The Book of Mormon talks about what it calls the "title" or "standard" of liberty. It was established by people who valued their freedom, and it was used for a very specific purpose - to do a job I believe needs to be done in our country today.
The Standard of Liberty was first conceived during a time of great civil unrest among the Nephites.
Many people, including members and even leaders of the Church, had become corrupted by the political movements of the day, and had allowed a wicked man to flatter them into abandoning their principles in pursuit of power and wealth at the expense of others:
"...they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to [the prophets'] words, to walk uprightly before God." (Alma 45:24)
"And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the words of Helaman (the prophet) and his brethren were gathered together against their brethren. And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them. Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah. And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they were seeking for power. And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people. Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were high priests over the church. And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord." (Alma 46:2-7)
Of the circumstances of the time, the prophet Helaman lamented:
"Thus we see 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. Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men. Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he 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 which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous’ sake." (Alma 46:8-10)
Most of us alive today have, in our time, seen our country descend from the heights of morality as "one nation under God... indivisible..." to a nation that has forgotten the God whose principles for so long defined and made possible its freedom and prosperity - a nation that is no longer united in principle. We have seen the powerful effect one president has had on the moral fabric of our society, and on our religious freedoms, among others.
In their day, among the Nephites, there was a commander in the army who decided to do something about their situation. But his first move was not to go to war.
"And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah. And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole. And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—" Alma 46:12-13)
Captain Moroni believed that the Lord would protect those who had taken upon them His name:
"And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored. And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty. And he said: Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions." (Alma 46:16-18)
Moroni's prayer for freedom reminds me of a hymn we know well:
"Our fathers' God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light.
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!"
(LDS Hymns #339 - My Country, 'Tis of Thee)
In the events that followed, I think the purpose for the Standard of Liberty becomes clear:
"And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, 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: 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." (Alma 46:19-20)
You see, in their perilous state of iniquity and rebellion, the people needed a change of heart. They needed to remember their God and the covenants they and their fathers had made with Him. They needed to remember that freedom and prosperity can only exist when our efforts to obtain them are framed in the commandments and principles of God and His gospel.
Look at what happened as a result of Moroni's work:
"And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments." (Alma 46:21)
The Standard of Liberty caused the people to remember why they had established a free nation. The people came to support Captain Moroni, and they made a new covenant with God and a new oath of loyalty to their nation.
Moroni's effort to re-unite the people continued:
"And it came to pass also, that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites." (Alma 46:36)
So successful was he in re-uniting his people that the dissenters and traitors were forced to join them:
"And the remainder of those dissenters, rather than be smitten down to the earth by the sword, yielded to the standard of liberty, and were compelled to hoist the title of liberty upon their towers, and in their cities, and to take up arms in defence of their country." (Alma 51:20)
In another time, in another war that was the consequence of the people allowing the same corruption to work in their hearts, Captain Moroni responded the same way - by working with good leaders in government and by raising the Standard of Liberty. Unfortunately, on this particular occasion, the situation had devolved far enough to warrant military action:
"And it came to pass that Moroni took a small number of men, according to the desire of Pahoran, and gave Lehi and Teancum command over the remainder of his army, and took his march towards the land of Gideon. And he did raise the standard of liberty in whatsoever place he did enter, and gained whatsoever force he could in all his march towards the land of Gideon. And it came to pass that thousands did flock unto his standard, and did take up their swords in the defence of their freedom, that they might not come into bondage." (Alma 62:3-5)
During the dissensions caused by Amalickiah, the prophet Helaman gave a warning that applied both to them and to us who now live on the same land:
"And he said: Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (Alma 45:16)
They saw this warning fulfilled, even to their utter destruction. Under the weight of its own folly, their own civilization collapsed in a state of utter chaos and civil war.
We cannot let this happen in our country! We cannot allow unprincipled people to corrupt our government, to corrupt our laws, or to "redefine" our freedoms! We have to remember the reason this nation was founded: "...in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..." (The Preamble to the Constitution)
We have to remember that the principles which guided the establishment of this nation were found in the Bible, and that its Constitution must be interpreted to uphold and defend the principles of the same, as it once was!
Captain Moroni's Standard of Liberty encouraged the people to unite and defend their peaceful and free nation:
"In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children!" (Alma 46:12)
It may well be that the only way we'll ever get our nation back, and the only way those of faith will continue to enjoy the freedom of religion which has for so long been ours is by uniting as a people and raising once again the standard of liberty we have been given in our own day. Say it with me; you know the words...
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." (The Pledge of Allegiance)
The Standard of Liberty was first conceived during a time of great civil unrest among the Nephites.
Many people, including members and even leaders of the Church, had become corrupted by the political movements of the day, and had allowed a wicked man to flatter them into abandoning their principles in pursuit of power and wealth at the expense of others:
"...they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to [the prophets'] words, to walk uprightly before God." (Alma 45:24)
"And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the words of Helaman (the prophet) and his brethren were gathered together against their brethren. And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them. Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah. And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they were seeking for power. And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people. Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were high priests over the church. And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord." (Alma 46:2-7)
Of the circumstances of the time, the prophet Helaman lamented:
"Thus we see 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. Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men. Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he 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 which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous’ sake." (Alma 46:8-10)
Most of us alive today have, in our time, seen our country descend from the heights of morality as "one nation under God... indivisible..." to a nation that has forgotten the God whose principles for so long defined and made possible its freedom and prosperity - a nation that is no longer united in principle. We have seen the powerful effect one president has had on the moral fabric of our society, and on our religious freedoms, among others.
In their day, among the Nephites, there was a commander in the army who decided to do something about their situation. But his first move was not to go to war.
"And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah. And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole. And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—" Alma 46:12-13)
Captain Moroni believed that the Lord would protect those who had taken upon them His name:
"And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored. And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty. And he said: Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions." (Alma 46:16-18)
Moroni's prayer for freedom reminds me of a hymn we know well:
"Our fathers' God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light.
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!"
(LDS Hymns #339 - My Country, 'Tis of Thee)
In the events that followed, I think the purpose for the Standard of Liberty becomes clear:
"And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, 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: 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." (Alma 46:19-20)
You see, in their perilous state of iniquity and rebellion, the people needed a change of heart. They needed to remember their God and the covenants they and their fathers had made with Him. They needed to remember that freedom and prosperity can only exist when our efforts to obtain them are framed in the commandments and principles of God and His gospel.
Look at what happened as a result of Moroni's work:
"And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments." (Alma 46:21)
The Standard of Liberty caused the people to remember why they had established a free nation. The people came to support Captain Moroni, and they made a new covenant with God and a new oath of loyalty to their nation.
Moroni's effort to re-unite the people continued:
"And it came to pass also, that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites." (Alma 46:36)
So successful was he in re-uniting his people that the dissenters and traitors were forced to join them:
"And the remainder of those dissenters, rather than be smitten down to the earth by the sword, yielded to the standard of liberty, and were compelled to hoist the title of liberty upon their towers, and in their cities, and to take up arms in defence of their country." (Alma 51:20)
In another time, in another war that was the consequence of the people allowing the same corruption to work in their hearts, Captain Moroni responded the same way - by working with good leaders in government and by raising the Standard of Liberty. Unfortunately, on this particular occasion, the situation had devolved far enough to warrant military action:
"And it came to pass that Moroni took a small number of men, according to the desire of Pahoran, and gave Lehi and Teancum command over the remainder of his army, and took his march towards the land of Gideon. And he did raise the standard of liberty in whatsoever place he did enter, and gained whatsoever force he could in all his march towards the land of Gideon. And it came to pass that thousands did flock unto his standard, and did take up their swords in the defence of their freedom, that they might not come into bondage." (Alma 62:3-5)
During the dissensions caused by Amalickiah, the prophet Helaman gave a warning that applied both to them and to us who now live on the same land:
"And he said: Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (Alma 45:16)
They saw this warning fulfilled, even to their utter destruction. Under the weight of its own folly, their own civilization collapsed in a state of utter chaos and civil war.
We cannot let this happen in our country! We cannot allow unprincipled people to corrupt our government, to corrupt our laws, or to "redefine" our freedoms! We have to remember the reason this nation was founded: "...in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..." (The Preamble to the Constitution)
We have to remember that the principles which guided the establishment of this nation were found in the Bible, and that its Constitution must be interpreted to uphold and defend the principles of the same, as it once was!
Captain Moroni's Standard of Liberty encouraged the people to unite and defend their peaceful and free nation:
"In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children!" (Alma 46:12)
It may well be that the only way we'll ever get our nation back, and the only way those of faith will continue to enjoy the freedom of religion which has for so long been ours is by uniting as a people and raising once again the standard of liberty we have been given in our own day. Say it with me; you know the words...
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." (The Pledge of Allegiance)
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