Real Intent
Book of Mormon Notes - Sunday, June 30, 2024, Moroni 6
As I was pondering the order in which Moroni presents his final teachings, it occurred to me that, in keeping with the essential role of the Holy Ghost that I mentioned in my last post, Moroni simply demonstrates how the Lord sheds the Holy Ghost upon His followers. I also believe that Moroni simply demonstrates how the Lord will yet shed the Holy Ghost upon the latter-day Lamanites who receive the Book of Mormon and gather to build the New Jerusalem.
It is logical, therefore, that Moroni begins with the calling of the twelve Nephite disciples and the Lord’s conferral of the Holy Ghost upon them. From there, the Lord gave His twelve disciples power to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost upon others, and to ordain teachers and priests to lead even more souls unto Christ. Next, the frequent administration of the sacramental bread and wine maintained and augmented the gift of the Holy Ghost among those who had already been baptized. Logically then, working outwards from the Lord and His disciples, to the Church, and then to others, it makes sense that Moroni then demonstrates how repentant persons are baptized and fellowshipped, how repentant members of the Church of Jesus Christ are forgiven, and how meetings are conducted by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the crucial element of the Lord’s work. The Holy Ghost accomplishes the work of the Father and the Son.
This is another reason why I believe that the miraculous change that was wrought among the Lamanites by the Holy Ghost and the efforts of the sons of Mosiah foreshadows future events. Moroni listed this great miracle, and other miracles among the Lamanites, along with the rest of his list of miracles that have been accomplished by faith in Jesus Christ:
Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites. (Ether 12:14-15)
I mention these miracles that foreshadow future events because Moroni explicitly indicates that his own book, his final writings, aim specifically to bless the latter-day Lamanites:
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)
Of course, this does not mean that Moroni did not also wish to bless the latter-day Gentiles, Jews, and the rest of mankind. But it reminds me of Moroni’s great conversation with the Lord regarding his weakness and the weakness of the Gentiles as also recorded in Ether chapter 12. Moroni was concerned about his weakness and the mocking of the Gentiles, but the Lord told Him not to worry about it:
Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.
And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness. (Ether 12:25-28)
Even after this, Moroni was concerned about the Gentiles because of their lack of charity. Again, the Lord told him not to worry about it:
Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly.
And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity.
And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. (Ether 12:35-37)
My point is that Moroni, and his father Mormon, foresaw the awful wickedness of the Gentiles in the last days, and after repeatedly calling them (us) to repentance, they turned their attention toward the latter-day Lamanites, toward those who will fulfill the prophesies regarding the building of the New Jerusalem.
I don’t think that Mormon or Moroni just gave up on the latter-day Gentiles, because their warnings to the Gentiles are very numerous and clear. My sense is that Mormon and Moroni in particular foresaw that many of the Gentiles would reject the Lord and His Gospel just as the Jaredites and the Nephites had done. Like Nephi, they foresaw that many of the Gentiles would reject the Book of Mormon, work in secret combinations, and revel in wickedness.
Furthermore, Moroni wrote a few more things for the benefit of his brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord, because each of the preceding Book of Mormon prophets prayed for and hoped for the restoration of the Lamanites to the truth. These things are of worth to everyone who will receive them in faith, but they are of particular worth to the latter-day Lamanites.
After writing about the ordination of priests and teachers and the administration of the sacrament, including the same sacrament prayers that are the core of our worship services today, Moroni writes concerning baptism. Moroni teaches the qualifications for baptism:
And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end. (Moroni 6:1-3)
Baptism is not a casual thing for lukewarm people. These passages elaborate upon Moroni’s repeated theme of real intent. Baptism is for those who truly desire and strive to follow Jesus Christ. Perfection is not a requirement for baptism. Jesus Christ was the only perfect Man, and as Nephi taught, Jesus Christ was the only perfect Man to be baptized. (See 2 Nephi 31) But Moroni taught that during Christ’s ministry among the Nephites, those who were baptized had real intent to follow Jesus Christ.
A review of the qualifications for baptism that Moroni mentions may also be helpful to those of us who have already been baptized:
worthiness and effort: they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it
repentance and humility: neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins
obedience and perseverance: none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end
Moroni’s teachings regarding the qualifications for baptism remind me of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s recent joyful but sobering teachings regarding prayer and discipleship:
Ultimately, we can look to the example of the Savior, who prayed so very, very often. But it has always been intriguing to me that Jesus felt the need to pray at all. Wasn’t He perfect? About what did He need to pray? Well, I have come to realize that He too, with us, wanted to “seek [the Father’s] face, believe his word, and trust his grace.” Time after time, He retreated from society to be alone before piercing heaven with His prayers. At other times, He prayed in the company of a few companions. Then He would seek heaven on behalf of multitudes who would cover a hillside. Sometimes prayer glorified His clothing. Sometimes it glorified His countenance. Sometimes He stood to pray, sometimes He knelt, and at least once He fell on His face in prayer.
Luke describes Jesus’s descent into His expiation as requiring Him to pray “more earnestly.” How does one who was perfect pray more earnestly? We assume that all of His prayers were earnest, yet in fulfilling His atoning sacrifice and through the pain that attended its universal reach, He felt to pray ever more pleadingly, with the weight of His offering finally bringing blood from every pore.
Against that backdrop of Christ’s victory over death and His recent gift to me of a few more weeks or months in mortality, I bear solemn witness of the reality of eternal life and the need for us to be serious in our planning for it.
I bear witness that when Christ comes, He needs to recognize us—not as nominal members listed on a faded baptismal record but as thoroughly committed, faithfully believing, covenant-keeping disciples. This is an urgent matter for all of us, lest we ever hear with devastating regret: “I never knew you,” or, as Joseph Smith translated that phrase, “[You] never knew me.”
Lastly, we remind ourselves that President Gordon B. Hinckley once taught, “The lives of our people must [be] … the symbol of our [faith].”10 These considerations—especially the latter—bring me to what may be the most important of all scriptural references to the cross. It has nothing to do with pendants or jewelry, with steeples or signposts. It has to do, rather, with the rock-ribbed integrity and stiff moral backbone that Christians should bring to the call Jesus has given to every one of His disciples. In every land and age, He has said to us all, “If any man [or woman] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”11
This speaks of the crosses we bear rather than the ones we wear. To be a follower of Jesus Christ, one must sometimes carry a burden—your own or someone else’s—and go where sacrifice is required and suffering is inevitable. A true Christian cannot follow the Master only in those matters with which he or she agrees. No. We follow Him everywhere, including, if necessary, into arenas filled with tears and trouble, where sometimes we may stand very much alone.
To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my nonscriptural elaboration), perhaps saying something like: “Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.”
Then, turning to all the Apostles, He might well have said something like: “Were you as foolhardy as the scribes and Pharisees? As Herod and Pilate? Did you, like they, think that this work could be killed simply by killing me? Did you, like they, think the cross and the nails and the tomb were the end of it all and each could blissfully go back to being whatever you were before? Children, did not my life and my love touch your hearts more deeply than this?”
My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”13 And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.
Like Elder Holland, Moroni clearly aimed to mould true disciples of Jesus Christ. Moroni also explains how the Church of Jesus Christ fosters the disciple-moulding process:
And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.
And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.
And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus. (Moroni 6:4-6)
I love these verses. In recent years it has become popular for people to denigrate what they call “organized religion,” or to claim that spirituality is more important than belonging to a church. But Moroni reminds us that the Lord organized His Church for a purpose, and that the moulding of disciples of Christ would practically be impossible without a church or “organized religion”.
The purpose of the Church is to carry out the work of the Lord in the ways that Moroni outlines. It is to receive, cleanse, fortify, nurture, and prepare disciples of Christ for immortality and eternal life. God’s work and glory is accomplished through the Church by:
baptism
cleansing by the power of the Holy Ghost
remembering and nourishing members by the good word of God
keeping members in the right way
keeping members continually watchful unto prayer
helping members to rely alone upon the merits of Christ
meeting together oft
fasting and to praying
speaking one with another concerning the welfare of our souls
meeting together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus
It has also become popular in recent years to tout “inclusivity” as the most important principle for thriving religious communities. Moroni certainly hoped to include as many people as possible in the Church of Jesus Christ, and all are invited. But Moroni also sets clear standards and guidelines for baptism and membership in the Lord’s Church:
And they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity among them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and three witnesses of the church did condemn them before the elders, and if they repented not, and confessed not, their names were blotted out, and they were not numbered among the people of Christ.
But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven. (Moroni 6:7-8)
Thank goodness for repentance and forgiveness! Notice again Moroni’s emphasis on real intent. Finally, Moroni shows how the Holy Ghost directs everything that is done in the Lord’s Church:
And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done. (Moroni 6:9)