7:1
It seems like, whenever the scriptures speak of “faith and hope,” there is always a third principle. In this first verse, the three are “faith, hope and charity.” “And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which they had built for the place of worship.”
Later in Mormon’s speech that has become Moroni 7, he wills with out charity for another quality. The short point I want to make here is that the faith and hope are principles that affect our behavior. If we have faith and hope but don’t do anything, our faith and hope are in vain. There must be some resulting effect of our faith and hope.
7:3
“Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.” The beautiful thing about knowing about the plan of salvation and the existence of our Savior is that our hope comes with peace and “rest.”
This life can be thoroughly disappointing and exhausting. In this natural, fallen world, it seems like all things are stacked against us. It is often one trial after another. There’s a lot to worry about and feel a strong sense of despair.
However, knowing what the ending of our story will be can fill us with peace. Knowing that our trials will end gives us comfort. We can feel “rest” in the middle of an affliction. When I go to the dentist, I HATE the pain and awkwardness of it. At the same time, I can feel peace because I know the trial will end in an hour.
If I didn’t have this knowledge, I might get pretty worked up at the possibility that it might last forever. Because I know the ending will be better, it helps me rest. On an eternal scale, I am able to “enter into the rest of the Lord” regardless of my current struggle.
7:5-13
Mormon teaches about how to know if something is good or evil. He focuses on the actions or the results of something to know whether it’s good or evil. “For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also.” This is an important principle. It’s very easy to appear good or speak well. I can make an argument for any side of any argument. It’s easy to get twisted around. It’s much harder to invent good consequences or results when the thing is actually bad. As we know, “by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Mormon switches gears a little to begin speaking how a wicked person doing a good deed doesn’t really do anything positive for himself. “For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.” His two examples are interesting. I totally get that, if I offer a gift and don’t really want to, it’s not bolstering my character or helping me progress.
He elaborates on why both are examples are problems:
“For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.” Me grudgingly giving a gift or providing service or sacrificing something will not help me progress to be more Christlike. This makes total sense.
“And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.” This is a little different. The example about giving a gift is a more public example. It’s easy to see the reasons for giving a gift that you don’t really want to give. There could be lots of social benefits to doing it. Praying is usually done in private and so this one is more personal. This is about our relationship with God. If we take the time to pray or study or attend the temple or do family history - if we are doing it and we don’t really want to do it - how is it helping us be more Christlike? I guess there could be a “fake it until you make it” principle - if we are going through the motions of discipleship, those motions could actually affect our character…
If we are doing good deeds for public recognition or to go through the motions of righteousness, I can say that we are not progressing like we would if we had real intent in both cases. “Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.”
There are opposing forces. Those opposing forces are ALWAYS opposing. The opposite side doesn’t temporarily move to the other side. “For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil. Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.”
Satan doesn’t ever say, “the ends justify the means and so I’ll tempt someone to be good for a time and then switch them.” That’s not how this works. Satan always tempts to do wickedness. On the other hand, God doesn’t ever tempt someone to do something wrong with a plan that it’ll convert him to Christ in the long-run.” God always pulls people towards him. There is no switching of sides ever.
“But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.”
7:14-18
Mormon then switches to teach about how to judge good and evil. This is the purpose of why Mormon was teaching about good and evil in the first place. He wanted every Nephites to know how to judge. Obviously, there was a problem with the people being able to discern good from evil…
“Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.” We are meant to judge good from evil. It is not just a good idea but it is essential for us to successfully maneuver this life.
This is not just for members of the church who have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Everyone has this ability through the Light of Christ. “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.” We are meant to know good from evil. This distinction is not about faith. We can see with our own eyes good from evil.
“But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.” Again, no angel or devil ever plays for the other side - not one. We can know that anything or anyone who persuades you NOT to believe in Jesus Christ is the perfect example of evil.
7:19
It is not enough to know the good from the evil that happens upon our door. We’ve got to put some work in searching for ourselves. “Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.”
Not only that, but we are expected to “lay hold upon every good thing.” If we discover something that is a good principle or teaching, we must accept it and live by it. That’s part of this journey that we are on.
7:22-23, 25
Mormon explains how God reveals truth to us mortals. He mentions:
“Angels to minister unto the children of men.”
“And God declared unto prophets.”
God communicates to the human race through ministering angels. He himself appears to prophets. It is good to know that angels are ministering around us. I personally have never seen an angel that I’m aware of. I have faith that I may someday. I also have faith that they are around me and ministering to me in ways that I am unaware of. The scriptures are pretty clear about this.
The purpose of God’s declarations and angels’ ministry it layer out in verse 25. “Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.” The purpose of all communication from heaven is to help us build our faith in Jesus Christ. Pretty simple right?
7:29-32
Angels are necessary. They are ministering to us. Also, miracles are happening. We must have faith in this. “And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.”
I think we are all being ministered to. However, angels are showing themselves to relatively few. Who are they “showing themselves” to? Those who have:
Strong faith. Of course. Those who don’t have strong faith will not be seeing any angels soon. God wants us to live our lives in faith. This is a mercy in that we are less accountable and we are able to develop properly. However, there are some whose faith is so strong that the accountability is okay and a visitation won’t alter the course of their spiritual development.
A firm mind in every form of godliness. God does not want angels revealing themselves to people and then those people turning their back on what they know. Angels only reveal themselves to those who a firm enough in their mind that they won’t turn away or succumb to the frailties that exist in most men and women.
We learn of these angels’ purpose. “And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.” These ministering angels’ purpose is to:
Call men to repentance. This is the primary message of every prophet and the Savior himself.
Do the work of the covenants of the Father. This likely means that God’s side of the covenants that we make with him are fulfilled through angels. That’s really interesting to think about.
Prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ - that these men and women may bear testimony of Him. We all must know what we’re doing here. We must know the way. This way has been communicated by ministering angels.
“And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.” The word “residue” is interesting. A residue is “what is left.” God wants to save all people. He wants to reach those who haven’t been reached. He’s focused on those who already accept Christ and those who do not.
7:37-38
Faith is the first principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain. For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.”
If we experience miracles or the appearance of angels, it is through our faith. These two events do not happen outside of faith. If we live in a world without miracles and angels, we are living without faith. Mormon describes this condition as “all is vain” and “awful is the state of man.”
Do we expect miracles? Do we recognize the ministering of angels in our lives? If we have faith in Christ, we should expect both. We must all build our faith and make our minds firm “in every form of godliness.” We all still have a lot of work to do.
7:40-43
Mormon continues to teach about faith and hope. “And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?” If we aren’t hoping for something, what good is faith? I take no action in faith unless I hope for some positive result.
But, what are we hoping for? “And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.” The primary two things that we all must have hope in is our eventual resurrection and returning to God and living an eternal life. These two things happen outside of mortality. As I mentioned, this hope of a perfectly bright future made possible through Christ’s atonement allows us to have faith in Christ and his salvation. “Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.”
As I mentioned earlier, there must always be an outward expression of our faith and hope. If our faith and hope doesn’t change us, there is no point. “And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.” Our faith and hope through Christ changes us. We become new creatures. Our countenances change. We become meet and lowly in heart. We are malleable. We aren’t willful beings. We submit to God’s will. We get it. We see the big picture. This knowledge can’t help but change us.
If it doesn’t change us, our faith and hope are vain.
7:41-47
“If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.” Part of allowing our faith in Christ and our hope for salvation is that we will have charity. If we have faith in Christ and hope for salvation without charity, our faith and hope is confused and meaningless. We can’t have faith in Jesus Christ and not become like him.
But what does it mean to have charity? “And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” This is a good list. I should print this and put it on my mirror, door to the garage, on my visor in my car, etc. It’s important to know that this doesn’t usually go in reverse - where we develop charity and then faith and hope in Christ. It happens but it won’t happen that way for me. I need to increase my faith and hope in Christ’s ability to change my heart to have charity for others. It’s very important right?
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail— But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.” Pure charity will fuel our development in mortality and the spirit world. It’ll do the same thing in eternity.
It is our pure love for others that will drive us to create worlds of our own. It is our love for our children that will motivate us to sacrifice for them and work for their salvation and exaltation. Truly, it is charity that power our eternity.
7:48
I’ve written before that I don’t think I can accomplish charity. I can’t earn it. It’s not a skill I can acquire through my own efforts. Thank goodness.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” Charity will be bestowed upon me if I truly desire it. It is a gift. It’s not something that I can train for. It’s not a certificate to be earned.
All I can do is have faith and hope in Christ that one day I can have the pure love of Christ. If I do, it’ll be given to me from God.
8:8, 19-20
Children are pure. They cannot sin. Apparently, there were some disputations among the people. Mormon had to write a letter of correction. “Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.” Children are not fallen. Adam’s curse doesn’t apply.
“Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy. And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.” Christ’s atonement allows sinners to repent. Children aren’t sinners. Rather than consider them “outside of the program,” we must understand that it is his atonement that extends mercy to them to be automatically redeemed. Little children are alive in Christ.
8:22-23
The same way that children are alive in Christ, so are those who without the law. “For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing.” Those who have died without the gospel or the commandments cannot be held accountable for their sins.
They are born with the Light of Christ and, if they sin against that, it makes sense that there will be some accountability. It doesn’t really benefit me to think about it other than it’s good to know that God is completely fair and just. No one is going to hell because they were ignorant of the gospel. You can’t make a choice unless you know there’s a choice to be made.
“But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.” To say that someone is damned because he wasn’t baptized - even though baptism doesn’t exist where he lives - is putting our faith in the act of baptism; as if it’s the baptism that does the saving. Baptism itself doesn’t save anyone. Baptism doesn’t redeem. Baptism didn’t pay the price of justice. Baptism is a “saving ordinance” but it doesn’t do any saving. The only Savior is Jesus Christ. He is the one who lives and allows us to live eternally. In Christ is life - not baptism.
8:25-26
“And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.”
This scripture illustrates a progression:
Faith leads to repentance.
Repentance leads to baptism.
Baptism leads to remission of sins.
Remission of sins leads to meekness and lowliness of heart.
Meekness and lowliness of heart leads to a visitation of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost fills with hope and perfect love.
This perfect love endures by diligence unto prayer.
Mormon is talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
9:25-26
Mormon, after describing a horrible scene among the Nephites, consoles and refocuses his son. "My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever. And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen."
If we have faith in Christ, we can remain peaceful amid turmoil. Our lives can weight us down but Christ can lift us up above it. If we think about Christ's mercy and long-suffering, rather than our own suffering, we can have hope. If we have hope in future glory and eternal life, regardless of our current situation, we can rest our minds.
There is a lot of wickedness in the world. It seems like more every day. We can rest easy knowing that, one day, Christ will put an end to all of that. Every source of wickedness will become subject to Christ. He already has overcome the world - the world just doesn't know it yet.
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