In my previous post I explained how 2 Nephi 28 is directed at the corrupt leadership of the LDS Church, or rather the corporation that pretends to be the Lord’s restored church. One cannot deny that Nephi was incredibly direct in his statements once one realizes just how applicable the fulfillments of each are in our day. However, Nephi wasn’t the only one to condemn the actions of the corrupt leadership in our day. Prior to his decision to include the Jaredite record and some other writings, Moroni felt that his words that comprise Mormon chapters 8 and 9 would be his farewell message to the world prior to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
I also mentioned in my previous post that this chapter is the one that fully explains the condemnation that has rested upon the church for the majority of its existence since 1832. As such, let’s dig in.
Mormon 8
1 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.
Moroni spends less time introducing himself here than mentioning that he has been given an assignment to fulfill his father, Mormon’s, final wish. He goes on to explain why beginning in verse 3.
2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.
It should be noted that, at this point, the distinction of the names of Nephites and Lamanites no longer refers to descendants of Nephi and Laman, respectively. 4 Nephi 37 and 38 explain that the true believers and worshippers of Christ were the Nephites while the Lamanites were those who rejected the gospel as taught by the resurrected Jesus Christ. This distinction lasted until after the destruction of the Nephites as described above.
Also in regards to the battle at Cumorah: it is indeed the same hill Cumorah that Moroni led Joseph Smith to in order to retrieve the gold plates. Ancient American magazine provides numerous evidences and discoveries that the Nephite nation may well have been the Hopewell civilization rather than the people living in Mesoamerica as the church has claimed for the past 100 years but has failed to provide convincing evidence of the claim. Joseph Smith stated through inspiration that the Nephite city of Manti was located in current-day Randolph County, Missouri and that the River Sidon is the Mississippi River. As the Nephites retreated from the advancing Lamanite armies, they headed northeast towards current-day New York and Cumorah.
3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.
Moroni doesn’t say how he survived but I surmise that he did not go into the battle where Mormon died. He needed to stay alive to act as a special witness of the destruction of the Nephites in accordance of Nephi’s original vision and prophecy that the Nephites would be utterly destroyed by the time 400 years after the resurrected Jesus Christ’s appearance to the “other sheep” on the American continent (John 10:16).
At this point Moroni’s ambition is to finish up what he’s been commanded to do and be ready to live or die under any circumstance. He doesn’t know what will happen, but he’s satisfied in knowing that he’s completed his mission.
5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.
Moroni is acting as Mormon’s second witness to Mormon’s work of abridging the large plates of Nephi onto the gold plates. Unfortunately, he simply did not have the means to expand the record very much for the simple reason that doing so would have alerted his presence and location to the Lamanites. As much as he says that it didn’t matter what happened to him, he still wanted to live.
This is Moroni’s full witness statement of the fulfillment of Nephi’s original prophecy.
7 And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.
At this point the Nephites no longer had a prayer. This was a parallel of the destruction of the city of Ammonihah back in the time of Alma the younger as the Nephites had become prideful to the point of believing they were invincible. But once the Lamanites scattered their armies and came upon small Nephite settlements, they left no survivors.
8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.
Once again, Moroni is pointing out the fulfillment of prophecy as the Lord promised Mormon that vengeance was His and the Nephites had crossed beyond the point of no return. The Lamanites weren’t satiated simply with the destruction of their enemies, so they turned against each other to determine who was the strongest. However, Moroni does not mention one particular thing: The Gadianton robbers were alive and well at this point so the war may well have been the Lamanites vs. the Gadiantons.
9 And now, behold, I say no more concerning them, for there are none save it be the Lamanites and robbers that do exist upon the face of the land.
Moroni didn’t know what would happen in regards to the end of that war but dropped the subject because he still had to deliver his father’s message on what little room he had remaining on the plates.
10 And there are none that do know the true God save it be the disciples of Jesus, who did tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great that the Lord would not suffer them to remain with the people; and whether they be upon the face of the land no man knoweth.
Why did the Lord take the Three Nephites away? Because the Nephites were so beyond the point of no return that even Christ Himself would have been rejected had He been among them. The Three were surrogates of Jesus Christ due to the miracles they performed and the words they taught. But the Lord, knowing the extraordinary hard-heartedness of the people, knew that such wicked people did not even deserve the time of day from Him.
Yet another second witness statement from Moroni.
12 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.
The original Book of Mormon has numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes, but it is still the translation that the Lord personally approved of in D&C 27. Those who receive the record in their heart will not judge the imperfections as a “learned man” would and will be blessed with greater things due to their desire for spiritual truth. Moroni is telling people here to focus on the pure message contained in the Book rather than worrying about mistakes in the writing or translation process after its restoration. Those who do will experience situations much like Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery did when, after they baptized each other following the appearance of John the Baptist, the spirit of God rested upon them and the mysteries of the scriptures were revealed to them. In the final sentence, Moroni is again lamenting that he simply does not have the means to tell us more on his own.
13 Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son of Mormon, and my father was a descendant of Nephi.
Moroni’s finally gotten around to giving a full introduction of himself to the reader now that he has finished delivering his father’s message about witnessing the destruction of the Nephites. From this point on, Moroni’s words are his own.
14 And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless.
We can reflect that it took Joseph Smith four years of repenting before Moroni allowed Joseph to receive the plates because his mind wandered into greed due to the gold value of the plates and because he failed to honor a woman, Emma, as a foreordained witness. If anyone had ever tried to sell the plates, either that person would have been struck down or no one would have dared to buy them knowing full well the dangers to themselves from other greedy men. The exact importance of the record to God is further explained in the next verse.
15 For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of God; for God wills that it shall be done with an eye single to his glory, or the welfare of the ancient and long dispersed covenant people of the Lord.
The Lord had guardian angels watching over the hill Cumorah during the entire time between Moroni’s final farewells until Joseph Smith was led to retrieve the plates. If anyone who had not been called of God tried to retrieve the plates, he would have been killed or deterred.
16 And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God.
Despite the fact that the Book of Mormon has been translated and is available today, this verse has not yet been fulfilled! The Book of Mormon has indeed been brought out of the earth, but its “coming to light” does not simply refer to the fact that it is translated and available for people to read as it has not yet “come unto the knowledge of the people”. The reason why is the answer to why the Mormon Church is under condemnation. That answer will be given in the proceeding verses, but Moroni first gives a stern warning against those who will reject the Book of Mormon entirely for various frivolous reasons.
17 And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire.
Moroni knew that he and his father were human, and that whoever translated the record would be human, so there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be flaws of any kind. Moroni also admits that even he and Mormon very well could have made a mistake in the abridgement process, but from what they knew, they had done well.
God Himself has testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. If anyone wants to try and challenge that, they get to take it up with God.
18 And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smitten—let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord.
Why is it forbidden? Men do not have any right to give that kind of a commandment to another man.
19 For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he that smiteth shall be smitten again, of the Lord.
Those who attempt to challenge God and His will are only given the same in return. They have their reward.
20 Behold what the scripture says—man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.
The final portion of the sentence is a word-for-word quotation of what the Lord told Mormon after the Nephites had hammered the final nail into their society’s coffin in Mormon 3:15. Yet again Moroni is acting in his role as a second witness to these things.
21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord who are the house of Israel, and shall say: We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel—the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire;
Moroni is using this portion to teach a valuable lesson on the potential consequences of misusing free agency. If agency didn’t exist, such an action by those who he is describing here wouldn’t even be possible. There is more to this verse, but I’ve saved that explanation for the conclusion.
The Lord re-states this in D&C 1:38.
23 Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto you, that those saints who have gone before me, who have possessed this land, shall cry, yea, even from the dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth he will remember the covenant which he hath made with them.
Once again, another second witness statement as the resurrected Jesus Christ told the Nephites to search the prophecies of Isaiah first and foremost. He is also reassuring those who have gone on before him that the word of the Lord will not pass away.
24 And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And he knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them, neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word.
While Moroni doesn’t name names, he is referring to people like the brother of Jared, Moses, Alma, Amulek, Nephi and Lehi the sons of Helaman, the Three Nephites and many others. These same promises are made available to all saints today as well upon the condition of their faithfulness.
25 And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth.
The Lord specifically told Enos that He had already promised his father, Jacob, that He would preserve the records for the sake of the Lamanites. There is no doubt that everyone who the records were entrusted with had the same attitude that they’d be able to preserve them until the end.
26 And no one need say they shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it; for out of the earth shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and 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.
Moroni is now beginning to reach the similar points that Nephi made back in 2 Nephi 28. However, he is not simply talking about the coming forth of the translation of the Book of Mormon itself, but he is referring to what he said in verse 16 about it being brought forth into the light because the conditions described in the following verses simply were not happening in the world at the time.
27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness.
See 2 Nephi 26:22 and 2 Nephi 28:9 for Nephi’s prophecy of these secret combinations and works of darkness. Remember that these things are taking place within the church itself against the pure followers of Christ.
28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches.
See my comments for 2 Nephi 28:3-5.
29 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
This past decade alone has seen some of the greatest and most powerful natural disasters in history. The 2004 earthquake in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2011 earthquake in Japan are some of the more notable examples. However, there have been countless others all over the world that simply do not get the same amount of media coverage. One has to actively search for such information.
Since the United States began its aerial assault on Afghanistan in October 2001, it has been in a state of constant warfare in the Middle East while many politicians and lawyers today are calling not only for an escalation of these ways, but also new attacks/fronts/wars in other areas. The church is silent on such issues despite the directive in D&C 98 to renounce war and proclaim peace. Church members are led to believe that offensive invasions of foreign nations are a way to “open” the countries for missionary work contrary to the teachings of the Book of Mormon. This also doesn’t even begin to cover the skirmishes that countless other countries are involved in right now either.
31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.
See my comments for 2 Nephi 28:8-9.
32 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins.
While Nephi did not mention priestcraft 2 Nephi 28, he did say this about it in 2 Nephi 26:29, “He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.” However, remember that this is not directed at Christian faiths in general, but at the corporate LDS church and the splinter groups created after Joseph Smith’s death.
The corporate church literally holds its members’ salvation for ransom in the form of needing to be a full tithe payer in order to “be found worthy” of holding a temple recommend. People who do not or cannot pay a full tithe are judged as “unfaithful,” despite the fact that the members have absolutely no idea exactly what their tithes are being used for. They are told to trust in the arm of flesh in regards to these tithing funds and that they will be blessed in doing so.
33 O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God; for behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled.
Moroni has stopped talking about the time wherein the Book of Mormon will come to light and is now directing his words solely at the members of the restored church. We already know that it is run by bankers, businessmen, lawyers, doctors, and used car salesmen in order to bring in as much money as possible. But the second question is the more important one: Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? In 1837, the Book of Mormon received a second printing, but the text had been altered with over 3,000 significant, unauthorized changes that not only altered the identity of God, but also fulfilled Nephi’s prophecy of the plain and precious truths being removed from both the Bible and Book of Mormon!
The unauthorized alteration to the Book of Mormon from its pure translated form is the greatest single reason why the LDS church is cursed by God! This is nothing compared to the condemnation for “treating lightly” the message in the Book of Mormon in 1832. The record and message of the Book of Mormon cannot “come to light” as described in verse 16 until the church repents and returns to the original 1830 version or until God makes known someone who has been called from outside of the hierarchy to restore the original version and let the church condemn itself!
34 Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.
Here Moroni partially refers to the prophesied cleansing of the church. I went into detail on that in a recent post. The other part refers to great and wonderful miracles and events that we currently can’t even conceive of.
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.
We need to imagine this as if Moroni was the sole speaker at a General Conference. He speaks to both the members and the leaders in the same degree. He not only saw the growth of the church, but also its corruption and cleansing. He saw how the corrupt leaders will try to hide their actions, but also how they’ll ultimately fail in doing so.
36 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.
See my comments for 2 Nephi 28:11-14.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
The church is more focused on maintaining its image than actually doing God’s will! The “brethren” will not act like the prophets of the Book of Mormon and Old Testament because it will not only turn the people of the world against the church, it will hurt the church financially in terms of its investments and monetary dealings. Rather than “the prophet” dealing with affairs related to the church, it is done through a public relations department while the church leaders spend money on pet projects rather than helping the poor and the needy.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
Hypocrisy is the practice that Jesus Christ condemned the most. He absolutely hated the actions of the Pharisees for their complete and utter hypocrisy. Moroni is condemning the same hypocritical actions of the church leaders today because they care more about their money and their positions rather than becoming true Christ-like people and actually serving the members! Not only that, the October 2011 General Conference proves that the leaders do not preach the gospel, but rather their own message of blind obedience and prophet worship while making a mockery of God’s commandments to love God and love they neighbor with everything else branching out from there.
39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?
This is essentially a repeat of verse 37 done in question form and not only does it add emphasis to the wrongful actions, it is also a question that the corrupt leaders will be forced to answer at the judgment bar of God.
40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?
Sins of omission are far worse than sins of commission. Corrupt leaders truly do not understand how much of a burden leadership is. Not only are they held responsible for their own actions, but for the wicked actions of a people that they fail to properly teach. In short: The sins of the people are held on the leaders’ heads because the leaders failed to accomplish their assigned missions. The Lord will have His vengeance for the people that corrupt leaders have wronged and failed.
41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.
This final verse isn’t as nice as the final verse in 2 Nephi 28. Moroni is reminding the corrupt people that the time they have left to repent is quickly running out. In fact, Moroni makes no mention of the fact that they do have time left to repent because he has just witnessed the destruction of his unrepentant people.
Conclusion
As we can see, both Nephi and Moroni did not hold back in warning the church members today of the absolute wrongdoings and corruption that they foresaw. To “treat lightly’ the message of the Book of Mormon is to fail to recognize the true application of the verses and prophecies within these two chapters as well as the rest of the book as a whole. Why did the prophets in the Book warn so much about priestcraft and secret combinations? Because they saw that the same practices and people would infiltrate the restored church. If these things weren’t prophesied to happen, then Mormon would not have included them in his abridgement because we already know how much he lamented the fact that he couldn’t even include 1% of the entire record.
D&C 26 states that the church members are the ones who are truly in charge of the direction that the church takes. Until they awaken to the current situation in regards to the corrupt leadership and repent of their own prideful actions that have allowed the leaders to get away with what they’ve done, nothing will change and the church will remain cursed because of these things. Fortunately, the actions of the church leaders in regards to political affairs and other prospects that they have no business being involved with are causing multitudes of saints to start asking questions and, no matter what the corrupt leaders try to do to “reign in” such actions, the corruption will fall. How do I know this? See verses 21 and 22. Once people begin to realize just who the Book of Mormon was written for and exactly what it is warning about, the message becomes clear as day and does its role in setting people free.
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