Moroni 1-6 Quotes and Notes

Moroni 1.1

The background story to Moroni 1 has been put together by the late Sidney Sperry, and I wanted to share some of his words regarding Moroni’s life leading up to this final book in the Book of Mormon.

“What was Moroni doing those 16 years alone? What adventures befell him in enemy country? These and a host of other questions we may ask ourselves but all to no avail. The record is silent…” Sperry then concludes that Mormon 8.13 was probably Moroni’s original farewell, which reads as follows:

“Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi” (Mormon 8.13).

He concludes that after writing Mormon 8.13 that he most likely wrote the first paragraph of the title page to the Book of Mormon:

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.

Sperry’s conclusion is that after inserting the Book of Ether, later in his life, Moroni then wrote the second paragraph of the title page of the Book of Mormon. He theorizes that Moroni deposited the record and then sometime between 401-421 A.D. he saw fit to come back and begin writing again from where he left off, inserting Ether’s work and adding a few words to the end of the text of the Book of Mormon.

Sperry concludes that Moroni picks up again after several years and writes Mormon 8.14, “And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord… “

He writes steadily and in a somewhat different mood from what we have already observes in Mormon 8.1-13. He then inserts either Mosiah’s translation of Ether’s record or the actual record of Ether (repackaged by Moroni), or a combination of the two, when he writes, “And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether” (Ether 1.2).

After this insertion Moroni adds the second paragraph to the title page:

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.

Having done this Moroni makes a statement that is throbbing with human interest and pathos:

“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).₁

Moroni 1.2

The wicked war among themselves. This is a theme throughout the Book of Mormon, that it is the nature of the wicked to destroy the wicked. See Psalm 34.21.

Moroni 2

BMC writes:

Why did Moroni keep writing?…

In is account of Christ’s visit to the Americas, Mormon mentioned that Jesus laid His hands on His disciples and “gave them power to give the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 18:36–37). Mormon promised to later demonstrate how this was fulfilled and how the disciples were able to give the gift of the Holy Ghost (v. 37). While Mormon alluded to the giving of the Holy Ghost several times, he did not provide some of the details about this event that the reader might like to have.₂

Thankfully for all readers of the Book of Mormon, Moroni seems to have noticed this gap, and decided to deliver on his father’s promise.₃ To do this, he reported Christ’s exact words to His disciples, showing “that the record is true” (3 Nephi 18:37).₄ This may be the reason for Moroni 2. Moroni finally told his readers about “the words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples … saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name … and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 2:1–2)…

It is likely that Moroni assisted Mormon in his work.₅ If this is the case, he may have recalled that his father never fulfilled this particular promise to his readers. After living long enough to abridge the book of Ether, another loose end his father had left behind, Moroni may have decided to tie up this loose end as well. This would explain why this note on the gift of the Holy Ghost was one of the first things he wrote. He may have wanted to make sure that, no matter what else happened, his father’s promise was fulfilled.₆

Ye Shall Have Power – Moroni 2.2

Moroni 2.2 informs us that, speaking to the apostles, Jesus told them that “Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost…”

President Nelson spoke about priesthood power and authority in 2018. He said:

Now, may I voice a concern? It is this: Too many of our brothers and sisters do not fully understand the concept of priesthood power and authority. They act as though they would rather satisfy their own selfish desires and appetites than use the power of God to bless His children.

I fear that too many of our brothers and sisters do not grasp the privileges that could be theirs. Some of our brethren, for example, act like they do not understand what the priesthood is and what it enables them to do.₇

Power and Authority

The distinction between power and authority in the priesthood is important. It is noteworthy that power in the priesthood (and priesthood, or God’s power is given to anyone whom the Lord has called, male or female) comes into our lives through our aligning ourselves with the light and truth which emanates from God. By aligning ourselves with truth we receive the help of heaven and we are given power to do God’s work. President Boyd K. Packer put it this way:

The authority of the priesthood is with us. After all that we have correlated and organized, it is now our responsibility to activate the power of the priesthood in the Church. Authority in the priesthood comes by way of ordination; power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants. It is increased by exercising and using the priesthood in righteousness.₈

Women and Men are Delegated Power and Authority by Those who Holding Priesthood Keys

Priesthood keys are “the authority God has given to priesthood [holders] to direct, control, and govern the use of His priesthood on earth.”₉ President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, explains, “Every act or ordinance performed in the Church is done under the direct or indirect authorization of one holding the keys for that function.”₁₀

Women have authority to perform their callings, under the direction of one who holds priesthood keys, just as men do. President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, stated, “Those who have priesthood keys … literally make it possible for all who serve faithfully under their direction to exercise priesthood authority and have access to priesthood power.”₁₁

President Oaks said: “We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be? When a woman—young or old—is set apart to preach the gospel as a full-time missionary, she is given priesthood authority to perform a priesthood function. The same is true when a woman is set apart to function as an officer or teacher in a Church organization under the direction of one who holds the keys of the priesthood.”₁₂

Power in our Church Meetings

President Kimball expressed his desire that we have the power of God in our church meetings when he said:

I fear that all too often many of our members come to church, sit through a class or meeting, and they then return home having been largely [uninspired]. It is especially unfortunate when this happens at a time when they may be entering a period of stress, temptation, or crisis. We all need to be touched and nurtured by the Spirit, and effective teaching is one of the most important ways this can happen. We often do vigorous enlistment work to get members to come to church but then do not adequately watch over what they receive when they do come.₁₃

Moroni 3-6 and the Didache Διδαχή

The Didache, also known as The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is an early Christian text written and disseminated to the early Christian church in the second century. It was discovered in a monastery in 1873 and published in 1883. Translations of the Didache can be found here.

Dating it is tough, as the text doesn’t give very many clues as to when it was written. Additionally, there are no prescribed authors. Therefore, the dating of the Didache is difficult, and since its emergence has caused controversy. There is, however, a consensus for a mid to late first-century dating (50-70 CE), while others contend for as late as the 3rd or 4th century CE.₁₄ Fragments of the Didache were found at Oxyrhyncus (P. Oxy 1782) from the fourth century and in coptic translation (P. Lond. Or. 9271) from 3/4th century. Traces of the use of this text can be found in the writings of the second and third century Christian thinkers in Syria and Egypt.₁₅ 

The Didache speaks of the Two Ways (Chapter 1), something that is emphasized in the Book of Mormon (see 2 Nephi 9 and Ether 12-15). It speaks of baptism (chapter 7), fasting (chapter 8), emphasizes that those that eat the sacrament be baptized first (chapter 9), similar to the order we find in Moroni 6. It is interesting that in the Didache, it says that if a teacher asks for money, “he is a false prophet” (chapter 11). It also says “ And every prophet who teaches the truth, but does not do what he teaches, is a false prophet” (chapter 11).

Moroni 4.2 Kneeling during the Sacrament

Both Moroni 4:2 and D&C 20:76 instruct the entire congregation to kneel when the sacrament prayers are offered. This practice was observed in the restored Church during the nineteenth century, but slowly fell into disuse in the early early century. In 1902 Church President Joseph F. Smith wrote an editorial instructing that this practice “may be regulated by the presiding authority, according to local surroundings, circumstances, and conditions.”₁₆

Moroni 4-5 Remembering Jesus

We really do not have much that we can offer the Savior in appreciation of what he has done for us. We truly are unprofitable servants. But we can always remember him. I have really thought about this today as we have had our youth lesson about the sacrament today. Thinking about this reminded me of a rock climbing story I once heard and tracked down. A few years ago Thomas Griffith shared the following in the Ensign:

Remember Him

Several years ago I heard Elder Gerald N. Lund of the Seventy describe a magazine article about rock climbing. The article discussed belaying—the fail-safe system that protects climbers. One climber gets into a safe position, fastens the rope in a fixed position, then calls to his or her companion, “You’re on belay”—meaning “I’ve got you.” The director of a climbing school, Alan Czenkusch, described his experience with belaying to the author of the article:

“Belaying has brought Czenkusch his best and worst moments in climbing. Czenkusch once fell from a high precipice, yanking out three mechanical supports and pulling his belayer off a ledge. He was stopped, upside down, 10 feet [3 m] from the ground when his spread-eagled belayer arrested the fall with the strength of his outstretched arms.

“‘Don saved my life,’ says Czenkusch. ‘How do you respond to a guy like that? Give him a used climbing rope for a Christmas present? No, you remember him. You always remember him.’”₁₇

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Notes

1. The late Sidney B. Sperry, religion professor at BYU (1932–1971), theorized that Moroni₂ wrote his material in the Book of Mormon in several stages, composing the Title Page in between. See “Moroni the Lonely: The Story of the Writing of the Title-Page to the Book of Mormon,” Improvement Era 47, no. 2 (February 1944): 83, 116, 118.
2. 3 Nephi 26:17, 3 Nephi 28:18, and 4 Nephi 1:1 can all be seen as doing this.
3. Gary Layne Hatch, “Mormon and Moroni: Father and Son,” in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1995), 112.
4. It is possible that he got these exact words from the three Nephites disciples themselves. See Book of Mormon Central, “Why Was The 3 Nephites’ Wish Helpful For Mormon And Moroni? (3 Nephi 28:7),” KnoWhy 223 (November 6, 2016).
5. See Book of Mormon Central, “Why is the 10-Year Peace Treaty Important? (Mormon 3:1),” KnoWhy 228 (November 10, 2016).
6. See Book of Mormon Central, Why did Moroni keep writing? KnowWhy #249, December 9, 2016.
7. President Russell M. Nelson, Ministering with the Power and Authority of God, April 2018.
8. President Boyd K. Packer, The Power of the Priesthood, April 2010.
9. Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 2.1.1.
10. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood,” Liahona, May 2014, 49.
11. Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Men and Women in the Work of the Lord,” Liahona, Apr. 2014, 48; see also Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society (2011), 138–39.
12. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood,” 51.
13. President Spencer W. Kimball, “Ministering to the Needs of Members,” GC Oct. 1980.
14. John T. Lowe, Ancient History Encyclopedia, Didache, July 22, 2015. Stephen J. Patterson comments on the dating of the Didache (The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, p. 173): “Of course today, when the similarities between the Didache and Barnabas, or the Shepherd of Hermas, are no longer taken as proof that the Didache is literarily dependent upon these documents, the trend is to date the Didache much earlier, at least by the end of the first century or the beginning of the second, and in the case of Jean-P. Audet, as early as 50-70 C.E.”
15. Jonathan Draper, Gospel Perspectives, v. 5, p. 269. See: Early Christian Writings, Didache.
16. President Joseph F. Smith, “Questions and Answers: On Administering the Sacrament,” Improvement Era 5, no. 6 (April 1902): 473–74.
17. Thomas B. Griffith, The Root of Christian Doctrine, Ensign, August 2007.