Scripture Hero Spotlight: Mormon

We’re coming up on the end of another year and having studied The Book of Mormon during Come Follow Me this year, I wanted to stop and appreciate the ancient American prophet who made it possible for us to have this volume of scripture. As such, here are three lessons I appreciate from the life of Mormon. 

A Life of Surrender 

His abridgement of the Nephite record was Mormon’s labor of love. All the while, his nation was falling into apostasy. He knew his life’s work wouldn’t be for his people, but he did it anyway. I admire the faith that it must have taken for him to pour his heart and soul into this volume of scripture, surrendering to his faith in God. He trusted that his life’s work wouldn’t be a waste and that as he followed the Lord’s directions.

My favorite scripture is Words of Mormon 1:7 in which he says, “And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.” This scripture was in reference to including the small plates in his record, but it’s applicable for the full book–Mormon had to trust that his life’s work would amount to something. He may have been a prophet, but it still took faith and surrender to put his heart into results he’d never see.

A Life of Loneliness 

During the pandemic, I wrote about the isolation of Moroni, son of Mormon. While I maintain that Moroni was the champion of social isolation, Mormon was right behind him. This father and son duo lived in a time when their nation was becoming progressively wicked and vicious (sound familiar?). Sometimes I think our world has become wicked beyond belief–seriously, I can't imagine it getting worse without spiking my anxiety–but if you read the things that Mormon witnessed, it must have been lonely for a follower of Jesus Christ. 

Our world may not be as wicked as Mormon’s, but it’s pretty heinous. And being surrounded by people who would divide us and hate each other. And with our interconnected world of social media and anger, it can be easy to withdraw and isolate. Despite that interconnectedness, it's a lonely world in which we live. But despite being surrounded by evil, Mormon loved his people and lived faithfully. What an example!

A Life of Grief

There’s a reason Mormon was able to write about faith, hope, and charity in the letter now published as Moroni 7. In a world of pain and wickedness, Mormon never failed to love his people, even when it was painful. Mormon was called to preach and prophesy to his people, but they actively rejected him. To say he must have felt discouraged would be an understatement. I can’t imagine the grief he felt when he realized that his people had chosen to take themselves beyond redemption. 

In addition to the spiritual death of his nation, we can safely assume Mormon lost plenty of family members to physical death in the wars of his time. We know Moroni outlived him, but we don’t know anything about Mormon’s wife… but we know some of the horrific things the Lamanites did to the women they captured. And even if the men he served with were wicked, Mormon was full of charity, so their deaths would have elicited quite the complex string of emotions, to say the least.

Conclusion

As much as we know about Mormon from his record, I wish we knew more about how he stayed strong and faithful through such depressing circumstances in his life. Mormon had every reason to despair, and he definitely wept many times, but he refused to abandon his hope that was in Jesus Christ. How do you think he did it? How did he stay strong in a time of such awful wickedness? 

Though President Nelson has taught us the importance of using the proper name of the Church, the world still often refers to us as "Mormon". That's quite the legacy of faith to live up to.

Scripture Hero Spotlight: Captain Moroni

Flashback: 2010, my first area and first companion on my mission. Elder Call’s favorite scripture (his family scripture) was Alma 44:4

“Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.”

It’s a wonderfully inspirational scripture and I’m reminded of it and my time with Elder Call whenever I see a “444” on a license plate, a patient’s chart, or anything else. Despite how solemn this scripture describes faith and testimony, I also have ingrained into my mind the Moroni voice that my trainer would use when reciting this scripture.

Silly missionary anecdotes aside, I’m grateful to have studied the military career of Captain Moroni this month in our Come Follow Me lessons. He wasn’t a prophet, like Alma or Helaman, but he’s a wonderful example of stalwart faith in action. So as we finish up Moroni’s story and the Book of Alma, I want to highlight a couple lessons learned from the Nephite captain.

A Man of Conviction

“And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.” (Alma 46:12)

The example of Alma 44:4 could be an example of this as well, but there are so many instances of Moroni demonstrating his faith and conviction as a Nephite leader. The Title of Liberty and boldly sharing his testimony, despite the opinions of the king-men, is inspirational for those of us living in the latter-days. Social media and the internet only make it easier to be intimidated by what seems to be popular opinion–even if it’s not the popular opinion, it’s usually still shouted loudly enough to seem that way. Bearing simple testimony, as Moroni did on his rent coat, can be more impactful than all the loud voices screaming on the internet.

A Man of Faith

“Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.” (Alma 48:7)

Not only did Moroni live his faith and convictions, but he taught them to his people. He was a military captain but he was also a teacher in the faith. He knew that despite the physical wars they were engaged in, the more important war was for their souls. In fact, aren’t most of the war chapters frequently taken as allegories for the spiritual warfare we face on a day-to-day basis? Decades ago, President Packer said, “The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” (General Conference, October 1986) I truly believe that if we internalize the gospel and are “trying to be like Jesus” there would be no wars (or at least fewer) and Captain Moroni’s job would have been obsolete.

A Man of Strength 

“Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” (Alma 48:17)

I love Captain Moroni as an example of strength against the power of the devil. On my mission, we talked about being hell-shakers and I’ve thought of that often in the years since. Captain Moroni is one of the few mortal individuals in scripture or otherwise described to have faith so great to impact the adversary’s power. While becoming perfect sometimes seems unachievable (because we can’t be perfect in this life) the example of Captain Moroni gives me hope that the amount of faith to be a hell-shaker is attainable in this life. That’s a “short-term” goal I can shoot for.

A Man of Service

“Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.” (Alma 48:19)

This scripture talks about Helaman and the spiritual leaders being “no less serviceable” than Moroni, but that statement also works in reverse. Sometimes I’ve felt that I’ll never match the strength and spirituality of powerful spiritual leaders who have impacted me–Elder Holland, my mission president, and more. Stories like this help to remind me that I don’t need to be in the spotlight to make a difference in the spiritual lives of the people around me.

A Man of Passion

“And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.” (Alma 61:9)

A few years ago I wrote about Moroni’s letter to Pahoran, so I won’t rewrite that lesson here (just the link). Suffice it to say that I admire Captain Moroni’s passion for protecting his people from harm, physically and spiritually. Even when I overstep and make mistakes, they can be used for the benefit of those around me. Moroni never wanted to bully his way into getting what he wanted, but he did speak boldly and fiercely for the right. 

Heading into the fall season and the last portion of the Book of Mormon, I look forward to reading the pivotal visit of the Savior in 3 Nephi and the final lessons from Mormon and Moroni. For right now, I’ll bask in the lessons I’ve learned from the Captain himself.

Scripture Hero Spotlight: Nephi

We've spent the past three months of Come Follow Me study curriculum learning from the words of Nephi. For the first few weeks of the year, my four-year-old would refuse to go to Primary by herself, so I was blessed to revisit some classic Nephi songs, inspiring this new blog post series. So while our Creature Features and Character Spotlights gush about fictional characters and monsters, today I wanted address some of the reasons I love Nephi and what I've learned from his writings over the years.

"I Will Go and Do!"

One of the things I'll always respect most about Nephi is his faith. Not just because there's a cool Primary song about it and a Living Scriptures song too. But during the episode of retrieving the brass plates, Nephi had no clue what was going to happen, like his brothers. However, unlike Laman and Lemuel, he held to the base belief that Heavenly Father would provide a way to accomplish his work. In a recent Sunday School lesson about the Isaiah chapters of 2 Nephi, President Nelson's interpretation of Israel meaning "Let God prevail" was mentioned. And maybe this was obvious to some, but it struck me that day how I need to get out of God's way and "let [Him] prevail." If I listen to my faith, instead of my fears (and other feelings), it's easier to trust God work "for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28)

The Iron Rod

Lines from Nephi's vision trigger powerful memories for me from the Hill Cumorah Pageant, which I will always love. But setting aside the vision as a whole and looking just at the rod of iron, which has been interpreted as the word of God, and it's easy to see how important the scriptures and the law were to Nephi. Multiple times it was stated that their descendants would need the law to keep the doctrine pure (that was the whole reason for going back for the brass plates). Add to that how much Nephi obviously loved Isaiah and other prophets, it's plain to see how much he feasted on the words of Christ.

Nephi's Boat

I will forever have a sweet affection for this scripture story, because it was my scene as a ten-year-old in the Hill Cumorah Pageant (I was Laman's son). Nephi's insistence that he could do all things that God asked him to do hearkens back to getting the brass plates. But in addition to that, he didn't let his greatest opposition stop him in building the ship or in leading it to the Promised Land. This story illustrates the love he felt for his brothers and how much he hoped for them to change, a hope unfulfilled when he recorded these stories on the small plates years later. But because of the Plan of Salvation and work for our ancestors, Nephi's hope might not be in vain.

The Psalm of Nephi

He called himself a "wretched man" but I think I'd be in pretty good shape if I were as wretched as him. That being said, Nephi's Psalm (2 Nephi 4) reminds me that even the most valiant disciples have their faults. We don't know what sins so easily beset Nephi, but that's just what makes this poetry so applicable to all of his readers. "Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul." These words always bolster my soul and keep me hoping.

Glorying in Isaiah

While notoriously difficulty among modern readers, Nephi loved reading the words of Isaiah and likening his words to his people. I've thought for a few years how people count themselves out when it comes to understanding Isaiah. While I still don't understand most of Isaiah's words, some of my favorite powerful scripture verses come from verses Nephi quoted from Isaiah. And according to the Follow Him podcast, Isaiah was influential in many of Nephi's personal writings as well. So even if it takes the rest of my life to understand him, I'll keep trying.

If you liked this spotlight on the prophet Nephi, let us know your favorite part of Nephi's story on our social media pages. Also let us know if there's a Book of Mormon hero you want spotlighted as this year goes on.