🏳️ Raise the Standard — When Following Christ Matters More Than Building a Following
🏳️ Raise the Standard — When Following Christ Matters More Than Building a Following
Reflections on Captain Mormon, the Book of Mormon, and the Nemenhah Sacred Records
Every once in a while, somebody says something that makes us stop and think:
“That sounds familiar.”
That happened while listening to a recent video from Captain Mormon.
He talked about why he started his YouTube channel, why he remains anonymous, why he refuses sponsorships, why he is willing to question traditions, and—most importantly—why he wants the attention directed toward Jesus Christ rather than himself.
🎥 Watch the Original Video
This study was inspired by a video from Captain Mormon. Before going deeper into the scriptures and the Nemenhah Sacred Records, we encourage you to watch his original message for yourself.
👉 WATCH HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOQFjHA4CCE&t=5s
Then come back and let's put some of the major ideas he raises alongside the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Nemenhah Sacred Records.
As always—don't simply take his word for it, and don't take ours.
Read. Compare. Pray. Ask the Lord.
Near the end, his message became beautifully simple:
Don't make this about me. Make it about Jesus Christ.
That deserves a deeper look.
Because underneath the YouTube channel and the controversies is a much older question:
Who are we actually following?
A church?
A religious leader?
A tradition?
An internet personality?
Or Jesus Christ?
1. GOD IS STILL A GOD OF MIRACLES
Captain Mormon begins with Mormon 9.
Moroni declares:
“And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.”
— Mormon 9:15
That is an enormous statement.
Moroni isn't merely telling us that miracles happened anciently.
He is telling us something about the nature of God.
If God spoke to prophets before, why couldn't He speak today?
If people received revelation before, why couldn't we?
If people encountered Christ before, why should we assume that experience belongs only to history?
Moroni continues:
“For it is by faith that miracles are wrought.”
— Mormon 9:20
And later:
“Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart.”
— Mormon 9:27
Notice where Moroni sends us.
Not merely to an organization.
Not merely to a handbook.
Not merely to another human being.
He sends us to the Lord.
That same pattern appears repeatedly in the Nemenhah record.
In The Book of Mohrhohnahyah 17:2–3, leaders are instructed to discover the will of the Peacemaker by revelation, while the people themselves are encouraged to inquire of the Peacemaker in all things.
That is important.
The purpose of a true spiritual teacher isn't to replace our relationship with God.
It is to help us develop one.
2. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN RELIGION BECOMES INSTITUTIONAL LOYALTY?
This may be one of the hardest questions Captain Mormon raises.
Religious institutions can accomplish tremendous good.
But something changes when loyalty to the institution begins replacing loyalty to Christ.
Jesus confronted this problem Himself.
He told the religious leaders of His day:
“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”
— Matthew 15:6
Tradition itself wasn't the problem.
The problem came when tradition became more authoritative than God.
The Book of Mormon repeatedly warns of the same danger.
Nephi saw churches that would say:
“Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins.”
— 2 Nephi 28:8
And then comes an extraordinary warning:
“Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted.”
— 2 Nephi 28:12
The Nemenhah record asks the question even more directly.
Mohrhohnahyah asks whether possessing an office gives someone authority to order the lives of his neighbors, declare another person's worthiness, or withhold ordinances.
His conclusion is striking:
The office itself is not mighty to save.
— The Book of Mohrhohnahyah 16:16–19
That does not eliminate teachers or leaders.
It puts them in their proper place.
Christ saves.
People serve.
3. THE POOR MAY BE ONE OF THE GREAT TESTS OF TRUE RELIGION
Captain Mormon also talks about wealth and the poor.
This is everywhere in scripture.
King Benjamin taught:
“Are we not all beggars?”
— Mosiah 4:19
And then:
“Ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor.”
— Mosiah 4:16
Jesus said:
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
— Matthew 25:40
Now compare that with the Nemenhah record.
In The Book of Hayneht Paynieht Ahkehkt 7:1–6, the record condemns a society where the product of workers is taken to support priests while the rich consume the abundance and the poor suffer.
The response of the Nemenhah is not merely criticism.
They send relief.
They give of their surplus.
That is an important distinction.
Zion isn't built merely by identifying Babylon.
Zion is built by living differently.
Another Nemenhah passage makes the principle wonderfully practical:
“You will utilize the gifts of the Aylohhihm for your own maintenance and with the surplus you covenant to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, lift up the hands that hang down, and to shoulder each other's burdens.”
— The Book of the Tuhhuhl Nuhmehn 6:1
That sounds a lot like Zion.
4. PRIESTCRAFT — WHEN THE MESSAGE BECOMES A BUSINESS
One statement in Captain Mormon's video especially caught my attention.
He says he will never take sponsorship money for his religious work.
Why?
Because he doesn't want money determining the direction of the message.
That immediately brings us to the Book of Mormon definition of priestcraft:
“Priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.”
— 2 Nephi 26:29
Notice the two temptations:
Gain.
And praise.
Money and celebrity.
Both can quietly change spiritual work.
King Benjamin deliberately modeled something different:
“I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man.”
— Mosiah 2:10
And:
“I have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you.”
— Mosiah 2:12
That doesn't mean every person who receives compensation for honest work is practicing priestcraft.
The scriptural question goes deeper:
What are we seeking?
Money?
Recognition?
Influence?
Followers?
Or the welfare of Zion?
5. “I'M NOBODY.”
Toward the end of the video, Captain Mormon says something I loved.
He describes himself as a husband, father and brother.
And then basically says:
I'm nobody. I'm just a normal guy.
That may actually be one of the strongest parts of the whole video.
Because the scriptures are filled with ordinary people through whom God did extraordinary things.
Ammon said:
“I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom.”
— Alma 26:11
King Benjamin said:
“I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind.”
— Mosiah 2:11
And Paul wrote:
“God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:27
Maybe God doesn't need celebrities nearly as much as we think.
Maybe He needs ordinary men and women willing to say:
“Here am I.”
6. CAPTAIN MORONI AND THE TITLE OF LIBERTY
This is where the name Captain Mormon becomes interesting.
While listening, I kept thinking about Captain Moroni.
Moroni saw something happening among his people that he believed threatened their liberty and their covenant with God.
So he tore his coat and wrote:
“In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.”
— Alma 46:12
Then:
“He fastened it upon the end of a pole.”
— Alma 46:13
He raised a standard.
That doesn't mean every angry religious crusade makes somebody Captain Moroni.
Far from it.
Moroni's standard ultimately wasn't about Moroni.
It represented something larger than himself.
That is the challenge for anybody speaking publicly about religion.
Raise the standard without becoming the standard.
Point toward Christ without gathering disciples to ourselves.
Speak truth without becoming addicted to being right.
That is much harder than simply attacking an institution.
7. THE NEMENHAH TAKE THIS EVEN FURTHER
This is where the Nemenhah Sacred Records have challenged me deeply.
They repeatedly turn the reader toward the Peacemaker.
In the Second Book of Tsi Muhayl 12:37–45, a future people are described as seeking the Haymehnay and seeking the face of their Sahnhehmpeht. Pride diminishes. Their concern turns from worldly things toward caring for one another, and spiritual gifts again become manifest among them.
Think about that progression:
Seek Christ.
↓
Pride begins disappearing.
↓
Concern for worldly things diminishes.
↓
People begin caring for one another.
↓
The gifts of God appear among them.
That sounds remarkably similar to Moroni's invitation to:
“Begin as in times of old.”
Perhaps miracles don't return because we successfully rebuild the machinery of religion.
Perhaps they return when a people actually become a people of faith.
8. ZION IS THE REAL MEASURING STICK
This may be the biggest point.
How do we know whether our religion is working?
More members?
Bigger buildings?
More money?
More programs?
More YouTube subscribers?
More views?
Scripture gives us a completely different measurement.
Enoch's people were called Zion:
“Because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.”
— Moses 7:18
The Nemenhah record describes something remarkably similar:
“The little flock… shall begin to have all things in common and shall begin again to build anew an Enduring Peace unto the Peacemaker.”
— Book of Mahnti 13:21
There's the measuring stick.
Not:
How large did we become?
But:
Did we become Zion?
Did the poor disappear?
Did pride diminish?
Did contention diminish?
Did revelation increase?
Did we become one?
And above everything:
Did we come closer to Jesus Christ?
9. THERE IS ALSO A WARNING FOR PEOPLE LIKE US
And this part matters.
It is easy to recognize false traditions somewhere else.
It is much harder to recognize them in ourselves.
It is easy to criticize religious leaders for wanting power.
But critics can begin wanting influence too.
It is easy to condemn churches for seeking money.
But independent ministries can become businesses too.
It is easy to accuse others of following men.
And then quietly gather people around ourselves.
That is why Captain Mormon's desire to remain anonymous caught my attention.
The real test isn't whether we can identify Babylon.
The real test is whether Babylon is leaving us.
Are we becoming more humble?
More forgiving?
More generous?
More peaceful?
More willing to repent?
More concerned about the poor?
More willing to hear God?
More like Christ?
If not, exposing everybody else's errors hasn't accomplished very much.
10. MAYBE THIS IS WHAT “RAISING THE STANDARD” REALLY MEANS
Captain Moroni raised a physical standard.
Perhaps our generation needs to raise another one.
Not a standard declaring:
FOLLOW ME.
But:
FOLLOW HIM.
Not:
My church is right.
Not:
Your church is wrong.
Not:
My YouTube channel figured everything out.
But simply:
Come unto Christ.
Read the scriptures.
Ask questions.
Seek revelation.
Repent when God shows us we're wrong.
Feed the hungry.
Lift the poor.
Refuse priestcraft.
Reject pride.
Love one another.
And learn to hear the Peacemaker for ourselves.
Maybe that is how Zion actually begins.
Not first with a city.
Not first with an institution.
Not first with a new organization.
Zion begins in the heart.
And when enough hearts belong completely to Jesus Christ, perhaps the community follows.
❤️ A WORD TO CAPTAIN MORMON
Brother, keep going.
Keep studying.
Keep questioning.
Keep correcting yourself when necessary.
Keep refusing to make yourself the center.
Keep raising your Title of Liberty.
But most importantly:
Keep pointing beyond Captain Mormon to the real Captain—Jesus Christ, the Peacemaker.
Because ultimately none of our blogs, videos, churches, movements, teachers or records are the destination.
They should all be road signs.
And every good road sign should point in the same direction:
Back to the Peacemaker.
Back to Zion.
Back to Jesus Christ.
📖 Study These Scriptures Yourself
Bible: Matthew 15:6; Matthew 25:40; 1 Corinthians 1:27
Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 26:29; 2 Nephi 28:8–12; Mosiah 2:10–12; Mosiah 4:16–19; Alma 26:11; Alma 46:12–13; Mormon 9:15–27
Pearl of Great Price: Moses 7:18
Nemenhah Sacred Records: The Book of Mohrhohnahyah 16:16–19; 17:2–3; The Book of Hayneht Paynieht Ahkehkt 7:1–6; The Book of the Tuhhuhl Nuhmehn 6:1; Second Book of Tsi Muhayl 12:37–45; Book of Mahnti 13:21
Don't take anybody's word for it—including this blog.
Read.
Compare.
Pray.
Ask the Lord.
And follow wherever He leads.
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Nemenhah Scriptures to Study
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