My Final Thoughts

Through everything that has happened in the Book of Mormon I know that for me the most important lesson is that the scriptures can be a powerful tool in our lives. I know through the power of the Holy Ghost that this book is of heavenly origin. I have read it many times over and tomorrow will start again at page 1. My intent for this blog and this project was to put my name and my soul out there as a believer in this great and powerful work. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he was called to restore this earth to its most precious treasure. The teachings of Joseph are the teachings of Christ and lead us back to our heavenly father. This book contains doctrines and teachings that are of great and immeasurable value but its true worth is as a testimony of Christ and the modern day organization of the gospel. I know that there are doctrines and teachings that I have not touched on in this commentary. We learn in this life line upon line and precept upon precept so it is no surprise to me that I have missed treasures contained in this book. As I continue to read the scriptures and as i am given insights through the spirit I will return to this blog and and record my new found knowledge. I may be overstating myself here but I feel that by completing this volume I have left this world a little better than I found it. I have if nothing left my testimony that was given through the Spirit for those who come behind me to read and feel.
To my kids I want nothing more that for you to be close to our father in heaven. I want you to seek and find your own testimonies of the gospel and teach your children the righteous traditions of their father. Know that I am without a doubt a weak imperfect man, full of faults and short comings. I hope and pray that among all the weakness that I pass on I will at least touch the hearts of those who I love. To those who may read this that I have never known if it be that this reaches you know that One day we will meet and we will hopefully have eternity to discuss the gospel. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book translated by a true prophet for our good. If we will read and study and apply the teaching contained in it we will all be able to spend eternity together and continue to grow and learn until we have at last reached our true potential. I will close this with a promise that as Moroni says we can all gain our testimonies of this book of scripture he speaks the truth. We all can I know because I have done just that. May this serve as a reminder of my testimony to all of my family in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
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Moroni 10:1-34

Chapter 10

A testimony of the Book of Mormon comes by the power of the Holy Ghost—The gifts of the Spirit are dispensed to the faithful—Spiritual gifts always accompany faith—Moroni’s words speak from the dust—Come unto Christ, be perfected in Him, and sanctify your souls. About A.D. 421.

 1 Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the ^aLamanites; and I would that they should know that more than ^bfour hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christ.

 2 And I ^aseal up ^bthese records, after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.

 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how ^amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ^bponder it in your ^chearts.

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ^aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not ^btrue; and if ye shall ask with a ^csincere heart, with ^dreal intent, having ^efaith in Christ, he will ^fmanifest the ^gtruthof it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may ^aknow the ^btruth of all things.

 6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

 7 And ye may ^aknow that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, ^baccording to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

 8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the^agifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are ^bdifferent ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the ^cSpirit of God unto men, to profit them.

 9 ^aFor behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may^bteach the word of wisdom;

 10 And to another, that he may ^ateach the word of ^bknowledge by the same Spirit;

 11 And to another, exceedingly great ^afaith; and to another, the gifts of ^bhealing by the same Spirit;

 12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty ^amiracles;

 13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;

 14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;

 15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;

 16 And again, to another, the interpretation of ^alanguages and of divers kinds of tongues.

 17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.

 18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that ^aevery good ^bgift cometh of Christ.

 19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the ^bunbelief of the children of men.

 20 Wherefore, there must be ^afaith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.

 21 And except ye have ^acharity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.

 22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in ^adespair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.

 23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: ^aIf ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

 24 And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth—that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be ^abecause of ^bunbelief.

 25 And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be ^anone that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.

 26 And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they ^adie in their ^bsins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

 27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my ^awords unto you, which were written by this man, like as one ^bcrying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the ^cdust?

 28 I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall ^ahiss forth from generation to generation.

 29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is^atrue.

 30 And again I would exhort you that ye would ^acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good ^bgift, and ^ctouch not the evil gift, nor the ^dunclean thing.

 31 And ^aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of ^bZion; and^cstrengthen thy ^dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest ^eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.

 32 Yea, ^acome unto Christ, and be ^bperfected in him, and ^cdenyyourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and ^dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be^eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye ^asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the ^bblood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your ^csins, that ye become ^dholy, without spot.

 34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to ^arest in the^bparadise of God, until my ^cspirit and body shall again ^dreunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the ^eair, to meet you before the ^fpleasing bar of the great ^gJehovah, the Eternal ^hJudgeof both quick and dead. Amen.

Thoughts:

Jason: We have been given the spirit as a guide to help us return to our father. We really are able to accomplish all things when we live worthy to have the companionship of the Spirit.  A testimony that is gained through the spirit is a testimony that we can stand on for eternity. Laman and Lemuel had many experiences where they saw and heard great things but they lacked the spiritual conversion that Nephi was able to gain. This is the major difference between them. Nephi has the spirit and a testimony of the gospel and his role in it. The prophets in this book all have the testimony that gives them the abilities to preform the great miracles contained in it. We must seek after this spiritual conversion which is gained through study and prayer and once gained we become a powerful tool in the work of the Lord

Moroni 9:1-26

The second epistle of Mormon to his son Moroni.

Comprising chapter 9.

Chapter 9

Both the Nephites and the Lamanites are depraved and degenerate—They torture and murder each other—Mormon prays that grace and goodness may rest upon Moroni forever. About A.D. 401.

 1 My beloved son, I write unto you again that ye may know that I am yet alive; but I write somewhat of that which is grievous.

 2 For behold, I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which we did not conquer; and Archeantus has fallen by the sword, and also Luram and Emron; yea, and we have lost a great number of our choice men.

 3 And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to ^aanger one with another.

 4 Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with ^asharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they ^bharden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased^cstriving with them.

 5 For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they ^athirst after blood and revenge continually.

 6 And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor ^adiligently; for if we should cease to ^blabor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.

 7 And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. For according to the knowledge which I have received from Amoron, behold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the tower of Sherrizah; and there were men, women, and children.

 8 And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the ^aflesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them.

 9 And notwithstanding this great ^aabomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after ^bdepriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is ^cchastity and ^dvirtue—

 10 And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most ^acruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery.

 11 O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization—

 12 (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people)

 13 But O my son, how can a people like this, whose ^adelight is in so much abomination—

 14 How can we expect that God will ^astay his hand in judgment against us?

 15 Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face!

 16 And again, my son, there are many ^awidows and their daughters who remain in Sherrizah; and that part of the provisions which the Lamanites did not carry away, behold, the army of Zenephi has carried away, and left them to wander whithersoever they can for food; and many old women do faint by the way and die.

 17 And the army which is with me is weak; and the armies of the Lamanites are betwixt Sherrizah and me; and as many as have fled to the army of ^aAaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality.

 18 O the depravity of my people! They are without ^aorder and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the^bstrength of a man, and I cannot any longer enforce my commands.

 19 And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are alike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor young; and they delight in everything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and our children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything; yea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be written.

 20 And now, my son, I dwell no longer upon this horrible scene. Behold, thou knowest the wickedness of this people; thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth ^aexceed that of the Lamanites.

 21 Behold, my son, I cannot recommend them unto God lest he should smite me.

 22 But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved; and I ^apray unto God that he will^bspare thy life, to witness the return of his people unto him, or their utter destruction; for I know that they must perish except they ^crepent and return unto him.

 23 And if they perish it will be like unto the ^aJaredites, because of the wilfulness of their hearts, ^bseeking for blood and ^crevenge.

 24 And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our brethren have ^adeserted over unto the Lamanites, and many more will also desert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou art spared and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may see thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would ^bdeliver up unto thee.

 25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto ^adeath; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and ^blong-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your^cmind forever.

 26 And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the ^aright hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever. Amen.

Thoughts:

Jason:
Feeding the flesh of their fathers and husbands does not exceed the violation of chastity. This shows how important the law of Chastity is to the Lord. This great abomination that he is referring to is a non consensual relationship yet it still provides a foundation to establish how important the Lord feels that this precious law is. We must give this principle great respect.