3:1-4 - "...The manner which the disciples, who were called the elders of the church, ordained priests and teachers..."
This shows the manner in which to ordain priests and teachers, or any office, pretty much. We follow the pattern that God and Jesus Christ have given us because His house is a house of order.
3:3 - "...by the endurance of faith on his name to the end..."
If we endure in faith, we will receive a remission of our sins. It's a great blessing of faith!
2:2 - "...Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power..."
When we act in the name of Jesus Christ, we must pray to the Father, also in the name of Jesus Christ, in faith. This will help us have the faith needed to use the Holy Priesthood.
2:2-3 - "...ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, dye shall give the Holy Ghost..."
Jesus gave the Nephite disciples power to give the gift of the Holy Ghost. To receive this gift, we must be blessed by someone who has authority, by the laying on of hands.
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.
