Moroni's Final Message to the Lamanites and to Everyone Else
Book of Mormon Notes - Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Moroni 10, Part 2
Why does Moroni end his book with a brief discourse on the gifts of the Spirit?
I don’t know.
It may be that Moroni ends his book with a brief discourse on the gifts of the Spirit for the same reason that he includes his father’s sermon on faith, hope, and charity, that is, because Moroni, like his father Mormon, foresaw that the latter-day Gentiles would be lacking in the gifts of the Spirit (just as the Nephites and the Jaredites were lacking in the gifts of the Spirit at the end of their respective civilizations). It could be that Mormon and Moroni both foresaw that the Gentiles would lack faith, hope, and charity, and the gifts of the Spirit, and that these gifts and attributes would be vital for the latter-day Lamanites in order to establish the New Jerusalem, Zion, even as Babylon, the world, crumbled around them.
While human beings build up churches or organizations for themselves to get gain and to wield power, the Lord builds up His Church and Kingdom through His gifts and attributes. Zion and Babylon don’t mix. They are at odds with each other, as Nephi foresaw and prophesied:
And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks-
And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.
And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.
Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.
For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.
And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. (1 Nephi 14:1-2, 5-7, 10)
While it is customary to think of the “great and marvelous work” as the Book of Mormon, the establishment of the Church, and the early restoration, I agree with Avraham Gileadi’s team that the majority of the “great and marvelous work” has yet to take place. (see also here, here, and here) Thus Mormon and Moroni, like Nephi before them, laid the foundations and paved the way not only for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, but also for the great and marvelous work that the Lamanites will yet accomplish, with faith, hope, and charity, and the requisite gifts of the Spirit. Meanwhile, if you and I wish to be a part of this great and marvelous work, we need to follow Nephi’s counsel, and the counsel of many subsequent prophets to:
hearken unto the Lamb of God
harden not our hearts against the Lamb of God
repent
belong to the Church of the Lamb of God
seek, exercise, and work by the gifts of the Spirit
develop the gifts and attributes of faith, hope, and charity, with an eye single to the glory of God
In the Church of the Lamb of God, the gifts of the Spirit and Godly attributes are cultivated and shared to bring souls unto Christ and salvation. The church of the devil works through the counterfeit gifts, or what Moroni called the evil gift, to deceive and lead souls unto captivity and destruction.
What are the gifts of the Spirit of God?
The gift to teach the word of wisdom
To gift to exercise exceedingly great faith
The gifts of healing by the same Spirit
The gift to work mighty miracles
The gift to prophesy concerning all things
The gift to behold angels and ministering spirits
The gift of all kinds of tongues
The gift of the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues
Moroni teaches that each of these gifts comes from Christ, and that by the Spirit of Christ these gifts are dispensed as He wills, unto every man severally. In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord expounded upon the gifts of the Spirit and explained that these gifts are given for the benefit of those who love the Lord and keep all His commandments, and for those who seek to do the same, that all who seek or ask of God may be benefitted.
After encouraging His disciples to remember and always retain in our minds what those gifts are that are given unto the Church, the Lord explains that all have not every gift given unto them, for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby. However, the Lord also explained that unto some it may be given to have all those gifts, that there may be a head, in order that every member may be profited thereby.
Notice how the gifts of the Spirit work in tandem, through givers and receivers:
To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. (D&C 46:13)
in tandem with:
To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful. (D&C 46:14)
and
And again, to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men. (D&C 46:15)
in tandem with:
And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal. (D&C 46:16)
and
And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom.
To another is given the word of knowledge (D&C 46:17-18)
in tandem with:
that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge.
and
And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; (D&C 46:19)
in tandem with:
And to others it is given to have faith to heal. (D&C 46:20)
and
And again, to some is given the working of miracles; (D&C 46:21)
and
And to others it is given to prophesy; (D&C 46:22)
and
And to others the discerning of spirits. (D&C 46:23)
and
And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; (D&C 46:24)
in tandem with:
And to another is given the interpretation of tongues. (D&C 46:25)
Why does the Lord distribute His gifts in this way? Is it because His gifts only work through service, giving and receiving to bless His children? Whereas most of the organizations in the world work by exercising authority over others, and even oppressing the poor and needy in order to get gain and power, the Church of the Lamb of God operates in the opposite way: lifting people up and blessing them.
Moroni teaches that just as God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, His gifts also endure, according to our faith in Him. Wherever there is faith, there will also be hope, and charity, and the gifts of the Spirit. Moroni then reiterates his father’s teachings regarding the most essential role of charity in the Lord’s work. Moroni also reiterates the Lord’s declaration:
And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me. (Moroni 10:23)
By recording this declaration, Moroni was also reiterating his father’s reiteration of the Lord’s same declaration:
And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. (Moroni 7:33)
Near the end of his final message, Moroni suddenly changes his focus from the audience of the latter-day Lamanites to an audience of everyone else. This abrupt change is particularly interesting to me because the movement from one audience to another also changes the nature of Moroni’s message. Whereas Moroni wrote of Christ, a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and spiritual gifts to the latter-day Lamanites, his message to everyone else is at first bleaker and more forceful:
And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth—that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief.
And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.
And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.
And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?
I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall hiss forth from generation to generation.
And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true. (Moroni 10:24-29)
Moroni has much more confidence that the latter-day Lamanites would receive his words with gladness than he did that all the ends of the earth would do the same. In these passages, Moroni speaks directly to the faithless and ungodly of the last days, with dire warnings and heartfelt exhortations. The faithful, sincere in heart, and truth seekers will real intent will discover the truth of the Book of Mormon and everything else, and enjoy the gifts of the Spirit, but to the rest Moroni writes, as it were: “I told you so,” or “I told you the truth, and God will show you that I told you the truth.”
Nevertheless, after rebuking his latter-day audience with sharpness or precision, he shows an increase of love, inviting all one final time to repent come unto Christ:
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.
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.
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.
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. (Moroni 10:30-33)
Thus Moroni’s final message is a merciful and a hopeful message. It is the message of the entire Book of Mormon: Come unto Christ.
Where is Moroni now? Will we receive his message? Will we see him again? Moroni assures us that we will:
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. (Moroni 10:34)