The ceremonial act of elevating the title of liberty and waving it before the people has a powerful impact on the spirit and motivation of all who observe it, stirring them to action in support of the cause of preserving the lives and freedoms of their families.
EVIDENCE: Raising the Title of Liberty (Alma 46:21–24)
From the Dead Sea Scrolls we learn that ancient Israelite armies wrote slogans on their trumpets and banners—slogans that emphasized the preservation of liberty and the people’s desire to be delivered from bondage. According to Hugh Nibley, the ancients wrote on a ritual dart in order to prove the guilt of their enemies and therefore rid themselves of their victims’ blood. Similarly, before they attacked a nation, the Romans would perform an ancient rite wherein they threw three darts in an enemy city’s direction, dedicating it to destruction. The legendary founder of the Magi and liberator of Persia, a blacksmith named Kawe, tied his leather apron around the end of a pole, then used it to rally his people. This “Flag of Kawe,” Nibley says, “remained for many centuries the national banner of the Persians as well as the sacred emblem of the Magi.” Thus we see the tradition that would have led Captain Moroni to tear a piece from his coat, write on it his war-cry, tie it to a pole, and use it as a symbol to muster his troops. (See Echoes, 469.)