Ether 12

(All of my own thoughts are in blue 2020 red type 7/20 orange 8/21 Brown 2022 -23)

ETHER 12

The prophet Ether exhorts the people to believe in God—Moroni recounts the wonders and marvels done by faith—Faith enabled the brother of Jared to see Christ—The Lord gives men weakness that they may be humble—The brother of Jared moved Mount Zerin by faith—Faith, hope, and charity are essential to salvation—Moroni saw Jesus face to face.

  1 And it came to pass that the days of Ether were in the days of ^aCoriantumr; and Coriantumr was king over all the land.

  2 And ^aEther was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be ^brestrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him. Again...no mention of church structure or organization... Is this the precedence for the end time servant? He lives in our day and "comes forth" because "he cannot be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which is in him"? 

  3 For he did ^acry from the ^bmorning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance notice it was believe in God "unto repentance". It doesn't matter if you just believe in God. That belief should move you to repentance and a desire to keep all His commandments, or you don't really believe in Him lest they should be ^cdestroyed, saying unto them that ^dby ^efaith all things are fulfilled—

  4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with ^asurety ^bhope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which ^chope cometh of ^dfaith, maketh an ^eanchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in ^fgood works, being led to ^gglorify God.

  5 And it came to pass that Ether did prophesy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they ^asaw them not. I wonder what these "great and marvelous things" were...perhaps prophecies of Jesus Christ? Interesting that his preaching was not just "repent or be destroyed"...but repentance by faith and hope and believing in God. (Did they know about Jesus Christ? I think so. Earlier, one of the righteous kings said they saw Him.) No mention of commandments and churches - just "good works". 

  6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; the things that Ether prophesied... I would show unto the world that ^afaith is things which are ^bhoped for and ^cnot seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ^dwitness until after the ^etrial of your faith. Whatever Ether was saying, it was about things they hadn’t seen. Believing these things was considered a “trial of faith”. What things can we not see that are a trial of our faith? I was going to say, we don’t see secret combinations and that’s a trial of faith, but we do see them in our day. Some would say following the prophet to get the vaccine is a trial of faith...but that would only be a trial for those that know it is not good and that secret combinations are behind it. Why would it be a trial of faith to follow the prophet in doing something evil? I think it is a trial of faith to have a prophet who is promoting something so obviously wrong. For the mainstream church none of this feels like a trial to them at all. because they don't see the Secret Combinations, and many did not "pay the price" for personal revelation. Such a weird time... 

  7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself ^anot unto the world. Is the record clear in 3 Nephi that the people had faith in Christ before He showed himself? Did they have faith in Him before the destructions? during? after? What kind of faith qualifies one to see Jesus Christ? It can’t be just a “yes” “no” kind of faith, can it? 

  8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen. Is the "heavenly gift" seeing Christ? Is this what we should hope for "that we have not seen"? Do we know "the way" to partake of this gift?? We know we must have faith. Do we know what that really means? Does He prepare the way for others to see Christ by revealing Himself to some who testify to others? They have to then believe before they see?

  9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith. I can hope that I will partake of this gift if I just have faith. Is it God’s will and desire that we all see Christ in this life? If so...why do so few see Him? What do we lack yet? 

 10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were ^acalled after the holy order of God. Does this answer the question about how these 'prophets' were called? It was by faith? Did all these Jaradite prophets have the Melchizedek Priesthood? The record doesn't say anything about baptism or ordinances...must have been directly from God...

 11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the ^agift of his Son hath God prepared a more ^bexcellent way; in Christ, the law of Moses was fulfilled and came to and end and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled. If you substitute Christ for faith this would read, “and it is by “Christ” that it hath be fulfilled. Is that saying Christ is the same thing as faith? Or was it the faith of Christ, that He could fulfill the Atonement without giving up, that it was fulfilled. That sounds like it could be right...

 12 For if there be no ^afaith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith. Did we not get a miracle today because we didn't have faith? Remembering that "faith is unto repentance". So we didn't repent, which shows we didn't have faith, so we didn't get the miracle. Do you want the Savior to show himself to you next weekend? It would truly be a miracle! Repent and have faith! It doesn’t help that through all of this we have not been called to repentance by our prophet. Elder Holland said the pandemic wasn’t a judgment from God. Does he think it was just a a “natural” occurrence of nature? Like the rising and setting of the sun? Why are they not warning? Why are they going along like they can’t even see the secret            combinations? What really is going on? 

 13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the ^aprison to tumble to the earth. This brings up the question about God’s will and faith. Did they know God’s will by the Spirit so they had faith they could command the walls to fall? Do the prophets who are martyred know by the Spirit they are going to die so they don’t ask for a miraculous intervention? 

 14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the ^achange upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the ^bHoly Ghost. Notice he's not saying it was "by the will of God" that these miracles happened. There is so much talk about "Thy will be done" that people are afraid to have faith in a miracle or to ask for one. They think, “God could do it, and He will if He wants to. Of course we want Him to, but we don't get everything we ask for. It's not good for us. We need to be tried and tested. We need to suffer so we can learn.”   I submit, that is only one of many ways to learn. God has given people power to get whatever they ask for as taught in the scriptures. Of course, they ask by the Spirit and won't ask amiss, to be selfish or prideful. That's the only reason we are told no. But God is teaching us that we get miracles by asking for them, and having faith that we can have them and that God will do it because we want them.  Also interesting that the faith of Nephi and Lehi had an effect on not just had an effect on but “wrought the change”...’wrought’ means: made. Look at what the faith of just two righteous prophets can have on the hearts of man. It would seem the receivers would also have to have faith too but such a powerful statement on faith and conversion the Lamanites. What about agency? The Bible Dictionary says, "by faith one can influence any number of circumstances"... 

 15 Behold, it was the faith of ^aAmmon and his brethren which ^bwrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites. Again we have the faith of one, influencing miracles among others! Not just influencing, but "making" the change!

 16 Yea, and even all they who wrought ^amiracles wrought them by ^bfaith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.   If you remember that faith is an action (faith without works is dead)...it’s not faith and works, but faith is works. So those who worked miracles by faith worked them by doing. They preached in the face of persecution, proving their faith by their works. Ammon worked his miracle among the Lamanites by serving the king by his faith. If we want miracles we work the by our faith which is put in action through our works. 

 17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should ^anot taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith. Perhaps the other disciples didn't believe that Christ would grant them that desire. They didn't have faith He would, or thought He would if that is what He wanted to do for them, and of course they would accept it... But the three desired it, asked in faith, and because of that - they were given their desire.  Again, I wonder if they obtained it “by their faith” meaning their demonstration of their faith by their works.

 18 And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God. Belief in Christ is the beginning because we have to know He is the source of our miracle, not ourselves. Perhaps all righteous works add to His glory when we acknowledge Him first. 

 19 And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the ^bveil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. Do we have record of these "many" people who saw Christ? Notice that they FIRST saw Him with an eye of faith. What does that mean? Doesn't it mean they "imagined" it as being possible? I have been doing a lot of that lately... "seeing" in my mind and heart what I "want" to happen. Praying for it. Believing that it's possible. Of course, I accept the will of the Father if it is not granted. But that doesn't keep me from "seeing things with an eye of faith" and praying for it. I've experienced this more than once in my life and if I had told you what I was "seeing" before it was granted, you would have thought I was crazy. But I was given what I wanted, only because I asked for it and exercised real faith by obedience and sacrifice (Cottonelle; Wicked)

 20 And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the brother of Jared; for so great was his faith in God, that when God put forth his ^afinger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he had obtained by faith. We 'obtain' the word of God 'by' faith. and that faith is searching the scriptures, prayer, and pondering and asking questions and listening

 21 And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the ^apromise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the ^bveil. Had the brother of Jared prayed to see Christ and had ongoing faith he could see him? It doesn’t read like that to me. It seems like he “obtained” the promise by his faithful life, not even knowing that was qualifying him to see Christ. But “when we obtain any blessing it is by obedience to the law upon which that blessing is predicated.”  This is in operation whether we are seeing the connection or not...

 22 And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the ^apromise that these things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles; therefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ.

 23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will ^amock at these things, because of our ^bweakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us ^cmighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;

 24 And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the  ^aawkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in ^bwriting like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he ^cwrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them. I would love to read the writings of the Brother of Jared ...are they in the sealed portion of the plates?  Is the weakness in writing not so much about having to write on plates or the characters they had to etch, but more about the truths they were writing? We don’t have the writings of Jared, but Moroni had them and if he’s comparing what his record says to what Jared wrote, is he saying that his writings would look weak in comparison? I don’t think he’s saying his writings are not true, just not as overpowering to read. We have to read and then pray to know they are true, but if you read the words of Jared they would be overpowering of anyone to read them. 

 25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot  write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our ^bweakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall ^cmock at our words.

 26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: ^aFools ^bmock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;

 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. Maybe in the context of this exchange with the Lord, the weakness the Lord is speaking of is the weakness of the future readers to fully accept the words they are reading because they could not be written in an overpowering way like the words of the brother of Jarad. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble 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.  I’m seeing a new way to look at this in context. He just got through talking about the comparison between the writing of the brother of Jarad and his writing as making his writings “weak”. He mentions the powerful and great words they have spoken have not been written (forbidden to write). But when they are allowed to write, and they know it is not the fulness of the truths they have been shown, their words seem “weak”. They stumble in the placing of words because they have to share without sharing. Then...we get the famous scripture about God giving men weakness. The standard definition is that this “weakness” is our mortality and living with carnal bodies prone to sin. But what if the “weakness” is just a way of expressing that God has given us “lesser” words than were given to the brother of Jared and others who saw all things from the end to the beginning. The only way to get these greater words is by being humble and having faith in Christ. Then Christ will open our eyes to words that are much stronger than the weak ones we now have. Hmmmm.....I like this interpretation...

The first words of this scripture are, "And IF...men come unto me..." That is the first step. We must turn to Him in prayer.

What happens next?

He shows us our weakness. That is probably not what we were looking for or asking for. We may be tempted to turn and leave. Don't.

He might show you a specific weakness,
or He might just help you see the weakness of being mortal.
Either way...
He asks you to be humble...THREE times.

Once you acknowledge your weakness before Him and have cast off all pride and rationalization and blame and excuse - exercise all the faith you have in His Grace; His "enabling and ennobling power".

Then...when you have done that...
He will make "weak things" become "strong".
Be careful predetermining how that is supposed to look. Here's what I mean..

One year at BYU Education Week, I attended a class where the teacher shared an insight as to how this promise of the Lord can look different than we expect.
He said that Pres. Hinckley's daughter had shared with him that her father had always been a little impatient. When they were on family vacations, he was always the first one to say, "let's go...everyone in the car..." even if they felt like they had just arrived! To the end of his life, she felt like he had retained this "weakness". So how did the Lord make that "weak" thing a strength? He didn't remove it. He used it...to build more temples than any other prophet before or since. He wanted those temples built! And God used his "weakness" to further His work. 

So we pray...that God may use us "as we are"...while we strive to overcome and become. And as long as we "come to Him" in humility and faith - He will make our weak things become strong. 

 28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that ^afaith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all ^brighteousness.

 29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was ^acomforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith; This is why we have to always be repenting. Our sins interfere with our faith because our works stop demonstrating our faith and belief. Something as simple as not praying or reading the scriptures interrupt the power of our faith because they demonstrate to some degree that we have stopped believing in the power of Christ. 

 30 For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, ^aRemove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith.1. Why did he need to move a mountain? 2. If it would not have moved if he didn’t have faith, where is God’s “will” in this? If he had faith and it moved it would have been God’s will? But without faith it wasn’t? Or would not moving it be evidence he didn’t have faith. Because we said it wasn’t God’s will when our faith doesn’t move our mountains...why doesn’t it mean we didn’t have “enough” faith? 

 31 For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for ^aafter they had ^bfaith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power.

 32 And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the ^amansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent ^bhope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.

 33 And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast ^aloved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.

 34 And now I know that this ^alove which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

 35 Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not ^acharity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and ^btake away their ^ctalent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly. Maybe the “weakness” he’s referring to is the inability to write with sufficient power to convince us of the prophecies for our day...the things we take lightly. He said earlier that the Brother of Jarad was able to write and it was “overpowering” to those that read it. We have had the Book of Mormon and have been under condemnation since the beginning for taking it lightly. What if that is the “weakness” Moroni is referring to, since he sees that the Book of Mormon doesn’t cause us to have charity by reading his words. This makes more sense to me now...

 36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles ^agrace, that they might have charity. Thank you, Moroni, for that prayer. Going further with my previous thought...Moroni may be saying, “since they won’t have charity because of the words I’m writing, will you please just grant them charity through your grace?” These Book of Mormon people were so filled with charity that they were always worried about those who would come after them and those who were not converted among them. Do we have that kind of charity? 

 37 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 ^aclean. And because thou hast seen thy ^bweakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the scripture of how He makes weak things strong! The Lord is teaching personal responsibility here. We can do all we can do, but ultimately the sins of others are not on our heads.

 38 And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the ^ajudgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my ^bgarments are not spotted with your blood. because I wasn’t able to write in a manner that we could not deny. If we had believed what he had written, we would have been given the words of the brother of Jared. But we have to have faith first. Then the words of the brother of Jarad will confirm what we already believe. (and add more)

 39 And then shall ye know that I have ^aseen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me ^bface to face, and that he told me in ^cplain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things; This is so loving and kind and merciful of the Savior to visit this very lonely, sad, man. It sounds like the Lord told him of the things that would happen in person. How can we doubt it?

 40 And only a few have I written, because of my weakness in writing.

 41 And now, I would commend you to ^aseek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth ^brecord of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen. I am seeking, you, Lord, Jesus!

Mormon 9

(All of my own thoughts are in blue ? red type 7/20 orange 7/21 brown 2022-23)

 CHAPTER 9

Moroni calls upon those who do not believe in Christ to repent—He proclaims a God of miracles, who gives revelations and pours out gifts and signs upon the faithful—Miracles cease because of unbelief—Signs follow those who believe—Men are exhorted to be wise and keep the commandments. About A.D. 401–21.

  1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.
  2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that ^agreat day  this is a word link throughout all scriptures when it says "that great day". It's talking about the Second Coming of Christ when the ^bearth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?
  3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a ^aconsciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?
  4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your ^afilthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the ^bdamned souls in ^chell. Interesting how this would really be experienced. Is it the same kind of misery? Maybe the hell misery is better because you know it's deserved and the heaven misery would be because you know you don't deserve to be there? Or maybe it is a knowledge of the suffering you caused Christ that you won't repent of.
  5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your ^anakedness NOTHING will be hidden from you or God (well nothing has ever been hidden from Him, so mostly it's your consciousness of your own reality to yourself as you face God before God, and also the glory of God, and the ^bholiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.
  6 O then ye ^aunbelieving, ^bturn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, ^cpure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the ^dLamb, at that great and last day. If you are reading this, and are "unbelieving" and Christ hasn't come yet...there is time to repent.
  7 And again I speak unto you who ^adeny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the ^binterpretation of tongues; Now he's speaking to the "believing", but deceived. There is a little bit of a catch here. For the unbelieving in these things there are no revelations (personal), or prophecies (personal) or gifts or healing or speaking in tongues, etc. because they don't believe, but it doesn't mean these things do not exist or cannot be. They just aren't experiencing them. 
  8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.  These things just listed are a part of the gospel of Christ and if you believe the truth about the gospel you must also believe and experience these gifts. 
  9 For do we not read that God is the ^asame ^byesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no ^cvariableness neither shadow of changing? This one scripture should put down any arguments about God maybe changing his teachings on gender in our day. 
 10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god this is exactly what people are doing today...imagining up their own versions of god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.
 11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of ^amiracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.
 12 Behold, he created Adam, and by ^aAdam came the ^bfall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the ^credemption of man.
 13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the ^apresence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the ^bresurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless ^csleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal ^dband of death, which death is a temporal death.
 14 And then cometh the ^ajudgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is ^bfilthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still. This is great motivation to learn how to be happy now, if you are not. Interesting that he separates it from being unrighteous. Maybe it's possible to be righteous and not happy, meaning you are obedient to commandments and serve in the church, but are not happy. We are commanded to "be of good cheer". Don't think just because you die, you'll suddenly be happy. Your circumstances will certainly change, but they were never the "cause" of your unhappiness, so you will find yourself still unhappy on the other side...
 15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do ^ano miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles. "Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory." (Nelson, April 2018)
 16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous ^aworks of God?
 17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his ^aword the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was ^bcreated of the ^cdust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
 18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty ^amiracles? And there were many ^bmighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
 19 And if there were ^amiracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he ^bchangeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

 20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do ^amiracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should ^btrust. Three reasons we don't see miracles: 1. we don't believe 2. we depart from the right way  3. we don't know and trust God So if we don't see miracles today it is because of one or all of these things. 
 21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, ^awhatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this ^bpromise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth. This seems very straightforward! What are the conditions? 1. Believe in Christ 2. Doubt nothing 3. Ask the Father in the name of Christ.  Of those three, I would guess that 2. is the greatest roadblock. It is hard to doubt nothing. But I know that God honors faith. Look at all the scriptures stories of Christ performing miracles where that is so plainly seen: the woman who touched Jesus, the Centurion who said, "only say the words" and my servant will be healed, to which Jesus responded "‘Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’"  
 22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to ^aall his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;
 23 And he that ^abelieveth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be ^bdamned;
 24 And ^athese signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out ^bdevils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay ^chands on the sick and they shall recover;
25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I ^aconfirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth. Notice again, we must doubt nothing. If these signs are not in our lives, then we have to face the fact there is some doubt in our thought life. I think we rationalize that these things are not in our lives because it's God's will that we struggle and learn from our trials. But here He just confirms that these miracles are promised to all who believe and doubt nothing. I also think it's hard to not doubt when you have sins you aren't repenting of.
 26 And now, behold, who can stand ^aagainst the works of the Lord? ^bWho can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are ^cdespisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.
 27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. ^aDoubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and ^bcome unto the Lord with all your ^cheart, and ^dwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. Do you hear the invitation? Ask for whatever you stand in need of. But you must not doubt. I think we hesitate to ask for healing when we are sick, because we're sick a lot and we imagine that it's somehow slothful to repeatedly get sick and just ask God to heal you every time. But why is it any better to go to a doctor and ask him to heal you every time? Perhaps, in both cases, the "healer" will ask you why you keep getting sick and explore the cause of your repeated illness. But I don't think the doctor ever shames you for having to come in again and seek healing. Why do we think God is any less compassionate? And you have to come unto the Lord with all your heart. What does it mean to work out your salvation with fear and trembling? 
 28 Be ^awise in the days of your ^bprobation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your ^clusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and ^dliving God. Here are the things Moroni says we should focus on while on the earth: 1. Be wise with your time here 2. Work daily to rid yourself of all that is unclean 3. Don't "consume" uncleanness and don't lust after it 4. Be firm and unshaken in your asking for strength to not yield to temptation 5. Serve the true and living God, not false and nonliving idols.
 29 See that ye are not baptized ^aunworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ ^bunworthily; but see that ye do all things in ^cworthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out. Here's a reminder to partake of the Sacrament weekly. How does one know they stand "worthy" before God? I think at the minimum we partake with conscious intention and desire to make covenants and not thoughtlessly out of cultural habit.
 30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I ^aspake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.
 31 Condemn me not because of mine ^aimperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. I think he's not talking about imperfections in what they have written, but imperfections in their lives as they have shared them in the record. What were these mortal imperfections of Mormon and Moroni or the other authors of the record? What can we learn from them?  
 32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the ^areformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.
 33 And if our plates had been ^asufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no ^bimperfection in our record. Here were are 600 years later and Moroni is fully aware of his Hebrew roots. He is seeming to say that there could be some imperfections in how they expressed their writings because of the limitations of their written language. I think he's using "imperfection" not to mean mistakes, but more limitations in language.
 34 But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared ^ameans for the interpretation thereof. The means being translation through the gift and power of God. So maybe what we have isn't a "word for word" translation, but a correct translation according to the knowledge of God.
 35 And these things are written that we may rid our garments of the blood of our ^abrethren, who have dwindled in unbelief.  Who are the "brethren" he is referring to? the Lamanites? 2 Nephi 26: 15 After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten. How would not writing them not rid their garments of the blood of their brethren? And why would they be accountable for their blood? And "whose" garments are we talking about? He may be talking about "their" collectively, not him personally or the other writers. Maybe it has something to do with the sins of the children being on the heads of the parents; maybe it refers to the sins of the people being on the head of the watchmen if they don't warn, so if they didn't keep the record they would somehow be accountable for the future generations who would be in unbelief, not receiving the truth and continuing in their unbelief...
 36 And behold, these things which we have ^adesired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land. Is this the prayer of the saints in our day? that the unbelieving will be restored to the truth? 
 37 And may the Lord Jesus Christ grant that their prayers may be answered according to their faith; and may God the Father remember the covenant which he hath made with the house of Israel; and may he bless them forever, through faith on the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.