The Man of God, Family Leadership, and Defender of Liberty
A Man of Christ
Alma 48
10. And thus he was preparing to support 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 the Christians.
11. 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 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; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.
13. Yea, and he was man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.
17. 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.
Captain Moroni is an example from the Book of Mormon of the warrior priest. He was a man of his time who stood for what was good, true, and righteous. The male hero archetype has been pushed to the corner, if not out of the room, due to the false teachings of Marxists and Post Modernists.
The goal of this writing is to help promote good mores for men and boys to follow. Men have a responsibility and even the calling to rise above the muck and mire of this world, and to become men of God.
Rise Up, O Men of God
1. Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and soul and mind and strength To serve the King of Kings.
2. Rise up, O men of God! In one united throng.
Bring in the day of brotherhood And end the night of wrong.
3. Rise up, O men of God! Tread where his feet have trod. As brothers of the Son of Man, Rise Up, O men of God!
In a father's blessing to his sons, Laman and Lemuel, Lehi pleaded for them to awake and arise from the dust.
2 Nephi 1
13. O that ye would awake, awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.
23. Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.
What does it mean to wake up and arise from the dust? What is the "sleep of hell", which Lehi so named?
The sleep of hell is sin. And the invitation to his sons, and to all of us, is to repent, and to come unto the Lord Jesus Christ.
To a different place and audience, the Apostle Peter pleaded with those whom he and his associates preached unto, made this earnest plea, which is extended to us also:
"Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
-Acts 2:40, with Greek
Marriage and Fatherhood
"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families."
-The Family: A Proclamation to the World
"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth."
-Proverbs 5:18
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"
-Ephesians 5:25
"Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else."
-Doctrine & Covenants 42:22
"Women have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until their husbands are taken; and if they are not found transgressors they shall have fellowship in the church."
-Doctrine & Covenants 83:2
For illustration purposes: As the man catches the ballerina when she falls back, so should a husband be for his wife. With the instruction from Apostle Paul, we men are to love our wives, even if that means to lay our lives down for them.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
-Proverbs 22:6
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
-Ephesians 6:4
"One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;"
-1Timothy 3:4
"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; ..."
-1 Nephi 1:1
"And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness."
-Mosiah 4:14
"And again, verily I say unto you, that every man who is obliged to provide for his own family, let him provide, and he shall in nowise lose his crown; and let him labor in the church."
-D&C 75:28
"But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth."
-Doctrine & Covenants 93:40
From President D. Todd Christofferson on fatherhood:
"The perfect, divine expression of fatherhood is our Heavenly Father. His character and attributes include abundant goodness and perfect love. His work and glory are the development, happiness, and eternal life of His children. Fathers in this fallen world can claim nothing comparable to the Majesty on High, but at their best, they are striving to emulate Him, and they indeed labor in His work. They are honored with a remarkable and sobering trust.
"For men, fatherhood exposes us to our own weaknesses and our need to improve. Fatherhood requires sacrifice, but it is a source of incomparable satisfaction, even joy. Again, the ultimate model is our Heavenly Father, who so loved us, His spirit children, that He gave us His Only Begotten Son for our salvation and exaltation. [John 3:16-17] Jesus said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' [John 15:13] Fathers manifest that love as they lay down their lives day by day, laboring in the service and support of their families.
"Perhaps the most essential of a father’s work is to turn the hearts of his children to their Heavenly Father. If by his example as well as his words a father can demonstrate what fidelity to God looks like in day-to-day living, that father will have given his children the key to peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. A father who reads scripture to and with his children acquaints them with the voice of the Lord."
As fathers, we have an obligation to raise up our children in truth and righteousness. We are to provide for our families. It's my obligation as husband and father to labor with my hands and provide for them. Idleness has no room in our daily activities! In one of my new favorite verses in scripture, it is this:
"Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer."
-Doctrine & Covenants 42:42
Within the spiritual economy of God, idleness is a sin; and a man of God who is worth his salt must be willing to labor for the wife and children who live in his home. Husbands and wives, together, are to instruct their children, and safeguard in temporal and spiritual needs.
Defender of Liberty
In a scene from the Book of Mormon, a Zoramite by the name of Zerahemnah, desired to make himself king, and to subject the Nephites. Captain Moroni led an army to stop him.
Alma 43
9. And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.
45. Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.
In another episode, a man named Amalickiah, also desired to make himself king over the Nephites. Captain Moroni arose to the occasion to quash this act of sedition.
Alma 46
11. And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.
12. And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it - In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children - and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
13. And he fastened on his headplate [helmet], 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 -
14. For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church.
15. And those who did belong the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come. {This took place before the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.}
16. And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored."
Captain Moroni had to wear armor in defense of his religion, family and property. As men of God, we might not have to fight against standing armies, but we are to protect our households from the satanic forces which seek to penetrate our homes and seek to harm the families which we are supposed to defend. With faith in Christ, we are to stand for Christian liberty which must begin in our homes.
Men and brethren. To you, as well as our wives and companions, let us defend the liberty of the Gospel within our homes.
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