Moroni reminds us, we must have faith. Hope follows faith;
charity follows hope.
“And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father
Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this
manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which
they had built for the place of worship…
“Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for
without faith there cannot be any hope.
“And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith
and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.
“If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable
before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in
heart, and confesses 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” (Moroni 7:1, 42-44).
Without charity, we cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. “Knowledge
puffeth up, but charity [GR love] edifieth [GR builds up, strengthens,
establishes, repairs]” (1 Corinthians 8:1).
“[T]he Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should
have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they
were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the
laborer in Zion to perish” (2 Nephi 26:30).
“[I]f ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross,
which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under
foot of men” (Alma 34:29).
We must also have faith and hope to be saved.
“If we collapse what Moroni has been saying into a brief
statement, we can say, ‘If I have faith, then I have charity.’ But by modus tollens[1]
that means that if I do not have
charity, then I do not have faith. If I believe the first claim, ‘if faith,
then charity,’ then logically I must also believe that if I do not have
charity, then I do not have faith. A sure guide to the strength of our faith is
our godly love for others. That is why Moroni can say, ‘Except ye have charity
ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God’ (Moroni 10:21) (emphasis in
original).”[2]
Without hope, we despair. Our despair comes because of our iniquity.
In the Psalms, David writes about his despair. “Why standest thou afar off, O
Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble” (Psalms 10:1).
“How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt
thou hide thy face from me” (Psalms 13:1).
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so
far from helping me, and from the words [IE my cry of distress] of my roaring” (Psalms
22:1).
He also writes of Christ.
“Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my
dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
“Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness:
and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but
I found none.
“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they
gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalms 61:19-21).
“Perhaps having in mind the situation in which the Lamanites
find themselves as he is writing, Moroni adds, ‘If ye have no hope ye must
needs be in despair’ (Moroni 10:22). In despair there is no meaningful future;
there is no way forward. There is no real hope. But the additional claim that
despair comes because of iniquity is not a claim that psychological despair is
caused by sin. It is a claim about the human condition, not an accusation
against people who are depressed. To live in the world without the hope of the
gospel, which is to be in iniquity, is to be in despair. Regardless of how psychologically
happy people without the hope of the gospel may be, they live in despair
because they live without the hope that life is ultimately meaningful.”[3]
Christ has told our fathers, “[i]f ye will have faith in me
ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moroni 7:33).
[1] (Latin for “the way that denies by denying”) is a
valid argument form and a rule of inference. It is an application of the
general truth that if a statement is true, then so is its contra-positive. Wikepedia, Modus Tollens entry.
[2] Sealings
and Mercies: Moroni’s Final Exhortations in Moroni 10, James E. Faulconer, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other
Restoration Scripture 22/1 (2013): 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment