“The Title of Liberty,” Book of Mormon Stories (2023)
The Title of Liberty
Defending the right to believe in God
Amalickiah was a big, strong Nephite. He wanted to be king. He promised to give power to the people who helped him. Many people liked him and tried to make others follow him. Amalickiah led people to do bad things. He and his followers wanted to kill the people who taught about Jesus Christ.
Captain Moroni, the leader of the Nephite armies, believed in Jesus. He knew the Nephites were blessed because they kept God’s commandments. He was very angry that Amalickiah was leading people away from God, trying to become king, and trying to hurt people.
Moroni ripped his coat. He wrote on it that people should remember their God, their freedom, and their families. Then he tied it to a pole and called it the title of liberty. Moroni prayed for God’s blessing. He showed the Nephites the title of liberty and asked them to join him in fighting Amalickiah.
The people put on their armor and ran to Moroni. They were ready to fight for God and their homes, families, and freedom. They made a covenant, or special promise, with God that they would always follow Him. Then they got ready to fight Amalickiah.
Moroni’s army was big. Amalickiah was scared. He tried to run away with his followers. But many of them worried that Amalickiah was fighting for the wrong reasons. Many would not follow him anymore. Moroni’s army stopped those who still followed Amalickiah, but Amalickiah and a few others got away.
Amalickiah went to the land of the Lamanites. He wanted the Lamanites to help him fight against the Nephites. Then he would have a bigger, stronger army. He got many of the Lamanites to be angry with the Nephites. The king of the Lamanites told all the Lamanites to prepare to fight the Nephites.
The king liked Amalickiah. He made Amalickiah one of the leaders over the Lamanite army. But Amalickiah wanted more power.
Amalickiah made a plan to rule over the Lamanites. He took over the whole Lamanite army. Then he had his servants kill the king and lie about who did it.
Amalickiah pretended to be angry the king was killed. The Lamanites liked Amalickiah. He married the queen and became the new king. He wanted to rule over the Nephites too. He talked badly about the Nephites so that the Lamanites would be mad at them. Soon, many Lamanites wanted to fight them.
While Amalickiah got power by lying, Moroni prepared the Nephites to trust God. He put the title of liberty on every tower in the land to remind them of their promise. Moroni’s armies also prepared the Nephite cities for war. They built walls and dug trenches to make the cities safe and strong.
When the Lamanites came to fight, they could not get into the Nephite cities. They were stopped by the walls and trenches Moroni’s armies had built. Many Lamanites died when they attacked the Nephites. Amalickiah was very angry. He promised to kill Moroni.
The Nephites thanked God for helping and protecting them. They made their cities even safer and built more cities. The war with the Lamanites continued, but God helped Moroni and his armies keep the Nephites safe. The Nephites were happy. They obeyed God and stayed faithful to Him.