Moroni's Preparations and Mormon's Lessons
Book of Mormon Notes - Thursday, October 26, 2023, Alma 50
Remember the three principles that President Nelson’s drew from Chief Captain Moroni’s efforts?
First, he helped them create areas where they would be safe—“places of security” he called them.8 Second, he prepared “the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord.”9 And third, he never stopped preparing his people—physically or spiritually.10 Let us consider these three principles.
Moroni never stopped preparing. He directed his people to dig up heaps of earth around all of their cities, and on the top of those heaps of earth they erected works of timbers, on top of which works of timbers they erected a frame of pickets, strong and high. These were serious protective barriers for each Nephite city. Moroni also caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of pickets, and he caused places of security to be built upon those atowers, that the stones and the arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt them. These Nephite cities became real fortresses. The Nephites could throw stones from the top and defeat anyone who attempted to attack them.
Moroni and his armies also ventured into the wilderness in order to drive all of the Lamanites who were in the East land back into their Lamanite territories, South of the land of Zarahemla. Moroni also sent Nephites into the areas that they cleared out in order to settle that land and create a defensive line between the Lamanite territories in the South and the Nephite territories in the South. On this defensive line, Moroni placed his armies and fortifications in order to protect against Lamanite invasions. Trump would have been proud of these walls and fortifications of the borders between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Here we also learn many fascinating details about Nephite and Lamanite geography.
Moroni’s efforts and protection inspired confidence in his people, and thus more Nephites were eager to join Moroni’s armies. The Nephites also built new cities, including the city of Moroni, the city of Nephihah, and the city of Lehi in the North. During this time, in the 21st year of the reign of the judges, about 71 years before the birth of Christ, the Nephites became very prosperous and exceedingly rich. They multiplied and became very strong. Again, Mormon draws a lesson from his abridgment of Nephite history and the large plates of Nephi:
And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea, we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake unto Lehi, saying:
Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my acommandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be bcut off from the presence of the Lord.
And we see that these promises have been verified to the people of Nephi; for it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which abrought upon them their wars and their destructions.
And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites. (Alma 50:19-22)
Mormon traces the hand of the Lord throughout Nephite history, highlighting especially the mercy and the justice of God, and the truth that the Lord fulfills all of His words and all of His promises. Mormon hones in on one of the major themes of the Book of Mormon since the days of Lehi, namely that those who keep the Lord’s commandments shall prosper in the land, whereas those who will not keep the Lord’s commandments shall be cut off from His presence. Mormon rightly attributes the Nephite wars and destructions to their own iniquities: their quarrelings and their contentions, their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations. Mormon also rightly attributes any deliverance of the Nephites to the Lord’s blessings upon those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord. The faithful were delivered at all times, whereas the wicked suffered bondage, perished by the sword, dwindled in unbelief, and mingled with the Lamanites.
Why does Mormon pause to share this lesson once again? Mormon pays very close attention to the prophesies of all of the holy prophets, the promises of the Lord, and how they are fulfilled. Mormon shows us who the Lord is, His character, His attributes, and His complete dependability and faithfulness. He teaches us the ways of the Lord and the doings of the Lord among peoples of old in order to fulfill the purpose of his book:
Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.
An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.
TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH SMITH, Jun.
Mormon’s abridgment of this portion of the large plates of Nephi, including the stories of Moroni and his preparations, show unto us (to the House of Israel, to the Lamanites, to the Jews, and to everyone who will read the Book of Mormon) what great things the Lord has done for our fathers. Mormon does for us the same thing that Nephi did for his brothers as he read from the Plates of Brass:
Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the aplates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old. (1 Nephi 19:22)
Mormon shows us the doings of the Lord in what I believe is this land, now the United States of America, among people of old, in order to persuade us to come unto Christ. In these particular passages toward the end of the Book of Alma, Mormon shows us specifically how to live, prosper, and rejoice in the Promised Land even in the midst of wars and contentions and dissensions. Mormon points to Moroni and the faithful Nephites as a model for joyful living, just as Nephi and his people had shown us for a time how to live after the manner of happiness:
But behold there never was a ahappier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges. (Alma 50:23)
And so much of the happiness, joy, and prosperity of the Nephites during these times can be attributed to the righteous influence of one man - Nephi, earlier in the Book of Mormon, and Chief Captain Moroni later in the Book of Mormon. Only after the coming of Christ among the people of Nephi would there be a time of even greater happiness than in the days of Nephi or in the days of Chief Captain Moroni.
In essence, Mormon, like Nephi of old, abridged and inscribed his record in order to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. When we study the doings of the Lord among these ancient Nephites, our confidence in Christ grows just as the confidence of the Nephites grew because of Moroni’s efforts and preparations. We come to understand that the Lord is faithful, and that He fulfills all of His promises, and that we can put our absolute trust in Him. Like Moroni and his faithful followers, we only need to repent and to do our best to do our part in keeping the Lord’s commandments and to never stop preparing for the future, as President Nelson recently taught:
Principle Number Three: Never Stop Preparing
Even when things went well, Captain Moroni continued to prepare his people. He never stopped. He never became complacent.
The adversary never stops attacking. So, we can never stop preparing! The more self-reliant we are—temporally, emotionally, and spiritually—the more prepared we are to thwart Satan’s relentless assaults.
Dear sisters, you are adept at creating places of security for yourselves and those you love. Further, you have a divine endowment that enables you to build faith in others in compelling ways.21 And you never stop. You have demonstrated that once again this year.
Please, keep going! Your vigilance in safeguarding your homes and instilling faith in the hearts of your loved ones will reap rewards for generations to come.
My dear sisters, we have so much to look forward to! The Lord placed you here now because He knew you had the capacity to negotiate the complexities of the latter part of these latter days. He knew you would grasp the grandeur of His work and be eager to help bring it to pass.
I am not saying that the days ahead will be easy, but I promise you that the future will be glorious for those who are prepared and who continue to prepare to be instruments in the Lord’s hands.
My dear sisters, let us not just endure this current season. Let us embrace the future with faith! Turbulent times are opportunities for us to thrive spiritually. They are times when our influence can be much more penetrating than in calmer times.
I promise that as we create places of security, prepare our minds to be faithful to God, and never stop preparing, God will bless us. He will “deliver us; yea, insomuch that he [will] speak peace to our souls, and [will] grant unto us great faith, and … cause us that we [can] hope for our deliverance in him.”22
As you prepare to embrace the future with faith, these promises will be yours! I so testify, with my expression of love for you and my confidence in you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I wonder what specific lessons we might learn from Moroni’s cities, walls, armies, pickets, towers, and so forth. When I look at Temples, for example, I see a reflection of Moroni’s works and preparations in our time. These fortresses of faith are not just places of refuge and protection, but they are also sacred spaces wherein we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. Our homes can also become such fortresses and sacred spaces.
Moroni’s towers and Temple spires remind me of Elder Bednar’s recent parable of the Cheetahs and the Topis.
The Nephites enjoyed a couple of years of peace until more dissensions and contentions arose because of the ambitions of one evil man among the Nephites, a passionate, violent, and power-hungry man named Morianton. Morianton and his followers attempted to seize power and land by force of arms, and then they prepared to flee into the land northward when those whom they attacked fled to Moroni’s camp. But Morianton had a bit of an anger management problem, and the maid servant whom he fell upon and beat fled to Moroni as well and informed Moroni of Morianton’s plans. This one young lady who had been beaten and traumatized by the wicked Morianton accomplished much good and saved the Nephites from much trouble by her courage. This wasn’t a case of a MeToo movement with false accusations, but the case of a real victim of abuse who had the courage to flee to Moroni and to speak out against the tyrannical Morianton.
Moroni sent an army to cut off the path of Morianton because Morianton would have caused more divisions among the Nephites and further threatened the cause of liberty. And who was at the head of the army that Moroni sent to stop Morianton? It was one of my favorite characters in the entire Book of Mormon:
And it came to pass that the army which was sent by Moroni, which was led by a man whose name was Teancum, did meet the people of Morianton; and so stubborn were the people of Morianton, (being inspired by his wickedness and his aflattering words) that a battle commenced between them, in the which Teancum did bslay Morianton and defeat his army, and took them prisoners, and returned to the camp of Moroni. And thus ended the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
And thus were the people of Morianton brought back. And upon their acovenanting to keep the peace they were restored to the land of Morianton, and a union took place between them and the people of Lehi; and they were also restored to their lands. (Alma 50:35-36)
Teancum, like Moroni, and like Lehi, was another great military hero among the Nephites, a hero who was ready and willing to give his life for the cause of Christ, the cause of freedom, and the cause of his country.
Interestingly, the asecond chief judge of the Nephites, who was named Nephihah (like the first chief judge), even though he had filled the judgment-seat with bperfect uprightness before God, had also refused to take possession of those arecords and those things which were esteemed by Alma and his fathers to be most sacred. Alma would have conferred the records upon the righteous chief judge Nephihah II, but instead he conferred bthem upon his son, Helaman. Why did Nephihah refuse? I don’t know. But the decision was providential because Nephihah II died and therefore Helaman probably would have received the plates anyhow. The son of Nephihah, aPahoran filled the judgment seat of his father in the 24th year of the reign of the judges, about 67 years before the birth of Christ.
The coming of Christ was night at hand for the Nephites. The righteous were increasing in their righteousness while simultaneously the wicked were increasing in their wickedness. Things were coming to a head. The good and the great were rising to the occasion, and like the title of Flannery O’Connors collection of short stories, everything that rises must converge.