Moroni's Response to the Cunning Flattery of Amalickiah

In Alma 46, we read of Amalickiah "a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words" who "led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly" and "[sought] to destroy the church of God, and  to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted [the Nephites]." Amalickiah caused dissensions in the church as well as a rift in the government.

How did Moroni, the military leader of the Nephites, respond to this?

 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 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, so  long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—

Moroni chose to combat the wicked tactics of the persuasive Amalickiah by helping the people remember what really matters: God, religion, freedom, peace, and family. He knew that the people would rally around this truth and be willing to do whatever it took to defend what truly matters.

When people get prideful, caught up in the newest trends or movements, and begin to fight against that which is good, it is because they have forgotten what really matters. The best weapon to combat this is to help them remember what truly matters.

So what was the result? After Moroni "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: Behold whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord...and it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together" to make a covenant with God.

People will rally around the truth, and the truth is the only way to cut through the deceitful evil of people like Amalickiah who quickly blind the eyes with cunning flattery.

A Land of Liberty

In 2 Nephi 1:7, Lehi prophesies about their new land of inheritance that the Lord had given him and his posterity. Lehi says, "Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever."

This scripture is not referring to the idea of American Exceptionalism; rather, there is also a spiritual aspect to this promise that applies to people throughout the world. Whenever we serve God and keep his commandments, we obtain liberty, even if it's spiritual liberty. Paradoxically, the more we submit to God, the more free we become. Contrast this with those who serve him not and keep not the commandments. They become bound by sin, brought down into captivity - the exact opposite of those who obey God.

By this interpretation, any land can be a land of liberty for a people who are followers of Christ, even if the laws of the land are restrictive or less conducive to Christian living.

What Lehi Taught about Agency

What is agency?
Agency is the freedom to choose that God has given to each of us (2 Nephi 2:16). Agency is the reason why there is opposition in all aspects of life. Does it make sense to give someone the ability to choose without them having options?

This is important. God gave us agency so that we are not forced to do anything. He did not force Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit and die, but He did give them the opportunity to do so if they chose. Mortality was the consequence of this choice because it was a choice to follow this plan - the plan of salvation - in the first place. In the pre-existence, God did not force us to come to earth, and once on earth, he will not force us to return to him. It's all about choices.

How does it affect me?
Remember that "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). Adam's choice made it possible for us to be here, as was previously discussed. We are here to make choices and we are here to have joy. Logically, that means we are here to make the choices that will bring us joy, right? That's where we come in.

Lehi taught:

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. (2 Nephi 2:27)

Let's break this down. Men are free - we know that and discussed that already. All things are given us which are expedient - to me this is the light of Christ (or our conscience) that we all have. We know right from wrong, all of us, so we are able to make choices with accountability. We are free to choose liberty and eternal life or captivity and death - these are really our only two choices. Everything we do brings us towards one or the other, though we don't usually look at our choices this way.

The liberty and eternal life is through the great Mediator of all men - Jesus Christ atoned for us and "bought us with a price" so that he can plead for us before the Father as our mediator. He paid the consequences of our sin so that we will not have to - if we choose Him. Choosing Christ will lead us to liberty as we will not be captive to sin and is the path to eternal life.

Captivity and death are according to the captivity and power of the devil. These are exact opposites of what Christ offers us. Instead of the liberty of righteous living, we are free to choose the spiritual bondage of sin, which limits our choices. If we choose this path of sin, we will have to pay for the consequences of the sin - spiritual death. No unclean thing can dwell with God, so choosing sin and death puts us outside of his presence eternally. Interesting that he uses the word "power" because Satan has REAL power over us when we sin. Sin is how we give him this power. Living righteously prevents him from having any power over us.

He seeketh that we might be miserable like he is - Satan is miserable. How could he not be? He had the potential to be like God (as any son has the potential to be like his father), but he chose to pridefully reject God's plan and rebel. His consequence was to eternally be out of God's presence and to forfeit the eternal inheritance that could have been his. This would make anyone miserable. He can't get back at God but in one way, bringing us down with him. God loves each and every one of us with a love we cannot fathom. How much it must pain God to lose one of his precious sons or daughters!! Satan's only retribution is to bring us down into the misery, captivity and death in which he is fully engulfed.

He will try everything to trip us up. And he succeeds much too often in each of our lives because we are human, frail in our mortal state; however, there is always a way to escape. It is not too late to choose to follow Jesus Christ and to choose liberty and eternal life. The choice is yours. You know the consequences both temporal and eternal. Choose the right!

Agency- The Freedom to Choose

One thing I love about God's plan for us is that he gives us agency. Agency can be simply defined as the freedom to choose for ourselves. God will never force us to make a decision or do something. We choose our actions (but not the consequences).

God could have created a different plan where we would be forced to choose good all the time. There could have been no suffering, sin, or evil. But how would we learn? How would we grow? Without sickness, could we really understand and appreciate health? There must be opposition so that our mortal experience is full of learning and growth.

Ultimately we are choosing daily to follow God or to follow Satan by the actions we make. When we help someone in need, we are obviously following God. When we say unkind words, we are following Satan. The sum of our smaller actions determines the path that we are on.

Lehi, in the Book of Mormon, taught:

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and call things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."
2 Nephi 2:27

This teaching clearly explains the consequences of choosing to follow God's plan (through Jesus Christ, the great Mediator) versus that of devil. The choice really is up to us. Living righteously is not the "popular" thing in today's world, which makes it tough. But it is the only way to obtain liberty and eternal life. All other paths, no matter how glamorous they appear, lead to captivity and death (spiritual death).

CTR: Choose the Right!