Mormon 8

(December 15, 2014)

                I can only imagine how difficult things were for Moroni at this time.  It is no wonder he thought he wasn’t long for the world – kin was an essential element of survival in those days, and I figure he was fairly ambivalent in how long he lived after the death of his entire society.  And yet, even in the face of those incredible negatives Moroni not only persevered but did so with a grateful heart.  He is someone that is well worth living up to.

                The next thought I had was on the mistakes of men.  I think of the ‘ageless’ Amos in 4 Nephi and how many people stumble on what could in fact be a mistake.  So let us consider that Mormon or a contemporary of Amos made a mistake in the record (or even that Joseph made an error in translation).  If Christ came to the Nephites, then none of the mistakes matter because the fact that Joseph got anything right demonstrates his prophetic calling.  There are, undoubtedly, mistakes of men in the scriptures (although there are less than at first it might appear).  But these mistakes do not somehow invalidate the work of the Lord – it is only argued that it does to excuse disobedience from the commandments.

                Finally, I thought of Moroni’s language about the day when miracles are done away with.  I think it likely that all people in all times felt like they were living in a time when miracles were done away with.  I know there are a large number of those people living in the world today.  But at the same time they declare that the days of miracles are over (if, in their opinion, they ever even existed) I find my life overflowing with miracles.  Some are improbable coincidences, some are brief moments of inspiration, some are moments of comfort and strength beyond my own being given, and (of course) at rare times the Lord has reached into my life and done things that refuse any explanation other than miracle.  One such miracle in a lifetime, a miracle that cannot be explained away by a scientific explanation (although I do believe the Lord works through natural means) and you realize that regardless of how others feel or what they believe, the days of miracles never went away.  One such experience turns all the arguments into empty words.