- Captain Moroni
According to the "
Book of Mormon ", Captain Moroni (c.100 BC -56 BC ) was an importantNephite military commander and patriot who lived during the1st century BC . He is perhaps best known for raising the "Title of Liberty" as a call to arms for his people to defend their country, family and religion. He is first mentioned in the "Book of Alma ", as "the chief captain over the Nephites." [sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=43|verse=16]Captain Moroni is presented as a righteous and skilled military commander. Among his accomplishments were his extensive preparations for battle and his fierce defense of the right of the Nephites to govern themselves and worship as they saw fit.
Captain Moroni is often erroneously confused with the Prophet Moroni, and so is indexed [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/in/contents Index ] ] in the LDS edition as Moroni1.
Early command
According to the "Book of Mormon", Moroni was "only twenty and five years old when he was appointed chief captain" of the Nephites. [sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=43|verse=16|range=-17] The appointment came in response to a looming war with
Lamanites andZoramites , a force which was led byZerahemnah and included many Nephite dissenters. The Lamanite army attacked the Nephites in the land of Jershon and the battle ended on the banks of the river Sidon. In this war, Moroni set to work readying the Nephite people withbody armor for the first time. He sent spies to investigate the Lamanites' weaknesses, following which he led his troops with the plan to surround those of the Lamanites. The entire time, his objective was to defend his people and their right to worship their God as they pleased. Ultimately, Moroni met this objective, which resulted in keeping many of the Lamanites from ever coming to combat against the Nephites again.Title of Liberty
Moroni is usually associated with the "Title of Liberty", a standard which he raised to rally the Nephites to defend their liberties from a group of dissenters who wanted to establish their leader as a king. Moroni was so angry with
Amalickiah 's dissention and wicked influence that he rent his coat and wrote upon it, "In memory of our God, our religion, our freedom, and our peace, our wives and our children" [sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=46|verse=10|range=-12] . With these words, he rallied his people to defend their families and their freedom, chasing the armies of Amalickiah away in the process. Any dissenters that remained, Moroni put to death, and raised up the title of liberty upon every Nephite tower, having been granted power from the chief judges and people to do such things.He then strengthened the Nephites spiritually so as to be better prepared against the Lamanites, leading Mormon to comment on Moroni's righteousness. [sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma|chapter=48|verse=16|range=-18]
Moroni had many other adventures besides those mentioned. One of these was, after having an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate prisoners with
Ammoron , the time he sent a man among his people, by the name of Laman, who was a descendant of Laman the son of Lehi, to get the Lamanites drunk in the city of Gid and arm and rescue the prisoners in that city, and reclaim possession of it.King-men
Years later, Moroni was having some problems with a group of men called "king-men", who were so called because they wanted to destroy the liberty of the people and replace the chief judge with a king. Moroni had written to
Pahoran for help in the war, and the Lamanites attacked before the help could arrive. Moroni wrote again, chastising him in the process, and this time Pahoran wrote back, saying that these king-men had driven him from the judgement seat. Moroni was happy that Pahoran was faithful to his country, but at the same time he was angry at this development, and went with Pahoran to battle against these king-men, killing their king,Pachus , and taking his men prisoner. He and Pahoran then proceeded to regain control of their city of Nephihah, which they had lost.Retirement
After fortifying the Nephites' lands, Moroni transferred command of his armies to his son
Moronihah , and permanently retired to his own home. And less than four years after that event, in the 36th year of the reign of the judges, or56 BC , Captain Moroni, military leader of the Nephite people, died.Apparently, Mormon himself regarded Moroni as a great leader, for he gave that name to his own son.
ee also
*
Book of Alma Notes and references
External links
* [http://www.bomtoons.com/moroni_march.html A browser game based on Captain Moroni's battles.]
* The "Book of sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon|book=Alma" onWikisource .
* [http://scriptures.lds.org/inm/moroni1 Moroni1] in the index of the Latter-day Saint "Book of Mormon".
* LDS [http://www.lds.org/hf/art/0,16812,4218-1,00.html Gospel Art Kit] (artist rendering) of [http://www.lds.org/hf/art/display/1,16842,4218-1-3-99,00.html Captain_Moroni's] Title of Liberty
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