Alma 45:19-24

¹⁹ 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:

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.

²¹ 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 46:19-21 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) went “forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air.”  He was calling on the people to fulfill their duty, to protect their society.  

He proclaimed to the people “whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord.”  He was making it clear that they would be fighting for a holy purpose.

Donald W. Parry discusses symbolic actions like this.

“Book of Mormon prophets carried on the Old World tradition of performing symbolic actions that revealed a prophetic curse. The incident of the title of liberty was much more than a rally behind a standard. Moroni rent his coat, wrote upon it the title of liberty, placed it upon a pole, and ‘went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see’ (Alma 46:19). After this dramatic act, Moroni likened his rent coat to the garment of Joseph that had been rent by Joseph's brothers and proclaimed, ‘Let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain’ (Alma 46:23). A curse is clearly implied. Those who fail to keep the commandments of God would be imprisoned, sold, or slain.”[1] (Emphasis mine)

The people “came running together,” dressed for war.  They also rent their garments as a covenant “they would not forsake the Lord their God.”  They covenanted that if they broke their covenant they had made, “the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments.”

“The covenant of the Nephite people, then, was not allegiance to a man, such as Moroni, nor to a government position, such as the office of chief judge, held by Nephihah and Pahoran. Instead, the covenants and commitments were made directly to God, to whom the people believed they were personally accountable. Again, this allegiance reflected a deep-seated commitment to the vertical rather than a horizontal tradition based on individual or institutional allegiance.”[2] (Emphasis mine)

²² Now this was the covenant which they made, and they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We covenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression.  ²³ Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.

²⁴ Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed.  And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.

Alma 46:22-24 (Emphasis mine)

When the people arrived, they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni(1).  This was a traditional sign of approval.  When Stephen was martyred, those stoning him cast their garments at the feet of Saul.  “And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him” (Acts 22:20).

They made a covenant that “we shall be destroyed … if we shall fall into transgression.”  William Hamblin tells us:

“Nephite armies consulted prophets before going to battle (Alma 16:5; 43:23—24; 3 Ne. 3:19) and entered into covenants with God before battle. On one occasion, the Nephite soldiers swore a solemn oath, covenanting to obey God's commandments and to fight valiantly for the cause of righteousness, casting their garments on the ground at the feet of their leader and inviting God to cast themselves likewise at the feet of their enemies if they should violate their oath (Alma 46:22; cf. 53:17).”[3] (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) reminded them “we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces.”  He was tying what he was doing to Joseph. 

“While many of Joseph's posterity were among the ten tribes of Israel taken into captivity about 722 B.C. (2 Kgs. 17:5—6), a few descendants had settled in Jerusalem some 200 years earlier (cf. 2 Chr. 15:9—10). From those came the Book of Mormon leaders Lehi and Ishmael, who, about 600 B.C., led their families to the Western Hemisphere. Their descendants were later called ‘a remnant of the seed of [Joseph]’ (Alma 46:23—24).”[4] (Emphasis mine)

“Using a remnant of his coat as a title of liberty, Moroni reminds the people that they are a remnant of Joseph and perhaps fulfill a prophecy of the biblical patriarch Jacob concerning a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph that was preserved and had not decayed. ‘Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved,’ Moroni quotes Jacob as saying, ‘so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment’ (Alma 46:24).”[5] (Emphasis mine)

As a part of the covenant, the people said, “we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward,” Who are these brethren?  “Unquestionably, the reference is to the Jaredites. The only reason apparent to me why the term ‘brethren’ would be applied by Nephites to Jaredites is because the former recognized that some of the people living with them were descended from the Jaredites.”[6]

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[1] Symbolic Action as Prophetic Curse, Donald W. Parry, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 28, 2012.

[2] The Impact of Shifting Cultural Assumptions on the Military Policies Directing Armed Conflict Reported in the Book of Alma, Matthew M. F. Hilton, and Neil J. Flinders, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 28, 2012.

[3] Warfare in the Book of Mormon, William J. Hamblin, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 28, 2012.

[4] Joseph of Egypt, Joseph F. McConkie, James R. Clark, and Liesel C. McBride, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 28, 2012.

[5] "Not Cast Off Forever" – Imagery, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 28, 2012.

[6] When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L. Sorenson,
Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 28, 2012.