Captain Moroni
Captain Moroni | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Children | Moronihah |
Era | Reign of the judges (in the Book of Mormon) |
Military service | |
Rank | Chief Captain |
Commands | Nephite military |
Battles/wars |
|
Senior posting | |
Successor | Moronihah |
According to the
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 shares a name with the prophet Moroni; the former is indexed[2] in the Book of Mormon as Moroni1.
Narrative
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People in the Book of Mormon |
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In Alma 43:16, the Nephites appoint Moroni, twenty-five years old, to be chief captain of their armies.[3] Moroni leads the Nephite military in the Zoramite War (Alma 43–44) and the Amalickiahite Wars (Alma 46–62).[4]
This section uses secondary sources that critically analyze them.(October 2011) ) |
Early command
Moroni is appointed in response to a looming war with
Moroni introduced to the Nephites revolutionary strategies in military tactics, safety, and precaution. He kept the people physically safe while he prayed, guiding and leading his armies by divine intervention. He was also known by his people for his firm ideology and integrity and his constant willingness to support the causes of personal freedom gaining the people's trust.[citation needed]
Title of Liberty
Moroni is associated with the "title of liberty", a standard that 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 dissension and wicked influence that he tore his coat and wrote upon it, "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children."[5] With those words, he rallied his people to defend their families and their freedom and drive out the armies of Amalickiah. Moroni put to death any dissenters who did not flee and would not support the cause of freedom, and his "title of liberty" was raised over every Nephite tower.[6]
According to the Book of Mormon, Moroni sought to strengthen the Nephites spiritually to be better prepared against the Lamanites, leading
King-men
Years later, Moroni encountered problems with a group of men called "king-men", who were so called because they wanted to replace the chief judge and democracy with a king, an aim seen as destroying the liberty of the people. Moroni had written to Pahoran for help in the war, and the Lamanites attacked before the help could arrive. Moroni wrote again, chastising Pahoran in the process for failing to respond, even threatening to "stir up insurrections" against what he perceived to be the nonresponsive government authorities.
Retirement
After fortifying the Nephites' lands, Moroni transferred command of his armies to his son Moronihah and permanently retired to his own home. Four years later, in the 36th year of the reign of the judges (or around 56 BC), Moroni died. According to the chronology of years, listing the time from when Moroni took command of the armies at 25, he would have been about 45 when he died.
Reception
Rhetoric
The narrative of Captain Moroni plays a significant role in how members of the LDS Church understand and justify the political realities of war and violence.
Some Latter-day Saint authors, such as Nicholeen Peck, have drawn comparisons between the lives of Captain Moroni and General George Washington.[13] Peck writes, "Many many years before George Washington, Captain Moroni did the same thing George Washington did. He wrote the Title of Liberty, and put on his military uniform, to show he would fight for his liberties if it was necessary." Mormon writer Heather Hemingway makes similar observations by noting, "Captain Moroni’s humility and valor is similar to that of George Washington during the winter of 1777–1778."[14]
On October 28, 2020, United States Senator Mike Lee, a Latter-day Saint from Utah, compared President Donald Trump to Captain Moroni. Lee told rallygoers in Arizona: "To my Mormon friends, my Latter-day Saint friends, think of him as Captain Moroni." Lee went on to say that the president "seeks not the praise of the world" and wants only "the well-being and peace of the American people."[15] Lee's comparison was met with extensive backlash. The overwhelming majority of comments on Lee's Facebook accounts found it to be "shameful" or "blasphemous."[16] In a follow-up Facebook post, Lee pointed out that he had praised Trump for his willingness to "threaten the established political order" in spite of the "constant ridicule and scorn" to which this has subjected him and his family.[17] To those who were offended by any suggestion that Trump should be held up as an example of personal righteousness, Lee wrote: "Finally, in no way did I suggest that people should seek to emulate President Trump in the same way they might pattern their lives after Captain Moroni."
Militancy
Moroni was a general who among many notable accomplishments became angry with his government over its "indifference concerning the freedom of [its] country."
In 2016, Ammon Bundy, a son of Cliven, used much of the same language as his father, "mixing Mormon religious symbolism with a disgust of the federal government," during an occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. One member of Bundy's antigovernment extremist group refused to give any other name to the press than "Captain Moroni, from Utah."[20] The man calling himself "Captain Moroni" was later identified in media reports and a criminal complaint as 34-year-old Dylan Wade Anderson.[21]
On January 4, 2016, the LDS Church released a statement strongly condemning the armed seizure of the facility by the antigovernment activists in the standoff at the wildlife refuge, expressing deep concern the activists were suggesting their actions were justified on a scriptural basis, and affirming American civic life provides for peaceful resolution of conflict between government and private groups, according to the laws of the land.[22]
On January 6, 2021, a banner copying the Title of Liberty was displayed by those attacking the US Capitol. That evening, the church released a statement. "We peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome," Dallin H. Oaks said. "In a democratic society, we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election."[23]
References
- ^ Alma 43:16
- ^ Index
- ^ Thorne (1992, p. 955); Moran (2014, p. 105).
- ^ Davis (2007, p. 50); Hardy (2010, pp. 174–175); Perry (2015, p. 132n40).
- ^ Alma 46:10-12
- ^ Alma 46:35-36
- ^ Alma 48:16-18
- ^ Alma 60:27
- ^ a b Wood, Robert S. (1992), "War and Peace", in Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, archived from the original on 2016-04-04, retrieved 2016-01-31
- ^ Nibley, Hugh (1983). "Leaders to Managers: The Final Shift" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 16 (4): 12–21.
- ^ Firmage, Edwin B. (1985). "Violence and the Gospel: The Teachings of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon". BYU Studies. 25 (1): 31–53. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
- ^ Jenkins, Ryan. ""Peaceable Followers of Christ" in Days of War and Contention". Religious Educator. 10 (3): 87–102.
- ^ Peck, Nicholeen (7 July 2011). ""Give Me [Tree Bark], or Give Me Death": Liberty Yesterday and Today". Meridian Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ Hemingway, Heather. "America and the Price of Freedom". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ Riess, Jana. "Sen. Mike Lee is just one example. Latter-day Saint men still like Donald Trump". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ Romboy, Dennis (29 October 2020). "Sen. Mike Lee explains comparing Donald Trump to Capt. Moroni from Book of Mormon". Deseret News. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ Stauffer, McKenzie (30 October 2020). "Mike Lee issues statement after Captain Moroni-Donald Trump comparison". KUTV.com. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ "You Need to Understand Mormonism if You Want to Understand the Oregon Standoff".
- ^ a b Krule, Miriam (January 5, 2016). "The Mormon Warrior the Bundys Revere Actually Wanted the Government to Do More". Slate. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ Sepulvado, John (January 4, 2016). "Why the Bundy militia mixes Mormon symbolism with anti-government sentiment". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ Mesh, Aaron (January 28, 2016). "Captain Moroni Arraigned in Portland". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
- ^ "Church Responds to Inquiries Regarding Oregon Armed Occupation". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ Salt Lake Tribune January 6, 2021 - In reaction to Capitol assault, LDS Church points to Oaks’ speech denouncing post-election violence
Sources
- Davis, Ryan W. (2007). "For the Peace of the People: War and Democracy in the Book of Mormon". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 16 (1): 42–55, 85–86. .
- Hardy, Grant (2010). Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199745449.
- Moran, Oralyn (2014). "Moroni and Pahoran". Religious Educator. 15 (3): 103–115.
- Perry, Michael F. (2015). "The Supremacy of the Word: Alma's Mission to the Zoramites and the Conversion of the Lamanites". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 24: 119–137. .
- Thorne, Melvin J. (1992). "Moroni1". In Ludlow, Daniel H. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Macmillan. pp. 955–956. ISBN 0-02-879602-0.
Further reading
- Valletta, Thomas R. (1992). "The Captain and the Covenant". In ISBN 0-8849-4841-2.
External links
- The Book of Alma on Wikisource.
- Moroni1[dead link] in the index of the Latter-day Saint Book of Mormon.
- LDS Gospel Art Kit (artist rendering) of Captain Moroni's Archived 2013-05-24 at the Wayback Machine Title of Liberty
- A comparative analysis of events in the lives of Captain Moroni and General George Washington by the Joseph Smith Foundation