Moroni's Greatness
Book of Mormon Notes - Tuesday, October 24, 2023, Alma 48
Like a good totalitarian dictator, Amalickiah used propaganda to his advantage. He inspired the hearts of the Lamanites against the Nephites and he even appointed men to speak from towers against the Nephites. These towers were the CNN, MSNBC, Al-Jazeera, and FOX of the time. The men’s speeches from the towers were like the two minutes of hate from Orwell’s 1984. Amalickiah’s tactics worked very well, and he was able to blind so many minds, harden so many hearts, and stir up so much anger, that he was also able to gather together a numerous host to go to battle against the Nephites. Amalickiah was a real tyrant whose main objective was compliete domination of the known world. His tyrannical aims were larger than that of the merely hedonistic, gluttonous, and lustful king Noah who only sought to subjugate his own people.
The Lamanites were much more numerous than the Nephites, and Amalickiah appointed chief captains of the Zoramites because they were the most acquainted with the strengths and weaknesses of the Nephites. Then Amalickiah and his army boldly struck out towards the Nephite capital, Zarahemla.
Again, Mormon highlights the contrast between the tyrant Amalickiah’s motivations and preparations and the hero Moroni’s motivations and preparations:
Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been apreparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.
Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small aforts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building bwalls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.
And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.
And thus he was preparing to asupport their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of bChristians. (Alma 48:7-10)
As I mentioned in a previous post, President Nelson has drawn inspiration from Moroni in his conference talk to the sisters of the Church “Embrace the Future with Faith”:
In that regard, we can learn a lot from Captain Moroni. As commander of the Nephite armies, he faced opposing forces that were stronger, greater in number, and meaner. So, Moroni prepared his people in three essential ways.
First, he helped them create areas where they would be safe—“places of security” he called them.8 Second, he prepared “the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord.”9 And third, he never stopped preparing his people—physically or spiritually.10 Let us consider these three principles.
I’ve never really noticed before, however, that in addition to erecting small forts, or places of resort, and in addition to throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, Moroni and his soldiers also built bwalls of stone around these structures and around their cities and the borders of their lands. I don’t know if these things have any relation to the mound-builders that I hear so much about, but I imagine that when, if ever, these walls of stone are discovered, it will be fascinating physical evidence for these events in the Book of Mormon. But if we build upon (pun intended) President Nelson’s counsel concerning preparation, what might such walls of stone represent for us? Maybe Trump’s wall building wasn’t such a bad idea after all!
Notice too how intertwined are the cause of Christians and the cause of liberty. It was the cause of Christ that inspired Moroni and his people to defend their liberty, and it was their support of liberty that enabled them to live unto the Lord their God and maintain the cause of Christ. It reminds me of a passage in Chapter 2 of Volume 1 of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America:
I have already said enough to reveal Anglo-American civilization in its true light. It is the product (and this point of departure must always be kept in mind) of two perfectly distinct elements that elsewhere are often at odds. But in America, these two have been successfully blended, in a way, and marvelously combined. I mean the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty.
Who better than Moroni blended the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty? Who better than Moroni understood that Jesus Christ is the fountain of each true spirit?
Mormon’s tribute to Chief Captain Moroni must rank highest in the pantheon of holy tributes to Christ-like heroes. When I consider that Mormon’s love and admiration for Chief Captain Moroni, in my mind it contains no hint idolatry. When I consider why Mormon named his own beloved son Moroni, I am reminded of another passage that comes later in the Book of Helaman, a passage that Mormon knew well because he chose to include Helaman’s verbatim message to his sons:
Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first aparents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were bgood.
Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them. (Helaman 5:6-7)
Mormon gave unto his son the name of the valiant Chief Captain Moroni, and the memory of this great man must have inspired Mormon’s son to remember his works in order to do good. These were big shoes to fill, and Mormon’s son filled them marvelously well.
What kind of a man was Moroni?
And Moroni was a astrong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect bunderstanding; 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;
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 awelfare and safety of his people.
Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood. (Alma 48:11-13)
And Mormon was just getting warmed up. In a few of the most thrilling passages in all of scripture, Mormon describes the faith of the Nephites and the faith of Moroni, and his meditation on Moroni continues:
…and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; bnot in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.
Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the bdevil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.
Behold, he was a man like unto aAmmon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God. (Alma 48:16-18)
It’s difficult to communicate in mortal language how much I love Mormon’s description and praise of Chief Captain Moroni.
But for my own sake and the sake of posterity, and the sake of my readers who would like to know, this is my brief summary of the attributes of a man of God as exemplified by Chief Captain Moroni and as described and praised by the great prophet-historian Mormon:
A man of God is…
Strong
Mighty
Wise and Intelligent
A Peacemaker
A True Patriot
A Liberator
Grateful
Diligent
A Protector
Faithful
Steadfast
Courageous and Fearless
A Covenant Keeper
Charitable, Willing to Give His Life
Good
Obedient
Powerful
Righteous
Godly
In short, Moroni was Christ-like:
And know ye that aye shall be bjudges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what cmanner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even das I am. (3 Nephi 27:27)
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. (3 Nephi 12:48)
In essence, Mormon seemed to be teaching his son: “Be like Moroni, and be like Jesus.” Mormon also whispers the same message from the dust to us. But Mormon, perhaps realizing how great and lofty the character of Chief Captain Moroni was, and how high was his standard of greatness, gives hope and encouragement for his latter-day democratic audience by including a variety of similar examples of greatness:
Behold, he was a man like unto aAmmon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.
Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less aserviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words. (Alma 48:18-19)
Elder Bednar recently emphasized this latter point, giving even more hope and encouragement to those of us who are still striving, however imperfectly, toward Christ-like and Moroni-like character:
No Less Serviceable
In 1990, President Howard W. Hunter, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, delivered a message about the indispensable contributions of countless Church members who serve diligently and faithfully and who receive little or no public acknowledgment or acclaim.
President Hunter explained:
“It was said [about the young and valiant Captain Moroni]:
“‘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’ (Alma 48:17).
“What a compliment to a famous and powerful man. … Two verses later is a statement about Helaman and his brethren, who played a less conspicuous role than Moroni, that reads:
“‘Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni’ (Alma 48:19).”
President Hunter continued, “In other words, even though Helaman was not as noticeable or conspicuous as Moroni, he was as serviceable; that is, he was as helpful or useful as Moroni.”4
President Hunter then counseled all of us to be no less serviceable. He said: “If you feel that much of what you do this year or in the years to come does not make you very famous, take heart. Most of the best people who ever lived weren’t very famous either. Serve and grow, faithfully and quietly.”5
Like many of us, Moroni’s Nephites were compelled reluctantly to resist encroaching enemies and to defend themselves against the onslaught of evil. But they trusted in the Lord’s promise that if they should keep his commandments they should aprosper in the land.