If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni – Alma 48:17 – Come, Follow Me Ponderize and Commentary

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, 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.

As much as I love this verse and this great man, it cannot be read without verse 18.

Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, 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.

All of these men were great men and, most importantly, men of God and heroes of mine. But, I believe there is a specific purpose in Mormon giving this great Chief Captain Moroni so much specific praise. I believe that it is for our day and time. Mormon is saying that if we were like unto Moroni, “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.” The devil and all the powers of hell are combined against us right now both spiritually and in the elimination of our freedoms. Mormon is teaching us a great sermon, that our freedoms are inseparably tied to or connected to our spirituality and the binding of the devil and his works of darkness.

19 years before Ezra Taft Benson became the prophet of the church and the Lord’s mouthpiece on Earth, he gave a powerful talk titled, “Protecting Freedom—An Immediate Responsibility.” He elaborated on the connection between freedom and spirituality. 

“Why have prophets of God been commanded to proclaim liberty and lead the battle to preserve freedom? Because freedom is basic to the great plan of the Lord. The gospel can prosper only in an atmosphere of freedom. This fact is confirmed by history, as well as by sacred scriptures. The right of choice—free agency—runs like a golden thread throughout the gospel plan of the Lord for the blessing of his children.”

It is because of this connection, that Moroni is given such praise, to help us to step up and fight against darkness wherever it may be lurking. As I quote a little more from Elder Benson’s talk, keep in mind that this talk was given in 1966, and if it was true then, how much more true and applicable it is for us today? I feel that we are like the lobster in the pot of water and over the years the temperature has been increasing and is nearly boiling by now. 

A year ago in a great general conference address on freedom and how it is threatened today, our beloved President warned us, saying, “I do not know that there was ever a time in the history of mankind when the Evil One seemed so determined to take from man his freedom.” He went on to explain that “pernicious efforts and sinister schemes are cunningly and stealthily being fostered to deprive man of his individual freedom and have him revert to the life of the jungle.” (“Man’s Free Agency,” The Improvement Era, Dec. 1965, pp. 1073, 1099.)

War against wisdom

Still earlier the First Presidency warned the Saints that “Satan is making war against all the wisdom that has come to men through their ages of experience. He is seeking to overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government, and religion rest. He aims to have men adopt theories and practices which he induced their forefathers, over the ages, to adopt and try, only to be discarded by them when found unsound, impractical, and ruinous. He plans to destroy liberty and freedom—economic, political, and religious, and to set up in place thereof the greatest, most widespread, and most complete tyranny that has ever oppressed man. He is working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods . . . Without their knowing it, the people are being urged down paths that lead only to destruction. Satan never before had so firm a grip on this generation as he has now.” (“Message of the First Presidency,” The Improvement Era, Nov. 1942, p. 761.)

In spite of the scriptural evidence and the counsel of modern-day prophets during the past more than 100 years, there are still some who seem to feel we have no responsibility to safeguard and strengthen our precious God-given freedom. There are some who apparently feel that the fight for freedom is separate from the gospel. They express it in several ways, but it generally boils down to this: Just live the gospel; there’s no need to get involved in trying to save freedom and the Constitution or to stop Communism.

Of course, this is dangerous reasoning, because in reality you cannot fully live the gospel without working to save freedom and the Constitution, and to stop Communism.

In the war in heaven, what would have been your reaction if someone had told you just to do what is right—there’s no need to get involved in the fight for freedom?

War in Heaven continues on Earth

Of course, the war in heaven over free agency is now being waged here on earth, and there are those today who are saying “Look, don’t get involved in the fight for freedom. Just live the gospel.” That counsel is dangerous, self-contradictory, unsound.

The Book of Mormon pays tribute to General Moroni in these words: “And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of perfect understanding, 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, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn 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 then Moroni is paid this high tribute: “Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, 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

Now, part of the reason we may not have sufficient priesthood bearers to save the Constitution let alone to shake the powers of hell, is because unlike Moroni, I fear, our souls do not joy in keeping our country free, and we are not firm in the faith of Christ, nor have we sworn with an oath to defend our rights and the liberty of our country.

Need for action now

Moroni raised a title of liberty and wrote upon it these words: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” Alma 46:12 Why didn’t he write upon it: “Just live your religion; there’s no need to concern yourselves about your freedom, your peace, your wives, or your children”? The reason he didn’t do this was because all these things were a part of his religion, as they are of our religion today.

Should we counsel people, “Just live your religion. There’s no need to get involved in the fight for freedom”? No, we should not, because our stand for freedom is a most basic part of our religion; this stand helped get us to this earth, and our reaction to freedom in this life will have eternal consequences. Man has many duties, but he has no excuse that can compensate for his loss of liberty.

Let us be like unto Captain Moroni and decide today, to take immediate action to safeguard and preserve our freedoms. It is not enough for us to just live our religion. We MUST get involved, right now, in this fight for freedom. The devil and all the powers of hell are at our doors and we are just watching Netflix. 

Craig