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Book Review: The Title of Liberty by Doug Nufer
Posted on Oct 24, 2003
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| At a Glance | | Title: | The Title of Liberty | | Author: | Douglas Nufer | | Price: | $22.95 | | Format: | Hardcover |
The image of Captain Moroni has captured many LDS imaginations. The stalwart and faithful leader conjures up visions of strength, courage, and charisma. Doug Nufer, the author of the new book The Title of Liberty, talks about what inspired him to write his book on the noted Book of Mormon figure.
Q. Doug, what can you tell us about the book?
 A. Each time I read the Captain Moroni story, I think, “This would make a great book.” I waited for years for someone to write the book – but it never happened. Finally, I sat down one day and decided to write the book I’d always wanted to read. I’ve enjoyed writing for years, but had never taken on such a big task. I tried very carefully to keep the story accurate to the details in the actual Book of Mormon. I found there were several places that I had to add characters, events, or dialog, but I tried to keep that true to how I felt the characters would have responded to situations. This isn’t just a story that involves characters from the Book of Mormon. It’s a retelling of the story of Captain Moroni, Helaman, the 2000 Stripling Warriors and others in novel format.
Q. What audience did you write the book for?
A. I actually wrote this for a non-LDS audience. I wrote it in a way that even if you have never heard of the Book of Mormon, you can pick this up and enjoy it. I think a lot of authors – or potential authors – are distracted when writing stories from the Book of Mormon because they feel you have to “begin at the beginning” and “explain everything.” I think the Captain Moroni story is a great story and can stand on its own. I wanted to share it with others in a way that they’d enjoy it too. I ignored the background and introductory explanations and just began the story on the eve of battle. The reader may not know who any of the characters are, or their motivations, but they should be able to pick up on it fairly quickly. I do drop a few hints and direct statements throughout the book that give background information, but they’re scattered through the reading. I tried to focus on the story and not the explanations.
Q. Did you have any reservations about writing the book?
A. Absolutely! I’m still kind of torn about it. I want to be sure that this is the right thing to do. In my opinion, there is no book more important than the Book of Mormon and I don’t want to detract from it in any way. My goal is to make people more interested in reading it – especially non members or others who haven’t read it yet. I see this novel as a potentially significant step in bringing attention to the Book of Mormon, and I want to be certain that it will bring the right attention.
Also, I wanted to use as much of the original dialog as I could, and stick to the story as closely as possible. Unfortunately, when writing a novel, you have to add things to fill in holes or emphasize a point. For instance, in the original, Amalickiah kills the Lamanite king and eventually woos and marries the queen and becomes king himself. That’s about all the detail that the original source gave. I didn’t feel it was sufficient to only say that in the novel. I felt that for the sake of telling the story, in this format, it needed more detail. So, I had to add details. I tried very hard to make sure that the details, events, and characters that I added – or named – stayed true in principle to what could have plausibly occurred.
I also have a character get married that isn’t sited as being married in the Book of Mormon. However, it’s very clear that people in the days of the Book of Mormon did marry. There’s no reason to believe that this character never married. I wasn’t excited about adding that tidbit into the story, but I felt it was necessary for the reader to appreciate certain motives and sacrifices that are made in the story. It simply isn’t easy defending your nation’s liberty when you have loved ones waiting at home for you to return. There’s a major sacrifice involved in that, both at home and by the person serving. I didn’t want to ignore that. I deeply respect and appreciate the sacrifices that have been made – and continue to be made – for the freedoms I and my family enjoy.
Q. I understand your working title for the book was, “Captain Moroni.” Why did you change it to, “The Title of Liberty”?
A. I changed the title because of concern over the impression “Captain Moroni” would have for non LDS people who aren’t already familiar with that name. I was afraid it would sound like some sort of comic book character, or give the wrong impression. Even if I added a subtitle to it like, “Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty” it might come across like, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” which would still detract or make it sound more like a children’s book – not that young readers can’t appreciate it.
Q. How was your writing experience, were there any interesting “a-ha’s” about writing about a Book of Mormon story?
A. My favorite memory was typing up a conversation between Helaman and one of the Stripling Warriors that I named Jershon. That scene wrote itself. I hadn’t planned it at all. At that point, they had fought several battles and I just thought the characters had been going through a lot and I wanted to give them a break. I put Helaman on the wall to let him peacefully watch a sunset. Then, while he was looking at it, along came Jershon – out of the blue for me – and a conversation ensued. Jershon asked about Helaman’s implication that there were Nephites in Zarahemla who may have diverged from the faith. Jershon, the son of a converted Lamanite, couldn’t fathom a Nephite losing faith. He and Helaman had a poignant discussion about faith and lust for worldly power. I felt it made a very strong statement about events that were transpiring in our nation at the time of the writing, without being overtly disparaging or political. Writing the book was a very interesting experience in that way.
I also gained an immense appreciation for the Book of Mormon itself. The teachings in it are very deep and moving, but just from a strategic view, as I studied the storyline, I couldn’t get over how much detail and complexity it included. I think if I had decided to fabricate a record of Ancient America – as some have accused Joseph Smith of doing – I wouldn’t have made it such a massive, detailed work. He could have stopped in I Nephi after landing the group in the Americas. But, instead the story goes on for generations. Even at the end, it goes back and tells of the Jaredites. Considering that if it were a fabrication, every word, phrase, and detail could potentially trip it up, it’s just staggering to look at it from a storyline perspective. Having studied it as closely as I have, I have to believe that Joseph Smith merely translated an ancient record, not contrived one. On top of that, there’s a powerful Spirit behind the book that also testifies of its origin.
Q. When will the book be out, and where can people get a copy of it?
A. The book is due to release around October 29. It should be available at LDS bookstores such as Deseret Book, Seagull Book and in the "Books and Things" catalog. You can currently order it our website at www.captainmoroni.com.
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