Moroni - Chapter 4

It is comforting that the words of the Sacrament Prayer over the bread say, "that they are willing," not "that they do."  Clearly we don't - yet we may be willing; that is to take upon us the name of Christ, to always remember Him and to keep His commandments.  If we actually did we wouldn't need the Sacrament.  If we had to refrain from partaking of the Sacrament until we were perfect we would defeat the purpose.  The Sacrament prepares us, weekly, to receive the Holy Ghost, by whose constant companionship (implying we follow the Spirit's promptings and instruction) we can be made perfect, over time.  I presently am not able to be perfect, but I can say I am willing to be, with the help of the Atonement, repentance, and the Sanctification of the Holy Ghost.

Moroni - Chapter 3

I was hitch hiking back during my college days and was given a ride by a prominent TV evangelist.  I asked him about his calling to the ministry and he told me this story:

He'd been out camping and got lost in the woods.  It became dark and stumbling though the woods, he tripped and fell.  He put out his arms to catch himself but his arms never made contact with the ground, only his stomach and chest.  He'd fallen at the edge of a precipice and  had very nearly gone over.  I asked him what that had to do with his call to the ministry.  He was appalled at my question, like it was obvious that he'd been "tripped of Jesus."  Apparently he thought the Lord had tripped him in order to save his life and had interpreted that to mean he'd been called to deliver God's word.

The Lord may very well have tripped my friend to save his life.  But this chapter makes it plain that God calls his servants by a much less ambiguous means.  How grateful I am that the Priesthood is upon the earth and appropriately vested in worthy servants of the God.

Moroni - Chapter 2

I wonder if we underestimate what a privilege it is to have the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  I certainly have.  I remember reading the account in the Old Testament of Noah walking with God.  As I did so the Spirit whispered, so are you.  "What?" I thought.  It was then, finally then, for this wasn't so long ago, that I realized that the Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead.  A God.  One with the Father and the Son.  It was then that I realized that I had been promised His constant companionship; not just when I'm in the Temple or at church, not just now and then, but constantly.  I have spent my days since that realization trying to notice that blessing.  Each morning when I head out on my morning walk, which ordinarily takes an hour, I say to myself, "Via con Dios."  I then spend that hour, having already knelt in prayer, communing with God.  The practice sets the tone for the day, as I attempt to look across the crowded room of my busy life and keep an eye on my blessed companion through all the confusion.

Moroni - Chapter 1

It appears that at the end of The Book of Mormon, the distinction between Nephite and Lamanite may have less to do with blood lines and more to do with choices.  If that is true Nephi might not be bereft of of descendants in America today.  In fact the likelihood seems far greater than I expected.

Even prophetic Moroni was not shown the future as pertains to his own life.  Here he had supposed he'd be dead before an opportunity arose to write more.  I for one am thankful that I have no certain knowledge about what tomorrow might bring.  That lack of information is a far bigger blessing than it is a hindrance.  I remember reading my grandmother's journal.  One day I read of a family reunion during which my grandfather and his siblings had gathered from far and wide.  They had the most wonderful time.  Had they known that one of them would die the next day, their time together would have been one of mourning, rather than celebration.  There would be time enough to mourn.  Tomorrow.

Additionally, I think there is a special virtue in hope.  If we knew our own ends hope would be destroyed.  So would surprise!  What fun would life be without surprise?

Ether - Chapter 15

It appears that the demise of the Jaredites was as much about choosing up sides as anything.  Both sides were wicked.  Each side blamed the other.  You can be certain that in Shiz's camp you could hear angry murmuring to the effect that if it wasn't for Coriantumr and his cronies this wouldn't have to happen.  The same thing in reverse was happening over in Coriantumr's camp.  What would have happened if the people refused to choose up sides, refused to sustain either Shiz or Coriantumr?  The two may have gone on fighting, but the war would have ceased and order might have been restored.

From where I sit, both sides in America are wicked too.  I get "conservative" email forwards almost every day that are filled with inflammatory lies.  I my friend down the road complains of the same thing from among his more extreme liberal friends.  We are being torn apart by extremists who are trying to get us to choose up sides, make enemies of our fellow countrymen and in the end, I suspect, who will attempt to get us to destroy one another.

The only solution, individually and collectively is to serve the God of this land.  Otherwise, he has promised our destruction.  I think the supposition that one or other side of the political spectrum is more closely aligned with the gospel is false.  They are both wrong.  I suspect the time to enter the fray with the hopes of changing one of the sides, has passed.  In my view, the only hope we have lies in the preaching of the everlasting Gospel of Christ to every man woman and child in the land.  We can no longer hope to legislate ourselves out of our mess.  It has become time to change hearts by the word.  That's where I intend to focus my efforts.

America's problems are not confined to her leadership.  Our leadership only reflects the fabric of the selfish, materialistic and corrupt way in which we individually live our lives.

Ether - Chapter 14

When the Stock Market took it's most recent nose dive, I thought of this verse:

1 And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land.

Lots of people lost much of what they supposed to be their possessions.  Parking lots filled up with expensive toys, being sold in attempt to stay afloat.  People lost homes, jobs, hope.  Meanwhile, people who had followed the counsel of the prophets, were relatively unscathed, because they had stayed out of debt, supplied themselves with food storage, had lived moderately and within their means.

The next verse seems to hint at the possibility of things getting worse:

 2 Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and his own life and of his wives and children.

Quite a contrast to the promises of the New Jerusalem in the previous chapter.  I think part of the contrast may have a lot to do with what we value in this world.  I personally have no possessions really, I am merely a steward over that which God has entrusted me with.  I don't intend to sleep upon my sword in order to protect that which is God's,  He is quite capable of protecting it Himself.  If He sees fit that it be removed from me, that is quite fine.  He may do as He pleases with that which is His.  He has always provided me with enough to meet my needs.  If I remain faithful, I expect He will continue to so bless me.

The problem lies with those who in their wickedness think of their lives and property as their own.  The result is quite plain in the story of the Jaredites:

25 And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction.

This verse makes it plain that they did it to themselves and looking at our current economic conditions, so have we.  Will we continue down that same well worn path of carnage?