Captain Moroni, and the redemptive story arc of Boromir, Captain of Gondor

 "Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain.  I seek not for power, but to pull it down.  I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country."

-- Captain Moroni, letter to Pahoran, chief governor of the land

"And behold!  in our need chance brings to light the Ring of Power.  It is a gift, I say; a gift to the foes of Mordor.  It is mad not to use it, to use the power of the Enemy against him.  The fearless, the ruthless, these alone with achieve victory.  What could not a warrior do in this hour, a great leader?  What could Aragorn not do?  Or if he refuses, why not Boromir?  The Ring would give me power of Command.  How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner!"

-- Boromir, said to Frodo at Amon Hen

I use the the two quotes above to introduce the concept that Captain Moroni and Boromir are actually the same being (Moroni a reincarnated Boromir), as well as juxtapose their stated positions on power.  In writing this, I hope to also firmly establish the redemption of Boromir, which did in fact occur at Amon Hen following his confrontation with Frodo and which was fully realized or shown in the life of Captain Moroni.

At first blush, one might think that the positions of these two men relative to power might mean there is no chance they could be the same person.  I take it, however, and I believe rightfully so, as evidence of what Boromir learned through his own experience as to the nature of power and an illustration that this being is Good.  Meaning, the deep aversion and mistrust (and in some cases violence) toward power generally, and specifically those exercising power unrighteously, that Moroni exhibited in his life was a direct result of what he learned as a result of his participation in the Fellowship as Boromir.

Stepping away from the Ring and attitudes toward power for a moment, in all other cases one should be able to see a lot that is similar in both the characters of Moroni and Boromir, as well as the situations they found themselves in.  Both were great war captains - the recognized commanders of their armies.  Both men loved their countries and devoted their lives to their protection.  And both faced great peril and the seemingly imminent destruction of the countries that they loved against what seemed like insurmountable odds.  And, frankly, both were fairly decisive based on a strong sense of what was to be done (and their role in it), even if that view was not entirely correct (Boromir with the Ring and the choices surrounding it, and Moroni in his misunderstanding as to the state of Pahoran's loyalties and intentions).

It is, therefore, attitudes to power that separate the men, but have become to me one of the great ties between these them (and the single being who played both parts) in a very good redemptive story.

Both Faramir and Gandalf confirmed in their own words that, whatever befell with Frodo, Boromir died a redeemed Man.  He was overcome by the ring, but that is not how he died.  The evidence strongly supports the statement that Boromir was not an evil man, or that he desired the Ring for evil purposes.  He was overcome by the Ring because he was not aware of the true nature of this horrible power that he desired to possess in order to save his people (with the added bonus of a heroic role for himself, as Faramir alluded to).  It was ignorance and folly that drove Boromir to that horrible confrontation with Frodo and a madness driven by the ring, but he learned of that folly through that experience and came out the other side a wiser and better man, particularly in his knowledge of power's ability to corrupt.

And he learned this lesson well!  Perhaps even too well, as evidenced in his letter to Pahoran and the charges laid at his feet and Moroni's stated intentions to completely pull power down through any means necessary.  As Moroni, he was Boromir as he was meant to be - a man personally acquainted with the dark side of power and thus wise enough to avoid it, while still retaining the remarkable traits that made him such a great leader of men, militarily and otherwise.

So great did Moroni become in this turn of his existence, that Mormon had this to say about him, among other great compliments also, in compiling the story of his time:

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, that 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.

Anyway, to repeat, it is in the story of Captain Moroni that I see a redeemed, wiser, and stronger Boromir - one that now causes Hell itself to shake.  Similar to his father Denethor, who I have written before as also having a redeeming story arc in the person of Lehi, Boromir was granted an opportunity to write a better 'ending' or continuation to his own story than the one we read about in the LOTR.  I personally see a lesson and great hope in this for all of us, in that so long as our intentions and desires remain Good, no failure in our stories will be permanent, and God will grant us additional opportunities to choose and write even better stories.

One additional thing...

I think Boromir also discovered for himself through his experience as Moroni that he could be and was a great commander of Men even without the Ring.  In his confrontation with Frodo as quoted above, he cited that the Ring would make him a great Commander.  But this was a lie - he was already a great Commander without the Ring... the Ring would have actually made him a worse one, obviously.  

As a little touch that makes me smile, and think about the mercies of God, we actually see in Moroni the very literal fulfillment of Boromir's vision of himself as a great Commander raising a standard that all men would flock to.  For those familiar with the story, I refer to the Title of Liberty.  For those not familiar, you can find it in Mormon's summary in Alma 46.  Here you will find, again quite literally, Moroni living out the fantasy that Boromir had seen for himself - raising a standard that people would flock to in a glorious cause against an evil enemy, with himself as the great commander leading them to victory.

Showing both that the Ring lied in telling Boromir he needed it to do these things, and also that Heaven is not above deigning to fulfill our good wishes and desires as they relate to the core of our being (even if potentially just a touch vainglorious!).

And at the conclusion of the war, Moroni-Boromir demonstrates again just how much he learned of power, and truly how redeemed he was.  At the height of his influence, with the entire army under his control and all people viewing him as a hero, he chose to step away.  He gave command of the army to his son, and "retired to his own house that he might spend the remainder of his days in peace."