The Title of Liberty

 What’s amazing to me about the story of Moroni raising the title of liberty in Alma 46 is that he was only about 26 or 27 when he did this.  He managed to thwart the potential takeover of the government by Amalickiah by stirring up the hearts of his brethren to defend their lands and their freedoms, even though he was so young.  He clearly believed like Alma that “the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else” (Alma 31:5).  Because Moroni believed firmly in Christ he was able to preach and change the hearts of the people, even if it was only a 17-word sermon in the title of liberty.  This is why he could be so influential even at such a young age.  Amalickiah, on the other hand, didn’t have the same advantage.  He had to use “flatteries” to gain followers which gave him only tenuous allegiance at best. When Moroni’s followers were gaining power, Amalickiah had to retreat because he “saw that his people were doubtful concerning the justice of the cause in which they had undertaken” (Alma 46:28).  And ultimately relatively few of his original followers were in fact loyal to him since most came back to the Nephites, albeit forced, and accepted “the covenant of freedom” (Alma 46:35).  Moroni would spend the next 16 or so years of his life as the Nephite commander, and his ability to inspire the hearts of men to defend their freedoms and religion ultimately is what made him so successful.  It seems as if he spent all of his energy up in those long years of war, and he died shortly thereafter around the age of 43.  He showed that age should not be a limiting factor on being a power for good in the world.