I Will Not Deny the Christ

Book of Mormon Notes - Sunday, June 23, 2024, Moroni 1

The end of the Book of Ether could have been the end of the Book of Mormon.

In fact, if we read the end of Moroni’s abridgment of the Book of Ether with Moroni’s own situation in mind, then it makes for a perfect conclusion:

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; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them.

Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen. (Ether 15:33-34)

If we substitute Moroni’s name for Ether’s name, perhaps we can see why Moroni thought to conclude his record with the abridgment of Ether’s record.

Of course, Moroni’s circumstances were not exactly identical to those of Ether. Ether wrote his own record, whereas Moroni, like his father Mormon, first worked on abridgment. The Jaredites completely annihilated each other, whereas the Lamanites annihilated the Nephites. But there are enough similarities between Ether and Moroni to suggest that the similarities are not coincidental.

It seems as though Moroni was ready to hide up the plates again after finishing his abridgment of the Book of Ether. It also seems as though Moroni expected to perish like his father at the hands of the ferocious Lamanites. For a time, Moroni thought that he was done writing:

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; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me. (Moroni 1:1)

Remember that Moroni also described his circumstances earlier:

Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not. (Mormon 8:5)

Moroni, like Ether, was alone.

I appreciate the creative interpretation of the Book of Mormon that Darin Scott recently brought to the big screen, but I don’t think that Moroni had a secret girlfriend. The Lamanites slaughtered his father and all of his kinsfolk. He had no friends. He had nowhere to go. He had no ore and no room upon the plates to write. He did not know how long the Lord would allow him to live. After finishing the abridgment of the Jaredite record, he thought that he was done writing.

But Moroni had developed excellent survival skills, and he kept himself hidden from the Lamanites. He seems surprised that he survived as long as he did, almost like he expected the Lamanites to hunt him down and kill him. He writes “but I have not as yet perished,” suggesting that he might still perish. He knew the intent of his enemies, and that they were ferocious, bloodthirsty, and merciless. The Lamanites would not be friendly and hospitable toward Moroni if they found him:

For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ. (Moroni 1:2)

Apparently there were Nephites who joined with the Lamanites and denied the Christ in order to save themselves. But Moroni refused to abandon his faith:

And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life. (Moroni 1:3)

All of this was in fulfillment of Alma’s prophecy to his son Helaman:

But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and dreadful day, shall be numbered among the Lamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they shall become extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this prophecy shall be fulfilled. (Alma 45:14)

Moroni was the last surviving disciple of the Lord, and the Lamanites would have hunted him down and killed him if they could find him. But Moroni managed to evade the Lamanites long enough to begin to write again:

Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but 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 1:4)

The latter-day Lamanites are the main beneficiaries of Moroni’s continued efforts to survive and to write. But everyone who studies the Book of Mormon can appreciate and benefit from Moroni’s final teachings.

I love Moroni’s grit and resolve. We can each insert our name in place of Moroni’s name to strengthen our faith in Christ. Moroni wrote:

I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ.

It reminds me of the resolve of Vincenzo di Francesca who refused to comply with the orders of his superiors to burn the Book of Mormon. (see also here) We can study the Book of Mormon like Vincenzo di Francesca, or Parley P. Pratt did for the first time, and we can have the same grit resolve as Moroni.

Think about Moroni’s message. If I understand him correctly, he is saying that unlike others among the Nephites who denied the Christ in order to save themselves and mingle with the Lamanites, Moroni would resist. If he were caught, he would confess Christ and suffer death. The Lord Himself taught:

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

In essence, the Nephites during the time of Moroni had three options: 1. die 2. join the Lamanites and deny the Christ, or 3. keep the faith and wander in secret. Moroni wandered withersoever he could for the safety of his own life because he would not deny the Christ.

It always bothered me that in some Italian translations of the Book of Mormon, the translator rendered Moroni’s resolve as follows: “non voglio rinnegare il Cristo” - “I don’t want to deny the Christ.” This is not what Moroni wrote. He wrote “non rinnegerò il Cristo” - “I will not deny the Christ.”

I hope that we will each have the same resolve if, Heaven forbid, some future enemies try to put to death anyone who will not deny the Christ.

What few more things did Moroni write for the benefit of the future Lamanites? This will be the subject of my final posts in my Book of Mormon Notes.