The Title of Liberty

Captain Moroni was a man of valor and conviction. It is said of him in the 47th chapter, 17th verse of the book of Alma:

"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."

He led the Nephite armies through many difficult years of battle. A righteous Nephite commander, he led his people to victory over those who would see them suffer and die. At a point of dissension among his people, he responded in a way that inspired them to commit themselves to their God, their freedom, and their families. 

Courtesy Reign of the Judges Movie

"And now it came to pass that when Moroni...had heard of these dissensions, he was angry....
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, our freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children--and he fastened it upon the end of a pole... 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...he went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice...whoseover will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant...And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together...rending their garments...as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God..."

Moroni and his title of liberty rallied the people to goodness and determination to serve their God at all costs. When we were at the mission presidents' seminar in June, Elder Ballard taught "mission culture is what happens when you are not there."

This week we met with our Mission Leadership Council, which is comprised of all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders. We talked about Captain Moroni and his title of liberty. Could we rally our missionaries with our own "title of liberty?" Could we develop a mission statement that spoke of who we are?  It was inspiring to watch as President Tolman led a discussion about what it means to be a representative of Jesus Christ. He asked could our missionary badges stand as our title of liberty? How does a representative of the Savior look, act and feel? I was thrilled to see the dedication and devotion that these leaders hold for their sacred callings. Together we developed our "title of liberty"--our mission statement.

MISSION STATEMENT

Samoa Apia Mission

Every day, when we put on our missionary badges, we declare we represent Jesus Christ. As His representatives and because we love Him:
We obey with exactness.
We earn respect and trust by the way we act and dress.
We govern ourselves.
We love and protect each other.
We teach as He taught.
We honor and live Preach My Gospel.
We prayerfully invite others to come unto Christ.
We rejoice in His service.
As we do these things, He will bless us to be noble missionaries. 

It is a privilege and a blessing to serve with His noble missionaries. We are so proud of them.

PS. It was such a busy day I neglected to take a photo of these incredible missionaries. I regret that you cannot see those who developed the mission statement. We meet again in three weeks. I will post one then.  So sorry parents.