Moroni 10

July 27, 2007 - Original Post

The Book of Mormon Challenge

Moroni begins his final chapter with a challenge. He asks us to “remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men” from the time of Adam to his day. He asks us to ponder in our hearts the mercy of the Lord and “these things” meaning the writings of Mormon and Moroni.

And when we “receive these things,” then we must ask our Heavenly Father “if these things are not true.” And if we ask in the name of Christ, having faith in Christ and with a sincere heart and real intent, then the Holy Ghost will manifest the truth of the Book of Mormon to us.

For me, I’ve always felt the Book of Mormon is true. It is ingrained within me and is a part of me. I can’t imagine what my life would be without it. I truly love the Book of Mormon. Notwithstanding these facts, I’ve felt the desire to pray about the Book of Mormon. I still feel a desire to pray about the Book of Mormon every time I finish reading it. Each time I do so, my testimony of it grows stronger. I think of all the lessons and spiritual experiences I’ve had while reading and pondering the Book of Mormon. And when I think of those things, my testimony grows.

While I was a missionary in the MTC, I finished reading the Book of Mormon and desired to have the Holy Ghost manifest to me the truth of the Book of Mormon before I embarked on a mission to Guatemala. Early in the morning, I got up and went out in the hallway to have some time to myself. I read Joseph Smith’s history that morning and then prayed about the Book of Mormon. After I finished praying, I simply knew it … I was just happy. Everything seemed to fall into place and I simply knew at that moment that the Book of Mormon is a true book and that Joseph was a true prophet and that the Church is the true church of Christ today. It was a happy moment in my spiritual life.

Spiritual Gifts

The Spirit of God to teach the word of wisdom (Moroni 10:9, 1 Cor. 12:8, D&C 46:17)

Elder Oaks describes this gift as the gift to wisely apply knowledge or the gift of judgment. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Spiritual Gifts,” Ensign, Sep 1986, 68)

Teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit (Moroni 10:10, 1 Cor. 12:8, D&C 46:18)
The D&C elaborates on this gift by adding, “that all may be taught to be wise and have knowledge.” I have seen many Sunday School teachers and seminary teachers and others exercise this gift. My parents have this gift. I have always sought this gift and feel that I have had it while teaching others on my mission as well as training missionaries in the MTC.

Exceedingly great faith (Moroni 10:11, 1 Cor. 12:9)

We have seen many of the Book of Mormon have this gift. The first example that comes to my mind is the old Lamanite king who Aaron taught. The old king believed Aaron’s words and exercised faith and was converted. (see Alma 22)

The gifts of healing (Moroni 10:11, 1 Cor. 12:9, D&C 46:19-20)

In the first area I served as a missionary (Pinares del Norte, Guatemala City), the sister who cooked our meals had this gift. Almost every morning while I ate her breakfast, some woman would bring her child over to this hermana to have the child be healed. I asked the hermana about this and she told me she has the gift of healing. She doesn’t know how it came to be, but that she just knows what ails a person and can heal them with remedies. I knew I was in good hands after I saw her heal these children.

Work mighty miracles (Moroni 10:12, 1 Cor. 12:10, D&C 46:21)

Miracles are all around us. What we need is to see them and recognize them. Just this evening, the kids and I read out of the Friend a story about a little boy who had pneumonia and meningitis and was hospitalized. The ward and even his little friends fasted for him. The doctors and his parents did not know if he would survive. But the faith of those fasting and praying for him miraculously healed him. (Susan Denney, “Jake’s Miracle,” Friend, Oct 2007, 16–17)

Gift of prophesy (Moroni 10:13, 1 Cor. 12:10, D&C 46:22)
Who can really dispute the gift of prophesy that President Hinckley possesses. He has forewarned and warned us of many things. He counseled us to get our homes in order. He taught us time and time again of the importance of the family and how the world attacks it. At least in my mind, I see his counsel and warnings as the gift of prophesy. He truly is able to lead us away from danger far before it is imminent.

Beholding of angels and ministering of spirits (Moroni 10:14, 1 Cor. 12:10)

Nephi and Alma and many others of the Book of Mormon had this gift. Joseph Smith seemed to have this gift too as he was taught by many different angels. I think that many who are close to the Spirit can have this gift when we do work for others in the temple. In counseling me to regularly attend the temple, my patriarchal blessing teaches me “that the veil between this life and the spirit world is thin.” I know I am not the only one who truly knows that truth.

Interpretation of tongues (Moroni 10:15-16, 1 Cor. 12:10, D&C 46:24-25)

How could the work of the Lord roll forward without this gift? Many missionaries and interpreters have received this gift and have used it as it was intended. The Book of Mormon and other Church publications are translated into dozens of languages. Just the General Conference page has almost 70 different language options.





Come Unto Christ

The clarion call of the Book of Mormon is that Christ lives and that we must come unto him. Moroni teaches us to come unto Christ “and be perfected in him.” (Moroni 10:32)

We must deny ourselves of ungodliness. We cannot expect to be God’s people if we do not strive to be like him. We must be different from the world. We must be the light and we are required to lead by example.

We must love God with all our might, mind and strength. In all that we do and in all that we think, we must exert the maximum effort in order for God’s grace to be sufficient.

If we do these things, then we are sanctified (Moroni 10:33) and our sins are remitted. Then we are holy and without spot.

As missionaries, we were often told that we had two years to work and the rest of our lives to think about it. The intent of that counsel was to help us to never tire of working … we were to squeeze every ounce out of our time. The same is true with lives. This life is too short and we have too much to accomplish in that short span. We must give God our all.

Moroni’s words are quite an inspiration and pep talk to go out and get to work.

Carry on, carry on, carry on (Hymn 255).

November 30, 2011 - Addition

I wanted to make Moroni 10:32 a little more meaningful and "down-to-earth"

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him"
To me, this means 'seek Christ; learn of Christ and strive to be like him.'

"deny yourselves of all ungodliness"
To me, this means we need to examine our lives and find those actions, words and thoughts that are not in alignment with the gospel of Christ and then seek to de-emphasize them in our lives - to work toward ridding them from our life - to deny them existence in our actions, words and thoughts - to suffocate 'the bad'

"love God"
Mosiah 2:17 - to love God means to love our neighbor.  To love our neighbor means to serve them.

"with all your might, mind and strength"
To me, this implies we have to "lay it all on the line" - we have to "do our best" - we have to "care"  Some fear having their hearts hurt by being offended and instead of confronting that fear, they choose to dis-engage - they choose to not be hurt.  But if we don't "care/do our best/lay it all on the line" then we will miss out on valuable lessons; essentially we circumvent the growing process.  Doing your best is not just a Boy Scout motto - it is a critical ingredient to our eternal salvation.  Without it, we will not attain the grace of God.

Only after we seek Christ and deny ungodliness in our life and give it our all is his grace sufficient for us.

Elder Koichi Aoyagi and the Book of Mormon

Below is an excerpt taken from Elder Koichi Aoyagi's talk from General Conference last week.

Living alone, far from my hometown and the people I knew, I became lonely and strayed from the Church. One day I received a postcard from a Church member back home. She wrote that she had heard I was not attending Church meetings. She quoted a scripture and invited me to return to church. I was overwhelmed by the words of the scripture. This helped me realize that maybe I had lost something important, and I pondered and struggled for many days. This also caused me to remember a promise the missionaries had made to me: “If you read the Book of Mormon and ask in fervent prayer if the promise found in Moroni is true, you will know the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (see Moroni 10:4-5)

I realized that I was not praying with all of my heart and decided to do so. One morning I woke up early, knelt in my small apartment, and prayed sincerely. To my surprise, the confirmation of the Holy Ghost came upon me as promised. My heart burned, my body shook, and I was filled with joy. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, I learned that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, live and that They truly appeared to Joseph Smith. I made a commitment in my heart to repent and faithfully follow Jesus Christ for the rest of my life.

This spiritual experience changed my life completely! I decided to serve a mission out of gratitude to the Lord and to the Church member who rescued me. Following my mission, I was sealed in the temple to a wonderful girl, and we have been blessed with four children. Not coincidentally, this is the same girl who saved me by sending a postcard to that lonely apartment in Yokohama many years ago. I remain ever grateful for the mercy of the Lord and the help of this Church member, who invited me to once again come unto Christ. (see Matthew 11:28)

Source: April 2010 General Conference, "Helping Hands, Saving Hands"

Moroni 8 & 9

Mindful of you

One of my favorite scriptures is Moroni 8:3. My father would sometimes begin his letters to me by quoting this verse. “I am mindful of you always in my prayers.” Whenever I read those words, I think of my father kneeling by the kitchen table and humbly praying to our Father in Heaven for me. I often kept that image and thought in my mind when I was serving as a missionary.

Baptism

Mormon teaches that little children must not be baptized because they are innocent in Christ, meaning they cannot sin. When they reach the age of accountability, then they should be baptized. D&C 68:25-28 teaches us that the age of accountability is eight years of age. We also learn from D&C 68 that parents are to teach their children the doctrine of the gospel and to pray.

Labor Diligently

In Moroni 9:6, Mormon exhorts Moroni to never cease to labor teaching the Nephites to repent. We too must never cease to labor, but to diligently labor. We must not serve in spurts and then “rest” a bit. Rather, we must be steady in our service to others. I remember Elder Ballard discussing this topic recently in a General Conference. He taught, “While there may be times when our Church callings require more intense effort and unusual focus, we need to strive to keep things in proper balance. We should never allow our service to replace the attention needed by other important priorities in our lives. Remember King Benjamin’s counsel: “And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength” (Mosiah 4:27).” (M. Russell Ballard, “O Be Wise,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 17–20)

Mormon Chose to Hope

Despite mentioning all the horrendous things the Lamanites and Nephites were doing, Mormon still had hope. Mormon’s words to his son ring full of hope. “My son, be faithful in Christ … may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hop of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.” (Moroni 9:25)

Moroni 7

Peaceable Followers of Christ

Peaceable is a very interesting word. There are several synonyms for the word: serene, harmonious, calm, quiet, compliant. Each one of those synonyms represents what it means to follow Christ’s teachings. It seems that these saints to whom Mormon was talking demonstrated that they were really Christians by they way they treated other people.

In my mind, a true Christian does not cause discord. He serves quietly and anonymously. He does not speak loudly, but lives a reverent life. He complies with the commandments and willingly follows Christ’s teachings. He prays fervently and studies the scriptures diligently. I often think of my parents as peaceable followers of Christ. My Sunbeam teacher, Grace Nelson, was a true peaceable follower of Christ. There are many peaceable followers of Christ among us, but you must watch carefully for them, because they will not stand out in the world’s sense.

Pray With Real Intent

If we are praying aimlessly and giving no thought for what we are thankful for and what we stand in need of, then our prayers will not reach heaven. It will profit us nothing. When we pray, we must mean it. We must have a purpose to our words. They must be thoughtful. We ought to meditate when we pray and we ought to really search our souls for the things we are thankful for and the things we desire of our Father. If we do not pray with real intent, we are not really praying. We are just saying words.

The Devil Fights God Continually

The word that stands out in Moroni 7:12 is continually. The devil will never stop fighting that which is good. But opposite of the devil is God who also invites and entices us to do good continually. Galatians 6:9 counsels us to “not be weary in well doing.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 gives similar counsel. We must endure to the end and never tire in striving to do good. As we strive to do good, our Father in Heaven will help us.

Judgment and Spirit of Christ

Each of us knows the difference between right and wrong. This is called the Spirit of Christ. Since we know wrong from right, we are given the change to judge between good and evil. The task is simple yet hard to complete. Anything that invites and entices to do good comes from Christ. Anything that persuades and entices us to do evil and to deny the Christ is of the devil. Therefore, we must choose the good and shun the evil. As we continually choose the good, our ability to choose the good becomes stronger and we become a child of Christ. (Moroni 7:19)

How Faith in Christ Began

Men began to have faith in Christ when God sent angels who in turn ministered to men. Just within the pages of the Book of Mormon we read of Nephi’s vision and how an angel ministered to him. (see 1 Nephi 11) King Benjamin was taught by an angel before he taught the Nephites. (see Mosiah 3:2) We also are very familiar with the story of Alma and the angel that visited him more than once. (see Mosiah 27; Alma 8:14)

Not only have angels ministered to men, but our Heavenly Father and Christ have taught men. We have just read about the brother of Jared and how Christ showed Himself to him hundreds of years before Christ was mortal. Thus these seeds are planted among men and we begin to have faith in Christ.

But what about those of us today … Christ has already appeared. How are we to exercise faith in Christ? My favorite part of an Apostle’s talk is his testimony. If you are tuned into the Spirit and listen closely, the Holy Ghost will testify in your heart the truthfulness of the words of the Apostles’.

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll mention it again. One of the most powerful testimonies I’ve heard came from Elder Henry B. Eyring shortly after he was called to be an Apostle. He gave a talk at the MTC while I was training there. I do not remember the subject of his talk. But what has remained with me all these years is the spirit I felt when he bore his testimony. I know that he really knows that Christ lives. And as such, I know that Christ lives.

Angels Minister Today

Mormon taught that angels have not ceased to minister to men. (Moroni 7:29) He teaches that angels are subject to God and according to His command they show “themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.” (Moroni 7:30) Those who are taught by angels are taught the gospel of repentance. Those who are taught are then commanded to preach to men. They are to preach repentance and to teach men to fulfill the work of God. They are to bear testimony of Christ. Thus “the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ.” (Moroni 7:32)

Pre-requisites of Faith and Hope

Mormon teaches that in order for a man to have faith and hope, he must be meek and lowly of heart. In other words, he must be a peaceable follower of Christ.

He must also confess that Jesus is the Christ and he must have charity.

Charity

Suffereth long – to me, this means that when placed under a trail or persecution, we do not retaliate. We suffer or endure through the trail or persecution asking God what He wants us to learn from it. We are quick to praise God and slow to complain.

Kind – If we are kind to others, then we have charity. Are we kind to disobedient children? Are we kind to drivers who cut us off? Are we kind to those who offend us? Can we at least treat others with decent respect?

Envieth not – If we have envy, then we are jealous or spiteful or malicious. To have charity means we should not covet other’s possessions or status in life. If we are “keeping up with the Jones” then we do not have charity. If we are constantly comparing our lot in life to others’ then we do not have charity. If we experience scheudenfraude (happy about another’s demise or ill luck), then we probably don’t have charity.

Is not puffed up – being “puffed up” means that we’re flaunting ourselves. When we are pompous, it tends to put others down and that is not charity. Puffing yourself up implies that you are putting others down.

Seeketh not her own – this is similar to being puffed up. If we are constantly looking out for ourselves without regard for others, then we are seeking after our own.

Is not easily provoked – this one is similar to suffereth long. At times, others may try to make us angry … they are trying to aggravate and goad us into fighting back. But if we do not fall for this tactic, then we are beginning to have charity.

Thinketh no evil – a person who does not think evil is pure in heart. A child does not think evil.

Rejoiceth not in iniquity – There are those who glory in their sinful life. They take delight in exercising their agency to the full extent.

Rejoiceth in the truth – On the other hand, there are those who love the truth and who want to be happy and seek true happiness for others. These rejoice in the truth.

Beareth all things – I think in this definition, we are to bear the trials and tribulations the Lord places on us. I don’t think the Lord expects us to tolerate all kinds of sin and iniquity. We are to allow others the use of their agency, but we can use our agency to exhort others to repentance. I am reminded of the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was in jail; he had to endure all kinds of taunting and vile talk. One night in the Richmond Jail, as guards in “dreadful blasphemies and filthy language” boasted of their participation in the Saints’ persecution, Joseph rebuked them in the name of Jesus Christ in a “voice of thunder”: “SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. … Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!” The “quailing guards … begged his pardon.” Parley wrote, “Dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village of Missouri.” (Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (1985), 179–80 see also Matthew J. Grow, “The Extraordinary Life of Parley P. Pratt,” Ensign, Apr 2007, 56–61)

Believeth all things – Along the same lines of bearing all things, we are to believe all things the Lord teaches us. Obviously we are not to believe the lies Satan and his angels would have us believe. Rather, we ought to believe that Christ lives and we are to believe all that Christ has taught and we are to believe in his prophets and apostles. We are to be as a little child and be “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19)

Hopeth all things – We must always have hope. We hope for a better world. We hope our children will choose the right when they are on their own. We hope they will marry in the temple. We hope they will serve and be faithful all their lives. We hope we will be a family forever. We hope that all the gospel offers us and our family will be realized. We must always hope. Without hope, we’d be in constant despair.

Endureth all things – Not only are we to endure what this life throws at us, but we are to endure it well. There are so many people who are bitter about their lot in life. We may not be able to choose what will happen to us, but we can always choose how we will react to it.

Pray for Charity

Charity is a gift from God. We can do our best to practice charity, but ultimately we must diligently pray for it. And we must pray with all our heart that God bestows this gift on us.

Moroni 6

Determination to Serve Christ to the End

After we are baptized, we must endure to the end. We can never give up or forsake our commitments. Elder Hales gave a wonderful talk in the April 1998 General Conference. He said, “We learn to endure to the end by learning to finish our current responsibilities, and we simply continue doing it all of our lives. We cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now.” (Robert D. Hales, “‘Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure’,” Ensign, May 1998, 75)

Nourished by the Good Word of God

If ever there were a scripture for fellowshipping and home teaching and visiting teaching, Moroni 6:4 would be it. The pattern for a new member entering the Gospel is for him to repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost and then endure to the end. To help him endure to the end, the members must nourish him with the good word of God … in other words, he must have home teachers and he must be fellowshipped at church. By having the members help this new convert, the convert is kept in the right way and is watched. We as home and visiting teachers must exhort him or her to continually pray and study the scriptures. The bishop ought to extend the convert a calling to keep him or her active in the ward. President Hinckley’s 1999 talk discusses what we as members need to do (see Gordon B. Hinckley, “Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 104)

Manner of Conducting Meetings

In the days of the Nephites, meetings were conducted “after the manner of the workings of the Spirit.” (Moroni 6:9) If the Sprit directed them to sing, they would sing. If the Spirit directed them to preach, they would preach. Today our meetings are much more structured. But that does not mean the bishop or whoever is presiding over the meeting cannot call upon someone to bear testimony or to alter the course of the meeting.

I think the concept here is that we follow the Spirit in our meetings. This can apply to us individually when we are giving a talk or lesson. If we’ve prepared something but later during the lesson or talk we feel we should say it differently or to say something else or hold something back, then we should follow the promptings of the Spirit. I’ve had this happen to me many times. Something might pop into my head and it fits perfecting into what I’m trying to convey … so I’ll say it. We never know when someone will be touched by what we say.

In the last General Conference (April 2007), President Monson noted the following event while he was giving a talk, “During the message I delivered at general conference in October 1975, I felt prompted to direct my remarks to a little girl with long, blonde hair, who was seated in the balcony of this building. I called the attention of the audience to her and felt a freedom of expression which testified to me that this small girl needed the message I had in mind concerning the faith of another young lady.

“At the conclusion of the session, I returned to my office and found waiting for me a young child by the name of Misti White, together with her grandparents and an aunt. “As I greeted them, I recognized Misti as the one in the balcony to whom I had directed my remarks. I learned that as her eighth birthday approached, she was in a quandary concerning whether or not to be baptized. She felt she would like to be baptized, and her grandparents, with whom she lived, wanted her to be baptized, but her less-active mother suggested she wait until she was 18 years of age to make the decision. Misti had told her grandparents, “If we go to conference in Salt Lake City, maybe Heavenly Father will let me know what I should do.”

“Misti and her grandparents and her aunt had traveled from California to Salt Lake City for conference and were able to obtain seats in the Tabernacle for the Saturday afternoon session. This was where they were seated when my attention was drawn to Misti and my decision made to speak to her.

“As we continued our visit after the session, Misti’s grandmother said to me, “I think Misti has something she would like to tell you.” This sweet young girl said, “Brother Monson, while you were speaking in conference, you answered my question. I want to be baptized!”

“The family returned to California, and Misti was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through all the years since, Misti has remained true and faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Fourteen years ago, it was my privilege to perform her temple marriage to a fine young man, and together they are rearing five beautiful children, with another one on the way.” (Thomas S. Monson, “Tabernacle Memories,” Ensign, May 2007, 41–42)

Moroni 1-5

Moroni’s Last Thoughts

Moroni thought that after summarizing the Jaredite history that he’d be close to death. But he found that he had more time to “write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites.” (Moroni 1:4)

How can I apply Moroni 1 to my life? Moroni thought that his life would have already been taken by the time he gets to writing his last thoughts. So instead of giving up and “resting”, he decides to write more! He wants to write more things that perhaps they “may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites.” Moroni didn’t lose sight of his goal and he made the best use of his time and energy.

Christ Gives Power to Confer the Holy Ghost

Jesus gave the Nephite apostles the power to confer the Holy Ghost. After a person is baptized, Melchizedek priesthood holders lay their hands on the person’s head and confer upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Ordinations

Moroni 3 teaches how the Nephite apostles ordained elders, priests and teachers.

The Sacrament

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the sacrament.

I’ve always wanted to do this … have a side-by-side comparison of the blessing of the bread and water to clearly see this similarities and differences.

Both bless and sanctify the emblems.

Both identify the emblem it represents. The water blessing adds that it was shed for us.

In both blessings, we make a covenant … we witness unto God.

In the bread blessing, we pecifically promise that we are willing to take upon us His name and keep his commandments.

In the water blessing, we witness unto God that we will (DO) remember Christ.

Finally, if we are willing to take upon us His name and willing to keep his commandments and willing to remember Him (and do remember Him), then we’ll always (bread) have his spirit with us.

In a church meeting back in November 2004, President Gary Riding of our Stake Presidency asked us to do one thing every week to help us sanctify ourselves. He suggested that either Saturday night or Sunday morning, we sit down and review our past week. Then we identify ways in which we can improve and be better sons and daughters of God. Then we should improve on those things for the next week. Then during the Sacrament, we need to sing the song and read and listen to the words of the hymn. We should think of Jesus and how we can be more faithful to him and how we can remember him. President Riding also suggested that if we have small children, that each parent trade off each week when it comes to tending to them. In this way both of us can have a chance every other week or so, to completely reflect during the sacrament.