wars more vicious that it caused, not only Moroni, but all the captains to wonder after the great wickedness that was causing such strife among the Nephites and that threatened to defeat them.
Moroni was also angry with the government, believing that the government was indifferent to their plight as they were not receiving men for their army nor provisions. He did not know that those same king-men had risen up again and in his frustrations wrote to the chief judge in boldness telling the Chief Judge:
Alma 62
Moroni knew that those who dissented could not be allowed to continue their work. They would, if left unchecked, bring about the complete destruction of the people.
He knew:
So much is written that I can't write it all. I suggest you read the Book of Mormon.
What I will say is that Nephi saw the eventual destruction of his descendants and that the Lamanites would remain and become a mighty people but because of their unbelief a new nation was brought to them by the hand of the Lord, the Gentiles. They would build a nation upon the land and through them the judgments of God would come upon the Lamanites and they would be scattered and smitten. He saw, that this nation of Gentiles would be favored of the Lord and through them they would bring the Lamanites back into the fold of God after they've been humbled and they would come to know God.
That land they are speaking of is our continent. That group of gentiles were able to establish the country in which we live now. They fought for their religious freedom, they fought for their liberty from their "mother gentiles" and they too raised a standard of liberty. A symbol that men have bled and died for. When we recite the pledge of allegiance we aren't pledging to a piece of fabric. It is a symbol of our country and we pledge allegiance to God, to country, to liberty, to our families, to fighting against those who wish to tear down.
We are promised the wonderful blessings of safety and protection, of freedom and liberty so long as we continue to follow the Lord and his commandments.
Have we kept our promises?
If you haven't noticed, we have been destroying the very foundations of our nation for quite some time.
We have become more divided by those who have used cunning and flattering words to lead us astray, making us believe that they also fight for liberty, freedom and justice. They don't.
I repeat the words that Pahoran used:
Through the turmoil of today I am left wondering where is our Moroni? If the righteous do nothing, if we allow our voices to be silenced, we deserve whatever judgments come upon us.
I plead with you to see the truth, to look beyond the cunning words.
2nd Nephi 1
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/46nelson?lang=eng
Moroni was also angry with the government, believing that the government was indifferent to their plight as they were not receiving men for their army nor provisions. He did not know that those same king-men had risen up again and in his frustrations wrote to the chief judge in boldness telling the Chief Judge:
29 ...except ye do bestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your little ones, the sword of justice doth hang over you...The Chief Judge (Pahoran) wrote back to Moroni, informing him that there had been an insurrection and they succeeded in over throwing him. He wrote:
30 ...except ye do administer unto our relief, behold, I come unto you...and smite you with the sword, insomuch that ye can have no more power to impede the progress of this people in the cause of our freedom.
5 And behold, they have driven me out before them, and I have fled...with as many men as it were possible that I could get.Moroni responded immediately raising the standard of liberty wherever he went, gathering as many men to go and take back the city and reestablish the government and:
8 They have got possession of...the city...they have appointed a king over them, and he hath written unto the king of the Lamanites, in the which he hath joined an alliance with him...
9 ...I...do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I...do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.
14 ...let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God.
17 Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither, and we will go speedily against those dissenters, in the strength of our God according to the faith which is in us.
Alma 62
9...and those king-men, whosoever would not take up arms in the defence of their country, but would fight against it, were put to death.Eventually after many years of war, bloodshed, rebellions and usurpations, peace was finally established. The great Captain Moroni retired handing command over to his son and lived the rest of days in peace. His days were not long, however, as he died around the age of 43, 18 years after he first took command, approximately 15 of which were spent in war. His cause was a cause for freedom, liberty and justice. He loved God, the people, the land and he valued freedom.
10 And thus it became expedient that this law should be strictly observed for the safety of their country; yea, and whosoever was found denying their freedom was speedily executed according to the law.
Mormon, who abridged the majority of the Nephite records, was born over 400 years after the legendary events that made Captain Moroni such a prolific historical figure. I have to assume that Captain Moroni was Mormon's favorite too, after all he named his own son after him.
Mormon writes (Alma Chp 43):
11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;Can you not see why he is one of my favorites?
12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.
13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.
17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.
Moroni knew that those who dissented could not be allowed to continue their work. They would, if left unchecked, bring about the complete destruction of the people.
He knew:
Alma 46
9 ...the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.
Who:
10...was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of liberty...
And:
8 how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.2 Nephi 28
20 For behold, at that day shall [the devil] rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.It said multiple times throughout the Book of Mormon that the land is a promised land, a choice land and that all who find it will be brought by the hand of the Lord. That it would be a land of liberty where no King would reign and they would never be brought into captivity and if they were it was because of iniquity and if they would begin to rebel against God and fail to remember him and keep his commandments, then the judgments of God will come upon them.
So much is written that I can't write it all. I suggest you read the Book of Mormon.
What I will say is that Nephi saw the eventual destruction of his descendants and that the Lamanites would remain and become a mighty people but because of their unbelief a new nation was brought to them by the hand of the Lord, the Gentiles. They would build a nation upon the land and through them the judgments of God would come upon the Lamanites and they would be scattered and smitten. He saw, that this nation of Gentiles would be favored of the Lord and through them they would bring the Lamanites back into the fold of God after they've been humbled and they would come to know God.
That land they are speaking of is our continent. That group of gentiles were able to establish the country in which we live now. They fought for their religious freedom, they fought for their liberty from their "mother gentiles" and they too raised a standard of liberty. A symbol that men have bled and died for. When we recite the pledge of allegiance we aren't pledging to a piece of fabric. It is a symbol of our country and we pledge allegiance to God, to country, to liberty, to our families, to fighting against those who wish to tear down.
We are promised the wonderful blessings of safety and protection, of freedom and liberty so long as we continue to follow the Lord and his commandments.
Have we kept our promises?
If you haven't noticed, we have been destroying the very foundations of our nation for quite some time.
We have become more divided by those who have used cunning and flattering words to lead us astray, making us believe that they also fight for liberty, freedom and justice. They don't.
I repeat the words that Pahoran used:
14 ...let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God.The Book of Mormon is written for us in our day, to keep us from making the same mistakes so why are we? Why haven't we learned?
Through the turmoil of today I am left wondering where is our Moroni? If the righteous do nothing, if we allow our voices to be silenced, we deserve whatever judgments come upon us.
I plead with you to see the truth, to look beyond the cunning words.
2nd Nephi 1
13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.In the words of a latter-day Prophet, "time is running out".
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/46nelson?lang=eng
