Whither Captain Moroni?
In the book of Alma, in the Book of Mormon, we read about a group called Kingmen who wanted to overthrow the government established by the Nephites, a democratic theocracy, and replace it with a different form of government; one ruled by a king. (Alma 51) It is interesting to note that that the Kingmen only wanted "that a few particular points of the law should be altered." (Verse 2) They didn't want to change everything, just a few small things that would allow them to "overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land."(Verse 5) This event takes place just after a large war has ended, and the Lamanites were preparing for war, and their leader, Amalickiah, had sworn to "drink the blood of Moroni", the military leader of the Nephites. The compiler of the Book of Mormon, a man called, oddly enough Mormon, compiled the book with our day in mind. He says of himself, in his own section of the book, aptly called the Book of Mormon; "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing."(Mormon 8:35) He saw the challenges we would face in these modern times and wanted to give us meaningful examples from his day to help us overcome our trials. In other words, this book was compiled for us, not for the people of his day; they never had a copy of it. So why did Mormon take up valuable space on the plates with these stories? Have we ever had someone trying to place themselves in the position of a king? I would argue that we are experiencing that right now. If you watch the news, you see politicians, on both sides of the aisle, changing the very foundations of our freedoms. These politicians would certainly fit the mold of being "those of high birth, and they sought to be kings..." (Alma 51:8) They think they know best how we should eat, drink, spend, watch, learn, and worship. Obamacare's requirement that religious organizations provide contraception, even extending to the "morning after" pill, runs contrary to the separation of church and state, or should I say the separation of state and church; and that is just the latest in a constant erosion of our freedoms. Just as in the days of Captain Moroni, however, there are those today who are fighting to keep the freedoms we have been promised; not granted by government, as they would have you believe, but rather by our Creator, the Grand Architect of the Universe. In Moroni's day, the were called "freemen", or also "the people of liberty", in our day we have groups that seek to restore our God given rights, and to defend the original intent of the framers of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. In the end, however, it falls to each of us to understand that we are only given those rights if we will defend them; with our very lives if necessary.