Moroni,
son of Mormon, takes over the record and informs us that all his people have been hunted and killed by the Lamanites (including his
father), and he doesn’t know how long he will live until the Lamanites find
him, too.
Moroni
tells us he is going to “hide up this record unto the Lord” before he dies, and
he will entrust it to the Lord to “bring it to light" when the time is right. He says no one will be able to have the plates unless God wants them to, for God’s
own purposes. He says the man will be blessed who is chosen to bring them
forth (hint hint, fast forward to the year 1830-ish when Joseph Smith is shown
by an angel where the records are buried and he translates them via the power
of God). (see vs. 14-16)
16 And blessed be 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.
22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled.
Moroni
has strong faith these records will come to light, because the Lord has
promised it to the Nephite prophets over and over again. He also prophesies
that this record will come forth in a day that looks a lot like our own… read
for yourself verses 26-36.
How
does Moroni know all these things that will happen in the far-distant future
(our time!)?
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 written by prophets a long, long time ago. But it is incredibly relevant to me, because it was written for me, for us, for people in
our time. The writers knew that people wouldn’t have access to their
writings for centuries. The people who would read them were in our time, and
they wrote for us. What is the Book of Mormon trying to say to you? Or
rather, what is the Lord trying to say to you through the Book of Mormon?
Moroni
is giving his last words in the chapter… or at least what he thinks are his
last words because as you may have noticed, there are still two whole books
left in the Book of Mormon (next Ether, then Moroni). So this isn’t actually
the end, but it seems that Moroni thinks so while he is writing, because he
covers a lot of topics and you can feel the strong passion he has for them.
1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.
2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?
Moroni encourages the unbelieving to repent – God will always grant an
opportunity to change. That is why we are here. Each day is a new start, and
God hasn’t given up on anyone. Moroni talks about this also. Many people in our
day feel like God's involvement in our lives, and miracles and revelations ended back in Bible times. But I believe
God is just as alive and involved in the world today.
7 And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues;
8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.
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?
God is a God of Miracles – today and always!
No comments:
Post a Comment