Mormon 9

Mormon 9:1

1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

Literary: Moroni shifts his narrative focus again. He has been addressing those who believe in Christ in the last days, but who have perverted his teachings. Now he shifts to speak to those who do not even believe in the Christ.

Textual: In Moroni’s original redaction on to the plates, there was no break at this point. This is a continuation of the same message Moroni began in our chapter 8.

Mormon 9:2

2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth 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?

Moroni asks of the non-believers a question. Will they believe when Christ comes again in the last days? In the face of the actual presence of the Lamb of God, will they be able to deny the Savior? This may seem to be a very simple and simplistic argument. Of course they would not deny the Savior should he come in his glory to them. That is not really the issue that Moroni is asking. The implicit argument here is that there is evidence that the Messiah has come. Moroni understands that the coming of the Messiah to the New World is not the same as the second coming, but he also understands history as being patterned. What has gone before is predictive of what will come. Therefore, Moroni’s argument really is that they would not fail to believe when he comes in the future, but they need not wait for that event to know. Since he as come before, he will come again. It is this use of the past to predict the future that will be the underlying theme as he develops his discourse to the future non-believer in Christ.

Mormon 9:3

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 consciousness 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?

Mormon 9:4

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 filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

Mormon 9:5

5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

Verses 3-5 consist of the same basic aspect of the coming of the Lord. When the Lord comes in person, he will come as triumphant judge, and those who do not believe at that day will be overcome with guilt. The recognition of the Messiah in those last days will be accompanied by a terrible guilt on behalf of those who “abused his laws.”

Variant: The Printer’s manuscript has “anguishable fire” where the 1830 edition was edited to “unquenchable fire.” (Book of Mormon Critical Text. FARMS 1987 and The Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon. FARMS, 2001, p. 902.) It is possible that the scribe mis-heard “unquenchable” spoken rapidly and wrote anguishable. It is also possible that it was intended as an emphasis on the misery noted in verse 4. The 1830 text uses “unquenchable” as a more common phrase, modeled after Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17.

Mormon 9:6

6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

The admonition to “turn ye unto the Lord” is that the unbelievers should come to a belief in the Savior prior to the time of his coming. Since they will be in great anguish as unbelievers if they are in that state when he comes, logically they should become believers before that time.

Cultural: The set of terms used here for a state of repentance is: “spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed.” The cleansing gives us the context of “white” in this case. The imagery is the basic Biblical imagery of becoming clean and spotless, therefore “white.” This is not necessarily the same imagery as in the “white and delightsome” pairing in Nephite vocabulary, although the presence of the term “white” in that formulation may come from the same western tradition as this reference to cleanliness.

Mormon 9:7

7 And again I speak unto you who deny 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 interpretation of tongues;

Literary: We have yet another shift in the narrative focus of Moroni’s discourse. Now he returns to addressing believers in Christ, but believers who deny important aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this instance, he speaks to those who say that there are no more “revelations, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.” The denial of these gifts of the spirit is tantamount to denying the spirit in the world.

[speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues]: The modern reading of “speaking with tongues” is the gift of languages. This is the definition Robert Millet is espousing:

“So speaking a foreign but known tongue is a manifestation of the gift of tongues. We have numerous examples of this phenomenon in the history of the Church, times when either the speakers or the listeners were actuated by the Spirit of the Lord, when a foreign language was spoken or understood, and thus when communication and edification followed. This happens regularly with our full-time missionaries. By hard work and consistent effort and practice—and, most importantly, through a rich endowment of the Holy Ghost—elders and sisters are enabled to acquire language skills in a miraculously short period of time. They recognize and understand and feel things that would normally require many years to master. It is an everyday occurrence that staggers the learned and the wise of the world.” (Robert L. Millet, Alive in Christ: The Miracle of Spiritual Rebirth [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 130 - 131.)

It is absolutely true that there is a miraculous gift of tongues represented in the missionary efforts of young men and women who learn to preach powerfully in a language that is new to them. However, the combination of speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues tells us that the practice Moroni is describing is more akin to the phenomenon technically known as glossolalia. This is the experience of spontaneously expressing oneself in an unknown language. This is a language that is basically unintelligible. However, to be truly edifying, it required the presence of one who was able to understand and translate the divine message.

Joseph Smith said:

“Be not so curious about tongues, do not speak in tongues except there be an interpreter present; the ultimate design of tongues is to speak to foreigners, and if persons are very anxious to display their intelligence, let them speak to such in the their own tongues.” (Documentary History of the Church. Deseret Press, 1949, 6:31).

Joseph Smith tells us the Brother Millet is correct that the speaking of foreign languages is the intent of the gift, but that is not the context in which the early saints were coveting that gift. For them, the gift was the same kind of glossolalia that was present in the churches from which they had been converted. It is for this reason that Joseph tells them that they need to have an interpreter. It is this dual context of unintelligible expression and required translation that we see the experience recorded by Eliza R. Snow:

“The Saints were humble, and through our united faith, the Spirit of God was poured out in copious effusion, and, for one hour, we enjoyed pentecostal refreshings from on high. On these occasions the gifts of the Gospel were powerfully manifest—speaking and singing in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the gift of healing and of prophecy, were freely exercised. These monthly fast meetings were so interesting, and so very enjoyable, that people came long distances to attend them.” (Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow [Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1884], 12 - 13.)

The combination phrasing in Moroni suggests that this dual aspect of tongues is the reference that Joseph understood when translating Moroni’s text.

Mormon 9:8

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.

While it is easy to assume that it is the New Testament that provides the scriptures to which this future audience should turn to learn of the continuation of these gifts, they are also amply attested in the Book of Mormon.

Mormon 9:9

9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?

Mormon 9:10

10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a 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.

Moroni now argues for the continuation of revelation and gifts of the spirit by appealing to the unchanging God. If these things ever came from God, then they were of God. To cease, God the author of such things would have to have changed. Since God cannot change, he cannot have ceased to do what he has done before. God is the same, therefore we should continue to enjoy the benefits that God provided his people of old.

Mormon 9:11

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, 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.

Moroni’s next argument is to present God as a God of miracles. He does so by reference to the ancient fathers, Abraham, Isasc, and Jacob. God the creator of all continued to provide miracles in the lives the patriarchs. Therefore God was a God of miracles, and he does not change.

Mormon 9:12

12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall 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 redemption of man.

God’s greatest miracle is this earth life. Moroni simply explains that this God who created miracles created Adam, and through the process of the Fall, God provided the greatest miracle, the mission of the Atoning Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Mormon 9:13

13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, 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 band of death, which death is a temporal death.

Jesus Christ is the instrument of man’s reconciliation with God. Moroni is not teaching the nature of the atonement, but rather using the atonement as a witness to the power of God. As he does so, he reiterates doctrines from the Nephite prophets. Nephi himself taught this doctrine in 1 Nephi 15:31 and 2 Nephi 9:11. Alma taught of raising man from temporal death in Alma 11:42; Alma 12:23-24; and Alma 42:8-9. Contrasting this statement of Moroni with the others noted, we can see that a significant difference in the usage is precisely this distinction between statement and explanation. For Moroni, this is an accepted teaching being used as evidence. In the other instances, it is something to be explained and taught.

Mormon 9:14

14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy 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.

Moroni completes the two phases of the Atonement. The first was overcoming the temporal death. The second comes after the judgment and the assignment to the eternal rewards. It is interesting that Moroni does not similarly qualify this step as overcoming the spiritual death, even though that is the definition that is typically paralleled in the didactive sections of the other prophets. Again, Moroni is not teaching and clarifying principles. He is using them as evidence for the goodness of God.

Mormon 9:15

15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no 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.

This is the point of the entire discussion of the Atonement. If God can create such a miracle as the atonement of mankind through Jesus Christ, how could he ever cease to be a God of miracles? Because the resurrection and our final judgment and reward are still to come, how can he have ceased to be a God of miracles if we still believe that this ultimate miracle is in our future?

Mormon 9:16

16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?

Mormon 9:17

17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?

Mormon 9:18

18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.

Mormon 9:19

19 And if there were miracles 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 changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

Literary: These verses repeat the same basic concepts as Moroni has already presented in this argument. They are repetitions without adding substance to his argument. This is not the hallmark of a carefully crafted discourse, but rather is typical of an oral discourse. Of course this is not oral, but written down. However, this stream-of-consciousness type of writing parallels the way that oral arguments appear in many who are not expert is presenting oral arguments. The evidence continues to suggest that Moroni is writing as he thinks of his material, and not from a previously conceived outline. This very repetition without adding anything new to the argument would be the type of thing edited into a better, more condensed argument if one had written an outline or a draft. Moroni does not have one, so we see the evidence of his mental composition in the way the information is recorded. In completely oral discourse, we frequently tend to try to emphasize or strengthen our argument in just such a way, by repetition rather than developing a new line of argument.

Mormon 9:20

20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles 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 trust.

Now Moroni does begin to shift his line of reasoning. Moroni understands that while God is a God of miracles, man is not always a man of Faith. There is a relationship between the quantity of miracles that we see in our lives and the faith that we have that God will provide them. When mankind departs from the way of God, that essential connection between faith and miracle is broken, and the great miracle of atonement remains, but the smaller miracles appear to abate. This is a situation that would be very present on Moroni’s mind as he was in a position to be a personal witness to the tremendous contrast between the God of miracles and the man of unbelief. To Moroni had come the ministration of the miraculously preserved three apostles (Mormon 8:11), who were by this time over four hundred years old, no mean miracle at all. Even greater than that, the Savior himself has appeared to Moroni (Mormon 8:35). Moroni knows that God continues to be a God of miracles because he has seen them. However, he has also seen his people fall away from the paths of God, and certainly miracles ceased among them. The small miracles of temporary defeats of the invading Lamanites were temporal and temporary. The result was the absence of any miracle at all in the destruction of the Nephites. No wonder this is a poignant argument for him.

Mormon 9:21

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

Literary: Moroni shifts narrative focus again. Now he is addressing those who truly believe in the Savior, in contrast to the most recent focus on those who believe some, but not all. To those who do have faith, this God of miracles is still present, and still responds to man. If we ask, it will be granted. The very answering of prayers is one of the consistent and persistent miracles of God.

Mormon 9:22

22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;

Moroni makes another shift, and this one without much of a transition. He notes that prayers are answered, and then he launches in to a charge to the true believers to do missionary work. The conceptual thread he is using to make this shift is that he has been telling each set of people what they must do. The unbelievers should believe. Those who do not understand fully should increase their understanding. Those who truly and completely believe – should tell others.

Mormon 9:23

23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned;

As the gospel is taught, it always contains this minimum set. We must believe and be baptized. Implicit in the baptism is the process of repentance. It is not explicitly stated, but it is certainly part of what it means to truly believe and be baptized.

Mormon 9:24

24 And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; 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 hands on the sick and they shall recover;

How might one know that the gospel is being taught? How can the church of the true believers be distinguished from those who believe some, but deny some? Moroni returns to the theme of the miracles. These miracles will be present, because true faith is present.

Reference: The concept that faith produces the miracles that will be the mark of the true church is an echo of the language of Mark:

Mark 16:17-18

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

The language is obviously parallel. The meaning fits into Moroni’s discourse, but the language us influenced by the New Testament.

Mormon 9:25

25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

The miraculous signs that follow the church may not happen to everyone, but there is a personal miracle that is promised to all who “shall believe in my name, doubting nothing.” The miracle for such a person is the witness of the Holy Ghost that will “confirm all my words.” Being able to handle serpents without harm is a miracle, but it pales beside this miracle of confirmation. No physical act can parallel the importance of the miracle of personal revelation of the truth of “all my words.” That miracle transforms the soul.

Mormon 9:26

26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who 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 despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.

Literary: We have yet another narrative shift. Moroni has been doing two things, speaking to future generations, and speaking to divisions of that future population. He now continues to focus on the future, but he moves to a more generic address. He is not speaking to a specific type of future audience, but to all. The rhetorical question is open to all, “who can stand against the works of the Lord.” This rhetorical exclamation about events of the last days bears similarities to the verse from Malachi that is recorded from the Savior’s visit to Bountiful:

3 Nephi 24:2

2 But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap.

Moroni is not citing Malachi, but rather using the same form. Both prophets look to the events of the last day, and proclaim by their question the inability of man to resist the work of God. For Moroni, this is a reprise of his argument that we have in Mormon 9:2. There he notes that the unbeliever will eventually be faced with the reality of the returned Savior, and they will be forced into understanding that he is the Messiah. Here he again references those obvious end times when the hidden aspects of the Lord’s work are revealed and undeniable.

Mormon 9:27

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. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

Literary: The break in the verses here creates an artificial break in a nicely turned phrasing in Moroni’s discourse. To reconstruct the context, note how the argument flows:

Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord

The reference is to those who are “despisers of the works of the Lord.” These will “wonder and perish,” and certainly the perishing is not a desirable end. Therefore, Moroni admonishes them to “despise not, and wonder not.” The way to avoid the destruction is simple, they need to “hearken unto the words of the Lord.” Those who had despised the Lord’s words must cease to do so, and embrace those words. The alternative is that they perish.

Moroni’s is not a message of gloom, promising destruction to the wicked, but rather a message of hope in repentance. Moroni does not leave the “despisers” without hope. Rather, he tells them that they can change, and that they can avoid the destruction. The can “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.” For them, and for us, it is still not too late.

Mormon 9:28

28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.

The process by which we may “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him” is that we must “strip yourselves of all uncleanness.” This is the process of repentance, followed by baptism.

Mormon 9:29

29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, 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.

The baptism follows true repentance. Moroni admonishes us that it is important that it follow that repentance. We should take care that “ye are not baptized unworthily.” Similarly, we should “not partake of the sacrament of Christ unworthily.” These are ordinances that connect us with the powers of heaven, and they should only be performed by those who approach them worthily. The process of doing so is simple, and involves repentance. If we approach these ordinances truly repentant, then they will dead us to the reward with God. If we have not repented, they will do us no good, and we will be cast out. While the ordinance if recognized by God, it is nevertheless a witness to a change in our souls. Neither the baptism nor the renewal of that covenant in the sacrament makes a change in us. The repentant heart is confirmed through those ordinances, and the atonement is applied.

Mormon 9:30

30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.

Of course Moroni is not dead as he writes, but he understands that he will be dead when his audience reads what he writes. The reason for including this statement is obscure. Perhaps it is a reference to communication from the other world, a revelation that should it happen to us, we would surely remember. Moroni is perhaps giving his word the testament of his life, and equating them to a revelation from the other side of the veil.

Mormon 9:31

31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, 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.

Literary: This is now the third time that Moroni mentions imperfections in the record, and this time he specifically notes that they might be in either his or his father’s words. The message is more important that the form of the message. The miracle of the existence of the Book of Mormon should be taken as a greater witness than the errors that we might find in it. Moroni’s most poignant admonition is “that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.”

Mormon 9:32

32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

Literary: Moroni returns to his beginning statement. His purpose was to place the final witness on his father’s works, and part of that is the personal colophon that indicates the writing and the method. The beginning of this formal statement is in Mormon 8:13-14. After the insertion of his long discourse to future readers, he returns to his original statement that is to seal the work. This is yet another indication that the intervening verses were not part of even the mental plan, but simply came to Moroni because of his understanding and concern for the future readers of the text.

Social: At the very end of the text Moroni tells us about the nature of the text. He has testified that it is his and his father’s hand that has written it. He has noted his filial relationship. Now he declares the mode of writing. It is interesting the type of information we get in this verse, but to fully understand it, we need the information in the next verse.

Mormon 9:33

33 And if our plates had been sufficiently 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 imperfection in our record.

Moroni tells us that the plates are not written in Hebrew because that would have taken more room on the plates. Hebrew is a condensed writing system in that it leaves out the vowels of the spoken word. While this is typically no great problem to reconstruct, there are times when there are some ambiguities in a word that might be read with different vowels. Thus Hebrew writing inherently has issues of potential confusion on the intent of a certain word. Moroni is telling us that in some way, the writing system that they are using is more prone to error than the Hebrew. Even with the possibilities of error in supplying the vowels, that mode of writing would have been more accurate than the method that was used. Moroni links as least some of the imperfections in his father’s work to the difficulty in accurately communicating through their writing system.

Next, the very fact that Moroni suggests that they could have written in Hebrew and did not, tells us that it was preserved as a scholarly language. There must have been some writings in Hebrew from the earliest days, or Moroni would not have been able to have learned Hebrew to know that it could have been used.

Lastly, the statement about Hebrew must be combined with the information from the previous verse. In that verse, Moroni tells us what they used instead of Hebrew: “the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.” (italics added). The language us called reformed Egyptian. We are not told what relationship the reformed Egyptian has to the Egyptian that is in Nephi’s record, but it Moroni is telling us that they are not the same. Something has happened that has changed the form, allowing Moroni to note that it is reformed. The next important aspect of this description is that there is a relationship between the characters and their “manner of speech.” These characters have a relationship to speaking, and it appears to be a relationship that is not enjoyed by the Hebrew that was not used. Moroni appears to be telling us that that the reformed Egyptian is a representation of their spoken language. While he does not clearly state that Hebrew is not, there is a rather strong implication that we should not seek Hebrew meanings underneath the words we see. Their language would have been best represented by the reformed Egyptian.

Mormon 9:34

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 means for the interpretation thereof.

In Moroni’s vision of the future, he is given to understand that the language of the Nephites as represented on the plates is not known. Certainly he is not referring to his own day, as there are many who know that language. Moroni is referring to the plates, and the fact that they will not be translated by human means. This will not be a job for the scholars, but for one who is able to use the “means for the interpretation thereof” that have been prepared by the Lord.

Mormon 9:35

35 And these things are written that we may rid our garments of the blood of our brethren, who have dwindled in unbelief.

Mormon 9:36

36 And behold, these things which we have desired 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.

This is an interesting statement. The guilt of the people of the Nephites could not be laid at the feet of either Mormon or Moroni. They are not actually guilty of the blood of their people, and therefore would not have needed to write the Book of Mormon for their personal expiation. They wrote not because of their guilt, but because they want to finish the job that they had been unable to do in life. They felt responsibility for teaching, even if the people did not listen. Through the Book of Mormon will come another chance for their people to be redeemed, and to justify the mission that Mormon and Moroni desired to fulfill in their own lifetime, but from which they were prevented by the unbelief of their people at that time.

Mormon 9:37

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.

The final statement by Moroni echoes that of his father. For both father and son, original author and concluding writer, the thought and message is the same. This is a work pointed to a future generation, and both men feel it most deeply in relation to the descendants of their own people. Both Mormon and Moroni direct their last statements to their brethren in the future, and desire for them “that they prayers may be answered according to their faith, and may God the Father remember the covenant which he hath made.”

Textual: This is the ending of the book of Mormon. What Moroni next writes will not be considered a conclusion to his father’s work, but rather an addition to it.