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This paper shares excerpts from the Book of Mormon
which describe the source our liberty as a nation and as a people of God.
When did God foretell
America to be a land of promise?
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Ether
1:30 And he had sworn in
his wrath unto the Brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land
of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the
true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fullness of his
wrath should come upon them. (Jaredite
time period~2200 BC)
·
2
Nephi 1:6-15 But, said he,
notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a
land which is choice above all other lands;
A land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land
for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land
unto me, and to my children for ever;
And also all those who should be led out of other countries, by the
hand of the Lord. Wherefore,
I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me,
that there shall none come into this land, save they shall be brought by
the hand of the Lord. Wherefore,
this land is consecrated unto him whom he 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: if so, it shall be
because of iniquity: For if iniquity shall abound, cursed shall be the
land for their sakes; But unto the righteous, it shall be blessed for
ever. (Nephite time period ~600 BC)
What is our
“ultimate” Freedom?
·
2
Nephi 1:120 And they are free to choose liberty and eternal
life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and
death, according to the captivity and power of the devil:
What was God’s desire regarding (human) Kings on this
land?
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2
Nephi 7:18 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto
the Gentiles: and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise
up unto the Gentiles.
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Mosiah
11:14 Yea, even out of the hands of King Noah and his
people, and also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye
should stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and
that ye trust no man to be a king over you;
What was God’s desire instead of Kings to rule?
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Mosiah
13:15 Nevertheless, let us
appoint judges, to judge this people according to our law, and we will
newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we will appoint wise men to
be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of
God.
How did God desire
these judges to be appointed?
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Mosiah
13:34 Therefore choose you by the voice of this people,
judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given
you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the
hand of the Lord.
Did God want the judges of this land to be accountable?
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Mosiah
13:39 And now if ye have judges, and they do not judge you
according to the law which has been given, ye can cause that they may be
judged of a higher judge;
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Mosiah
13:40 If your higher judges do not judge righteous
judgments, ye shall cause that a small number of your lower judges should
be gathered together, and they shall judge your higher judges, according
to the voice of the people.
What was God’s desire for this land?
·
Mosiah
13:45 But I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and
every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord
sees fit, that we may live and inherit the land;
How were these affairs to be decided? What warnings if it became
corrupt?
·
Mosiah
13:34-37 Therefore choose you by the voice of this people,
judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given
you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the
hand of the Lord. Now it is not common that the voice of the people
desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common
for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right;
Therefore this shall ye observe, and make it your law to do your business
by the voice of the people. And
if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then
is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you;
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Mosiah
13:56 Therefore it came to pass that they assembled
themselves together in bodies throughout the land, to cast in their voices
concerning who should be their judges, to judge them according to the law
which had been given them;
What was at times the cause of internal destruction among God’s
people?
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Alma
8:40 And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of
the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the
unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges.
What was often the ultimate underlying plot of the enemies of
God’s people?
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Alma
6:22 For behold, they do study at this time that they may
destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord,) which is
contrary to the statutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has
given unto his people.
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Alma
20:10 Yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship
God according to their desires; for they knew that if they should fall
into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God, in
spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would
destroy;
In the Book of Mormon, what was the ultimate underlying desire of
God’s people?
·
Alma
20:34 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of
the Nephites to preserve their lands, their liberty, and their church,
therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem;
therefore he found, by his spies, which course the Lamanites were to take.
·
Alma
20:54 And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and
inspired their hearts, with these thoughts; yea, the thoughts of their
lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage. And it came to pass
that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto
the Lord their God, for their liberty, and their freedom from bondage.
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Alma
21:39 Yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and to
destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or
which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land, for the righteous'
sake.
What did our forefathers desire for us?
- Alma
21:42 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his
breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and
he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat (and he
called it the title of liberty), And he bowed himself to the earth, and he
prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his
brethren so long as there should be a band of Christians remain to possess
the land;
- Alma
21:55 Yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the
commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we
be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain; yea, let us preserve our
liberty, as a remnant of Joseph;
What was often the response of people who had no appreciation for
God-given freedom?
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Alma
23:16 And it came to pass that when the men who were called
king-men, had heard that the Lamanites were coming down to battle against
them, they were glad in their hearts, and they refused to take up arms;
for they were so wroth with the chief judge, and also with the people of
liberty, that they would not take up arms to defend their country.
What did God justify in maintaining the cause of Freedom?
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Alma
23:21 And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his
army should go against those king-men, to pull down their pride and their
nobility, and level them with the earth, or they should take up arms and
support the cause of liberty.
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Alma
23:24 And the remainder of those dissenters, rather than to
be smote down to the earth by the sword, yielded to the standard of
liberty, and were compelled to hoist the title of liberty upon their
towers, and in their cities, and to take up arms in defense of their
country.
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Helaman
1:8 And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold,
he was taken, and was tried according to the voice of the people, and
condemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion, and sought to
destroy the liberty of the people.
How deeply did those who knew freedom believe in this principle?
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Alma
24:72 And they entered into a covenant, to fight for the
liberty of the Nephites; yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of
their lives;
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Alma
24:73 Yea, even they covenanted that they never would give
up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the
Nephites and themselves from bondage.
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Alma
21:71 And it came to pass also, that he caused the title of
liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which
was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of
liberty among the Nephites.
·
Alma
26:133 And we did take courage with our small force which
we had received, and were fixed with a determination to conquer our
enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives,
and our children, and the cause of our liberty.
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Alma
26:166 But behold they have received many wounds;
nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them
free;
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Alma
28:13 My soul standeth fast in that liberty, in the which
God hath made us free.
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Alma
29:4 And he did raise the standard of liberty in whatsoever
place he did enter, and gained whatsoever force he could in all his march
towards the land of Gideon.
Even the enemies recognized that God was the source of their
liberty
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3
Nephi 2:2 And these are the words which were written,
saying, Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold I
write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceeding great praise
because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in
maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty;
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3
Nephi 2:3 Yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by
the hand of a God in the defense of your liberty, and your property, and
your country, or that which ye do call so.
Did God have a hand in establishing those Gentiles who came to
establish this nation?
·
1
Nephi 3:147 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated
from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the
Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went
forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in
the promised land.
·
1
Nephi 3:148 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit
of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out
of captivity, upon the many waters.
·
1
Nephi 3:151 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it
was upon the Gentiles; that they did prosper, and obtain the land for
their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceeding
fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.
·
3
Nephi 9:65 And after that ye were blessed, then fulfilleth
the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying, In thy seed
shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed, unto the pouring out of
the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the
Gentiles, shall make them mighty above all, …
And remember, your vote counts.
It can make the difference. Historically:
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In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
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In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead
of German.
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In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from
impeachment.
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In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a
republic.
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In 1876, one vote in the Electoral College gave Rutherford
B. Hayes the Presidency of the United States.
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In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi
Party.
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In 1960, Richard Nixon lost the presidential election and
John F. Kennedy won it by a margin of less than one vote per precinct.
Exercise your God-given
right to elect leaders for this nation.
Remember to Vote!
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