Remember the Captivity of Our Fathers

One of the major themes of the Book of Mormon is the importance of remembering the captivity of our fathers as seek our own deliverance from captivity and sin through the power of the Messiah. It is interesting that the angel who appeared to rebellious Alma and the sons of Mosiah instructed the shocked son of the prophet to “Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi, and remember how great things he has done for them. . . .” (Mosiah 27:16) Ninety-seven pages later, in that masterpiece of Semitic literature, the powerfully chiastic Alma 36, Alma begins and ends his account with a plea for his son to “do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers” (Alms 36:2), noting that he had (since his conversion) “always retained in remembrance their captivity (Alms 36:29). And of course, the focal point of that chiasm was his own deliverance from captivity as he turned to Christ for deliverance.

May we always treasure the liberty that Christ offers us, and the freedoms our other fathers have provided (Founding Fathers, “religious fathers” like Joseph Smith, etc.) . We must never take these things for granted, but must actively work to preserve them.

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Author: Jeff Lindsay

5 thoughts on “Remember the Captivity of Our Fathers

  1. My direct Jewish forefathers escaped Europe in the early part of the 20th century. Not all their cousins and aunts/uncles did. They died in captivity.

  2. This was a very insightful post. It made me think.

    I think that the goal in “remembering the captivity of your fathers” Isn’t neccesarily the captivity, but the liberation that took place in miraculous ways due to the direct intervention of God. The ealry prophets are encouraging their people to remember how God rescued us from our captivity. I think that is what they are trying to drive home by that phrase

  3. Anonymous, I have to disagree. America was a British Colony. It won it’s freedom through the blood, sweat, and tears of the colonists.

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