President Thomas S Monson gave an excellent talk in the latest General Conference for the LDS Church entitled “Finding Joy in the Journey.” In part of this talk told a story of a man who had been captured during the Vietnam War. His captors allowed him to write home after a long while and only allowed him 25 words to send. President Monson then relays what this man sent home to his family for what could have been the last words of advice he would share.
As I revisited this talk today in Sunday school, my thoughts turned to Moroni in the end of the Book of Mormon. During this time, Moroni was the only person left of his people and he wasn’t sure if he would live or die. He was writing a record for his ancestors who he felt would receive his message many years later. He acknowledges that he doesn’t have much room to write, but that what he shares is what he feels to be most important. His account is found in Moroni Chapter 10 of the Book of Mormon.
I encourage everyone to read this and pull out of it what the lessons and implications that are pertinent to their personal situations. For me as I read through this again I found the following principles as being most important:
- Knowledge and faith in God and Jesus Christ
- Prayer
- The Holy Ghost and the various gifts of the Spirit
- Charity, or the pure love of Christ
- The Atonement of Jesus Christ (in my opinion the most important)
The final verses are so good I’m going to quote them.
30 And again I would exhort you that ye would acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good bgift, and ctouch not the evil gift, nor the dunclean thing.
31 And aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of bZion; and cstrengthen thy dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.32 Yea, acome unto Christ, and be bperfected in him, and cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the bblood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your csins, that ye become dholy, without spot.
10 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 30, 2008 at 1:46 am
jackg
ama49,
This is a nice post. I think I’ll give this some thought and actually do this. Most definitely, it will include God’s grace in my life, and my relationship with Jesus Christ!
Peace and Grace,
jackg
LikeLike
December 30, 2008 at 7:10 am
ama49
Hi Jack,
Thanks for stopping by again. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
LikeLike
December 30, 2008 at 10:43 am
Jason Davis
I would tell my wife “Honey, if I forget to tell you something very important and worthwhile during this earth life please remind me when we are reunited for eternity…Given that amount of time I’m sure to come up with something good.”
Jason Davis
LikeLike
January 2, 2009 at 6:55 am
ama49
Hey Jason,
Good to hear from you! You’re a funny man, but you have a great point too!
Hope all’s well for you and thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
January 2, 2009 at 7:11 am
Ezra
Ama,
VERY interesting. I have to admit that these words by themselves are an excellent expression of the Christian hope.
I have to rely on your placing of the context: the last words of Moroni and an expression of his hope.
30 And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.
As Christians, the greatest gift is our inclusion into the faith and the family of God, specifically by Jesus Christ.
31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
This expression is very much like the Old Testament prophets, who talked about being clothed in salvation (Isaiah comes to mind.) The following words tie this in with Christ, for when we are clothed in faith, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, namely, the righteousness which Christ bestows on us in his death and resurrection:
32 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; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
Again, an excellent description of what happens when God bestows the gift of salvation. Salvation comes only because God comes to us and causes us to believe. That is grace: an undeserved, unmerited gift. God’s grace bestows saving faith within us. By that action of God, we are made perfect and holy. And God’s grace is sufficient for everyone, for it is God’s power and desire to save.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
Amen. What more could any Christian say? If we do not push God away, we remain perfect and holy in God’s sight–and yes, all because Jesus shed his blood on the cross. The atoning blood of Christ covers the multitude of our sins. By that atoning blood of Christ, still poured out for us, we are cleansed of our sin and we have full pardon of our sins (See 1 John, which expresses the same thing.)
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen.
That is our Christian hope: Even as St. Paul wrote, whether I live or die I am with the Lord. The soul of the believer resides with Christ, awaiting the resurrection of all the dead, which happens as Jesus Christ comes to judge the living and the dead. Then soul and body will be joined; and following this judgment, there will be the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Thanks for the insight. This section of Moroni strikes a cord with the Christian understanding of our salvation in Jesus Christ. I find it a wonderful pronouncement of the Christian hope. Were Mormons to focus on this one text I believe they would find great hope and encouragement.
I say this not to impugn the LDS church, but to note that the Gospel is all about what God does to bring about our salvation and not what we have achieved. It is so easy to think that Jesus is just an example for our own attempts at holiness. As Moroni wrote, all depends on what Jesus accomplished on the cross and in his resurrection.
It’s all about Jesus being the Christ and our need to trust that faith in him is everything:
In him was life and that life is the light of all men. John 1.
Blessings to you all,
in this new year of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2009,
Ezra
LikeLike
January 2, 2009 at 8:46 pm
HT
I would simply write
“God is Love…and love never fails”
Plead the blood of Christ over every area of your life and resist the devil. Make sure not to be lead astray by other gospels the way I was and test every spirit to see if it is good or bad. Give God the glory and rejoice in everything. And finally “by their fruits ye shall know them”.
Those are the most important gospel truths I have been shown this past year. There are so many other things I would want to share about my testimony of the Savior and God’s love, but I leave it at those words alone.
Happy New Year!!
LikeLike
January 3, 2009 at 7:41 am
ezra
A man named Simeon had some parting words that bear repeating:
“Now, Lord, as you have promised, let your servant depart in peace, for your Word has been fulfilled. For mine eyes have beheld the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
A Light to lighten the Gentiles
And the Glory of your people Israel.”
Simeon was holding baby Jesus:
his savior, Mary’s savior, my savior, your savior.
Blessings as you hold Jesus in your heart.
Ezra (see Luke 2)
LikeLike
January 9, 2009 at 5:10 am
ama49
ezra,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the last section of Moroni as well as your section in Luke.
i agree with you 110% that if not only Mormons but all people focused on the last part of Moroni as you suggested, we would feel such peace and joy in our lives with the knowledge that we have a personal Savior who died for us and that we can come to in prayer anytime to lift our burdens as He was lifted on the cross.
thank you very much for your testimony.
LikeLike
January 27, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Greg
Thank you for this post. I love the sentiment expressed about coming unto Christ and the purpose of the atonement by Elder M. Russell Nelson in LDS Temples.
LikeLike
September 7, 2009 at 1:11 am
Spiritual Gifts · Believe All Things
[…] important chapter since it conveys Moroni’s last recorded words in the Book of Mormon (see If You Only Had a Few Words to Share, What Would You Share?). Some of these gifts […]
LikeLike