pgs. 328 and 329...if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have shaken forever.

35 And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the ^afavor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his ^bfraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he ^cobtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were ^dcomposed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time.

36 Now these ^adissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same ^bknowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and ^cimpenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites—drinking in with the ^dtraditions of the Lamanites; giving way to ^eindolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God.

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 48

Amalickiah incites the Lamanites against the Nephites—Moroni prepares his people to defend the cause of the Christians—He rejoiced in liberty and freedom and was a mighty man of God. 72 B.C.

1 And now it came to pass that, as soon as ^aAmalickiah had obtained the kingdom he began to ^binspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their ^ctowers, against the Nephites.

2 And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch that in the *latter end of the ^anineteenth year of the reign of the judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far, yea, having been made king over the Lamanites, he ^bsought also to ^creign over all the land, yea, and all the people who were in the land, the Nephites as well as the Lamanites.

3 Therefore he had accomplished his design, for he had hardened the hearts of the Lamanites and blinded their minds, and stirred them up to anger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host to go to battle against the Nephites.

4 For he was determined, because of the greatness of the number of his people, to ^aoverpower the Nephites and to bring them into bondage.

5 And thus he did appoint ^achief captains of the ^bZoramites, they being the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites, and their places of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities; therefore he appointed them to be chief captains over his armies.

6 And it came to pass that they took their camp, and moved forth toward the land of Zarahemla in the wilderness.

7 Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been ^apreparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small ^aforts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building ^bwalls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

9 And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

10 And thus he was preparing to ^asupport their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of ^bChristians.

11 And Moroni was a ^astrong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect ^bunderstanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

12 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 ^awelfare and safety of his people.

13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had ^asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught ^anever to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.

15 And this was their ^afaith, that by so doing God would ^bprosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;

16 And also, that God would make it known unto them ^awhither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the ^bshedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto ^aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the ^bdevil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

18 Behold, he was a man like unto ^aAmmon, 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.

19 Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less ^aserviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.

Mormon's description of Captain Moroni in verse 17 is so touching. Clearly Mormon admired and respected Moroni and he even eventually named his son after him. Mormon was a remarkable man and follower of Christ. Truly a legend in his day and time and a wonderful example for us. I enjoyed this YouTube movie from lds.org about good men who are followers of Christ in our day and time.



With Father's Day coming up this Sunday I want to say thank you to the incredible men in my life. First, to my husband Spencer, for whom words are not enough to express my love and gratitude. You make my life amazing. Second, to my father David, who is the best dad a little girl could ever asked for. Honestly, I will never be able to thank you enough for your love and example in my life. And third to my four brothers who are SO great. Really. I could write a book about each one of you. And last, to my local and general church leaders for the countless hours I know you spend in the selfless service of your fellow men. Even though I know you don't read this blog, I still think you deserve a big thank you!!!!! I hope you all have a fabulous Father's Day!