The Book of Mormon Part 137
Moroni 7:16 16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of G.o.d.
Moroni 7:17 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not G.o.d, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.
Moroni 7:18 18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
Moroni 7:19 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.
Moroni 7:20 20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?
Moroni 7:21 21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.
Moroni 7:22 22 For behold, G.o.d knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.
Moroni 7:23 23 And G.o.d also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.
Moroni 7:24 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.
Moroni 7:25 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of G.o.d, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.
Moroni 7:26 26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of G.o.d. And as sure as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.
Moroni 7:27 27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of G.o.d, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
Moroni 7:28 28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
Moroni 7:29 29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
Moroni 7:30 30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of G.o.dliness.
Moroni 7:31 31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
Moroni 7:32 32 And by so doing, the Lord G.o.d prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pa.s.s the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.
Moroni 7:33 33 And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.
Moroni 7:34 34 And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.
Moroni 7:35 35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and G.o.d will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
Moroni 7:36 36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
Moroni 7:37 37 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 7:38 38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.
Moroni 7:39 39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.
Moroni 7:40 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
Moroni 7:41 41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
Moroni 7:42 42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
Moroni 7:43 43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.
Moroni 7:44 44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before G.o.d, 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 7:45 45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Moroni 7:46 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--
Moroni 7:47 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Moroni 7:48 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of G.o.d; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.
Moroni 8 Chapter 8
Moroni 8:1 1 An epistle of my father Mormon, written to me, Moroni; and it was written unto me soon after my calling to the ministry. And on this wise did he write unto me, saying:
Moroni 8:2 2 My beloved son, Moroni, I rejoice exceedingly that your Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to his ministry, and to his holy work.
Moroni 8:3 3 I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto G.o.d the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end.
Moroni 8:4 4 And now, my son, I speak unto you concerning that which grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me that there should disputations rise among you.
Moroni 8:5 5 For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your little children.
Moroni 8:6 6 And now, my son, I desire that ye should labor diligently, that this gross error should be removed from among you; for, for this intent I have written this epistle.
Moroni 8:7 7 For immediately after I had learned these things of you I inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And the word of the Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, saying:
Moroni 8:8 8 Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your G.o.d. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circ.u.mcision is done away in me.
Moroni 8:9 9 And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of G.o.d unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before G.o.d, that ye should baptize little children.
Moroni 8:10 10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach--repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.
Moroni 8:11 11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.
Moroni 8:12 12 But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, G.o.d is a partial G.o.d, and also a changeable G.o.d, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!
Moroni 8:13 13 Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless h.e.l.l.
Moroni 8:14 14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity, for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to h.e.l.l.
Moroni 8:15 15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that G.o.d saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism.
Moroni 8:16 16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from G.o.d; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.