Alma 46:28-37

²⁸  And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words he went forth, and also sent forth in all the parts of the land where there were dissensions, and gathered together all the people who were desirous to maintain their liberty, to stand against Amalickiah and those who had dissented, who were called Amalickiahites.  ²⁹ And it came to pass that when Amalickiah saw that the people of Moroni were more numerous than the Amalickiahites—and he also saw that his people were doubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which they had undertaken—therefore, fearing that he should not gain the point, he took those of his people who would and departed into the land of Nephi.

Alma 46:28-29 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) recruited from all parts of the land “where there were dissensions.”  He was able to get an army of people “who were desirous to maintain their liberty.”  He put together an army who were ready to fight for their freedom.

Amalickiah realized that Moroni(1)’s army was more numerous and stronger than his.  He realized his own people had doubts.  Mormon tells us “his people were doubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which they had undertaken.”  “This effort by Moroni succeeded in thwarting Amalickiah's attempt to usurp control of the Nephite government. Amalickiah then decided to lead his dissenters to join the Lamanites,”[1]

Hugh Nibley sums up where things stand.

“Amalickiah wasn't able to pull it off among his own people. In Alma 46:29 it tells us that his own people were doubtful concerning the justice of his cause. He was a very, very smooth man, a skillful talker, it says. But still they knew he wasn't honest. Boy, you are going to see some tricks now. Some fled with him to the land of Nephi among the Lamanites and they started stirring up the Lamanites to anger by spreading dirty stories and rumors.”[2] (Emphasis mine)

³⁰ Now Moroni thought it was not expedient that the Lamanites should have any more strength; therefore he thought to cut off the people of Amalickiah, or to take them and bring them back, and put Amalickiah to death; yea, for he knew that he would stir up the Lamanites to anger against them, and cause them to come to battle against them; and this he knew that Amalickiah would do that he might obtain his purposes.  ³¹ Therefore Moroni thought it was expedient that he should take his armies, who had gathered themselves together, and armed themselves, and entered into a covenant to keep the peace—and it came to pass that he took his army and marched out with his tents into the wilderness, to cut off the course of Amalickiah in the wilderness. ³² And it came to pass that he did according to his desires, and marched forth into the wilderness, and headed the armies of Amalickiah.

Alma 46:30-32 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) was concerned about an alliance between Amalickiah and the Lamanites.  Moroni had faced the Lamanites once before.  He knew “the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites;” (Alma 43:51).  He wanted to cut them off and prevent them from making this alliance.  His desire was to bring the fleeing people back and “put Amalickiah to death.” 

He organized his armies, gathered them together, and armed them.  They “entered into a covenant to keep the peace.”  He did not want war.  Lynn Wardle explains “the righteous only resort to slaying dissenters when the dissenters had undertaken to do something that immediately and seriously threatened the lives and liberties of the righteous innocent who would not agree with the dissenters. Thus, Moroni did not use military force against Amalickiah until Amalickiah had departed with his followers for the land of Nephi, where he intended to (and later did) strengthen the armies of the Lamanites and stir them up to attack the Nephites (Alma 46:30–31).”[3]

³³ And it came to pass that Amalickiah fled with a small number of his men, and the remainder were delivered up into the hands of Moroni and were taken back into the land of Zarahemla.  ³⁴ Now, Moroni being a man who was appointed by the chief judges and the voice of the people, therefore he had power according to his will with the armies of the Nephites, to establish and to exercise authority over them.  ³⁵ And it came to pass that whomsoever of the Amalickiahites that would not enter into a covenant to support the cause of freedom, that they might maintain a free government, he caused to be put to death; and there were but few who denied the covenant of freedom. 

³⁶ 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.  ³⁷ And they began to have peace again in the land; and thus they did maintain peace in the land until nearly the end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges [72 B.C.].

Alma 46:33-37 (Emphasis mine)

When the armies met, a few men, including Amalickiah were able to escape.  The rest were taken back to Zarahemla to answer for their actions.  Moroni(1) was given the authority to deal with the dissenters.  This came from the chief judges and the voice of the people.

John Welch explains the legal matters the Nephites were facing.

“Captain Moroni exercised legal authority over the dissenters who had taken up arms and left with Amalickiah to join the Lamanites but who were soon captured (see Alma 46:29-35). Though no trials were held for these king-men dissenters, Moroni was not usurping legal authority in acting as he did. The record is careful to state that the chief judges and the voice of the people had expressly given Moroni plenary power ‘to exercise authority over [the armies of the Nephites]’ (Alma 46:34). The dissenting soldiers were clearly guilty of disloyalty or treason against the state. The chief captain's handling of the matter was expedient, simple, fair, and within his jurisdiction. He gave the rebel soldiers the choice of either entering ‘into a covenant to support the cause of freedom’ or of being put to death (Alma 46:35).”[4] (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) had the Title of Liberty on “every tower which was in all the land.”  The year ended with “peace again in the land.”

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[1] Dissent: Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 30, 2012.

[2] Lecture 64: Alma 47, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 30, 2012.

[3] Dissent: Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 30, 2012.

[4] Law and War in the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 30, 2012.

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.

Alma 46:11-18

A hero was need and one stepped up to fight for freedom.

¹¹ 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. ¹² 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.

¹³ 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—¹⁴ For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church.

¹⁵ And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.  ¹⁶ And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.

Alma 46:11-16 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) heard about the dissensions, and he became angry over the situation.  Hugh Nibley tells us his response “was that of a man caught off guard by acts of such vicious and deceitful nature that his own guileless spirit was slow to anticipate what it was loathe to attribute to any fellow creature…”[1]  He tore off a piece of his coat and wrote on it “[i]n memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.”  “This vividly recalls the inscriptions that the ancient Jews would put on their banners and trumpets before going out to war,”[2]

Moroni(1) had used this language before.  When commanding Zerahemnah to surrender, he told him “I command you, in the name of that all–powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—“ (Alma 44:5) (Emphasis mine).

“Portions of clothes also figure interestingly in the Book of Mormon. Captain Moroni rallies the people to the cause of liberty by tearing a piece from his coat and writing upon it, ‘In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children’ (Alma 46:12). He fastens it upon the end of a pole and then goes forth among the people,”[3]

He put on his uniform of war, took the pole and the Title of Liberty, and “prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren for so long as there should be a band of Christians remain to possess the land.” 

“No one saw more clearly than Moroni where this was leading—all that he had achieved with great toil and danger was going to be thrown away if he did not act quickly. ‘Angry with Amalickiah,’ (Alma 46:11), he reacted with that speed and decision which is the mark of the great leader in the field. Raising his ‘Title of Liberty’ according to the ancient custom and as the type of the torn garment of the outcast Joseph, and the symbol of the poor and outcast of Israel, he announced to the people, ‘Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down … until we bring it upon [ourselves]’ (Alma 46:18).”[4] (Emphasis mine)

¹⁷ 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.  ¹⁸ 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 46:17-18 (Emphasis mine)

Moroni(1) named the land south of Desolation, “all the land, both on the north and on the south-A chosen land, and the land of liberty.”  Desolation is a land “being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their first landing (Alma 22:30).

He had faith that 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” (verse 18).  He had faith that they only way the Nephites would be destroyed only because “we bring it on us by our own transgression.”

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[1] Freemen and King-men in the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2012.

[2] Ibid.

[3] "Not Cast Off Forever" – Imagery, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2012.

[4] A Rigorous Test: Military History, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 27, 2012.