Besides
his marvelous challenge to “ask God, the Eternal Father, if these things are
not true,” Moroni next positions his plea for us to seek the Gifts of the
Spirit; the essential gifts being faith, hope and charity. My dad told me once to pay attention to the
position of that plea. It is so
important it is the next to the last thing he wants us to do, coming after our
praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true.
Finally, Moroni posts this marvelous invitation echoing all of his
fellow prophets: “Yea, come unto Christ,
and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall
deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and
strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his
grace ye may be perfect in Christ…that ye become holy without spot.” Farewell Moroni; I can’t wait to meet you.
rending rocks
whatevers from walt
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Moroni 7
Moroni
records the words of his father, Mormon, in this beloved chapter most often
quoted for the doctrine of charity; therein, I found an intriguing
question: “And now, my brethren, how is
it possible that ye can lay hold upon
every good thing?” Mormon repeats
the words, “every good thing” four times.
He answers his own question, “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have
power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me…Repent all ye ends of the
earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name and have faith in me, that
ye may be saved.” It is fun to ponder what “every good thing” means to me. Every good thing means my wife and family, my
grandparents, my parents, my grandchildren.
Every good thing means a Christ-centered life. Every good thing means a comfortable home and
food to eat. Every good thing means
friends and friendship.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Ether 12
Ether
12:6 and Ether 12:27 are rich and deep and wide. But Ether 12:39-41 gives us a glimpse of
Jesus that I find profound. Moroni,
after having an interview with the Lord Jesus Christ says this: “And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus,
and that he hath talked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain
humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language,
concerning these things;” and then he
adds this humble invitation: “I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom
the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and
also the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them,
may be and abide in you forever.”
Friends,
we have it from an eye witness that if we were to see and talk to Jesus that he
would talk to us in plain humility! I
love Jesus. I also commend him to you.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Mormon 8
Here
is a wonderful verse about Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of
Mormon recorded by Moroni who took over the record keeping after his father,
Mormon’s death: “And blessed is he that
shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of darkness unto
light; according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth,
and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the
people; and it shall be done by the power of God.”
“Behold,
the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which
must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.
Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. Behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me,
and I know your doing.”
Moroni
saw that we would struggle with pride. “Doubt not, but be believing,…and come
unto the Lord with all your heart…strip yourselves of all uncleanness…ask with
a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will
serve the true and living God.”
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Mormon
The
saddest book in the Book of Mormon is written by its abridger, Mormon. Yet, in the account of the downfall of the
Nephites, there are magnificent words and phrases to lift us up in the latter
days:
“I
know that I shall be lifted up at the last day.”
“I
did even as the Lord commanded me.”
“…believe
the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall have among you.”
“…clasped
in the arms of Jesus.”
“…they
had Christ for their shepherd.”
“Repent
ye and humble yourselves before him.”
Mormon
leaves us with the keystone of our faith.
We are forever in his debt.
Friday, April 25, 2014
4 Nephi
"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people." This blissful time in the history of the Americas lasted 200 years. The gospel that Jesus had brought with him had sunk deep into the hearts of the people. Let his love sink deep into my heart. Bless me with the gift of charity--the pure love of Christ. I want my family to know how much I love them. That love is eternal--no matter what.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
More of My Book of Mormon Testimony
Christ's visit to America, documented in the Book of Mormon, settles the question "Is this book true?" completely for me. I picture Him here. I see Him invite the 2500 onlookers to come and feel the prints of the nails in His hands, wrists, and feet. I see Him heal their sick and afflicted. I hear Him blessing and praying for the children. I see the angels ministering to the little children. I believe, as pictured in the Minerva Tiechert painting, that the angels brought food baked in heaven, and Celestial Sprite to drink (out of the containers if they wanted to). In her painting, the angels brought barrels of yummy drinks, platters of baked goodies, and probably games to play. I feel that somehow those of us yet to be born on the earth were allowed to witness and perhaps participate in this glorious event. I love the Book of Mormon. I know it is true through the confirming voice of the Spirit of God speaking to my soul and heart.
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