The Opposite of Being a Slave is Having Liberty

The story of Joseph (of Egypt’s) brothers placing him in a pit then selling him as a slave to the passing Midianites is recorded in the Hebrew Scriptural account in the book of Genesis:

  
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, “The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, “This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.” And he knew it, and said, “It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.” (Genesis 37:29-33)

The same story is told with an additional detail in the Book of Jasher: Joseph’s coat is first torn, then dipped in the blood of a goat:

 

And Issachar said unto them: ‘Here is an advice for you, if it seem good in your eyes to do this thing—Take the coat which belongeth to Joseph and tear it, and kill a kid of the goats and dip it in its blood, and send it to our father;’” “And they hastened and took Joseph’s coat and tore it, and they killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood of the kid, and then trampled it in the dust, and they sent the coat to their father Jacob…” (Jasher 43:10; 13;

 

The significance of the torn coat is the symbolism of being rent, or separated by force into parts, and is associated with mourning, grief, and loss. The tearing of Joseph’s coat was symbolic of the House of Israel being torn apart by the actions of Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery. However, a portion of the torn coat was preserved and given to Jacob.

The Book of Mormon, published in 1830, includes a story in the book of Alma regarding Captain Moroni invoking the symbol of Joseph’s torn garment. He uses that symbol to motivate his people “to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain” (Alma 46:23). The opposite of being a slave is having liberty. Moroni was aware of Joseph’s coat being torn [rent] from source records other than the Holy Bible and invokes this symbol of being “sold” as a slave to making a covenant for liberty.

Here we have an example of the Book of Jasher providing additional facts that are corroborated by modern scripture and the corollary—that the Book of Mormon contains an identical detail not available in published records. The Sefer haYasher manuscript (the Book of Jasher), found in the ruins of Jerusalem during its destruction in 70 A.D. then translated into English in 1840, contains this important detail in the Book of Mormon:

 

Moroni said unto them: “Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain. Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not decayed. And he said—‘Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.’” (Alma 46:23-24) By David Hocking Executive Editor of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon.

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Moroni Raises ‘The Title of Liberty’

Alma 46: 11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah. 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 headplate, 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. 14 For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the Church of God, called by those who did not belong to the Church. 15 And those who did belong to the Church were faithful, yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ or Christians, as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come. 16 And therefore, at this time Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians and the freedom of the land might be favored.

George Washington’s Title of Liberty Did You Know?

“While the trueborn Sons of America, animated by the genuine Principles of Liberty and Love of their Country, with increasing Union, Firmness and Discipline repel every Attack, and despise every Danger… Come then, my Brethren, unite with us in an indissoluble Union, let us run together to the same Goal.—We have taken up Arms in Defence of our Liberty, our Property, our Wives, and our Children, we are determined to preserve them, or die. We look forward with Pleasure to that Day not far remote (we hope) when the Inhabitants of America shall have one Sentiment, and the full Enjoyment of the Blessings of a free Government… Incited by these Motives, and encouraged by the Advice of many Friends of Liberty among you, the Grand American Congress have sent an Army into your Province, under the Command of General Schuyler; not to plunder, but to protect you; to animate, and bring forth into Action those Sentiments of Freedom you have disclosed, and which the Tools of Despotism would extinguish through the whole Creation…” Quoted in Annotated Book of Mormon by Meldrum and Hocking. Source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 1, 16 June 1775?–?15 September 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia [1985], 461–463.