Book of Mormon Commentary - Moroni 10

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
             CHAPTER 10

A testimony of the Book of Mormon comes by the power of the Holy Ghost—The gifts of the Spirit are dispensed to the faithful— Spiritual gifts always accompany faith—
Moroni's words speak from the dust—Come unto Christ, be perfect in him, and sanctify your souls. [About A.D. 421]

Testimony of God's truth comes by the power of the Holy Ghost—Man may receive the gifts of the Spirit by the exercise of faith in Christ—
Without such faith there are no gifts—Moroni, the spokesman, speaks from the dust—Those who come unto Christ may be perfected in him by his grace and sanctification of the soul. [Sometime After 420 A.D.]
1 NOW I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the aLamanites; and I would that they should know that *more than bfour hundred and twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christa.
2 And I aseal up bthese records, after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.

 1a more than four hundredand twenty years have passed away since the sign was given of the coming of Christ Now it is most often estimated that this is the year 421 A.D. But it may be even some years later than that. Moroni merely state that more than 420 years had passed away. And depending on whether Moroni had kept the exact number of years or not may be presumed. Living alone and without societal confirmation the best that can be said is that is after 420 years whether 421, 422, 423 or etc.  1a D&C 10:48
   * [About A.D. 421]
   b Morm. 8:5; Moro. 1:1
 2a Morm. 5:12; Morm. 8:4, 13-14;
     TG Scriptures, Preservation of; TG Seal
   b Morm. 6:6
  3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down unto the time that ye shall receive these things, and bponder it in your chearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghosta ye may aknow the btruth of all things.

 5a power of the Holy Ghost In the New Testament,when Simon Magus saw the apostles bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost upon their new converts, he sought to purchase this 'power' and 'gift'.  3a Gen. 19:16
   b Deut. 11:18; TG Meditation; TG Study
   c Deut. 6:6
 4a TG Prayer
   b 1 Ne. 13:39; 1 Ne. 14:30; Mosiah 1:6;
     Alma 3:12; Ether 4:11 (6-11);
     Ether 5:3 (1-4); TG Book of Mormon
   c TG Honesty; TG Sincerity
   d James 1:5-7; Moro. 7:9
   e TG Faith
   f TG Revelation
   g Ps. 145:18; TG Guidance, Divine; TG Truth
 5a D&C 35:19; TG Discernment, Spiritual;
     TG Holy Ghost, Source of Testimony
   b John 8:32
6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
7 And ye may aknow that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, baccording to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.
8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the agifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are bdifferent ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the cSpirit of God unto men, to profit them.

 7a TG Testimony
   b 1 Ne. 10:17-19; Moro. 7:36
 8a TG God, Gifts of; TG Holy Ghost, Gifts of
   b D&C 46:15
   c TG God, Spirit of
9 aFor behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may bteach the word of wisdom;
10 And to another, that he may ateach the word of bknowledge by the same Spirit;
11 And to another, exceedingly great afaith; and to another, the gifts of bhealing by the same Spirit;
12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty amiracles;
13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;
14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
16 And again, to another, the interpretation of alanguages and of divers kinds of tongues.
17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severallya, according as he will.

 17a they come unto every man severally This recalls the parable of the talents as given by the Savior in the New Testament (see parable below). If we presume that 'talents' in the Lord's kindom are such as 'gifts of the spirit' rather than some measure of money, then we are left to consider which is the 'first talent' and is that not the 'testimony of Christ'? And as one is active in his testimony of Christ and in turn with the spirit is not a man prone to increase in his talents or gifts? And if a man is not active in his testimony of Christ unto giving its light out to the world then is not that first talent withdrawn?    9a 1 Cor. 12:8-11; D&C 46:12 (8-30)
     b Ex. 35:34; D&C 38:23;
       D&C 88:77-79, 118; D&C 107:85-89
 10a TG Education
     b 1 Cor. 12:8; TG Learning
 11a TG Faith
     b TG Healing
 12a TG Miracle
 16a TG Language
18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that aevery good bgift cometh of Christ.
19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the asame yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the bunbelief of the children of men.

 18a James 1:17
     b TG Talents
 19a Heb. 13:8
     b Moro. 7:37; TG Doubt
20 Wherefore, there must be afaith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.
21 And except ye have acharity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.
22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in adespair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.
23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: aIf ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

 20a 1 Cor. 13:13 (1-13); Ether 12:3-37;
       Moro. 7:1, 42-44; Moro. 8:14
 21a TG Charity
 22a TG Despair
 23a Moro. 7:33
24 And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth—that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be abecause of bunbeliefa.
25 And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be anone that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.
26 And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they adie in their bsins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

 24a if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief In a world which denied the visitation of angels and the workings of the spirit of revelation, certainly it was because of the unbelief of the people, particularly their Christian leaders, which caused such to come about. God does not seal the heavens upon man except it be by the lack of faith and belief upon the part of man. The same God and the same principles that existed in the days of the prophets of the Old Testament and in the days of Jesus Christ and his apostles in the New Testament are what has been restored to the earth again. And why needed they to be restored? Certainly the nature and the character of traditional Christianity had lost them. And they had lost them due to their own apostasy and unbelief. God does not take them from man forciblely. Rather he poors them out upon them as dew from heaven upon those who are faithful and do believe.  24a Moro. 7:37
     b TG Doubt; TG Unbelief, Unbelievers
 25a Ps. 14:3; Rom. 3:12
 26a Ezek. 18:26; 1 Ne. 15:33 (32-33);
       Mosiah 15:26
     b John 8:21-24
27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my awords unto you, which were written by this man, like as one bcrying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the cdust?
28 I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall ahiss forth from generation to generation.
29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is atrue.

 27a Isa. 51:16; 2 Ne. 33:10-11; D&C 1:24
     b 2 Ne. 3:19-20; 2 Ne. 27:13; 2 Ne. 33:13-15;
       Morm. 9:30
     c Isa. 29:4
 28a 2 Ne. 29:2
 29a TG Book of Mormon
30 And again I would exhort you that ye would acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good bgift, and ctouch not the evil gift, nor the dunclean thing.
31 And aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garmentsa, O daughter of bZion; and cstrengthen thy dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Fatherb which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
32 Yea, acome unto Christ, and be bperfected in him, and cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 31a put on thy beautiful garments In the preexistent judgment council, the Father had the 'filthy garment', representing the sins of the world, removed from off Jesus/Jehoshua and replaced them with resplendant priesthood garments. (See also Zechariah commentary) As we come to know Christ and follow after him, doing as he has done, thus becoming one with him in the Father; then also are we sanctified and do put on our beautiful garments of the holiness of God.

 31b covenants of the Eternal Father The covenants of the Eternal Father as those of the Everlasting Covenant which are founded in and upon the priesthood of God. It is these covenants made unto man before the foundation of the earth regarding the bringing to past the immortality and eternal life of man which were covenanted unto the fahters from the time of Adam and thus preserved in the earth to the coming forth of the blessing of heaven upon man in this the dispensation fulness of of times. They are the promises of the fathers which Abraham did seek after and did obtain. It is the covenant blessings of God which remained by Enoch and Noah. They came through patriarchs through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim. They concerning the blessing of the coming forth of the seed of the Father as Jesus Christ unto the redemption and salvation of mankind. They are the covenants which have brought forth the fulness of the gospel to be spread forth unto all the world in fulfillment of not only the Covenant of Abraham to bless all the nations of the earth, but in the very fulfillment of those same covenants sworn to by God the Father in the preexistent realm to the Father's spirit children who did keep their first estate and were to come to this second estate to be redeemed by Jesus/Jehoshua to the ends that they might be exhalted and become even as He and the Father are.

 30a 1 Ne. 6:4; Morm. 9:27; Ether 5:5
     b TG Talents
     c 2 Ne. 18:19
     d TG Uncleanness
 31a Isa. 52:1-2; TG Israel, Restoration of
     b TG Zion
     c Isa. 54:2; TG Priesthood, Power of
     d TG Stakes
     e Ether 13:8
 32a Rev. 22:17-21; Jacob 1:7; Omni 1:26;
       TG Teachable
     b Gal. 3:24; Philip. 3:15 (14-15);
       TG Man, New, Spiritually Reborn;
       TG Worthiness
     c Rom. 12:1-3; TG Perseverance
     d Deut. 11:1; Mosiah 2:4; D&C 20:19;
       D&C 59:5-6; TG Commitment;
       TG Dedication
     e Rom. 6:6 (1-7); TG Perfection
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the bblood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your csins, that ye become dholy, without spot.
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to arest in the bparadise of God, until my cspirit and body shall again dreunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the eair, to meet you before the fpleasing bar of the great gJehovah, the Eternal hJudge of both quick and dead. Amen.

 33a TG Sanctification
     b TG Jesus Christ, Atonement through
     c Ex. 34:7
     d TG Holiness
 34a TG Rest
     b TG Paradise
     c TG Spirit Body
     d TG Resurrection
     e 1 Thes. 4:17
     f Jacob 6:13
     g TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah
     h TG Jesus Christ, Judge

THE END

Gifts of the Spirit as Talents

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ( Matthew 25:14 - 30; see also Luke 19:12-28)
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