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:

  1. Knowledge and faith in God and Jesus Christ
  2. Prayer
  3. The Holy Ghost and the various gifts of the Spirit
  4. Charity, or the pure love of Christ
  5. 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.
  34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to arest in the bparadise of God, until my cspirit and body shall again dreunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the eair, to meet you before the fpleasing bar of the great gJehovah, the Eternal hJudge of both quick and dead. Amen.
As we see, he feels the most important things to share are about coming to Jesus and repenting of our sins.  He also shares why this is important and how through the grace of God we can be saved.  (On a side note, I realize that some of these views about grace may not be the same as some of my fellow Christian friends.  This post isn’t a post to discuss differences in doctrine).
In conclusion I pose the same question to you.  If you only had a few words to share with your family, what would you feel would be the most important things to share?