THE BOOK OF MORONI
CHAPTER 1
Moroni writes for the benefit of the Lamanites—The Nephites who will not deny Christ are put to death. About A.D. 401–21.
1 After condensing the account of the people of Jared, I, Moroni, had supposed I would not write more, but I have not yet died, and I do not show myself to the Lamanites so they won’t destroy me.
2 Their wars are very fierce among themselves, and because of their hatred they execute every Nephite who will not deny the Christ.
3 I will not deny the Christ, so I wander wherever I can for my own safety.
4 So I write a few more things, that they might be of worth to my brothers, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.
CHAPTER 2
Jesus gave the twelve Nephite disciples power to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost. About A.D. 401–21.
1 The words of Christ, which he spoke to the twelve disciples he had chosen, as he laid his hands on them.
2 He called them by name, saying, You will call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer, and then you will have power to lay your hands on people and give them the Holy Ghost. You will do this in my name, as my apostles do.
3 Christ spoke these words to them at the time of his first appearance, so the multitude did not hear it, but the disciples did, and the Holy Ghost fell upon all who received this laying on of hands.
CHAPTER 3
Elders ordain priests and teachers by the laying on of hands. About A.D. 401–21.
1 The manner that the disciples, who were called the elders of the church, ordained priests and teachers:
2 After they had prayed to the Father in the name of Christ, they laid their hands on them and said, In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest (or teacher, if he is to be a teacher), to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ by the continuation of faith on his name to the end. Amen.
4 This is how they ordained priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God to men, and they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost that was in them.
CHAPTER 4
How elders and priests administer the sacramental bread is explained. About A.D. 401–21.
1 The manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ to the church, and they administered it according to the commandments of Christ, so we know the manner to be true, and the elder or priest ministered it.
2 They knelt down with the church and prayed to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:
3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take on them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
CHAPTER 5
The manner of administering the sacramental wine is set forth. About A.D. 401–21.
1 The manner of administering the wine: They took the cup, and said,
2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
CHAPTER 6
Repentant persons are baptized and fellowshipped—Church members who repent are forgiven—Meetings are conducted by the power of the Holy Ghost. About A.D. 401–21.
1 Now I speak about baptism. Elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized unless they brought forth works proving that they were worthy of it.
2 They did not receive any to baptism unless they came with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed to the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
3 And none were received for baptism unless they took the name of Christ on them, determined to serve him to the end.
4 After they had been received into baptism, and were worked upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ. And their names were taken so they could be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful in prayer, relying alone on the virtues of Christ, who was the author and finisher of their faith.
5 The church met together often to fast and pray and to speak with each other about the welfare of their souls.
6 They met together often to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.
7 And they were strict to observe that there would be no iniquity among them, and whoever was found to commit iniquity, if three witnesses of the church condemned them before the elders, and if they did not repent or confess, their names were erased, and they were not numbered among the people of Christ.
8 But as often as they repented and sought forgiveness with real intent, they were forgiven.
9 Their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit and by the power of the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, motivate, pray, ask blessings, or to sing.
CHAPTER 7
An invitation is given to enter into the rest of the Lord—Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith, miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave to charity. About A.D. 401–21.
1 Now I write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spoke concerning faith, hope, and charity, because this is how he spoke to the people as he taught them in the synagogue they had built for worship.
2 I, Mormon, speak to you, my beloved brethren, and it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will because of the gift of his calling to me.
3 I desire to speak to you who are of the church, who are the peaceable followers of Christ, who have obtained a sufficient hope by which you can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time forward until you will rest with him in heaven.
4 My brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men.
5 I remember the word of God which says by their works you will know them, because if their works are good, then they are good also.
6 God has said that if a man is evil he cannot do good things, so if he offers a gift or prays to God, it does not benefit him unless he does it with real intent.
7 It is not counted for him as righteousness.
8 If a man is evil and gives a gift, he does it unwillingly, so it is counted for him the same as if he had retained the gift. So he is counted evil before God.
9 Likewise it is counted evil for a man if he prays but not with real intent of heart. It benefits him nothing, because God does not receive such.
10 So a man being evil cannot do that which is good, neither will he give a good gift.
11 A bitter spring cannot produce good water, neither can a good spring produce bitter water, so if man is a servant of the devil he cannot follow Christ, and if he follows Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.
12 All things that are good come from God, and that which is evil comes from the devil because the devil is an enemy to God and fights against him continually, and invites and seduces to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.
13 That which is from God invites and persuades to do good continually, so everything that invites and persuades to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.
14 So pay attention, my beloved brethren, that you do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.
15 It is given to you to judge, so you can know good from evil, and the way to judge is as plain as daylight is from darkness, so you can know with a perfect knowledge.
16 The Spirit of Christ is given to every man so he can know good from evil, so I show you the way to judge: every thing that invites to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent by the power and gift of Christ, so you can know with a perfect knowledge that it is of God.
17 But whatever thing persuades men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and not serve God, then you can know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil because this is how the devil works, because he persuades no man to do good—not one—and neither do his angels, and neither do those who subject themselves to him.
18 Now you know the light by which you can judge, which light is the light of Christ, so be aware that you do not judge wrongfully because with that same judgment you judge you will also be judged.
19 So I plead with you, brethren, to search diligently in the light of Christ so you can know good from evil, and if you will grasp every good thing and not condemn it, certainly you will be a child of Christ.
20 How is it possible that you can grasp every good thing?
21 Now I come to that faith I said I would speak of; and I will tell you the way you can grasp every good thing.
22 God knows all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, so he sent angels to minister to men, to make plain the coming of Christ, and in Christ every good thing would come.
23 God also declared to prophets by his own mouth that Christ would come.
24 He showed good things to men in various ways, and all things that are good come from Christ. Otherwise, men would be fallen, and no good thing could come to them.
25 So by the ministering of angels, and by every word that comes from the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ. So by faith they embraced every good thing until the coming of Christ.
26 After he came men were saved by faith in his name, and by faith they become the sons of God. As surely as Christ lives he spoke these words to our fathers, saying, Whatever thing you ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that you will receive, it will be given to you.
27 Have miracles stopped because Christ has ascended into heaven, and has sat down on the right hand of God to claim of the Father the rights of mercy he has on mankind?
28 He has answered the ends of the law, and he claims all those who have faith in him, and they who have faith in him will hold on to every good thing, so he speaks for the cause of men, and he lives eternally in the heavens.
29 Because he has done this, have miracles ceased? No, and angels have not stopped ministering to men.
30 They are subject to him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves to those with strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
31 Their ministry is to call men to repentance and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he has made with the children of men, and to prepare the way among men by declaring the word of Christ to the chosen vessels of the Lord so they can bear testimony of him.
32 By doing this, the Lord God prepares the way for men to have faith in Christ, so the Holy Ghost can have place in their hearts according to His power; and this is how the Father completes the covenants he has made with men.
33 Christ has said, If you have faith in me you will have power to do whatever thing is useful in me.
34 He has said, Repent all you ends of the earth, and come to me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, so you can be saved.
35 If the things I have spoken to you are true, and God will show you with power and great glory at the last day that they are true, then has the day of miracles ceased?
36 Or have angels ceased to appear to the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Will he do that as long as time will last, or the earth will stand, or there will be one man to be saved?
37 No, because it is by faith that miracles are done, and it is by faith that angels appear and minister to men. So if these things have stopped, man is miserable, because it is caused by unbelief, and all is empty.
38 According to the words of Christ, no man can be saved unless they will have faith in his name. So if these things have stopped, then faith has stopped too, and the state of man is awful because they are as though no redemption had been made.
39 But I judge better things of you, my beloved brethren, because I judge that you have faith in Christ because of your meekness, because if you don’t have faith in him, you are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.
40 I want to speak to you about hope. How can you come to faith unless you have hope?
41 What should you hope for? You will have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection to be raised to life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
42 So if a man has faith he must have hope, because without faith there cannot be any hope.
43 And he cannot have faith and hope unless he is meek and humble in heart.
44 If a man has faith without this humility, his faith and hope are vain because only the meek and humble are acceptable before God. And if a man is meek and humble, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must necessarily have charity, because if he doesn’t have charity he is nothing; so he must have charity.
45 Love is patient, kind, and does not envy. Love is not proud, or arrogant, or self-promoting, and is not easily angered. Love thinks no evil and rejoices in the truth, not iniquity. Love bears all things, hopes all things, persists in all things.
46 So if you don’t have charity, you are nothing, because charity never fails. So hold firmly to charity, which is the greatest of all. Because all things must fail, but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it continues forever, and it will be well with whoever has it at the last day.
48 So pray to the Father with all your energy to be filled with this love, which he gives to all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ, so you can become the sons of God, so when he appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is, so we can have this hope that we can be purified just as he is pure. Amen.
CHAPTER 8
The baptism of little children is an evil abomination—Little children are alive in Christ because of the Atonement—Faith, repentance, meekness and lowliness of heart, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end lead to salvation. About A.D. 401–21.
1 A letter of my father Mormon written to me, Moroni, soon after my calling to the ministry. He said, My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice greatly that your Lord Jesus Christ has been watching over you and has called you to his ministry and his holy work.
3 I think of you always in my prayers, continually praying to God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that through his infinite goodness and grace he will preserve you through the continuing of faith on his name to the end.
4 Now I speak to you about a subject that grieves me, because it saddens me that disputations would rise among you.
5 Apparently there have been disputations among you about the baptism of your little children.
6 I have written this letter because I want you to work diligently to remove this big mistake from among you.
7 As soon as I had learned these things I asked the Lord about it. And the word of the Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, saying,
8 Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Those who are whole need no physician, only those who are sick, so little children are whole, not capable of committing sin. So in me the curse of Adam is taken from them, so it has no power over them; and the law of circumcision is finished in me.
9 This is how the Holy Ghost showed me the word of God. So I know that baptizing little children is serious mockery before God.
10 You will teach repentance and baptism to those who are accountable and capable of committing sin. Teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they will all be saved with their little children.
11 But their little children need no repentance or baptism because baptism is for repentance to fulfill the commandments for the remission of sins.
12 But little children are alive in Christ from the foundation of the world. If not so, God plays favorites and is changeable, because how many little children have died without baptism!
13 So if little children could not be saved without baptism, they must have gone to an endless hell.
14 Whoever supposes that little children need baptism is in a place of bitterness and in the bonds of sin because he has no faith, hope, or charity. So if his life ends while believing this lie, he must go down to hell.
15 It is awful wickedness to suppose that God saves one child because of baptism, but the other must be lost without baptism.
16 Warnings to them who will pervert the ways of the Lord in this way, because they will perish unless they repent. I speak boldly, with authority from God, unafraid of what man can do, because perfect love drives out all fear.
17 I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love, so all children are alike to me. So I love little children with a perfect love, and they are all alike and partakers of salvation.
18 I know that God is not a biased God, nor a changeable being. He is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.
19 Little children cannot repent, so it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God to them because they are all alive in him because of his mercy.
20 Whoever says that little children need baptism denies the mercies of Christ, and dismisses his atonement and the power of his redemption.
21 Warnings to such, because they are in danger of death, hell, and endless torment. I say it boldly; God has commanded me. Listen to them and pay attention, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ.
22 All little children are alive in Christ, and also all who are without the law. For the power of redemption comes on all who have no law. So he who is not condemned, or he who is under no condemnation, cannot repent, and to such baptism has no use.
23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in false doctrines.
24 This thing should not be, because repentance is for them who are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.
25 The first effect of repentance is baptism, and baptism comes by faith toward fulfilling the commandments, and fulfilling the commandments brings remission of sins.
26 The remission of sins brings meekness and humility, and because of meekness and humility comes the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter fills with hope and perfect love, which love continues by diligence in prayer until the end will come, when all the saints will live with God.
27 My son, I will write to you again if I don’t go soon against the Lamanites. The pride of the Nephites has caused their destruction unless they repent.
28 Pray for them, my son, that they may repent. But I fear that the Spirit has stopped working with them, and in this part of the land they are also trying to put down all power and authority that comes from God, and they are denying the Holy Ghost.
29 After rejecting such great knowledge, they must die soon, fulfilling the prophecies spoken by the prophets, as well as the words of our Savior himself.
30 Farewell, my son, until I will write to you or will meet you again. Amen.
The second epistle of Mormon to his son Moroni.
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 on Moroni forever. About A.D. 401.
1 My beloved son, I write to you again so you will know that I am still alive, but I write somewhat about that which is painful.
2 I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, where we did not conquer. Archeantus has fallen by the sword, and also Luram and Emron, and we have lost a great number of our choice men.
3 I am afraid the Lamanites will destroy this people because they do not repent, and Satan stirs them up continually to anger with each other.
4 I work with them continually, and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me, but when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it. So I am afraid that the Spirit of the Lord has stopped working with them.
5 They anger so greatly that it seems they have no fear of death, and they have lost their love for each other, and they thirst after blood and revenge continually.
6 My beloved son, despite their hardness let us labor diligently because if we stopped working, we would be condemned because we have a work to perform while in this earthly body to conquer the enemy of all righteousness and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.
7 Now I write somewhat about the sufferings of this people. Amoron has told me that the Lamanites have many prisoners—men, women, and children—who they took from the tower of Sherrizah.
8 They killed the husbands and fathers of those women and children, and they feed the women on the flesh of their husbands, and the children on the flesh of their fathers, and they give them no water, except a little.
9 Despite this great abomination of the Lamanites, it is not worse than that of our people in Moriantum, where they took many of the daughters of the Lamanites prisoner, and deprived them of chastity and virtue, which is most dear and precious above all things.
10 Then they murdered them in a most cruel way, torturing their bodies to death, and then they eat their flesh like wild beasts because of the hardness of their hearts, and they do it as a sign of bravery.
11 O my beloved son, how can a people like this, who are without civilization—only a few years since they were a civil and a delightsome people—how can they delight in so much abomination?
14 How can we expect that God will delay his hand against us in judgment?
15 My heart cries, Curses be to this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, wickedness, and abominations from your face!
16 There are many widows and their daughters who remain in Sherrizah, and whatever supplies the Lamanites did not carry away, the army of Zenephi has carried away, and left them to wander wherever they can for food, and many old women faint by the way and die.
17 My army is weak, and the armies of the Lamanites are between Sherrizah and me; and those who have fled to the army of Aaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality.
18 O the wickedness of my people! They have no order or mercy. I am only a man with the strength of a man, and I cannot enforce my commands any longer.
19 They have become strong in their evil distortions, being brutal, sparing none, not old or young; and they delight in everything except what is good; and the suffering of our women and children in all the land is greater than everything, so that tongue cannot tell, nor can it be written.
20 I dwell no longer on this horrible scene. You know the wickedness of this people, that they are without principle and past feeling, and their wickedness is greater than that of the Lamanites.
21 My son, I cannot recommend them to God for fear that he would strike me.
22 But I do recommend you to God, and I trust in Christ that you will be saved, and I pray to God that he will spare your life, to witness the return of his people to him, or their utter destruction because I know that they must die unless they repent and return to him.
23 If they die it will be like the Jaredites, because of the stubbornness of their hearts, looking for blood and revenge.
24 If they die, we know that many of our brethren have deserted to the Lamanites, and many more will also desert. So write a few things if you are spared and I perish and do not see you, but I trust that I may see you soon because I have sacred records to give you.
25 My son, be faithful in Christ, and I hope you will not be grieved by the things I have written, to weigh you down to death, but may Christ lift you up, and may his sufferings and death, and his appearance in body to our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.
26 May the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sits on the right hand of his power until all things become subject to him, be with you and stay with you forever. Amen.
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 to Christ, be perfected in Him, and sanctify your souls. About A.D. 421.
1 I, Moroni, write to my brethren, the Lamanites, and I want them to know that more than four hundred and twenty years have passed since the sign was given of the coming of Christ.
2 I seal up these records after I have spoken a few words by way of encouragement to you.
3 When you read these things, if it is wisdom in God that you should, I appeal to you to remember how merciful the Lord has been to men from the creation of Adam to the time you will receive these things and ponder them in your hearts.
4 When you receive these things, I encourage you to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are true; and if you ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will show the truth of it to you by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things.
6 Whatever is good is righteous and true, so nothing that is good denies the Christ, but acknowledges that he is.
7 You may know that he is by the power of the Holy Ghost, so I encourage you not to deny the power of God because he works by power according to the faith of men, the same today, tomorrow, and forever.
8 I encourage you not to deny the gifts of God, because they are many, and they come from the same God. These gifts are administered in different ways, but it is the same God who works in all of them, and they are given to men by the workings of the Spirit, for their benefit.
9 The Spirit of God gives to one person the ability to teach words of wisdom.
10 The same Spirit gives to another that he may teach the word of knowledge.
11 The Spirit gives to another great faith, and to another the gifts of healing;
12 To another that he may work mighty miracles;
13 To another that he may prophesy concerning all things;
14 To another the ability to see angels and ministering spirits;
15 To another all kinds of tongues;
16 To another the interpretation of languages and various tongues.
17 All these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ, and they come to every man separately, according to God’s will.
18 I appeal to you, my beloved brethren, that you remember that every good gift comes from Christ.
19 And I encourage you to remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts I have spoken, which are spiritual, will never be ended—except by the unbelief of men—as long as the world will stand.
20 So there must be faith, and if there must be faith there must also be hope, and if there must be hope there must also be charity.
21 Unless you have charity you cannot be saved in the kingdom of God, nor can you be saved in the kingdom of God if you don’t have faith, nor can you if you don’t have hope.
22 If you have no hope, you can only be in despair, and despair comes because of iniquity.
23 And Christ truly said to our fathers, If you have faith you can do all things that are necessary to me.
24 Now I speak to all the ends of the earth, that if the day comes when the power and gifts of God will be ended among you, it will be because of unbelief.
25 If this happens, misery will be given to men, because there will be none who do good among you, not one. Because if there is one among you who does good, he will work by the power and gifts of God.
26 Curses to them who will end these things and die, because they die in their sins and cannot be saved in the kingdom of God, and I say this according to the words of Christ, and I do not lie.
27 And I plead with you to remember these things, because the time speedily comes when you will know that I do not lie, because you will see me at the bar of God, and the Lord God will say to you, Did I not declare my words to you, which were written by this man, like one crying from the dead, even as one speaking out of the dust?
28 I declare these things as part of the fulfilling of the prophecies. And they will go forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God, and his word will sound forth from generation to generation.
29 And God will show to you that what I have written is true.
30 Again I encourage you to come to Christ, and grasp every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.
31 Awake and rise from the dust, O Jerusalem, and put on your beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen your supports and enlarge your borders forever, so you can never be stopped again, so the covenants of the Eternal Father—which he made with you, O house of Israel—may be fulfilled.
32 Come to Christ and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness. If you do this and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then his grace is sufficient for you, so you may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God you are perfect in Christ, you cannot deny the power of God.
33 If you are perfect in Christ by the grace of God, and don’t deny his power, then you are sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father to cause the remission of your sins, so you become holy, without blemish.
34 Now I say farewell to all. Soon I go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body will reunite and I am brought triumphant through the air to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both the living and the dead. Amen.