The Book of Mormon
~AD 401–421

Moroni 7

Moroni records teachings from his father Mormon about faith, hope, and charity. Mormon addresses peaceable followers of Christ, teaching that good works reveal goodness and that evil cannot produce good. Everything good comes from God, while evil comes from the Devil. The Spirit of Christ helps people judge between good and evil.

Mormon Teaches About Faith, Hope, and Charity

I, Moroni, will now write some words from my father Mormon. He spoke about faith, hope, and charity. This is what he said to the people when he taught them at their place of worship. I, Mormon, now speak to you, my dear brothers and sisters. God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will have called me to do this. So I can speak to you now. I want to speak to you who are part of the church. You follow Christ in peace. You have enough hope to enter God’s rest. You will rest with him in Heaven. I think these things about you because you get along well with people.

Knowing Good From Evil

I remember what God said: You will know people by what they do. If their actions are good, then they are good too. God said that an evil person cannot do good things. If he gives a gift or prays to God but doesn’t really mean it, it doesn’t help him. God doesn’t count it as doing what is right. If an evil person gives a gift, he gives it in a bad way. So it’s the same as if he kept the gift. God sees him as evil. It’s also evil if someone prays without really meaning it in his heart. It doesn’t help him. God doesn’t listen to prayers like that. So an evil person cannot do good things. He won’t give a good gift. A dirty fountain cannot make clean water. A clean fountain cannot make dirty water. So someone who serves the Devil cannot follow Christ. If he follows Christ, he cannot serve the Devil. So all good things come from God. Evil things come from the Devil. The Devil is God’s enemy. He always fights against God. He invites and leads people to sin and do evil all the time. But what comes from God invites and leads people to do good all the time. So everything that invites and leads you to do good, love God, and serve him comes from God.

How to Judge Right and Wrong

So be careful, my dear brothers and sisters. Don’t think that evil is from God. And don’t think that good things from God are from the Devil. You can judge between good and evil. The way to judge is as clear as the difference between daytime and dark night. The Spirit of Christ is given to every person. It helps them know good from evil. So I will show you how to judge. Everything that invites you to do good and believe in Christ comes from Christ’s power and gift. So you can know for sure it is from God. But anything that tells people to do evil, not believe in Christ, deny him, and not serve God—you can know for sure it is from the Devil. This is how the Devil works. He doesn’t tell anyone to do good. Not even one person. His angels don’t either. Neither do the people who obey him. Now that you know the light you can use to judge—which is Christ’s light—make sure you don’t judge wrongly. You will be judged the same way you judge others. So I ask you to search hard using Christ’s light. Then you can know good from evil. If you hold on to every good thing and don’t reject it, you will be a child of Christ.

Faith in Christ

How can you hold on to every good thing? Now I come to faith, which I said I would talk about. I will tell you how you can hold on to every good thing.

God knows everything. He has always existed and will always exist. He sent angels to help people. They told people that Christ would come. Every good thing would come through Christ. God also told prophets with his own voice that Christ would come. He showed good things to people in different ways. All good things come from Christ. Without Christ, people were fallen. No good thing could come to them. So through angels helping and through every word from God’s mouth, people started to have faith in Christ. Through this faith, they held on to every good thing. This happened until Christ came. After he came, people were also saved by having faith in his name. Through faith, they became God’s children. As sure as Christ lives, he spoke these words to our ancestors. He said: Whatever good thing you ask the Father for in my name—if you believe with faith that you will get it—it will be done for you.

Miracles and Angels Still Come

So have miracles stopped just because Christ went up to heaven? He sits at God the Father’s right hand. There he asks the Father to show mercy to people. He did what the law required. He claims all people who have faith in him. People who have faith in him will hold on to every good thing. So he speaks up for people. He lives forever in heaven. Because he did this, have miracles stopped? I tell you, no. Angels have not stopped helping people either.

Angels obey Christ. They help people when he tells them to. They show themselves to people who have strong faith and a firm mind. They come in every form of godly service. Their job is to call people to be sorry for their sins. They do the work of the Father’s promises that he made to people. They prepare the way by telling Christ’s message to the people the Lord chooses. Those people can then tell others about him. By doing this, the Lord God prepares the way. Then other people can have faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit can then find a place in their hearts. This is how the Father keeps the promises he made to people.

Christ said: If you have faith in me, you will have power to do whatever I need you to do. He also said: Everyone everywhere, be sorry for your sins. Come to me and be baptized in my name. Have faith in me so you can be saved.

If these things I have told you are true—and God will show you they are true with power and great glory at the last day—then have miracles stopped? Have angels stopped appearing to people? Has God kept the Holy Spirit’s power from them? Will he do this as long as time lasts or the earth exists or there is one person on earth to be saved? I tell you, no. It is through faith that miracles happen. It is through faith that angels appear and help people. So if these things have stopped, it will be very bad for people. It will be because they don’t believe. Everything will be useless. No one can be saved without faith in Christ’s name. That’s what Christ said. So if these things have stopped, then faith has also stopped. The state of people would be terrible. It would be as if Christ never saved anyone.

But I think better things about you. I think you have faith in Christ because you are humble. If you don’t have faith in him, you don’t belong to his church.

Hope in Christ

I want to talk to you about hope. How can you have faith if you don’t have hope? What should you hope for? You should hope that Christ’s payment for sins and his power to come back to life will raise you to live forever. This is because of your faith in him and his promise. So if someone has faith, he must have hope. Without faith, there cannot be any hope. Also, he cannot have faith and hope if he is not humble and gentle.

Charity—Christ’s Pure Love

If not, his faith and hope are useless. No one is acceptable to God except those who are humble and gentle. If someone is humble and gentle and says by the Holy Spirit’s power that Jesus is the Christ, he must have charity. If he doesn’t have charity, he is nothing. So he must have charity. Charity is patient and kind. It doesn’t get jealous. It’s not proud. It doesn’t think only of itself. It doesn’t get mad easily. It doesn’t think bad thoughts. It doesn’t feel happy when people do wrong. It feels happy about truth. It handles all things. It believes all things. It hopes for all things. It keeps going through all things. So if you don’t have charity, you are nothing. Charity never fails. So hold on to charity. It is the greatest of all. All other things will fail. But charity is Christ’s pure love. It lasts forever. Whoever has it at the last day will be blessed. So pray to the Father with all your heart’s energy. Ask to be filled with this love. He has given it to all true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ. Then you can become God’s children. When he appears, we will be like him. We will see him as he is. We can have this hope. We can be made pure just as he is pure. Amen.

Influences

  • 7:1 — 1 Timothy 1:19 (KJV)
    Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
  • 7:1 — 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)
    And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
  • 7:2 — 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)
    Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
  • 7:2 — 1 Corinthians 15:10 (KJV)
    But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
  • 7:2 — 1 Thessalonians 3:11 (KJV)
    Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
  • 7:5 — Matthew 7:16, 20 (KJV)
    Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
  • 7:5 — Matthew 7:17 (KJV)
    Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
  • 7:6 — 1 Corinthians 13:3 (KJV)
    And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
  • 7:7 — Romans 4:3 (KJV)
    For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
  • 7:8 — Matthew 8:9 (KJV)
    For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
  • 7:11 — Matthew 4:1 (KJV)
    Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
  • 7:12 — Revelation 12:12 (KJV)
    Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
  • 7:12 — Romans 13:4 (KJV)
    For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
  • 7:13 — Hebrews 13:16 (KJV)
    But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
  • 7:16 — 1 Corinthians 12:7 (KJV)
    But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
  • 7:16 — Ephesians 4:7 (KJV)
    But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
  • 7:17 — Acts 18:13 (KJV)
    Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.
  • 7:17 — Romans 3:12 (KJV)
    They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
  • 7:18 — Matthew 7:2 (KJV)
    For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
  • 7:19 — Acts 26:3 (KJV)
    Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
  • 7:25 — Acts 24:24 (KJV)
    And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
  • 7:26 — Acts 3:16 (KJV)
    And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
  • 7:26 — John 1:12 (KJV)
    But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
  • 7:26 — Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
    I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
  • 7:26 — John 16:23 (KJV)
    And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
  • 7:26 — Matthew 21:22 (KJV)
    And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
  • 7:26 — John 15:7 (KJV)
    If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
  • 7:27 — Acts 2:34 (KJV)
    For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
  • 7:27 — Hebrews 10:12 (KJV)
    But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
  • 7:30 — 1 Corinthians 15:28 (KJV)
    And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
  • 7:30 — 2 Timothy 3:5 (KJV)
    Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
  • 7:31 — Colossians 3:16 (KJV)
    Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
  • 7:32 — Acts 24:24 (KJV)
    And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
  • 7:33 — 2 Corinthians 8:10 (KJV)
    And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
  • 7:34 — Acts 2:38 (KJV)
    Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
  • 7:35 — Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
    Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
  • 7:35 — Luke 21:27 (KJV)
    And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
  • 7:35 — John 6:39 (KJV)
    And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
  • 7:36 — Romans 15:13 (KJV)
    Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
  • 7:36 — John 10:16 (KJV)
    And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
  • 7:37 — Romans 11:20 (KJV)
    Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
  • 7:38 — Acts 3:16 (KJV)
    And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
  • 7:39 — Hebrews 6:9 (KJV)
    But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
  • 7:41 — Matthew 5:39 (KJV)
    But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
  • 7:41 — Philippians 3:10 (KJV)
    That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
  • 7:41 — John 4:36 (KJV)
    And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
  • 7:42 — Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
    But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
  • 7:43 — 1 Peter 1:21 (KJV)
    Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
  • 7:43 — Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
    Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
  • 7:44 — 1 Timothy 5:4 (KJV)
    But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
  • 7:44 — Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
    Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
  • 7:44 — Romans 15:13 (KJV)
    Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
  • 7:44 — John 20:31 (KJV)
    But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
  • 7:44 — 1 Corinthians 13:2 (KJV)
    And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
  • 7:44 — 1 Corinthians 13:3 (KJV)
    And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
  • 7:45 — 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (KJV)
    Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
  • 7:45 — 1 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV)
    And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
  • 7:46 — 1 Corinthians 13:2 (KJV)
    And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
  • 7:46 — 1 Corinthians 13:8 (KJV)
    Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
  • 7:46 — Colossians 3:14 (KJV)
    And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
  • 7:46 — 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)
    And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
  • 7:47 — 2 Corinthians 5:14 (KJV)
    For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
  • 7:47 — Matthew 8:33 (KJV)
    And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
  • 7:47 — John 6:39 (KJV)
    And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
  • 7:48 — 2 Timothy 1:4 (KJV)
    Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
  • 7:48 — 1 John 3:1 (KJV)
    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
  • 7:48 — Romans 1:3 (KJV)
    Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
  • 7:48 — 1 John 3:1 (KJV)
    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
  • 7:48 — John 1:12 (KJV)
    But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
  • 7:48 — 1 John 3:2 (KJV)
    Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
  • 7:48 — 1 John 3:2 (KJV)
    Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
  • 7:48 — 1 John 3:3 (KJV)
    And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
  • 7:48 — 1 John 3:3 (KJV)
    And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
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