1:1,4 - "...Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished..."
Moroni thought that by this time he would have died. The Lord wanted us to have what was written in Moroni - it is very important with information on how to run the church, and at the end, one of the most used scriptures, Moroni 10:3-5. Thank goodness that Moroni wrote this book!
1:2-3 - "...And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ..."
Moroni was a great example to us. He was the only one left who would not deny the Christ, and still he wouldn't. We need to do the same and not deny the testimony that we have.
1:4 - "...I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord..."
Moroni had faith that his words would actually help. If we have the faith that our words will help, then we be more motivated to write in our journals and work to try to help others.
15:3-6 - "...[Coriantumr] began to repent of the evil which he had done...the people repented not of their iniquity..."
This shows that when the people as a majority become wicked, then they are ripe for destruction (Alma 10:19, Helaman 5:2). This shows the importance of missionary work and helping others to be righteous.
15:3-6 - "...[Coriantumr] began to repent of the evil which he had done...the people repented not of their iniquity..."
Sometimes even the influence of a leader when they try to repent is not enough! Coriantumr tried to act in faith, but the consequences of his actions meant that the people saw his wicked influence from before and would not change. The key then, is to continue trying in faith. Sometimes you can still make a difference!
15:33-34 - "...And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled..."
Ether was a witness of the destruction of the Jaredites, and so was Coriantumr. It's a sad story, so hopefully we can learn from the story and repent before it's too late!
14:1 - "...And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people..."
The curse came as a result of the iniquity of the people. We need to stay righteous and be blessed - because if we do not remain righteous, we will be cursed. The Lord doesn't lie, so we can be sure that it will happen. The result of any good action is that we will be blessed eventually, whether here on earth or in heaven. We need to keep the commandments.
14:1 - "...And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people..."
The people were wicked, denying the faith. Some consequences of this type of action include losing treasures and possessions. When we have faith, we can receive those blessings, according to God's will.
14:25 - "...And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction..."
The Lord will punish the wicked, even if right now it seems like the wicked are getting all the good stuff now. The Lord is just, and will reward according to our actions. We need to be righteous.
13:5-6 - "...[Jerusalem] should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land..."
There will be two Jerusalems - the one in Israel and the one in the United States at Jackson County. We need to do what we can to prepare ourselves and those around us for the Second Coming and the building up of Zion.
13:11 - "...blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries..."
At the time of the Second Coming, the Lost Tribes will be gathered in from the 4 corners of the Earth and the north countries. This shows that the Lord keeps His promises. We can have faith that the Lord will do His part, and we need to do our part.
13:20 - "...if [Coriantumr] would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the people..."
Those are great blessings - to have the kingdom and the people spared - but these blessings were specific to Coriantumr. Sometimes we can have certain blessings through faith that are specific to us!
12:5-6 - "...And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they saw them not..."
Ether prophesied of great things that the people did not believe because they didn't see them. That's why Moroni said that faith is things that are hoped for and not seen. We must have the trial of our faith so that we may grow.
12:7 - "...For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him..."
Christ only showed Himself to them after they had faith in Him. It reminds me of the disciples on the road to Emmaeus - they didn't recognize it was the Savior until the scriptures were expounded, they felt the Spirit, and when He ate with them. Then they knew - then they went to share that experience.
We must do the same - have faith, and appropriately share the experiences with those who may benefit.
12:9 - "...Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith..."
We need to have hope to be partakers of the gift - what gift is this? It's the gift of eternal life. This comes through faith. There are many blessings that come through faith, but this is perhaps the greatest.
12:23-41 - "...Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing...And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me..."
Moroni was pretty alone at this time - he had seen his family and his people destroyed. He had been wandering for a while and was now finishing up the record of a people that was destroying itself as well. It had to be a bit depressing. He realized that Reformed Egyptian was not nearly as perfect as Hebrew in expressing what he wanted to say, so he was worried that in the last days the Gentiles would mock the words. When he expressed his concern to the Lord, the Lord responded by saying that fools would mock, but would mourn. If we (the Gentiles) would realize our own weakness and not focus on the weaknesses of others, then we would have weak things made strong. Moroni was comforted by what the Lord had to say, and then the Lord, knowing that Moroni was in this state of mind, sat there and listened to Moroni for 2-3 minutes describe the comfort and realization that he had. The Lord is very merciful! I know that He listens to us at our times of need and strengthens us and brings us closer to Him.
12:27 - "...my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me..."
Grace is an enabling power - it helps us get up and accomplish things because we have faith that it will make a difference in helping us return and live with God again. This power comes from the Atonement. We should take advantage of this every day.
12:28 - "...I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness..."
These things bring us to Christ. If we will develop these attributes, we will come unto Christ. We should develop them and help others develop them as well.
11:1-3 - "...And it came to pass that the prophets were rejected by the people, and they fled unto Com for protection, for the people sought to destroy them. And they prophesied unto Com many things; and he was blessed in all the remainder of his days..."
When the people rejected the prophets, the prophets went to Com and he accepted them. They prophesied to him and he was blessed. That shows what happens when we either listen or don't listen to the prophets. It's really up to us to decide the consequences based on our choices.
11:8 - "...And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have mercy on them..."
I'm grateful that the Lord is merciful and quick to bless when we are righteous. It helps us stay on the right road towards salvation.
11:8 - "...And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have mercy on them..."
This is a great blessing of acting in faith and repenting. If we want mercy, we must follow these steps and act in faith!
10:3 - "...And his eldest son, whose name was Shez, did rebel against him; nevertheless, Shez was smitten by the hand of a robber, because of his exceeding riches, which brought peace again unto his father..."
This is a sad verse, because the king's son became wicked, rebelled, and was killed by a robber, which brought peace again to his father. I know I would be very sad. I don't want to lose any of my children to wickedness or a robber. That's why it's important to teach them correct principles and set a good example. They have their choice, but if we do what we can to teach correctly, they may be more likely to follow righteousness.
10:11 - "...And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself because of his many whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the presence of the Lord..."
Even if we are trying to be faithful to our fellow man, if we are not faithful unto the Lord, we are still cut off from Him.
10:19 - "...And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest..."
After the third or fourth generation of righteous kings, the poisonous serpents were destroyed and the people had more opportunity for food. I know that when we are righteous and keep the commandments, the Lord blesses us - temporally and spiritually.
9:1-3 - "...the Lord was merciful unto Omer..."
Omer listened to the Lord and was spared because of it. We must listen to the Lord if we want to be saved, either in this life and/or the next.
9:20 - "...whoso should possess the land should possess it unto the Lord, or they should be destroyed when they were ripened in iniquity..."
Whoso should possess this land should possess it to the Lord - if they want to be blessed. That is our responsibility as citizens of our own countries.
9:35 - "...And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from famine..."
The people showed their faith, and the Lord saved them. We have great blessings when we are faithful, and we can definitely be destroyed if we are not faithful.
Let us be faithful to the Lord.
8:8-10 - "...Now the daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could redeem the kingdom unto her father..."
This shows the influence of a wicked woman. Women have a huge influence on men, so it is important to associate with righteous women. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by righteous women.
8:13 - "... Akish...said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?..."
Even wicked people can be faithful - it depends on what we are being faithful to that determines if we are wicked or righteous. We need to be careful about where we put our faith and trust!
8:16-19,24 - "...And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God..."
Secret combinations are Satan's imitations of holy, sacred covenants. Satan uses imitations to deceive many people. The Lord commands us to repent, and uses these stories to awaken us to what we need to do, and what we should avoid in order to stay faithful to the Lord.
7:4 - "...And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against his father..."
This was only the third generation of kings of the Jaredites - and already there started to be problems. The brother of Jared knew what he was talking about (Ether 6:23).
7:25-26 - "...And he did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would..."
The righteous king executed a law that allowed prophets to go where they wanted. It helped the people to repent and the Lord spared them. Such is the influence of a righteous king.
7:25-27 - "...he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days..."
An effect of faith and acting in faith is that it influences those around you and encourages them to have faith too. It also helps them to live in more righteousness.
6:9 - "...And they did sing praises unto the Lord..."
Instead of grumbling and complaining, they did praise the Lord. This is one way that we can show our faith. It helps us be humble.
6:9-12 - "...And they did sing praises unto the Lord...all the day long..."
We need to remember to give credit where credit is due. It helps us stay humble. We must be humble if we want to keep from having pride take us over.
6:12 - "...[they] did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them..."
We have many tender mercies that are given to us (1 Nephi 1:20). Elder Bednar spoke extensively on this subject in the April 2005 General Conference.
6:22-23 - "...Surely [a king] leadeth into captivity..."
A king will lead to captivity (1 Samuel 8:10-18). There have been a few good kings, but in general, kings do what Samuel describes. Even David and Solomon - two of the best kings - became wicked. Our responsibility is to elect good leaders and then support them.
Chapter 5 - "...Three witnesses and the work itself will stand as a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon..."
It's interesting, because this is pretty much Moroni talking to Joseph Smith talking about the plates, their contents, and the translation. It shows that God sees all things, from beginning to end, and that He shows these things to His servants. We need to trust God and the prophets.
5:3 - "...And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true..."
In the mouth of three witness shall these things be established (2 Corinthians 13:1, Deuteronomy 19:15, 2 Nephi 11:3). 3 witnesses have a more powerful witness - so it shows the importance of sharing our testimony.
5:5 - "...And if it so be that they repent and come unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God..."
If we act in faith and repent, we can lay hold upon this blessing of being received into the kingdom of God. There are many great blessings that come as a result of faith.
4:1-6 - "...And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen..."
The brother of Jared had an amazing vision of the world from the beginning. The Lord commanded him to seal up those writings - and forbade them to be opened until after His death on the cross. It was revealed again after Jesus came to the Americas, but the people became wicked again. It was then written by Moroni and sealed up again. To see or read these things, we must have faith even as the brother of Jared (verse 7).
4:11-12 - "...For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good..."
We can know that something is true because the Spirit will say so, and also because it will persuade us to do good. This is a sure way to recognize truth, because an evil tree cannot bear good fruit - and vice versa.
4:13 - "...Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief..."
We need to believe in order to receive greater things. What a privilege we have here to learn all these greater things - if we believe.
4:13 - "...I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief..."
This shows that we can have great treasures of knowledge - blessings that come through faith. Faith really gives us a lot of blessings!
3:9 - "...And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger..."
Because of his great faith, the brother of Jared saw the Lord. It requires great faith, and an understanding that the Lord speaks truth and cannot lie. We must believe in Him, yes, but we must also believe Him.
3:13 - "...And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you..."
This is another huge blessing that comes through faith - to be redeemed from the Fall! That can happen either in this life or after, but it will be a huge blessing that requires us to develop our faith in Him.
3:19-20 - "...and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting..."
The brother of Jared had faith no longer, but a sure knowledge. Because of this, his testimony is sure. He has a solid rock to base his testimony, which, consequently, we can draw off of. I also know that Jesus is the Christ - not only because other people have seen Him, and not only because I have had a witness from the Holy Ghost that He is real, but also because I have had a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that these men of God have seen and spoken with the Lord.
3:22-24 - "...And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read. And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write..."
The Jaredites were still speaking and writing the language they were using from before the Tower of Babel. King Mosiah and his people spoke a different language, so he needed the seer stones to help translate those records so the Nephites could have them, and so we could have them today. It is a huge blessing to have prophets and the words that they deliver to us from the Lord.
2:6,16 - "...And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord...And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built..."
The barges they built was after the manner of which they had done before, which was after the instructions of the Lord.
We must consult with the Lord in all our doings, and He will guide our paths.
2:14 - "...And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord..."
The brother of Jared was chastened, but not necessarily for 3 hours, but still chastened. We must not forget to say our prayers or get complacent in them. If we do, we lose the Spirit of the Lord quicker.
2:14 - "...and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord..."
When we understand our nature and the nature of God, it becomes a natural thing to pray. It can be easy to forget in this world, but we can do better.
2:18-25 - Three different concerns, three different responses
There were three concerns - light, air, and steering. For Light, the response was to study it out and come to the Lord with the solution. For Air, the answer was given immediately - to take action to make holes in the barges. For Steering, another answer was given, but a different type - it was to just trust the Lord that He would steer them in the right direction. Sometimes we need to trust the Lord, sometimes He tells us to take action, and sometimes we need to come up with a solution and present it to the Lord for approval. This shows many ways in which we can receive revelations.
2:23 - "...ye cannot have windows..."
This statement was a hint. In Genesis 6:16, it says that Noah's Ark had windows, or if you look at the footnote, some scholars believe that it was a shining stone that shone in the ark. The answer to the question had already been given, and the brother of Jared needed to search the scriptures or have something brought to his remembrance to find the answer to the question he had and receive revelation.
1:33 - "...the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered..."
There could be several reasons why the Lord confounded the language - perhaps they were trying to circumvent the Lord to try to get to heaven. In any case, it was something that the Lord most likely had warned them about before doing. The Lord will not leave us in the dark - He sends prophets to warn us of the consequences of sin and the blessings of righteousness.
1:35 - "...And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded..."
It is speculated that the language of the Jaredites was the Adamic language - a pure language. The Jaredites eventually destroyed themselves and the last remaining indication of that language. At the Second Coming the Lord will restore this pure language (Zephaniah 3:9).
Trying to learn other languages now (such as French, Spanish, Sign Language, etc.), may help us to learn that language easier in the future.
1:43 - "...And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me..."
Because the brother of Jared called upon the Lord for that long time, the Lord promised to establish of the Jaredites a great nation - there would be none greater. With prayer and faith, nothing is impossible.
We need to have faith, then use that faith to pray and act.
1:43 - "...And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me..."
The brother of Jared showed his faith through prayer, while Jared showed his faith by asking his brother to pray. They both received great blessings through faith, and so can we!
9:8-9 - "...For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? (Hebrews 13:8)"
God does not change or move away from us. We move away from him. He has always used Prophets and appointed men and women to teach, preach, and bring forth the gospel. We can see the truth by reading the scriptures and following the same pattern. We can receive a confirmation that it is true from the Holy Ghost.
9:14 - "...And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still..."
We can't expect to change from filthy to righteousness at the last day. It just doesn't work that way. We need to change ourselves now and not think that we can change at the last minute and that all will be well.
9:20 - "...And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust..."
This shows the effects of the opposite of faith. If we dwindle in unbelief and depart from the right way, we see that miracles will cease.
If we want to have miracles in our life, we must have faith and not dwindle in unbelief.
9:27 - "...O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord..."
We need to always come unto Christ, working out our own salvation before Him - with fear and trembling. This means that we must be humble and realize that it is not within our power to save ourselves, but only with the Lords help. Also, it means that we must work at keeping the commandments so we can receive the blessings.
We must repent in order to be cleansed. That's the conditions that the Lord put on us when He paid the price for all of us.
9:33 - "...And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record..."
We need to realize that Reformed Egyptian was good, but not the best, so we can't judge their choice of words harshly. It's amazing that they are as good as they are now! It's a blessing to have such clear teachings of Jesus Christ, and we should learn from these teachings.
9:36 - "...And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land..."
The things that they desired was the restoration of their brethren to the knowledge of Christ. This is according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land, but also people throughout history. For many areas in the world, they do not have this knowledge. We must continue to pray for them so they can receive the gospel. Things can happen quickly - the Berlin Wall and the Wall of Jericho came down in a short period of time. Anything can and will happen. We see this continuing quicker and quicker in our day, especially with the age of missionaries reduced for young men from 19 to 18, and for young women from 21 to 19. We will continue to see the gospel spread more and more throughout the world, and it is fun to see! We just need to do our part to keep the commandments and help in the work.
8:12 - "...And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these..."
We need to accept and apply what we learn in the Book of Mormon - then we will learn greater things. If we cannot accept and apply what we have learned from the Book of Mormon, how can we expect to learn more?
8:14 - "...the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless..."
The valuable part of the Gold Plates is the record engraved upon it. That's why we have it today. Satan realizes this worth, so that's why he put it in the hearts of men to use the plates to get gain, or to destroy the plates, or Joseph Smith. He attempts to change our view to see the worth of the plates in something besides where the true worth resides.
The Book of Mormon is of great worth to us, and we need to appreciate it more and apply it more.
8:22 - "...For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled..."
The Lord keeps His part of the promises. It's our responsibility to come unto Him and do our part so we can have the blessings.
8:24 - "...And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And he knoweth their faith..."
We can take comfort in the fact that the Lord sees our trials and struggles, but also our increases in faith. It helps us to try harder when we realize this!
8:35 - "...Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing..."
The Book of Mormon was truly written for our day, for our trials, and our needs. We need to use it to its full potential. It can be tough sometimes, but we are truly blessed as we seek to apply the teachings in our lives.
7:3-4 - "...Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved..."
It's very important to repent. If we do not repent, we cannot be saved. So if we want to be saved, we must repent. This is what we should do on a daily/continual basis.
7:5 - "...Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ..."
Our 'fathers' believed and taught very important principles and doctrines. What they believed and were taught is what we need to hear, too. The Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't change. We do, though, so we need to keep learning and applying what we learn.
7:7 - "...And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end..."
Here is a great motivation to have faith. If we want to be eternally happy, we must keep the commandments in faith and repent.
7:8-9 - "...For behold, [the Book of Mormon] is written for the intent that ye may believe [the Bible]; and if ye believe [the Bible] ye will believe [the Book of Mormon] also; and if ye believe [the Book of Mormon] ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them..."
If we believe, we will come to a knowledge of our fathers - we cannot be saved without them, and they cannot be saved without us. We need to continue to diligently study the Book of Mormon and scriptures.
Elder Russell M. Nelson talked about this in the November 2007 Ensign, Pg. 43-45 - "Love for the Book of Mormon expands one's love for the Bible and vice versa. Scriptures of the Restoration do not compete with the Bible; they complement the Bible."
We should not shortchange the Bible, but get all we can out of it. Truth comes from all over and we should learn from as many sources as we can - in good judgment, obviously.
6:6 - "...therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni..."
Mormon gave a few plates to Moroni and hid up the rest in the hill. There are so many records and lessons that we haven't read or seen, and maybe one day we may see them.
We need to learn what we can now from what we do have - then we will be opening ourselves to receive and learn more.
6:16 - "...And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people..."
Mormon, even after all he could do, was rejected by his people. The Nephites rejected his teachings, as well as the teachings of the Lord. That's very sad (Alma 8:8-11).
We must accept and not reject the Lord. If we do this, we will be blessed.
6:17-18 - "...how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen..."
If we faithfully accept Jesus, we will receive a great blessing in that we will not fall. This is a huge blessing, as we live in such a wicked world now! We can use all the help we can get.
6:22 - "...O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you..."
If we will repent now, it may not be too late. It's an over-arching theme of Mormon throughout the Book of Mormon, and is continually taught by prophets throughout history and in our day.
We must repent to receive these blessings.
5:2 - "...But behold, I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them..."
Mormon was without hope because he knew that the judgments of the Lord were going to come upon them. The Nephites were struggling without calling upon the Lord that created them.
We need to pray always or we can end up the same way.
5:11 - "...For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of Israel; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus..."
If we want to be secure in the love and assurance of Jesus, we must have faith and repent. Otherwise we may end up seeing some similar sorrow and destruction.
5:14-15 - "...And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles..."
The Book of Mormon will go unto the Jews and Gentiles to convince them that Jesus is the Christ.
The Book of Mormon is a powerful witness of Christ. It shows His majesty, power, mercy, kindness, and charity. He even tried to help the Nephites as they were falling at the end - He gave them opportunity to repent. We need to take Him up on His offers and promises. As we do so, we will be blessed.
4:5 - "...But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed..."
Right now it may seem that the wicked are happy. However, they will receive their just reward, and unless we are lawyers, judges, etc., we don't take the law into our own hands. It is required of us to forgive all men.
We should forgive others and let the consequences come where they come. All we can do is just do the best that we can.
4:8 - "...And when the Nephites saw that they had driven the Lamanites they did again boast of their own strength..."
This is another indication of losing faith. When we stop being grateful and are prideful, we decrease our faith and increase boasting!
We must give credit where credit is due - which 99% of the time is to the Lord. If we are humble and grateful, it leaves us open to receiving instruction and the Spirit, which will help us avoid deadly situations.
4:10 - "...and the Lamanites came again upon the Nephites to battle; and yet the Nephites repented not of the evil they had done, but persisted in their wickedness continually..."
If we persist in our own wickedness, we will be destroyed. It may come slowly, through addiction, or quickly.
If we want to be saved from destruction, we must repent continually and come unto Christ at all times.
3:2-3 - "...And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God..."
Mormon preached what the Lord told him to preach, but the people hardened their hearts. They were too prideful to recognize that it was the Lord who had spared them, and given them a chance for repentance.
We need to be grateful and remember to give credit where credit is due. This will help us to keep from hardening our hearts.
3:12 - "...and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them; nevertheless, it was without faith, because of the hardness of their hearts..."
There may be times that faith cannot exist, even in behalf of others, because of the hardness of their hearts and unbelief.
Doubt and fear cannot exist together.
We must do all we can to be faithful and chase away doubt and fear.
3:20 - "...And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil..."
There will come the day that we will stand before the judgment-seat of Christ - we need to be ready.
We must prepare and be ready at all times - be worthy to stand before Him so He will say that our works have been good.
2:13 - "...But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance..."
When we feel truly sorrowful for our sins, we will forsake them. This means more than simply not doing them again - we will do what we can to put ourselves into situations to avoid similar temptation in the future, and work to change our attitudes and desires, replacing bad behaviors with good ones.
We must always repent sincerely.
2:23 - "...And it came to pass that I did speak unto my people, and did urge them with great energy, that they would stand boldly before the Lamanites and fight for their wives, and their children, and their houses, and their homes..."
Mormon really tried to keep their hearts in the right place, but many did not. We need to fight for the right reasons - if we fight at all. We must be on the Lord's side, which may be neither side of an argument.
2:26 - "...yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren..."
This is yet another consequence of not having faith. These chapters show us some sad consequences, yes, but we should focus on the blessings as much as possible and seek to willingly have faith.
1:2 - "...I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe..."
Mormon gave a great example. We can take his example and be quick to observe and slow to act irrationally.
1:15 - "...and I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus..."
When Mormon was 15 years old he was visited by the Lord.
We definitely need to follow his example. If we do what it takes, the blessings come.
We need to follow the example of the Savior and His servants.
1:17 - "...But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake..."
Here it shows some consequences of not having faith. We have great blessings removed from us, like the prophets. The land is also cursed. It makes sense to work for the blessings.
If we want the blessings, we need to keep the commandments that they are predicated upon.
verse 5 - "...And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus..."
Miracles do not come from us. We are the instruments in the hands of the Lord to accomplish them, but the power comes from Him. We are blessed to be instruments and chosen/asked to serve the Lord.
We need to be humble and grateful for that blessing that He has given us.
verse 15-18 - "...and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God..."
The people were faithful in keeping the commandments, and the Lord poured out His blessings upon them.
If we are faithful, we will receive these blessings as well. We can be happy now - we don't have to wait until after this life to be happy.
verse 20 - "...there was still peace in the land, save it were a small part of the people who had revolted from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land..."
A group revolted and took upon them the name of Lamanites. It's more a matter of belief rather than lineage because a lot of these people could have been Nephites by lineage but decided to call themselves Lamanites.
If we do not keep the commandments, we could technically be classified as "Lamanite."
We need to keep the commandments so we do not become somebody we don't want to become (Alma 43:4).
30:1 - "...Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you..."
This is a great example of faith. Mormon, even though he knew it might be taken offensively, wrote this because he trusted and had faith in the Lord. Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news or of offense. If they do, they're weird. But we need to follow the direction of the Lord, even if sometimes we think it may be offensive to people.
30:1-2 - "...Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel..."
If we don't repent, we will not be found with the Savior at that great and glorious day. In a coming day, we will stand before the Savior, and we will have a perfect remembrance of our works and guilt (Alma 11:42-44). It is up to us to not procrastinate the day of our repentance (Alma 34:32-34).
29:1-3 - "...And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shallacome unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that thebcovenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning to be fulfilled. And ye may know that the words of the Lord, which have been spoken by the holy prophets, shall all be fulfilled; and ye need not say that the Lord delays his coming unto the children of Israel..."
When we see these signs, we need to not think that the Lord has delayed His coming, but remain true and firm to the commandments.
29:5 - "...Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!"
We must have faith in the Lord! We need to trust Him and know that we may not understand all His doings, but that they are for our own good.
29:7 - "...wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ!..."
We need to have faith that miracles can and do occur, and then justly attribute it to the Savior. He is the one that made it possible through the atonement.
28:1-3 - "...We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom..."
The thing they most desired was to return and live with Him.
That should give us an idea of where our priorities should be. Above all, we need to be living in the manner that will bring us home to live with the Lord and our family.
28:10 - "...ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand. And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father..."
Why would they have a fulness of joy? Because they would go forth, preaching the gospel. Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). So our purpose is to preach the gospel (Alma 29:9), which helps God in His purpose (Moses 1:39) - that's why we preach repentance - to bring others unto Christ and have a fulness of joy with them in His kingdom.
28:17,36-40 - "...But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord..."
The Three Nephites were changed, but not resurrected - but at first Mormon didn't know what change that it was. What is impressive about this story is that Mormon knew that to find out if they had been transfigured, he could ask God. And he did get an answer - it reminds me of 1 Nephi 15:8 where Nephi asks his brethren if they had inquired of the Lord.
This is exactly what we should do! If we want to learn or grow, asking of the Lord will help us learn.
28:34-35 - "...for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day; And it would be better for them if they had not been born..."
This also describes those who offend little children - a strong statement to those who reject faith!
We must not reject the words of Jesus and we need to follow in faith.
27:3-8 - "...And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church..."
This is important, because we do not worship Joseph Smith, Mormon, Moses, Luther, or anybody else except God and His Son..
It's important that we do not call the church after someone else.
27:5-7 - "... Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day..."
Whatever we do, we must do it as if the Savior were in our place. This is how we should take upon us His name. We need to be examples at all times, in all things, and in all places.
27:10-12 - "...And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it..."
We are an example of the Believers (1 Timothy 4:10). Others look at us and judge the church after what we do. Though they may not completely justified in that, they do have a point. I wouldn't want to join a church that wouldn't be able to help me be saved. What would be the point?
We need to be good examples and build upon the gospel.
27:13-22 - "...Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me..."
Elder Daniel K. Judd talked about the quality of teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the November 2007 Ensign, Pg. 93-95.
"Just as I learned as a young man that grain was more appealing to our horses than a dirt-filled bucket...as teachers and leaders, it is vital that we nourish those we teach and lead by focusing on the fundamental doctrines, principles, and applications emphasized in the scriptures and the words of our latter-day prophets instead of spending precious time on subjects and sources of lesser importance."
When we focus on the doctrine, it makes all the difference, and helps us to improve behavior quicker than the study of behavior improves behavior.
27:29 - "...Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened..."
This recurring theme keeps coming back in the scriptures. If we want to receive answers to our prayers and questions, we must act and ask in faith. When we do, in all sincerity, the Lord will answer. We must be ready to receive.
26:2-3 - "...These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations. And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory..."
The Father found it wise to give them the scriptures - then He found it wise to expound all things, even from the beginning until the Second Coming.
I find that interesting - because that's pretty much the same vision that Nephi, Jacob, King Benjamin, Noah, Elder Haight, and many others saw: the sweeping tapestry of the Earth, start to end.
Mormon was about to write it down (verse 11), but the Lord commanded him not to write it, to try our faith. I imagine that it was pretty clear on the Second Coming and that we need to have our faith tried more at this time than having everything revealed to us.
26:9 - "...And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them..."
There are times that we want to know 'greater things,' but we need to have faith to accept the 'lesser things' first!
If we cannot accept the 'lesser things,' there is no way that we can progress and accept more. If we hear it, it is highly likely that we would not accept it either.
26:13 - "...Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them..."
This is a great testimony of the resurrected Lord given by the multitude - that they saw the Lord, and that He WAS resurrected with a body of flesh. We know that He was resurrected, and their testimony reinforces our own.
26:14 - "...And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter..."
This is amazing - and it also shows how we should be as little children - meek and humble and full of righteousness so we open ourselves to receiving revelation and having our tongues loosed.
