Moroni 10

(My highlights in orange, my thoughts in blue 12/2020 red type 11/20 orange 8/21 Brown 2022-23)

A testimony of the Book of Mormon comes by the power of the Holy Ghost—The gifts of the Spirit are dispensed to the faithful—Spiritual gifts always accompany faith—Moroni’s words speak from the dust—Come unto Christ, be perfected in Him, and sanctify your souls. About A.D. 421.

  1 Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the ^aLamanites; No matter how evil the Lamanites are, Moroni still calls them his brethren. This seems like a statement about never disowning a family member no matter what they have done and I would that they should know that more than ^bfour hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christ.
  2 And I ^aseal up ^bthese records, after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.
  3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, Under what circumstances would it be wisdom in God that you should NOT read them? that ye would remember how ^amerciful  the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ^bponder it in your ^chearts. Remember the mercy of God throughout the history of mankind as opposed to the justice of God throughout history 
  4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not ^btrue; How do you read this phrase? "not true"... are you asking if they are false? ...not true. Or is it another way of saying, "these things are true, are they not? ...and if ye shall ask with a ^csincere heart, with ^dreal intent, having ^efaith in Christ, he will  ^fmanifest the ^gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
  5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may ^aknow the ^btruth of all things. We know answers come in the Lord's timing, but this promise is to all. ALL may know the truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. BUT you have to ask God, in the name of Christ, sincerely, with intent to follow when you are shown the truth, and you must have faith in Christ.
  6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
  7 And ye may ^aknow that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, ^baccording to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever. We were taught that the prophet asked how to increase faith in the saints and was told to teach us to honor the Sabbath Day. We need the power of God in our world more than ever, but He worketh His power according to our faith, so if we're not seeing it, then we need to still increase our faith! I think it's so important to remember that God works in power by OUR faith. It's not just HIS will, in spite of our faith. I believe His will is to grant us our righteous desire BECAUSE of our faith. I think this verse is saying - deny not THAT power!
  8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the ^agifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are ^bdifferentways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the ^cSpirit of God unto men, to profit them.
  9 ^aFor behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may ^bteach the word of wisdom;
 10 And to another, that he may ^ateach the word of ^bknowledge by the same Spirit; What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge?
 11 And to another, exceedingly great ^afaith; Notice that faith comes in all sizes...and it is a gift! and to another, the gifts of ^bhealing by the same Spirit; this seems to be something different than priesthood healings; like it's a gift of the Spirit for some to be able to heal...how do we seek out those with this gift? 
 12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty ^amiracles; Wouldn't healing someone by the spiritual gift in vs 11 be considered a miracle? How is this gift different? Maybe healing should be more common, so it wouldn't be considered a "mighty" miracle...
 13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things; So the prophet is not the only person who can prophesy...
 14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
 15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
 16 And again, to another, the interpretation of ^alanguages and of divers kinds of tongues. I didn't know there was more than one language someone could speak in tongues in...is there? Is this gift about the languages on the earth? 
 17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will. Is this "he" you and me? 
 18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every tgood ^bgift cometh of Christ.
 19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the ^bunbelief of the children of men. All these gifts are available to those that believe. If they are not present it is our will, not God's.
 20 Wherefore, there must be ^afaith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.
 21 And except ye have ^acharity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.
 22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in ^adespair; and despair cometh because of iniquity. This sounds harsh at first, to those who are in despair. Many are victims of things that bring despair. But ultimately, if you have faith and hope and charity, no worldly circumstance can bring despair, (which means all loss of hope or confidence) and that means you have no faith in Christ or the Plan of Redemption, which is a sin against God, since you are denying Him.
 23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: ^aIf ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me. What more do you need to know? 
 24 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 ^bunbelief. I think we are taught in the D&C that the whole world is veiled in unbelief... so we aren't seeing all the Gifts of God among us. We need to do some serious checking among ourselves to see where our unbelief is. Actually, that will be revealed as we do some serious scripture study...
 25 And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be ^anone 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.
 26 And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they ^adie in their ^bsins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.
 27 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 ^awords unto you, which were written by this man, like as one ^bcrying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the ^cdust?
 28 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 ^ahiss forth from generation to generation.
 29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is ^atrue. How will He show it to us? 
 30 And again I would exhort you that ye would ^acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good ^bgift, and ^ctouch not the evil gift, How is anything evil called a "gift"? nor the ^dunclean thing. Do we know all the "unclean" things we are not to touch? Media, food, drink...what else?
 31 And ^aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of ^bZion; and ^cstrengthen thy ^dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest ^eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. The wording here makes it sound like we are asleep and are confounded (confused, uncertain, disoriented) and that we will awake so that the covenants can be fulfilled as they surely will be.
 32 Yea, ^acome unto Christ, and be ^bperfected in him, and ^cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and ^dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be ^eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
 33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye ^asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the ^bblood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your ^csins, that ye become ^dholy, without spot.
Deny self of ungodliness > come unto Christ > be perfected in Him 
Love God with all your might, mind and strength > His Grace is sufficient for you
By His Grace > ye may be perfect in Christ > will not deny His power
Sanctified > remission of sins > become holy, without spot

Coming unto Christ means - Deny ungodliness, Love God completely, Believe in His power to sanctify you. 

 34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to ^arest in the ^bparadise of God, until my ^cspirit and body shall again ^dreunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the ^eair, to meet you before the ^fpleasing bar of the great ^gJehovah, the Eternal ^hJudge of both quick and dead. Amen.

The End

Moroni 9

(My highlights in orange, my thoughts in blue 12/2020 red type 11/20 orange 8/21  Brown 2022-23)

Both the Nephites and the Lamanites are depraved and degenerate—They torture and murder each other—Mormon prays that grace and goodness may rest upon Moroni forever. About A.D. 401.

  1 My beloved son, I write unto you again that ye may know that I am yet alive; but I write somewhat of that which is grievous. I wonder who is delivering these letters? 
  2 For behold, I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which we did not conquer; and Archeantus has fallen by the sword, and also Luram and Emron; yea, and we have lost a great number of our choice men. I wonder if they were "choice" because they were righteous or because they were good fighters...I thought at this point there weren't any righteous left...
  3 And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to ^aanger one with another. Contention takes two people. We must keep our anger in check. Satan is continually stirring people up to be angry with one another in our day!
  4 Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with ^asharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they ^bharden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased ^cstriving with them. Interesting that when he speaks with sharpness they first "tremble"...why not just go straight to anger?  Without "sharpness" they have no emotion...just don't listen. Maybe in the first instance they "feel" the "power/sharpness" of the word of God, and feel forced to respond, like if you were poked with a sharp stick. You would feel the pain of the poke first and then you would get angry (if you disagreed with the reason for the poke)...the footnotes on "sharpness" refer to speaking boldly to correct by the power of the Holy Ghost. Where is the "sharpness" from our leaders to correct us? Surely we are off the mark in many ways right now...
  5 For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they ^athirst after blood and revenge continually. Quite the sign of unbelief that they don't fear death, though they are so wicked. Not afraid to meet God? 
  6 And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor ^adiligently; for if we should cease to ^blabor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God. Never give up on mankind while you are on the earth. The war is against Satan for the souls of man. Sounds like he's saying we can never give up because it seems hopeless. We will be condemned for not trying
  7 And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. For according to the knowledge which I have received from Amoron, behold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the tower of Sherrizah; and there were men, women, and children.
  8 And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the ^aflesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them. These next few verses are very disturbing! Do the women and children know they are being given the flesh of the men? Are they eating it? Wouldn't you rather starve? McConkie said "all of the sorrow of the past are yet a foretaste of what will be." This is not a comforting verse!
  9 And notwithstanding this great ^aabomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after ^bdepriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is ^cchastity and ^dvirtue—Here, the Nephites are raping the young women prisoners, which Mormon says is worse than the Lamanites feeding the flesh of the men to their prisoners...notice a woman's chastity and virtue are "most dear and precious above all things"...yet it is disregarded by far too many in our day.
 10 And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery. This is so hard to read! I'm glad he didn't write what they did to torture these young girls, but the depravity of these men is beyond me! Did this happen because the women were evil and this was divine justice? 
 11 O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization—
 12 (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people) He is warning us that people can fall FAST...I feel like we are seeing that. People are starting to say very cruel things about those who won't get the "thing" that the government is saying will make us all safe...like they should be forced, rounded up into camps, not able to work or go out amongst others in society. History truly does repeat itself!
 13 But O my son, how can a people like this, whose ^adelight is in so much abomination—
 14 How can we expect that God will ^astay his hand in judgment against us?Judgement is coming! How can it not be? 
 15 Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, You can see how you would want God's judgment to come...it's the only way to stop people and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face!
 16 And again, my son, there are many ^awidows and their daughters who remain in Sherrizah; and that part of the provisions which the Lamanites did not carry away, behold, the army of Zenephi has carried away, and left them to wander whithersoever they can for food; and many old women do faint by the way and die. This seems like a direct affront to the commandment to care for the widow...
 17 And the army which is with me is weak; and the armies of the Lamanites are betwixt Sherrizah and me; and as many as have fled to the army of ^aAaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality.
 18 O the depravity of my people! They are without ^aorder and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the ^bstrength of a man, and I cannot any longer enforce my commands.
 19 And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are alike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor young; and they delight in everything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and our children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything; yea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be written. Again, I ask...were the women and children suffering because of the wickedness of men? Or were they wicked as well?
 20 And now, my son, I dwell no longer upon this horrible scene. Behold, thou knowest the wickedness of this people; thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth ^aexceed that of the Lamanites. This is truly an awful scene! We truly take for granted the power of the light of Christ in our lives and what we are without it. These people must truly be possessed by demons to want to do such awful things! It's really beyond comprehension to me!
 21 Behold, my son, I cannot recommend them unto God lest he should smite me. Elder Rasband just gave a talk in Oct Conference called "Recommended to God"
 22 But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved; and I ^apray unto God that he will ^bspare thy life, to witness the return of his people unto him, or their utter destruction; for I know that they must perish except they ^crepent and return unto him. There are only two choices
 23 And if they perish it will be like unto the ^aJaredites, because of the wilfulness of their hearts, ^bseeking for blood and ^crevenge. We are not there yet...but sounds like people can turn quickly once they lose the light of Christ!
 24 And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our brethren have ^adeserted over unto the Lamanites, and many more will also desert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou art spared and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may see thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would ^bdeliver up unto thee. It seems like he's telling us that some of the seed of the Nephites will be preserved because they joined with the Lamanites who won't be utterly destroyed, so this record will go to their children as well as the Lamanites...
 25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto ^adeath;  Sounds like grief can literally weigh you down to 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 ^blong-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your ^cmind forever.
 26 And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the ^aright hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen.

Moroni 8

(My highlights in orange, my thoughts in blue 12/2020 red type 11/20 orange 8/21Brown 22-23)

The baptism of little children is an evil abomination—Little children are alive in Christ because of the Atonement—Faith, repentance, meekness and lowliness of heart, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end lead to salvation. About A.D. 401–21.

  1 An epistle of my ^afather Mormon, written to me, Moroni; and it was written unto me soon after my calling to the ministry. Do we know when that was? And on this wise did he write unto me, saying:
  2 My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, How do I have the Lord be mindful of me? and hath called you to his ministry, and to his holy work.
  3 I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and ^bgrace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end. Every parent's prayer...we can be "mindful" of others through prayer. We are "kept" by Christ through our own enduring faith on the name of Christ. Is that different than faith "in" His name?
  4 And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning that which grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me that there should ^adisputations rise among you. I hate contention too!
  5 For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your little children. I love this phrase. Allow for the possibility that what you have 'heard' is not correct.
  6 And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor diligently, that this gross error should be removed from among you; for, for this intent I have written this epistle. I wish the "gross errors" among the members of the church concerning the doctrines of Christ would be put down so clearly by our leaders. Maybe I can still do that as a parent with my own children...
  7 For immediately after I had learned these things of you I inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And the ^aword of the Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, saying: The word of the Lord comes by the power of the Holy Ghost. Do we pray to the Father, and then He says, "Hear my Son on this matter" and the words of Christ come to us through the Holy Ghost? However, he says he prayed to the Lord and the word of the Lord came to him, and the next verse says the words are the words of Christ, so it sounds like he 'inquired' of the Lord. Is that different than prayer? Is "Lord" a reference to the Father as well? The important thing here, is that as soon as he learned of the confusion, he went to the Lord for clarity and then when he had the "word of the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost" he could confidently declare it to others. THIS is the process of personal revelation and perhaps the meaning of "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren". Why do our leaders not as easily attribute their words to the Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost? Some say we have to exercise faith, but did Moroni need to exercise less faith than we do? 
  8 ^aListen 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 ^bwhole need no physician, but they that are sick; Notice that Moroni can confidently quote the Lord. Now...that is what I'd love to hear the prophet say... wherefore, little ^cchildren are ^dwhole, for they are not capable of committing ^esin; wherefore the curse of ^fAdam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of ^gcircumcision is done away in me.
  9 And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me; He doesn't say the Lord spoke to him directly, but the Lord's words were revealed to him by the power of the Holy Ghost. How did he experience that? Thoughts in his mind? How did he know they were not his own words? wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn ^amockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.
 10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are ^aaccountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little ^bchildren, and they shall all be saved with their little children.
 11 And their little ^achildren need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the ^bremission of sins.  Sounds like we are baptized to show our repentance and then we keep the commandments until the Lord sees fit to grant us a remission of our sins.
 12 But little ^achildren are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a ^brespecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!
 13 Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell.
 14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither ^afaith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell. Wow...just one wrong belief and you are considered to be in the "bonds of iniquity and the gall of bitterness"?
 15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism.
 16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having ^aauthority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for ^bperfect ^clove ^dcasteth out all fear. I wish our leaders were talking this way in our current conditon. Speak boldly with authority from God. Declare that authority so we know you aren't speaking as a man. And then, fear not what man can do. Know that perfect love cast our all fear! Amen!
 17 And I am filled with ^acharity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and ^bpartakers of salvation. This is all you have to say...all children are alike. Stop dividing people into color or gender or whatever. 
 18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is ^aunchangeable from ^ball eternity to all eternity.
 19 Little ^achildren 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.
 20 And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the ^aatonement of him and the power of his redemption.
 21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, ^ahell, and an endless torment. It seems like a harsh judgment for a "belief". But at it's core, he says you are denying Christ if you believe you must baptize infants. There's your big "Wo" Catholic church... but what of all the "good" people who have "inherited" this lie? Why are they condemned? Mormon says they are without charity if they believe this and without charity you are nothing, even if you have done many good things in the name of Jesus... I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the ^cjudgment-seat of Christ.
 22 For behold that all little children are ^aalive in Christ, and also all they that are without the ^blaw. For the power of ^credemption cometh on all them that have ^dno law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—
 23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in ^adead works.
 24 Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for ^arepentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.
 25 And the first fruits of ^arepentance is ^bbaptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; To be baptized? and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth  after baptism ^cremission of sins;
 26 And the remission of sins bringeth ^ameekness, and lowliness of heart; So you have to receive a remission of sins (Born again) to be meek? and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the ^bHoly Ghost, which
^cComforter  or is this when you are born again...
^dfilleth with hope and perfect ^elove, 
which love endureth 
by ^fdiligence 
unto ^gprayer, 
until the end shall come, when all the ^hsaints shall dwell with God.There you have the Doctrine of Christ!
 27 Behold, my son, I will write unto you again if I go not out soon against the Lamanites. Behold, the ^apride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction except they should repent.
 28 Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ^aceased ^bstriving with them; and in this part of the land they are also seeking to put down all power and authority which cometh from God; and they are ^cdenying the Holy Ghost. Are we guilty of putting down all power and authority from God and denying the power of the Holy Ghost? 
 29 And after rejecting so great a knowledge, my son, they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the prophecies which were spoken by the prophets, as well as the words of our Savior himself. 
 30 Farewell, my son, until I shall write unto you, or shall meet you again. Amen

Moroni 7

(My highlights in orange, my thoughts in blue 12/2020 red type 11/20 orange 8/21 Brown 2022 -23)

CHAPTER 7

An invitation is given to enter into the rest of the Lord—2nd Comforter Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith, miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave unto charity. About A.D. 401–21.

  1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning ^afaith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the ^bsynagogue which they had built for the place of worship. The had "church buildings" just like us...
  2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the ^agrace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his ^bcalling unto me, that I am permitted to speak unto you at this time. Right from the beginning he's telling them he is speaking to them with authority of God.
  3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the ^achurch, that are the 
^bpeaceable followers of Christ, is this a note of two possible groups within the group, or a more detailed description of the first group. In other words, within the "church" is there another group who are "the peaceable followers of Christ"?  and that have obtained a sufficient ^chope by which ye can enter into the ^drest of the Lord, "sufficient hope" means that you can have some hope, but not enough hope to enter into the "rest" of the Lord. What exactly does that mean? Is it hope such that you "rest" from the cares of this world and are not tossed and buffeted by the temptations of evil? from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven. This reference to "rest" sounds like it is before we die. I think "rest of the Lord" refers to calling and election made sure. 
  4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable ^awalk with the children of men. second reference to peace This is a great challenge in our day with so much division. How do you walk with peace when there is so much evil around you? Notice that he is judging them (perhaps as a "judge in Israel" like a Bishop); but my point is that he is making a judgment, so it's not a "sin" to judge (righteously, of course). "peaceable walk" - sounds like it can be "seen" and has to do with how they interact with one another, not just with church members but with others too. How do you stand for truth "peaceably"? Was Captain Moroni an example of this? (This Moroni is not that Captain Moroni, but probably named after him...) 
  5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their ^aworks ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also. This sounds black and white So what are the works of peace?  This is hard if you take it at face value. I don't believe the church's "works" of distributing the current vax to other nations is "good" and by this scripture that makes the church not "good" either. But...I believe they believe they are doing good, so does that make them good still? I think so, because I am sure I do things that I think are good that may not be and I don't want to be called not good....Does it matter what I "want" to be called if my works are not good, even though they aren't?
  6 For behold, God hath said a man being ^aevil cannot do that which is good; for if he ^boffereth a gift, or ^cprayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. Here, works are defined by intentions. Not so easy to see...
  7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
  8 For behold, if a man being ^aevil 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. Here's one evil intention
  9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with ^areal intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. Here's another...
 10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift. An evil man has no good intentions
 11 For behold, a bitter ^afountain cannot bring forth good water; Beware of bitterness. It can poisen the waters of our actions neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he ^bfollow Christ he cannot be a ^cservant of the devil. Is this a clue to why people follow Satan - they are bitter?  This sounds a little tricky, because no one is perfect...so do we flip flop between following Satan and Christ every day? "No one can serve 2 masters..." Maybe this is why we are told we must repent daily...because daily we have moments where we serve the devil and not Christ.
 12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood 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 ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.He never rests. Maybe one effect of entering God's rest is that you get to rest from Satan's attacks. 
 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is ^dinspired of God. Notice the contrast between the devil fighting 'continually' and God inviting 'continually'. Also 'fight' vs. 'invite'. 
 14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. This is where we are in politics. Good people can't decide if Trump is good or evil. It's important we judge correctly! It has been hard for me to not judge that which is good (wearing a mask) to be of the devil. But I know the devil corrupts every good thing, so perhaps that is what he did here. Also, I believe the Prophet has called the vax "good" but I believe it to be "evil". Time will tell. I know it's hard to say it because who am I? and who is he? Why would I know it's evil and not him or any of the 15? Some say the prophet has to be right because he's a doctor and God surely preserved his life (he's 96)99! to be our prophet in this time to give us confidence to know what to do. But from what I have heard about doctors...they are the least "open" to looking at science that contradicts their learning, so it doesn't help me personally, that he is a doctor. But...he has been relentless in teaching us to "Hear Him" - God, so I don't think that is a small thing in this confusing time. 
 15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, 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 taught here that we are only to judge to know good from evil, and we can know it perfectly. We are told we are to judge good from evil. 
 16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, 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 judge by the Spirit of Christ. Conscience. Notice things of God are done by 'invitation' and 'persuasion'. They will support belief in Christ.
 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, 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. Notice we have the devil, his angels, and those who subject themselves to him (mortals). In a recent statement by the First Presidency they said the "only" way to end the pandemic is through vaccination. This doesn't persuade men to believe in Christ at all. I think it was made as a open, obvious clue to the saints that the whole statement was a PR stunt to keep the temples open and keep the Church from being targeted. I think we were supposed to easily discern the lies in that statement. Sadly, most took it as God's word because it came from the prophet and they aren't supposed to ever question it. But this is the same prophet that warned we wouldn't survive spiritually if we didn't learn to "Hear Him". Some are not even surviving temporally because they couldn't discern the truth/lies in the statement...
 18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. This statement is supposed to be a deterrent to judge at all, so we will not be judged the same way we've judged others if it's been wrong. I don't believe that anymore. I think we are to judge, but make the effort and do the work to judge correctly.
 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the ^alight 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 ^bchild of Christ. This sounds like an invitation to search the scriptures and the words of the prophets, but do it "in" the light of Christ. Then when you find good "lay hold upon it" and let it drive your actions..."then" you will be called a "child of Christ". Or it is telling us to search diligently, in the light of Christ, to know good from evil (not the scriptures or words of the prophets, although we search them too, but should assume already they are "good"). Once we find good, we are to lay hold on it and not condemn it. Why would we condemn what we know to be true? Perhaps many are struggling with this today. They have judged the gospel to be true and good, but are condemning it now because of the actions of men in the church. Search diligently in the light of Christ, even within the Church, to know good from evil. Lay hold on the good things and don't condemn them because of the evil you find elsewhere.
 20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?
 21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.
 22 For behold, God ^aknowing all things, being from ^beverlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent ^cangels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing. These words from angels to man are in the scriptures...
 23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come. Also recorded in scripture...
 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were ^afallen, and there could no good thing come unto them. This says there are "other" ways God manifest things to us, which are good...what would these other ways be? (dreams? "sudden strokes of ideas"? inventions? ) Because of our carnal natures...without the light of Christ (which sounds like the vehicle for all good things to come to us) we would do no good because without the light of Christ, we are fallen.
 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of ^aangels, 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. We have to act on the things that God tells man through the scriptures or prophets or to the mind and heart of man. That demonstrates our faith in Christ. And why is that faith "in Christ"? Because we are acting on words that came from Him, so we are showing Him that we believe in Him and His words.
 26 And after that he came men also were ^asaved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the ^bsons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: ^cWhatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. This sounds so black and white and simple. If it is, then we have to get a better grasp on what "faith" is, and how to know if something is "good" or we'd get more of what we ask for... We know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, but we must also become "sons of God". Is this referring to God-Christ? Because we are not His children by birth. But we become so, by the "born again" birth of baptism by water and the Spirit. 
 27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have ^amiracles ceased is this phrase used after verse 26 because the "things we ask for" will be "miracles"? because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to ^bclaim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?  Do we see Christ as a God of mercy? Do we understand he claims that "right" because he "answers the ends of the law"? (next verse)
 28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; These words can be seen as supporting statements to the idea that Christ suffered for our sins as the victim of our sins, not in our place as the perpetrator of our sins. As the victim, only He is in the position to offer mercy or to demand justice. What we get will be determined upon our repentance or lack of it. He tells us if we don't repent, we must suffer, even as He did. And what did He suffer? The act or the penalty? Is the worst punishment we could receive the act of knowing experientially what our sins did to others, and not some kind of "prison sentence" or "lashings" where we are still disconnected from the pain we caused others? Hmmm....and they who have faith in him will ^acleave unto every good thing; Which the scriptures and prophets and the Spirit teaches him. and which we have learned to discerned is good and not evil "Cleave" suggests holding close and not letting go of...right now, following the prophet makes me feel like I have to let go of "every good thing" I have been taught about the prophet not being able to lead us astray. It has been a wrestle, but I have landed in a place where I believe that we have to do the work to know if the prophet speaks by the Spirit of Revelation...especially when he does not openly claim to be doing so. Perhaps the prophet who made the statement about not leading astray was not speaking by the spirit? Or perhaps we redefine what "leading astray" means. If it means the prophet cannot make a mistake, does that not make him infallible? They claim they are not infallible, which means they can make mistakes. So maybe not leading astray only means they will never be allowed to teach there is not Christ, or they would be removed. I can make peace with that definition... wherefore he ^badvocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. What is the "cause" He advocates?
 29 And because he hath done this, Advocated our cause? my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have ^aangels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
 30 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 ^agodliness. We can still see angels today. We just have to have "strong faith" and a "firm mind" in "every" form of godliness. It's a tall order, but must be attainable or it wouldn't be given to us to know. Again we see that we have have "strong" faith, or "not strong faith, but still some faith". It's not all or nothing. We need to pray for strong faith!
 31 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 ^achosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
 32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the ^aresidue of men may have ^bfaith 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.
 33 And Christ hath said: ^aIf ye will have ^bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is ^cexpedient in me. This hearkens to 1 Nephi 3:7
 34 And he hath said: ^aRepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved. This is evidence that God doesn't "select" His "elect", but ALL are invited to come. WE self-select to be His "elect". 
 35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with ^apower and great glory at the last ^bday, How will this be shown to us? We are in the "last days", but what/when is the last "day"? that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
 36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he ^awithheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that ^amiracles 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 ^bunbelief, and all is vain. Unbelief is what limits our faith. We must search out all that is "evil" in our beliefs and "lay hold" upon that which is true and good and then our faith will be strong!
 38 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. You have to have faith in Christ to partake of the miracle of His Atonement.
 39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; Meekness is evidence of faith. Why? Because you have submitted all to Christ and there is no ego left in you to sin by pride. for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not ^afit to be numbered among the people of his church. So no meekness...no "people of his church"
 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ^ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? 
 41 And what is it that ye shall ^ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have ^bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ^ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
 42 Wherefore, if a man have ^afaith he ^bmust needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
 43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be ^ameek, and lowly of heart. It keeps coming back to meekness!
 44 If so, his ^afaith and hope is vain, for none is ^bacceptable before God, save the ^cmeek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and ^dconfesses 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. So how do you know if you are meek? You have charity...
 45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, 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.
 46 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—
 47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^apray 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 ^bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; Noticing that charity is "bestowed" and then we become sons of God  that when he shall appear we shall ^cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be ^dpurified even as he is pure. Amen.