Mormon 9
Reading for Monday, Apr. 30: Mormon 9
Learning Activities:
1) Introduction
Moroni finished his father’s record by calling upon those who do not believe in Jesus Christ to turn to God through repentance. He taught that God is a God of miracles who does not change. He also taught that miracles cease only when people stop having faith. He encouraged all mankind to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ to receive those things they need.
2) Mormon 9:1-5 How do you think you will feel in God's presence if you haven't repented?President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that many people mistakenly believe that they will feel comfortable in God’s presence even if they have not repented of their sins:
“There can be no salvation without repentance. A man cannot enter into the kingdom of God in his sins. It would be a very inconsistent thing for a man to come into the presence of the Father and to dwell in God’s presence in his sins. …
“I think there are a great many people upon the earth, many of them perhaps in the Church—at least some in the Church—who have an idea they can go through this life doing as they please, violating the commandments of the Lord, and yet eventually they are going to come into his presence. They think they are going to repent, perhaps in the spirit world.
“They ought to read these words of Moroni: ‘Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him [Christ] 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?
“‘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. 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’ [Mormon 9:3–5]” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:195–96).
3) Mormon 9:6 What do we have to do to feel comfortable?
4) What does this chapter teach about miracles? Add this quote to your scriptures:
We can experience God’s miraculous power in many ways in our lives. After reviewing some of the great miracles described in the scriptures, Sister Sydney S. Reynolds, who served in the Primary general presidency, taught:
“Just as important as these ‘mighty miracles’ are the smaller ‘private miracles’ that teach each of us to have faith in the Lord. These come as we recognize and heed the promptings of the Spirit in our lives. …
“I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles. We know children who pray for help to find a lost item and find it. We know of young people who gather the courage to stand as a witness of God and feel His sustaining hand. We know friends who pay their tithing with the last of their money and then, through a miracle, find themselves able to pay their tuition or their rent or somehow obtain food for their family. We can share experiences of prayers answered and priesthood blessings that gave courage, brought comfort, or restored health. These daily miracles acquaint us with the hand of the Lord in our lives” (“A God of Miracles,” Ensign, May 2001, 12).
Want More?
Why did Moroni conclude his fathers records with 22 commandments?
Why is the Book of Mormon so important to the Restoration?