ptain Moroni and his Title of Liberty. Feelings in me have been stirring and rising up and I feel like I have an inkling of what he felt like when he did this.....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.Why did he do this?
Alma 46:12
Amalickiah was a wicked man who wanted to be king of the Nephites. His promises and flattery persuaded many rich and power-hungry people to support him. Even many Church members were deceived into following Amalickiah. (See Alma 46:17.)
Is any of this sounding familiar??
When Moroni, the chief commander of the Nephite armies, heard what Amalickiah was doing, he became angry. He tore his coat to make a flag. On it he wrote: "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children" (Alma 46:12; see also Alma 46:11). He fastened the flag to a pole and called it the title of liberty. Then, dressed in his battle armor, he prayed to God, asking Him to allow the people to keep the freedom they had. (See Alma 46:1213.)
When Moroni finished praying, he went among the people, waving the title of liberty in the air. He cried out, "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 46:20; see also Alma 46:19).
The people came running, dressed in their armor and tearing their cloaks as a symbol of the covenant they were making to obey the Lord. They gathered around Captain Moroni, ready to defend their freedom. (See Alma 46:21, Alma 46:28.)
When Amalickiah saw that Moroni's army was larger than his, he was afraid. He and his followers left to join the Lamanites. Moroni tried to stop them because he did not want them to stir up the Lamanites to battle. Amalickiah and a few of his men escaped, but Captain Moroni captured the others and took them back to Zarahemla. (See Alma 46:2933.)
Most of Amalickiah's captured followers were willing to covenant with Captain Moroni's people to defend freedom, and they were set free. Moroni placed a title of liberty on every tower in the Nephite land, and the Nephites again had peace. (See Alma 46:3537.)
I am feeling that we are living in a time where you need to decide what you believe in. What do you really believe in and what are you willing to do about it? I was on the Internet trying to see if I could find a picture of the Title of Liberty flag and what should I find? Someone has already made an actual flag. I love the Internet! How cool is that?
The flag is created and distributed by The Title of Liberty™ Non-Profit Organization and here is their description of what it means. The Bell
The Liberty Bell symbolizes what happened in world history on July 8, 1776 which signaled a change in world history when it rang from the tower of Independance Hall to summon citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, eventually leading to the adoption of the United States Constitution on September 7, 1787. The Liberty Bell represents the beginnings of cherished and honored freedoms that are now enjoyed by hundred of millions of people in many nations.
The Circle of Words on the Flag
Some of the cherished and honored freedoms represented by the Liberty Bell include: the freedom to acknowledge God's laws, to protect our families, to exercise our faith according to our conscience, to live at peace, and to enjoy freedom. Thus, it is fitting that The flag's centerpiece is a Liberty Bell surrounded by a circle of words: God, family, faith, peace, and freedom.
Here is a description of each of these words:
GOD We remember and defend the truth that GOD has endowed us with certain inalienable rights; that God’s word is the basis of civil law in most free countries; and that God’s name should not be removed from public life.
FAMILY - We remember and defend the traditional FAMILY of a husband, a wife, and children.
FAITH - We remember and defend the freedom to worship God according to our FAITH and the right to be represented by public officials who acknowledge God while preventing the promotion or fostering of one faith over another.
PEACE - We remember and defend the necessity of a strong national defense for PEACE between nations and support traditional values and moral codes that promote peace and prosperity within nations such as honesty, trust, virtue, morality, goodwill, etc. These ideals allow each individual the opportunity and ability to foster PEACE within.
FREEDOM - We remember and defend FREEDOM and the right of people to protect themselves from all forms of tyranny.
The Colors on the Flag
The Liberty Bell symbol and the circle of words are placed over two colors: red and blue. The red represents the blood lost to win these freedoms. The blue represents the courage to defend freedom. The crack between the colors represents the constant determination to remember and defend these freedoms.
I have always been the person watching movies or reading stories like Braveheart, Lord of the Rings, Joan of Arch, etc... (there are too many to list) that wondered if I was the kind of person that could "ride off to battle" facing certain death and insurmountable odds to fight for the what I believed in. I am no longer a person that has to wonder, I just know that I would and I wouldn't even have to hesitate---I'm not saying that I wouldn't be scared just that I would do what I had to. There is no greater cause or a more honorable way to die (if the fight should come to that end) than in defending our God, Faith, Freedoms and families. It is time that we understand patriotism and to know what it is for ourselves and to no longer sit by apathetically while our freedoms are taken from us. So when you drive by our house you will see proudly displayed and unfurled, waiving mightily in the wind our 2 flags that represent what principles and values we believe in and what we are willing to fight for. I hope it doesn't come down to a literal fight, because it honestly scares me to death, but if it does our family will be on the front lines along with the many others I have been talking to lately that understand the dangers we are facing. We are not alone.
"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 46:20
Sorry for the serious post. I'll get back to more fun stuff next time, I promise! :)
2 comments:
Moroni was the commander-in-chief and a warrior-prophet, and he had the backing of the high priest, Helaman. Moroni had the authority to do what he did. If an average Church member today were to hoist the title of liberty and go around fomenting rebellion and the rounding up and killing of political leaders, no matter how evil they were, he'd be excommunicated, not to mention put in prison. I'm not saying that the day of violence won't come, nor that Church leaders won't someday see that the government and the Constitution are not the same and advocate supporting the former because the latter neither defends nor supports the Constitution. But that day is yet to come. I can see the call to gather to Zion and the establishment of the armies of Israel to defender her before I can see Church leaders advocating actual aggression against the U.S. government.
"Enquiring mind" thank you for bringing to my attention the need to clarify. I appriciate your concern for "average church members fomenting rebellion and rounding up and killing political leaders". I completely agree with what you said. My only concern for your comment was that I'm not sure if you are implying that I was advocating such violence in which case common sense really is dead and I guess I should be looking out for homeland security tracking my every move. I guess this kind of concern is why the military who fight to protect this country with their lives are now a potental threat to this country according to homeland security. This is just a little blog ment for friends and family members who actually know who I am and what I was trying to say...... We have an obligation to stand up for what we believe in...the constitution and the principles our founding fathers had and for our God given inalienable rights by doing.....things like participating in peaceful tea party protests and demanding better of our leaders by making our voices heard. It is the spirit of Moroni's convictions that I was talking about especially when I ended with the scripture "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 46:20)
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