Moroni warns us that, if the powers and gifts of God are
lost, it will be because of our unbelief. “Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it
is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear
and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the
children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain” (Moroni 7:37).
“And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him:
and the child was cured from that very hour.
“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could
not we cast him out?
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief [GR
little faith]: 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
17:18-20).
“According to Moroni, without faith, accompanied as always
by the ‘power and gifts of God,’ there can be no good works. There may be
beneficial works, as there have always been in all ages of the world, but there
may be no ‘good works’ in the gospel sense (i.e., beneficial works performed by
good men).”[1]
If this day comes, there will be none who do good among us. “They
are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that
doeth good, no, not one” (Psalms 14:3).
“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12).
If there is one who does good, he will do his good works
through the gift and powers of God.
Those which do things which cause these works to die, these
will die in their sins.
“And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a
representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come
that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by
the temporal body in their days of probation.
“Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must
be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to
righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be
judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs
be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the
kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also” (1 Nephi
15:32-33).
“Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall
seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
“Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith,
Whither I go, ye cannot come.
“And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from
above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:
for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:21-24).
Those who die in their sins will not be saved in the kingdom
of God. Moroni makes is clear he is speaking according to the words of Christ.
We are to remember Moroni’s words. The day will come when we
will know his words are true. “And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have
covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay
the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people” (Isaiah
51:16).
“And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends
of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe
not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will
believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given
them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.
“And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for
Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words,
at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye
shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things,
notwithstanding my weakness” (2 Nephi 33:10-11).
“Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are
of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of
their language, that they might come to understanding” (D&C 1:24).
He will remind us he had declared his words to us, like on
crying from the dead.
“And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the
house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of
one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.
“And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and
respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall
proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an
everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day.
“For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at
the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey” (2
Nephi 33:13-15).
“Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead;
for I know that ye shall have my words” (Mormon 9:30).
He will be like on who is speaking from the dust.
“And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the
ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as
of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall
whisper out of the dust” (Isaiah 29:4).
“What is our relation to Christ’s gifts manifested in the
past? From the beginning, Mormon teaches, God did ‘manifest things unto the
children of men, which were good’ (Moroni 7:24). Do gifts from the past
continue to manifest themselves to us—and, if so, how? Are we to lay hold upon
these also—and, if so, how? Moroni, among other prophets, taught the importance
of laying hold on the words from the past, voices of the dead (see Moroni
10:27). How might we need to more deeply search knowledge from the past in
order to open and enter the Lord’s rest? How might family history work play
into this? How might remembering Christ’s sacrifice and God’s mercies to past
generations be understood as laying hold of gifts of Christ? A ‘multitude’ of
Christ’s ‘tender mercies’ already manifest in the past await us, seeking to
bear witness of him to strengthen our faith, as it did for Nephi (1 Nephi 8:8).”[2]
[1] Cry
Redemption: The Plan of Redemption as Taught in the Book of Mormon, Corbin
T. Volluz, Maxwell Institute website.
[2] Mormon’s
Question, Candice Wendt, Journal of
Book of Mormon Studies, 24 (2015): 249-250
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