About Me
I was born in the Americas--some would claim Mesoamerica--among the Nephites about 99 years before Jesus Christ was born. My ancestors had left Jerusalem circa 600 BC, being led by the hand of the Lord across the sands of Arabia and over the vast ocean to settle in this promised land in the New World. Their righteous leader, Lehi, had prophesied that "this land is consecrated unto him whom [the Lord] shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity."
In 92 BC, when I was but a child, our righteous King Mosiah II, who was greatly loved and esteemed by my people, began to consider who would succeed him following his death. Inspired in part by Alma the Elder, who, only a few decades earlier, had fled from wicked King Noah's tyranny and had taught his followers to "stand fast in this liberty wherewith [they had] been made free, and [to] trust no man to be a king over [them]," King Mosiah II likewise expressed his desire "that this land be a land of liberty, and [that] every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike"--and, thus, he proposed a novel system of government for our nation. Under this innovative new form of government, we would no longer be subject to kings but, instead, we would choose judges by majority vote to rule over us, who would judge us--and, in some cases, each other--according to our established laws. My people readily embraced this idea and, one year later, initiated "the reign of the judges" over my people as King Mosiah II died.
In 87 BC, as a young man, I witnessed a cunning man named Amlici gain popular support and then attempt to establish himself as a king over us, first by the ballot and then by the sword, intending to destroy our religion. And I witnessed his ultimate failure and destruction.
In 74 BC, at only 25 years of age, my people appointed me to serve as chief captain of all of our armies to defend our families, our religion, our nation, our property, and our rights, from the Lamanites, who had been incited to conquer us and to subject us to bondage. So, I prepared our soldiers with body armor, and, as Lamanite armies invaded our lands, our armies fought bravely against them in defense of our liberties--and the Lord of Hosts granted us victory, which restored peace to our land, although only briefly.
In 73 BC, a cunning Nephite named Amalickiah sought to overthrow our God-given free government and to establish himself as our king--and he seduced many of my people to support this evil cause. I was so angered when I heard of this news that I rent my coat, from which I took a piece of fabric and wrote upon it the heartfelt words, "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children"; I then affixed this piece to the top of a pole, dubbing this banner the Title of Liberty. And, then, I prayed to God that my people would continue to enjoy their blessings of liberty, so long as a group of Christians would remain to possess this land. Afterward, I went forth among my people with the Title of Liberty and called upon all who would do so to covenant that they would support both Christianity and liberty. I then marshaled these people to oppose Amalickiah and his followers. Feeling threatened by our greater numbers, Amalickiah and some of his followers decided to defect and to join the Lamanites; we managed to intercept most of them as they fled and we put to death all those who would not abandon Amalickiah's cause and, instead, covenant to support our nation's liberty. Sadly, Amalickiah eluded our capture.
In 72 BC, Amalickiah, now living among the Lamanites, used intrigue to become their king. And, having obtained this position, he then incited his new subjects to go to war (yet again) against my people to conquer us. In the meantime, though, I had been directing my people to erect many defensive fortifications about our cities--a massive public-works project that would continue for many years afterward--which helped to repulse King Amalickiah's invasion and, thus, to return peace to our land for five more years.
In 67 BC, upon Pahoran's appointment to serve as our nation's newest chief judge and governor, my people again divided themselves between two major political factions. One of these two parties, calling themselves Kingmen, consisting mainly of those of "high birth" who lusted for power, formed to try to alter our established laws so that they could overthrow our free government and enthrone a king in its place. And, in response to this, another party, calling themselves Freemen, coalesced to support maintaining our rights under our established free government--and did so by majority vote. Meanwhile, King Amalickiah was again inciting his Lamanite subjects to go to war against us--and, having learned of this, these Kingmen refused to take up arms in defense of our nation. In my anger, and by authority from Governor Pahoran, I led my army against these treasonous Kingmen and we vanquished all of them who would not support "the cause of liberty." Meanwhile, as my people were weakened by these internal divisions, King Amalickiah's Lamanite armies rapidly conquered many of our eastern cities. Captain Teancum finally stopped their advance, marking a turning point in this war, and then assassinated King Amalickiah in a covert operation.
In 66 BC, Ammoron succeeded his brother Amalickiah as king of the Lamanites and continued Amalickiah's unjust war against my people, with a determination to either conquer us or exterminate us. And my armies struggled to regain possession of our conquered lands, which proved to be a laborious six-year campaign.
In 62 BC, I became irate that our government appeared to be severely neglecting its duties to provide my armies with soldiers, weapons, and provisions--and, so, I threatened Governor Pahoran that I would incite a rebellion to overthrow our government if he did not immediately send us needed aid, assuring him that "I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country." But, to my relief, I quickly learned that Pahoran was not a traitor as I had suspected him to be but that, just like me, he still "[stood] fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free." Pahoran also informed me that Kingmen had usurped control of our nation's capital, Zarahemla, and had driven him from it, appointing a man named Pachus to rule them as their king--and, moreover, that King Pachus had allied himself with our Lamanite enemies. Upon learning of this dangerous treachery, I immediately marched to Governor Pahoran's aid, gathering as many soldiers as I could on my way, and our combined supporters reconquered our capital from King Pachus and his traitorous Kingmen and restored Governor Pahoran to his judgment seat.
In 60 BC, Captain Teancum assassinated King Ammoron during another covert operation--one that cost Teancum his life--and our armies finally succeeded in liberating the last of our conquered cities from Lamanite control. And, after having endured more than a decade of intrigue and warfare in defense of liberty, and seeing that victory had been secured, I retired from military service, leaving my command to my capable son Moronihah.
In 56 BC, following years of faithful service both to my God and to my country, I died in peace at about age 43.
Long after my death, a great prophet named Mormon would write of me, "And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood. ... 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. 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." Mormon even gave his own son my name--Moroni.
I would invite all of you to read more about the rich spiritual history of my people in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ , in which this prophet Mormon compiled and abridged centuries of our records to benefit those of your modern era. And I hope that, if and when you do, you will take its teachings to heart--and that you, too, like me and my fellow Freemen, will stand firmly "in that liberty in the which God has made us free."
Jesus the Christ
