# Moroni 7

*Paraphrase*

I, Moroni, want to share some words from my father Mormon. He spoke about faith, hope, and love—teaching these things to the people in the synagogue they’d built as their place of worship.

### Mormon Teaches About Faith, Hope, and Love

Here’s what he said: “I speak to you, my dear friends, by God’s grace—the grace of the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s his will and his calling on my life that lets me stand before you now. I’m speaking to those of you who belong to the church, who follow Christ peacefully, who have a hope strong enough to bring you into the Lord’s rest—from now until you rest with him in heaven.“

“I can say these things about you because I’ve watched how you live peacefully with others. I remember what God said: ‘You’ll know them by what they do. If what they do is good, then they are good.’”

### Good Comes from Good Hearts

“God has made it clear: An evil person can’t do what’s truly good. If someone gives a gift or prays to God without meaning it, it does them no good. God doesn’t count it as righteousness. When an evil person gives a gift, they give it grudgingly. In God’s eyes, it’s as if they kept the gift for themselves. He sees them as evil. The same goes for prayer. If you pray without real intent in your heart, it does you no good. God doesn’t accept prayers like that. So an evil person can’t do what’s good, and they won’t give a good gift.“

“A polluted spring can’t produce clean water. A pure spring can’t produce filthy water. In the same way, someone who serves the Devil can’t follow Christ. And if you follow Christ, you can’t serve the Devil. Everything good comes from God. Everything evil comes from the Devil. The Devil is God’s enemy and fights against him constantly, always inviting and tempting people to sin and do what’s evil. But what comes from God invites and draws you toward good. So anything that invites you to do good, to love God, and to serve him—that’s inspired by God.“

### How to Judge Good from Evil

“So listen closely, dear friends: Don’t mistake what’s evil for God’s work, or what’s good and from God for the Devil’s work.

You’ve been given the ability to judge, to know good from evil. The way to judge is as clear as daylight is from darkness. “The Spirit of Christ is given to everyone, so they can know good from evil. Let me show you how to judge: Everything that invites you to do good and believe in Christ comes from Christ’s power and gift. You can know for certain it’s from God. But anything that leads people to do evil, to not believe in Christ, to deny him and refuse to serve God—you can know for certain that’s from the Devil. That’s how he works. He doesn’t persuade anyone to do good—not one person. Neither do his angels, or anyone who serves him.“

“Now, friends, since you know the light by which you can judge—the light of Christ—be careful not to judge wrongly. The same standard you use to judge others will be used to judge you. So I urge you: Search carefully in Christ’s light, so you can know good from evil. If you embrace everything good and don’t reject it, you will truly be a child of Christ.“

### Faith Opens the Door to Everything Good

“Now, how is it possible for you to embrace every good thing? Let me talk about the faith I mentioned. I’ll tell you how you can embrace every good thing.

God knows everything—he’s always existed and always will. He sent angels to serve people, to announce that Christ was coming. And through Christ, every good thing would come. God also spoke directly to prophets, telling them that Christ would come. He revealed good things to people in many different ways. All good things come from Christ. Without him, humanity would be lost, and no good thing could ever reach us. So through the ministry of angels and every word that came from God’s mouth, people began to exercise faith in Christ. Through that faith, they embraced every good thing. This went on until Christ came. “After he came, people were saved by faith in his name. Through faith, they became children of God. As surely as Christ lives, he spoke these words to our ancestors: ‘Whatever good thing you ask the Father in my name, believing in faith that you’ll receive it—it will be done for you.’”

### Miracles Haven’t Stopped

“So, dear friends, have miracles stopped just because Christ ascended to heaven and sat down at the Father’s right hand, claiming the mercy he has for all people? He fulfilled the law completely, and he claims everyone who has faith in him. Those who have faith in him will hold tight to every good thing. That’s why he speaks up for us. He lives forever in heaven.“

“Because he’s done this, have miracles stopped? I tell you: No. Angels haven’t stopped serving people either. They obey Christ’s commands and serve people, showing themselves to those who have strong faith and firm minds, in every godly way. Their job is to call people to turn back to God, to fulfill the promises God made to humanity, to prepare the way by declaring Christ’s message to those the Lord has chosen, so they can testify about him. By doing this, the Lord God makes it possible for others to have faith in Christ, so the Holy Spirit can find a place in their hearts. This is how the Father keeps the promises he made to us.“

“Christ has said: ‘If you have faith in me, you’ll have power to do whatever I need you to do.’ And he said: ‘Everyone, everywhere—turn away from your sins. Come to me, be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, so you can be saved.’”

“Dear friends, if what I’ve told you is true—and God will show you with power and great glory on the last day that it is—then has the age of miracles ended? Have angels stopped appearing to people? Has God held back the Holy Spirit’s power? Will he do that as long as time lasts, as long as the earth stands, as long as there’s even one person left who needs to be saved? I tell you: No. Miracles happen because of faith. Angels appear and serve people because of faith. So if these things have stopped, it’s terrible for us—because it means we’ve stopped believing, and everything is meaningless. No one can be saved, according to Christ’s own words, unless they have faith in his name. So if these things have stopped, then faith has stopped too—and how awful that would be. We’d be as if we’d never been saved at all.“

“But I believe better things about you. I believe you have faith in Christ, because I’ve seen your humility. If you didn’t have faith in him, you wouldn’t belong among his people.”

### Faith, Hope, and Love Work Together

“Let me talk to you about hope. How can you have faith if you don’t have hope?

What should you hope for? I’ll tell you: Hope that through Christ’s sacrifice and the power of his resurrection, you’ll be raised to eternal life. This hope comes from your faith in him and his promise. So if you have faith, you must have hope. Without faith, there can’t be any hope.“

“And here’s another thing: You can’t have faith and hope unless you’re humble and gentle of heart. If you’re not, your faith and hope are empty. God only accepts those who are humble and gentle. And if you’re humble and gentle, and you acknowledge by the Holy Spirit’s power that Jesus is the Christ, then you must have love. Without love, you’re nothing. So you must have love.“

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It doesn’t envy. It’s not arrogant. It doesn’t look out only for itself. It’s not easily angered. It doesn’t think evil thoughts. It doesn’t celebrate when wrong happens, but celebrates truth. Love bears everything, believes everything, hopes for everything, endures everything. Dear friends, without love you’re nothing. Love never fails. So hold tight to love, which is the greatest thing of all. Everything else will pass away. “But love—the pure love of Christ—lasts forever. Whoever has it on the last day will be blessed. So, dear friends, pray to the Father with all your heart’s energy, that you may be filled with this love he’s poured out on everyone who truly follows his Son Jesus Christ. Pray that you may become children of God. When Christ appears, we’ll be like him, because we’ll see him as he really is. Hold this hope, so you may be made pure just as he is pure. Amen.”

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*Source: [The Book of Mormon](https://bookofmormon.com/paraphrase/moroni/7)*
