Day 71: Mormon 7-8

Welcome to Day 71...
                               

On his deathbed, Mormon expressed the importance of recognizing divine origin and how to be saved in the kingdom of God. With great love for his future descendants, he expressed the importance of keeping the commandments so it would be  “well with [them] in the day of judgment.” 

He ended his final record with, "If it so be that ye believe in Christ and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgement." And thus ended Mormon's record.

                         

His desolate son, Moroni. then records: "I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people....and whether they will slay me I know not...therefore I will write and hide up the record in the earth, and whither I go it mattereth not." 

Moroni was preserved to complete the Book of Mormon and evenhad some special visitors (Mormon 8:11) that gave his morale a MUCH needed boost.

Moroni prophesied of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and that "it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead" (Mormon 8:26). He warned of the consequences of rejecting it. He saw that the Book of Mormon would come in a day of great wickedness, when many would love worldly possessions more than God. He testified that  it would be of great worth during the spiritually dangerous conditions of the latter-days.

He even saw us! "Behold I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not.  But behold Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me." 

The Book of Mormon is a gift, prepared especially for us in the latter-days! It will give us the comfort and direction that we need to navigate turbulent times. 

• Opening Song: "Amazing Grace"

• Begin Study Session With Prayer
• Scripture Study: Mormon 7:8-9 (listen)
• Study Guide: (here)
• Video: Discussions on the Book of Mormon, Mormon 7-5

• Video: "An Angel From on High the Long, Long Silence Broke" by Gordon B. Hinckley  

            

• Video:"Prepared for Our Day" by Elder L. Tom Perry (Mormon 8:12–41)

• Video: "Written for Us Today"--President Ezra Taft Benson (Mormon 8:34–35)

             

                           
"Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing. And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts." Mormon 8:35-36

                     
"And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen." Moroni 7:10

We can remain faithful even in circumstances when we have to stand alone. Read the following statement by President Thomas S. Monson:

“As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? … May we ever be courageous and prepared to stand for what we believe, and if we must stand alone in the process, may we do so courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality we are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven” (“Dare to Stand Alone,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 60, 67).

“...all the faithful Saints, all of those who have endured to the end, depart this life with the absolute guarantee of eternal life. There is no equivocation, no doubt, no uncertainty in our minds. Those who have been true and faithful in this life will not fall by the wayside in the life to come. If they keep their covenants here and now and depart this life firm and true in the testimony of our blessed Lord, they shall come forth with an inheritance of eternal life.” --Bruce R. McConkie. “The Dead Who Die in the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1976, 106.

“Blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light.” Moroni prophesied of the Prophet Joseph Smith who was chosen to bring the Book of Mormon to the world ( Mormon 8:15–16). Many other ancient prophets were also aware of Joseph Smith and prayed for his success in translating and publishing the gold plates, thus fulfilling the purposes of God.(Mormon 8:23–25; D&C 10:46)

President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of the role of Joseph Smith in bringing forth the Book of Mormon: “The truth is, simply, that he was a prophet of God—nothing more and not one whit less! The scriptures did not come so much from Joseph Smith as they did through him. He was a conduit through which the revelations were given. The Prophet Joseph Smith was an unschooled farm boy. To read some of his early letters in the original shows him to be somewhat unpolished in spelling and grammar and in expression. That the revelations came through him in any form of literary refinement is nothing short of a miracle” (“We Believe All That God Has Revealed,” Ensign, May 1974, 94).

• Record impressions and favorite verses in your journal.

• Close study session with prayer and have a beautiful day!