The Title of Liberty

This week's Come Follow Me lesson is awesome.  It's all about the war years in The Book of Mormon.  Just a quick observation mentioned in one of the devotionals I watched.  It's about Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty.

Here's the Scripture:

Alma 46:12 

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.

These are the five things that Captain Moroni wrote on the Title of Liberty. 

God

religion

freedom

peace

wives and children 

In the devotional I watched, the following was pointed out.  Captain Moroni didn't haphazardly write down random things.  They are deliberate and in order of importance.

1 -- God.  God should be our number one focus.  When we turn from God, we end up losing everything listed below God on the Title of Liberty.

2 -- religion.  The word religion means to be tied to God.  The root lig is the same root word in ligament which connects bones and ligate or ligature which is to tie with a rope or similar item.  Religion isn't necessarily ordinances and ceremony.  Although those are important.  Religion is our connection to God through following His Commandments.  Obviously when we turn from God we lose our religion and our connection to Him.

3 -- freedom.  It may seem counterintuitive but when we stopped following God's commandments, we lose our freedom.  Satan will teach otherwise -- and many people believe him.  But he is a liar.  Satan will teach you that when you don't follow God's commandments, you are free.  That is a bald-face lie. When you break God's commandments, you must face the consequences of your choice.  For instance if you choose to use illegal drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, you become enslaved to drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography.  Where is the freedom?

4 -- peace.  People who choose to break God's commandments lose the peace they may have had in their life. When you lose the spirit of God or Holy Ghost through your choices and subsequent consequences, you lose peace.  You can actually see this in people's countenances.  They become miserable.  Turning from God, religion, losing freedom and peace causes misery.

5 -- wives and children.  This one is interesting but tragically, true.  How many families have I seen or have you seen broken up because one of the parents chose to turn from God?  I've seen it numerous times.  Within my own family, I've seen it several times.  When a father or mother chooses to turn from God, leave their religion and subsequently lose their freedom and peace --they are no longer guided by the Spirit and tend to make bad choices. Because of those bad choices, they inevitably end up losing their wife/husband and children. Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it doesn't.  But it eventually happens if people turn from God long enough.  It's a tragedy.

Thankfully, repentance is real and people can get back on track.  But they have to choose that path back-- and many don't.  Unfortunately.  It can be a difficult road back, but it is definitely worth it.  As the prophet Alma said, "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).  People who turn from God are miserable, angry, bitter people precisely because they have turned from God and lost that which was most precious.

Captain Moroni wrote the Title of Liberty over 2000 years ago.  73 BC-72 BC.  It couldn't be more pertinent today.

That's my two cents.