Ether 12:29-34

After the Lord explained why He gives us weaknesses, Moroni was comforted by His words. “Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted” (Isaiah 49:13).

“Sometimes we feel discouraged because we are not ‘more’ of something—more spiritual, respected, intelligent, healthy, rich, friendly, or capable. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve. God created us to grow and progress. But remember, our weaknesses can help us to be humble and turn us to Christ, who will ‘make weak things become strong.’ Satan, on the other hand, uses our weaknesses to the point that we are discouraged from even trying.”[1]

He knows He works among us according to our faith. Through his faith, the brother of Jared moved mount Zerin. “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

“Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea” (Jacob 4:6).

Through the faith of His disciples, He appeared to them after His resurrection. When they  spoke in His name, he gave them great power.

“And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.

“And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.

“And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.

“And it came to pass that they did do all things even as Jesus had commanded them.

“And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ” (3 Nephi 26:17-21).

Moroni remembers the Lord said a place has been prepared “among the mansions of [the] Father” (Ether 12:32).

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

“And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen” (Enos 1:27).

“For he who is faithful and wise in time is accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father” (D&C 72:4).

We must have hope in the Lord’s promises. Without hope, we “cannot receive an inheritance in the place which [He] hast prepared” (Ether 12:32).

“Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls.” [2]

Moroni also remembers because He loved the world, He was willing to lay down His life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The love the Lord has for us is charity. “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47). He will take it up again to prepare a place for us in His kingdom.

“For the Lord had told [Moroni] that the only hope of the Gentiles was to have charity (Ether 12:34-35), the one toward which the present world is least inclined. In reply to his request, the Lord gave Moroni no firm promise. His only answer was: ‘If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful’ (Ether 12:37). God will not force and man to have charity, which must be spontaneous and unsolicited, as Paul says, seeking nothing for itself (1 Corinthians 13:5). Charity is the one thing a person must have in himself and of himself. And so there Moroni leaves it: will we have charity, or will we not?”[3]

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[1] It Works Wonderfully, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2015 General Conference.

[2] The Infinite Power of Hope, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2008 General Conference.

[3] The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute website.