Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

That evil governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, recently said that there is nothing worse than death. He said, "The illness's death.  What is worse than death?" Actually, Governor Cuomo, there are a lot of things worse than death.  Loss of liberty and freedom for one!

The patriot, Patrick Henry, said it best in 1775, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!"  I'm confident in saying that most patriotic Americans would agree.

Back in 1952, during a BYU devotional, as a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, Elder Ezra Taft Benson echoed Patrick Henry's sentiment, "I'd rather be dead than lose my liberty."



This land has been consecrated as a land of liberty from the beginning.  The Book of Mormon is full of evidence that even the ancient Americans valued their liberties and freedoms.

The prophet Lehi was commanded to leave Jerusalem with his family and sail to the Americas.  His son, Nephi, built a boat and they sailed across the seas to the promised land in 600 BC.  The following Scripture is Lehi prophesying that America is a land consecrated as a land of liberty.

2 Nephi 1:7 (About 588-570 BC)

7 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 forever.

This next Scripture is Lehi's son Jacob, also prophesying that this promised land that they are now living in, America, is a land of liberty, unto the Gentiles (us), where there shall be no kings.

2 Nephi 10:11 (About 559-544 BC)

11 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.

Nearly 500 years later, the righteous king Mosiah was highly esteemed by the people because they establish peace in the land and granted the people their liberty.

Mosiah 29:32, 39-40 (About 92-91 BC)

32 And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; 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, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.

39 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 claw which had been given them; and they were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them.

40 And they did wax strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did esteem him more than any other man; for they did not look upon him as a tyrant who was seeking for gain, yea, for that lucre which doth corrupt the soul; for he had not exacted riches of them, neither had he delighted in the shedding of blood; but he had established peace in the land, and he had granted unto his people that they should be delivered from all manner of bondage; therefore they did esteem him, yea, exceedingly, beyond measure.

Mosiah was not a tyrant -- like many of our governors are now.  Mosiah was not seeking for power or money.  He actually wanted what was best for his people. And that was liberty and equality for all.  Our politicians now could sure use a few lessons from Mosiah.

Now we have a wicked man named Amalickiah, who wanted to be King and destroy the church of God by destroying the God-given liberties of the people.  Many people were deceived by his flattering talk and cunning ways.  Just replace Amalickiah with any Liberal/Democrat politician and it accurately describes what we're going through in our day right now.

Luckily, for the Nephites, there was a righteous man named Captain Moroni willing to defend their liberties, peace, freedom, religion, God, and families.

Alma 46:10, 12-13, 17, 24, 28 (About 73-72 BC)

10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; 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.

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 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 a band of Christians remain to possess the land.

16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.

17 And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty.

28 And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words he went forth, and also sent forth in all the parts of the land where there were dissensions, and gathered together all the people who were desirous to maintain their liberty, to stand against Amalickiah and those who had dissented, who were called Amalickiahites.

The Book of Alma gives many accounts of people fighting for their liberties.  In fact they are called the war years of the Book of Mormon. I have often wondered why The Book of Mormon contains so much war and violence.  I wondered why it was so important for us to have that history.  Well, now I understand.  Because we are facing the same thing that the righteous Nephites faced, with our liberties being taken from us.

Another interesting thing I've noticed is that the Nephite dissenters -- righteous church members who leave the church and turn away from God -- always turn evil and want to take liberties from their brethren.  Much like today's apostates.  They always lose their common sense and turn liberal thereby fighting to suppress our freedoms. God and freedom of religion have been under attack for some time now.  But with this new pandemic, our liberties and freedoms have been taken away suddenly in a matter of weeks.  It is now like we are living in communist China or the old Soviet Union.

I guess we need to take a few pages out of the Nephite's playbook.

This account is when the Nephite dissenters join with the evil Lamanites in trying to destroy their righteous brethern and take away their liberties.

Alma 43:9, 26, 30, 45, 48-49 (About 74 BC)

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.

26 And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the Lamanites.

29 And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren, or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land;

30 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and 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.

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.

47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. 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.

49 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.

Captain Moroni was a big strong dude.  He was a defender of liberty and truth.  He was a righteous man.  He did not delight in bloodshed.  He wasn't power-hungry like Amalickiah (akin to our Liberals/Democrats) who use fraud and deceit to obtain power.

Captain Moroni just wanted liberty and freedom for his country and brethren/people.  Unfortunately, sometimes you have to fight to keep your liberties and freedoms.  Many people have died in history -- not only in the United States of America but also in ancient America -- defending their liberties, freedoms, rights, God, and families.

Alma 48:10-13 (About 72 BC)

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 preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

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 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 which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

13 Yea, and he was a 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.

The sons of the people of Ammon also fought for their liberty.

Alma 58:12 (About 63-62 BC)

12 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.

Pahoran -- a righteous chief governor -- was facing a rebellion from those who have been deceived by flattery.  Sound familiar?  Nobody in their right mind would follow liberalism because it goes against truth and God's laws.  But so many people are deceived by the flattering words of the cunning leaders of liberalism.

Once again, the righteous governor, is not seeking from power.  All he wants is to preserve the rights and liberty of his people.

Alma 61:9, 14, 21 (About 62 BC)

2 I, Pahoran, who am the chief governor of this land, do send these words unto Moroni, the chief captain over the army. Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul.

3 But behold, there are those who do joy in your afflictions, yea, insomuch that they have risen up in rebellion against me, and also those of my people who are freemen, yea, and those who have risen up are exceedingly numerous.

4 And it is those who have sought to take away the judgment-seat from me that have been the cause of this great iniquity; for they have used great flattery, and they have bled away the hearts of many people, which will be the cause of sore affliction among us; they have withheld our provisions, and have daunted our freemen that they have not come unto you.

9 And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.

14 Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God.

21 See that ye strengthen Lehi and Teancum in the Lord; tell them to fear not, for God will deliver them, yea, and also all those who stand fast in that liberty wherewith God hath made them free. And now I close mine epistle to my beloved brother, Moroni.

There is so much more in The Book of Mormon regarding liberty and freedom.  This was only the first page of the search I did under keyword liberty.  There were at least five pages.  And that's just in The Book of Mormon.

This is how important God thinks that liberty and freedom are.  Agency is a central part of His plan of salvation.  This promised land in which we now live -- The United States Of America -- is consecrated to be free and a land of liberty.

I am very disturbed -- extremely disturbed -- at how easily our freedoms and liberties have been taken from us.  We are banned from going to church for good thunder!  People going surfing are being arrested.  People doing nails in their own home are being arrested.  People going to parks are being arrested. People just trying to live normal lives are being arrested. People can't even work to support their families.  Stores are now requiring people to wear masks, only walk in a certain direction, stay 6 feet apart, etc. Doctors who are treating actual patients and are telling the truth about COVID-19 are being censored.  Their YouTube video was removed because it doesn't corroborate with the Communist agenda of WHO. And there are many more disturbing examples.

It's insane!  Sheer lunacy!  Has everybody gone mad?

 So, in answer to Governor Cuomo's question, "What is worse than death?"  -- Which is hypocritical in and of itself because Governor Cuomo advocates killing babies not only in the womb but after they are born -- all liberals/democrats are a bunch of hypocrites.  But I digress -- to answer his question, the loss of liberty and freedom is much worse than death.  Just ask Patrick Henry, Ezra Taft Benson, or any patriotic American.

To borrow the some of lyrics from of all people, Twisted Sister.

Oh, we're not gonna take it
No, we ain't gonna take it
Oh, we're not gonna take it anymore 

We've got the right to choose it
There ain't no way we'll lose it
This is our life, this is our song

We'll fight the powers that be, just
Don't pick our destiny 'cause
You don't know us, you don't belong 

Oh, we're not gonna take it
No, we ain't gonna take it
Oh, we're not gonna take it anymore

Oh, you're so condescending
Your gall is never ending
We don't want nothin', not a thing from you

Your life is trite and jaded
Boring and confiscated
If that's your best, your best won't do 

No way

We're right (yeah)
We're free (yeah)
We'll fight (yeah)
You'll see (yeah) 

We're not gonna take it
No, we ain't gonna take it
We're not gonna take it anymore

I, for one, have had a gut full of the government tyranny in using this COVID-19 pandemic to suppress and take away our freedoms.  Slowly but surely the government creates more and more regulations, laws, rules that take away our liberty.  But what has happened in the last month or two is ridiculous. Suddenly, ALL our freedoms have been squashed and taken away from us.  This is not right!  This is tyranny.  This is communism.  This is evil!

"Give me liberty or give me death!"

That's my two cents.