Indifference Concerning the Freedom of Their Country

I just finished reading Alma 59 and found the last few verses quite interesting probably because they appear to apply to our situation today. In verse 9, Captain Moroni is lamenting the success the Lamanite armies are having against the Nephites. Because the Nephites have smaller armies than the Lamanites, Moroni notes that it's easier to maintain their cities than to reclaim them from the Lamanites.

Moroni identifies two reasons why the Nephites have suffered these losses. First, verse 11 reveals that Moroni "was exceedingly sorrowful ... because of the wickedness of the people," and he "began to doubt ... whether they should not fall into the hands of their brethren." The Book of Mormon makes it clear that when the people are righteous, the Lord delivers them from the hands of their enemies. That raises the question whether we could be more successful in the global war on terrorism if all the peoples of the free world were more righteous and more reliant on the Lord. I suspect the answer is yes.

Second, verse 13 indicates that Moroni "was angry with the government, because of their indifference concerning the freedom of their country." Clearly, Moroni placed some of the blame for their losses on the lack of support from the Nephite government. Moroni believed that if the Nephite armies had been strong enough, they could have maintained the cities they possessed, but because the government withheld support, they lost some of their cities. How does this apply to us today? I'm not sure, but I believe that all free peoples who believe in God should stand up and be willing to defend "their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, their rites of worship and their church" (Alma 43:45).

It appears Moroni understood that our freedom from tyranny is composed of two parts: 1) doing all we can do to defend ourselves, and 2) living righteously and relying on the Lord.

Amalickiah and Islamic Extremists

While Islamic extremists are the greatest threat in the world today, many people think it fashionable to argue that the U.S. is the real source of evil. Take for example a poll conducted in Europe in June 2006. More than one-third of respondents identified the US "as the greatest threat to global stability" (Financial Times, 18 June 2006).

These people are misguided. The Book of Mormon teaches us how to identify good from evil. The story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty lists the criteria by which we can tell who is on the Lord's side and who is not.

We read in Alma 46 about a wicked man named Amalickiah. Contrary to the law of the land, Amalickiah sought to become the king of the Nephites. He used flattering words to persuade people who wanted power to follow him and make him their king. Many members of the Church dissented because of his flattery.

Verse 10 describes his ultimate goal. He used cunning and flattery to lead "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."

In response to this threat, Moroni, the leader of the Nephite armies, rent his coat and wrote upon a piece of it, "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children" (verse 12). Fastened upon a pole, this Title of Liberty became his motto and represents his ultimate goal in start contrast to that of Amalickiah. Moroni then "prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren" (verse 13).

While Amalickiah lead many away to do wickedly including some of the Church who dissented, many others flocked to the standard of Captain Moroni. Those who chose to stand for liberty entered into a covenant saying, "We covenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed ... if we shall fall into transgression" (verse 22).

How can we tell where the evil in the world truly lies today? All we must do is compare the situation today to that faced by the Nephites in the days of Moroni:

Amalickiah	Islamic extremists (e.g., Ahmadinejad, bin Laden)
Wants power over Nephites	Want power over free nations
Uses cunning words and flattery (dishonesty and vanity) to persuade	Uses controlled state press, liberal media, and the Internet to persuade with no regard for the truth; also use lies and threats (e.g., beheadings) to achieve goals
Promises power to followers	Promise virgins in the afterlife and other unrighteous desires to followers
Seeks to destroy the Church	Seek to destroy religious freedom and tolerance
Seeks to destroy liberty	Seek to take away all freedoms (e.g., free press, free speech, voting rights)

Moroni	U.S. and its Allies
Focuses on God and religion	Founded on principles of faith in God
Seeks freedom	Ultimate goal of U.S. military is to maintain freedom from outside control
Desires peace	The U.S. does not use war to force other nations to become Christian or to take away their freedom
Focuses on defending the family	Many in the U.S. seek to protect marriage and the unborn; wives and daughters have equal opportunities under the law
Prays for liberty	Many pray for freedom from terrorism
Followers covenant to keep God's commandments	Many strive to follow the laws of God embodied in the 10 commandments

Note the warning of the prophet Isaiah: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness" (Isaiah 5:20). This prophecy certainly applies to the practice of labeling President Bush and the U.S. as the greatest threat to world peace today. Satan wants to deceive us into thinking that if we do not fight terrorism, there will be peace in the world and we will be able to say "All is well in Zion." That belief will only allow Satan greater freedom to take away our freedom to worship God.

Land of the Noble Free

We're approaching that time of year when we sing our national hymns of patriotism. They remind us that our land is full of noble people and that we should be noble in our freedom. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" reminds us that we live in the "land of the noble free." In "America the Beautiful" we sing, "America! America! May God thy gold refine, Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!"

I recently read of a wonderful example of success becoming nobleness. A graduate of the University of Chicago anonymously donated $100 million to the university. This donation will provide 800 full and 400 partial scholarships lower-income students. Click here to read more.

Ronald Reagan once said, "We are a humane and generous people." Later, he declared that "With all our faults, we're the most generous people in the world." May we live up to his vision of America and follow the example of this great benefactor in using our freedom and success nobly.

The War: "Where does the Church stand in all of this?"

With so much conflict in the world today, and legitimate arguments supporting the war and calling for its end, what position should a good member of the Church take on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? While anyone who has read my blog knows how I feel about this, I won't presume to say there is one right answer for everyone. We all must follow the Spirit, the counsel of our Church leaders, the scriptures, and the dictates of our conscience. That said, President Hinckley spoke on this topic in the April 2003 General Conference (Gordon B. Hinckley, "War and Peace," Ensign, May 2003, 78). Here is a substantial quote from his talk:

The question arises, "Where does the Church stand in all of this?"

First, let it be understood that we have no quarrel with the Muslim people or with those of any other faith. We recognize and teach that all the people of the earth are of the family of God. And as He is our Father, so are we brothers and sisters with family obligations one to another.

But as citizens we are all under the direction of our respective national leaders. They have access to greater political and military intelligence than do the people generally. Those in the armed services are under obligation to their respective governments to execute the will of the sovereign. When they joined the military service, they entered into a contract by which they are presently bound and to which they have dutifully responded.

One of our Articles of Faith, which represent an expression of our doctrine, states, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" (A of F 1:12).

But modern revelation states that we are to "renounce war and proclaim peace" (D&C 98:16).

In a democracy we can renounce war and proclaim peace. There is opportunity for dissent. Many have been speaking out and doing so emphatically. That is their privilege. That is their right, so long as they do so legally. However, we all must also be mindful of another overriding responsibility, which I may add, governs my personal feelings and dictates my personal loyalties in the present situation.

When war raged between the Nephites and the Lamanites, the record states that “the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for … power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

"And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God" (Alma 43:45–46).

The Lord counseled them, "Defend your families even unto bloodshed" (Alma 43:47).

And Moroni "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 headplate, 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" (Alma 46:12–13).

It is clear from these and other writings that there are times and circumstances when nations are justified, in fact have an obligation, to fight for family, for liberty, and against tyranny, threat, and oppression.

When all is said and done, we of this Church are people of peace. We are followers of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the Prince of Peace. But even He said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34).

This places us in the position of those who long for peace, who teach peace, who work for peace, but who also are citizens of nations and are subject to the laws of our governments. Furthermore, we are a freedom-loving people, committed to the defense of liberty wherever it is in jeopardy. I believe that God will not hold men and women in uniform responsible as agents of their government in carrying forward that which they are legally obligated to do. It may even be that He will hold us responsible if we try to impede or hedge up the way of those who are involved in a contest with forces of evil and repression.

I believe that one thing all members of the Church can unitedly do is pray for peace and pray that our leaders will be lead by the Spirit of Truth.

America Stands for Freedom

In his 1982 Christmas Day radio address, President Ronald Reagan read a letter from Ordnance Man, First Class, John Mooney, written to his parents while aboard the aircraft carrier Midway. Of this letter quoted below, President Reagan said, "To me, it sums up so much of what is best about the Christmas spirit, the American character, and what this beloved land of ours stands for -- not only to ourselves but to millions of less fortunate people around the globe."

"Dear Mom and Dad," he wrote, "today we spotted a boat in the water, and we rendered assistance. We picked up 65 Vietnamese refugees. It was about a two-hour job getting everyone aboard, and then they had to get screened by intelligence and checked out by medical and fed and clothed and all that.

"But now they're resting on the hangar deck, and the kids -- most of them seem to be kids . . . are sitting in front of probably the first television set they've ever seen, watching `Star Wars'. Their boat was sinking as we came alongside. They'd been at sea five days, and had run out of water. All in all, a couple of more days and the kids would have been in pretty bad shape.

"I guess once in awhile," he writes, "we need a jolt like that for us to realize why we do what we do and how important, really, it can be. I mean, it took a lot of guts for those parents to make a choice like that to go to sea in a leaky boat in hope of finding someone to take them from the sea. So much risk! But apparently they felt it was worth it rather than live in a Communist country.

"For all of our problems, with the price of gas, and not being able to afford a new car or other creature comforts this year . . . I really don't see a lot of leaky boats heading out of San Diego looking for the Russian ships out there. . . .

"After the refugees were brought aboard, I took some pictures, but as usual I didn't have my camera with me for the REAL picture -- the one blazed in my mind. . . .

"As they approached the ship, they were all waving and trying as best they could to say, `Hello America sailor! Hello Freedom man!' It's hard to see a boat full of people like that and not get a lump somewhere between chin and bellybutton. And it really makes one proud and glad to be an American. People were waving and shouting and choking down lumps and trying not to let other brave men see their wet eyes. A lieutenant next to me said, `Yeah, I guess it's payday in more ways than one.' (We got paid today.) And I guess no one could say it better than that.

"It reminds us all of what America has always been -- a place a man or woman can come to for freedom. I know we're crowded and we have unemployment and we have a real burden with refugees, but I honestly hope and pray we can always find room. We have a unique society, made up of cast-offs of all the world's wars and oppressions, and yet we're strong and free. We have one thing in common -- no matter where our forefathers came from, we believe in that freedom.

"I hope we always have room for one more person, maybe an Afghan or a Pole or someone else looking for a place . . . where he doesn't have to worry about his family's starving or a knock on the door in the night . . ." and where "all men who truly seek freedom and honor and respect and dignity for themselves and their posterity can find a place where they can . . . finally see their dreams come true and their kids educated and become the next generations of doctors and lawyers and builders and soldiers and sailors.

Love, John."

This is why we should teach our children how great America is and why we should be patriotic. While it's people are not perfect, America stands for freedom and hope in a troubled world where evil men wish to exercise unrighteous dominion to take away our freedom to worship God and seek for better lives for ourselves and our families.