Broken Heart & Contrite Spirit (Moroni 1-10)
Moroni 1
Separate yourself from the evils of this world. Always do
the will of the Lord especially if it is beyond what you have supposed or
previously thought.
Moroni 2
Christ spake to the twelve disciples he chose when he came
to the Nephites soon after his resurrection and laid his hands upon them. He
called them by name and told them to first, pray unto the Father in the name of
Jesus Christ and then they would be able to use the power of God to give the Holy
Ghost to those upon which they lay their hands.
Moroni 3
The twelve disciples were called the elders of the church.
The twelve disciples ordained priests and teachers. They did it in the manner
that was shown them by Jesus Christ. In mighty prayer they called upon the
Father in the name of Jesus Christ to be able to use the power of God to
ordain. Then right after their prayer they laid their hands upon those who were
to be priests and teachers. And the words they used while laying their hands
upon them were: “In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest, (or,
if he be a teacher) I ordain you to be a teacher, to preach repentance and
remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name
to the end. Amen.” The twelve disciples ordained these priests and teachers
according to how God revealed to them the particular gifts and callings of God
for each man. The twelve disciples ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost
which was received by Jesus Christ and was in them.
Moroni 4
Administering the sacrament. The disciples and priests
administered the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church. The whole church
knelt down in prayer while an elder or priest prayed to the father in the name
of Jesus Christ saying (for the bread): “O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee
in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the
souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the
body of thy son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they
are willing to take upon them the name of thy son, and always remember him, and
keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his
spirit to be with them. Amen.”
Moroni 5
(for the wine) “O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in
the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls
of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood
of thy son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God the
Eternal Father, that they may have his spirit to be with them. Amen.”
All those who partook of the sacrament did so even until
they were full. Be full in the spirit of the Lord.
Moroni 6
You must have a broken heart and a contrite spirit and
witness to the church of Christ that you have truly repented of your sins
before you are baptized. You may receive baptism when you commit to take upon
yourself the name of Christ with a determination to serve him to the end. Once
baptized you are named among the church of Christ.
Christ’s church is a group of individuals who have been
baptized and that meet together often. In his church, you fast and pray and
speak one with another concerning the welfare of each other’s souls. Iniquity
is not permitted in Christ’s church. If you commit iniquities and do not repent
of them then your name will be blotted out and you will not be numbered among
the church of Christ. Three witnesses are needed to testify against you and
your iniquities before your name can be blotted out. If you repent and seek for
forgiveness, with real intent, you are forgiven. Meetings and gatherings as a
church are to be conducted after the manner of the spirit and power of the Holy
Ghost. The power of the Holy Ghost leads you whether to preach, exhort, pray,
supplicate or sing.
Moroni 7
Mormon spoke concerning faith, hope and charity. Mormon only
speaks after being called to do so by the Lord, Jesus Christ. He spoke with
much love and concern for his beloved brethren. He spoke to the church, meaning
the peaceable true followers of Christ, those who had hope to enter into “the
rest of the Lord”.
You will know a peaceable true follower of Christ because of
their good works, doing good with real intent. Doing good without real intent
is evil. What rests in your heart truly defines you whether it be good or evil.
So, it is very important to know that “a man being a servant of the devil
cannot follow Christ and if he follows Christ he cannot be a servant of the
devil.”
All things good cometh of God and all things evil cometh of
the devil. Things that are evil inviteth and enticeth to do evil continually.
Things that are good inviteth and enticeth to do good continually. Everything
that invites and entices to do good, to love God, and to serve him is inspired
of God. Do not mix up that which is evil to be of God or that which is good to
be of the devil. As your knowledge increases you will be able to see clearer
and clearer even until you know with a surety exactly what is of good (God) and
what is of evil (the devil), even a perfect knowledge, “as the daylight is from
the dark night”.
You have the spirit of Christ given to you that you may know
the good from evil. To judge in the way the Lord would have his children judge
is to discern between what is of good and what is of evil. That which inviteth
and persuadeth you to do good and believe in Christ is sent forth by the power
and gift of Christ so that thru faith and repentance you may know with a
perfect knowledge it is of God. And when your understanding of things that are
good strengthens so will your understanding of things that are evil strengthen.
Things that “persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny
him, and serve not God” you will begin to see and understand more and more to
the until that point of which you will know with a perfect knowledge that it is
of the devil. This happens simultaneously as you begin to see and understand
things that are good to be of God and likewise continuing to the point where
you know it with a perfect knowledge.
You must come to understand who Jesus Christ is. What are
his attributes? What would he do? As you begin to understand and see things of
God, recognizing them as good and things of the devil, recognizing them as
evil, you then will be able to judge which path to take. Take head, be very
careful that you judge to take a good path, for if you judge wrongfully you
will be judged according to that path. You need to search diligently to know
Christ and recognize what is good from what is evil. Do that which is good and
be sure not to condemn it.
You need to understand and know all good things, thru faith
and repentance. God sends messengers to those who have diligently seeked to
know him thru faith. Messengers deliver messages from God to you that teach you
more about the coming of Christ unto you and “in Christ there should come every
good thing”. God speaks to prophets “by his own mouth” and declares things of
Christ that are eternal. There are many different ways God manifests to his
children, all good cometh of Christ. By visitations of angels and Christ,
prophets of old, “our fathers” began to exercise faith in Christ and they did
“lay hold upon every good thing”. They learned thru faith all they could with
the Holy Ghost, then they learned all they could with visits from angels and
then they learned all they could from Christ directly face to face, becoming
all things good just as Christ has become. Many are now one with God because of
their faith and repentance. Visits from angels and Christ and Heavenly Father
are miracles and will happen to all those you diligently (with real intent)
seek to know God with an unshaken faith and desire to know and understand him
and his eternal ways.
Christ asks you to repent of not coming unto him and being
caught up in the world by coming unto him thru faith in him, Jesus Christ, and
being baptized in his name and having faith in him that you may be saved. If
you receive not these miracles of visitations of angels and Christ himself then
you are to blame. Christ does not change, he ceases not to show himself unto
those who have faith in him. It is unbelief that prevents you from seeing
angels, Christ and Heavenly Father.
Be meek and have faith in Christ. Without faith in Christ
you are not numbered among his church. Faith in Jesus Christ brings visitations
and Jesus Christ himself, hence without visitations of at least the Holy Ghost
and the receipt of the Lord’s messages you are not numbered in his church.
Be meek and lowly in heart, truly humble, asking God what to
do and to show you the way. Only he knows the way, therefore, you must ask him
and listen to the Holy Ghost for directions. You must have hope, hope to hear
God and even see him face to face, then you can have faith in him. You also
must have charity. Faith, hope and charity are attributes of Christ. These
attributes are what you must learn from him. “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, believe all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things.” Charity does not fail. Without charity you will fail. If you are
charitable like Christ is you will not fail again. You must pray unto the
father with all your heart that you will be filled with love, even charity. All
of the true followers of Christ are filling their hearts with a completeness of
love. In doing this, true followers, become one with God. This is his way.
Moroni 8
Pray continually to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ
for yourself and others to be as one, being one purpose with the Lord enduring
to the end. The Lord Jesus Christ came to this world to call sinners to
repentance. He comes for those who are not whole. Children, like Adam and Eve
in the Garden of Eden before they partook of the forbidden fruit, are whole and
incapable of sin. One is only capable of sin once one understands good from
evil. Therefore, children do not require baptism. After (not before) falling
into transgression, as Adam fell, requires repentance and baptism in order to
become exalted. Baptism is unto repentance. “The first fruits of repentance is
baptism and baptism cometh by faith unto fulfilling the commandments and
fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins.”
Remission of sins brings meekness and lowliness of heart.
Because next, when you have meekness and lowliness of heart you then will
receive visitations of the Holy Ghost and all that are one with God, the
comforter. Perfect love endureth by diligence unto prayer until the end comes
and all those who have become one with God will dwell with him. Pride destroys
nations. If you have pride you must repent. Stay humble to keep the spirit
striving with you. Pray for those that are lost in pride that repentance will
come to them. Do not put down all power and authority that comes from God by
setting up or accepting simpler, seemingly easier paths or ways. Those ways do
not lead you to God. Listen to the Holy Ghost in order to stay the way to
Christ.
Moroni 9
You must labor diligently to become like God, the Father,
and his Son, Jesus Christ. If you cease to labor in faith and repentance then
you will be brought under condemnation. This is why you are here on earth in
your tabernacle of clay, to conquer all unrighteousness and become like Jesus
Christ. Christ has conquered all unrighteousness, as he was shown how from the
Father, and you must follow him as he followed the Father. Faith in Jesus
Christ, repentance of unrighteousness (things he would not do) and this by
becoming as a little child – humbling yourself, being meek, lowly of heart and
full of love. Depend on the Lord to guide you. Ask him everything. Follow him.
Be very careful of grievous things that when dwelled upon
bring hatred and revenge. Dwell not on grievous things but dwell on things
eternal. Dwell on that hope to be as Jesus Christ and the attaining of the
glory and eternal life that he has…let this rest in your mind forever.
Moroni 10
Remember how merciful the Lord has been to you and to all
men in all times, keep that in your heart. Pray to the father in the name of
Jesus Christ to find his truths. Look to see and ask to understand what is of
God and what is of man and what is of the devil. It is by the power of the Holy
Ghost the Lord, God, manifests truths unto you and this after searching, asking
with a sincere heart and with real intent having faith in Jesus Christ. This is
how you are to find truth of all things.
Everything that is good is just and true and will never deny
the Christ but only acknowledges that he is the way, the truth (the light) and
the good. He is love. Deny not the power of God and deny yourself not of faith
in God, for it is according to faith that he worketh.
Many gifts are given by the spirit of God and nine are noted
here by Moroni: teach word of wisdom, teach word of knowledge, exceeding faith,
healing, work mighty miracles, prophesy, beholding angels & ministering
angels, speak all kinds of tongues and interpret languages of divers tongues.
Every good gift comes thru the spirit of Christ. These gifts
come unto man according to their faith in Jesus Christ and the greater your
faith and understanding the greater the gifts. God does not change, so think
not that because you have no gifts its God’s doing. He does no such thing. He
gives freely to those who have faith. If you have no gifts, you must increase
your faith in Jesus Christ for this is how you are able to receive his gifts.
Have hope, not despair. Have faith, not fear. Have charity,
not selfishness. Unbelief keeps you from knowing god. It keeps you from the
power and gifts of God.
You must not put away your faith, believing to yourself that
you need not receive God’s power and gifts, for in doing so you choose fear and
where fear is found God is not. If you do this you will die in your sins and
you will not be saved in the kingdom of God. Fear in this manner is a sin and
putting away faith is just that. Come to Jesus Christ, ask him whatever you
should do, everything. Increase your faith and understanding in God and attain
each and every good gift and touch not evil nor the unclean. You cannot dwell
with God if you are found with any evil ways, thoughts, fears or tendencies.
