The Book of Mormon Commentary
The Book of Moroni

     As much as any father's and son's lives are intertwined, so are Moroni's and his father Mormon's, whilst still being separate. That is, to discover the facts concerning the life of Moroni, one does have to reference, know and understand the life of Mormon. In many ways the pair had to act united and together though they so often lived separated and apart. And we need to start with Moroni's birth, yet its timing and occurance is only set and defined by the events of the life of the father, Mormon.

At the age of 11, Mormon had been taken from the land north of the narrow neck somewhere in the region of the hill of Shim by his father, Mormon, south through the narrow neck to the national lands and city of Zarahemla. There at the young age of 15/16, Mormon junior was recruited to be the military leader of the whole of the army of the Nephites and it is considered that his father, Mormon senior, was likely a military leader as well, who was perhaps dead or disabled from battle. For the next number of years, to about age 19/20, Mormon served in that first-time leadership position until he had defeated the Lamanite threat as led by their then young Lamanite King, Aaron. This was the first time Mormon delivered the Nephite people from the Lamanites. Mormon then retires from that leadership position and returns to his home land north of the narrow neck of land and is consider to be there, having married and living near or in the land of Antum for as to obtain the Nephite records as prior, at the age of 11, he was so instruted by the then prophet of the Lord named Ammoran. It was during this interim, 330-345 A.D., that Mormon's son Moroni would have been born and thus according to the 'timeline' of his father Mormon, Moroni appears to have been born about 335 A.D.

Within about 10 years, 345 A.D., Mormon had obtained the Nephite record he was told to keep as instructed by Ammoran from the hill of Shim and had began to work on keeping the record accordingly by writing an unabridged account of his days and time as a part of the unabridged Nephite records. Perhaps there was a time that a 34 year old Mormon related to his 10 year old son, Moroni, that about his age the prophet Aaamoran had come to his father's house and gave him instructions as age 11 that he was to retrive the record from the hill Shim and add his history to it. But the time was short lived, for it was then, about 345 A.D., that there came again a threat from the Lamanites, under that same Lamanite King Aaron. They had over ran the Nephites in the national lands of Zarahemla and ventured through the narrow neck of land northward even unto the land of Jashon, which was near the land of Antum. Mormon, after securing his family and the Nephite records, would then again becomes the military leader of the Nephite armies, this time in he land north of the narrow neck of land at about age 35 in 346 A.D.

Before Mormon can organize the retreating Nephite armies, the Lamanites have advanced throughout the land even unto the city and land of Shem further north and appearantly even beyond the hill and land of Shim. It is there that Mormon rallies the Nephites in defense of their homes, their wives and their children. Within about 4 years, Mormon has been able to push the Aaron and his Lamanite armies back down and out of the land northward, even unto the narrow neck of land. But he is not able to restore the Nephite lands any further. And it is there, that Mormon has delivered the Nephite nation again from destruction for the second time. And he is able to negotiate a treaty that gives to the Lamanties all of the lands south of the narrow neck of land including the national lands of Zarahemla, which includes even that land of Bountiful up and into the narrow neck even unto the border of the land and city of Desolation that was upon the north top end of the narrow neck. No longer were the Lamanites held in the land south by as it were the tight in place 'cork' in the neck of the land of Bountiful, they were merely kept there by the thin top covering of the southern border of the land of Desolation loosely spread. And Mormon realized the situation, that the Lamanites would eventually be back poking holes through that thin imaginary lined border layer into the land northward.

As we attempt to unfold lives from the folded up abridgments of the Book of Mormon, we find that Mormon remains at the lands and location of the city of Desolation, ever preparing for the eventual return of the Lamanite forces that he knows will again return to fight again against the Nephites. Left in the lands much further north is where Mormon's family does now reside and Moroni is called upon by his prophet military leader not only to take charge and care for the family but also for the Church of God of the people of that land further north and relatively safe from the pending Lamanite build up and attack. It stands as another interim of about 10 years from 350 to 361 A.D. And it would seem logically that time and circumstance that would have produced the letter from Mormon to Moroni which Moroni would include in his small book record of Moroni in chapter 8.

As a youthful church leader only in his early to mid 20s, Moroni has been confonted by various contentions over the church's doctrine. In particular at this time of threat and fear of lose of lives, some have turned to the concept of getting their children properly baptized into the Chruch of God before they might die so they could rest assured of their children's salvation. Thus the contention turns to the subject of infant baptism, and wanting to get that ordinance done early. It is likely that Moroni is trying to hold the line of age of accountability baptism but the force of the presence of the living prophet of God is not there immediately to resolve the contention. Moroni most likely resorts to communication with his prophet military leader father, Mormon, by letter and he will receive back that letter which he shares in his book that strongly and forcefully presents the doctrinal line of baptism at the age of accountabliltiy and that the innocence of childhood is covered by the mercy, grace and atonement of Christ in and of itself. (read Moroni 8)

As Mormon knew they would, the Lamanites still led by King Aaron do again come up against the Nephites at Desolation. And there is war again in the land. This time Mormon had well prepared the Nephites with strongholds and places of retreat in order to successfully fight and withstand the Lamanite forces. And within just 2-3 years Mormon has once again defeated the Lamanite armies and King Aaron. And this time the Nephites did it so easily, as they were well prepared by the guiding hand of the inspired prophet of God, that they began to take pride in their victory and they begin to boast in their strength, neither did they give credit to the strategy and defenses set up my Mormon under the inspriration of God. And they became desireous to venture down into the Land of Zarahemla and contend with the Lamanites there upon what had now become the land of the Lamanites, for they think themselves strong and able to defeat the Lamanites there in Zarahemla easily as they had just done in Desolation. And they would take their lands in Zarahemla back, which had once been theirs, even the whole of Zarahemla.

So they put their intent up before Mormon. And Mormon tells them that he will not lead them up south into the land of Zarahemla. He points out that he has now delivered them 3 times out of the hands of the Lamanites by the hand and power of God, but that he would not go up against the Lamanites in what was now the agreed land of Lamanites to battle against their homes and families there. Thus Mormon retire from the military and takes an oath that he will never lead the Nephites in war again. And Mormon, now at about age 52, departs from the battle front to he family further north to resume his responsibilities of recording the Nephite history which had been interupted. Moroni, who has been with the family in the northlands and at the head of the church in the place of his prophet father, is not about age 29, a man of God and a full sized adult in his own right.

The Nephite army pursues their ambitions to attack the Lamanites, and for the first give years of this, Mormon's third interim, though with his family and working with the Nephite records, there seems to be regular word and reports would come from the battle front of how the situation was progressing and Mormon would likely be required to record it in his unabridged record as part of the large plates of Nephi. Mormon was 'old' from a warrior's perspective. His own hero, Captain Moroni had retired and died in his 50s. And perhaps Mormon considered the same fate for him self and would see his responsibility to complete his eran of the Lord, that is the keeping of the Nephite records. As to when Mormon was given the added task of abriding the whole of the large plates of Nephi is not given scripturally, but it could have been during this interim period. And it would certainly give the 'old warrior' in his 50s something to keep his mind active and his interests up in fulfilling.

Mormon knew that his old foe, King Aaron of the Lamanities, would not be satisfied, especially when the Nephites this time were the instigators and had given him new insentives to rally all of the people of the Lamanites to arms against the Nephites who had attack them in their own lands. Mormon and Aaron had aged together, and Mormon could and would likely have held out hope the one day word would come that the old Lamanite warrior king had fallen in battle, the the war might not then proceed so readily. But something inside Mormon fully understood that the Nephites had fallen from their faith in Christ and would not be long preserved in their state of wickedness. Whether it would be King Aaron or the next Lamanite leader, Mormon understood that the wars with the Lamanites would not come to a final end until the Nephites either repented or were sweep from the earth.

It would not be until 8 years later when Mormon was about 64 and Moroni would have been about 41. And thus it came, in 376 A.D., the word was that the Nephites were beginning to be sweep from the earth as dew before the sun in the growing heat of the morming. Mormon would be commanded to remove the records from the hill of Shim to secure their safety, but this task he would put upon his son Moroni to flee ever northward beyond the battle front with the faithful group of the saints to keep and protect the Nephite records and in the hopes that the end of the wicked Nephites would come and that there just might be a righteous remnant remaining of his son and the church who might elude the final desaster of the Nephite nation. As for the 'Old Warrior', Mormon turned from his oath not to fight nor lead the Nephite armies again. At age 64/65, Mormon would again step forward to lead the now failing Nephite armies. He just could not stand idlely by watch his own Nephite people being destroyed with out doing something and perhaps he could buy them enough that some might escape the fate of the nation.

The word was that the Lamanites had made their way deep into the northern lands and they were pressing and even marching north beyond the strong hold of Boaz. But where could Mormon now look to perhasp form a defense and deter the Lamanite March. The Nephites would fight and be defeated and then the souldiers and people would flee north to the next city and place of hope. It would not be until three years later, in 379 A.D. that Mormon was finally able to form a somewhat lasting defense. It was at a narrowing of the land again where Mormon could hope to make a stand at the city of Jordan where there were also other strong hold cities to build their defenses upon. Such was that of that of the city and land of Sherrizah and its great defensive tower and also such as Moriantum and other such surrounding Nephite cities.

And there Mormon did hope to make a stand and even perhaps succeed for a time, perhaps even years with another treaty. It was still his enemy King Aaron of the same age as Mormon that he would deal with there at the 'defense of Jordan.' And for a season Mormon's defenses did hold and there seemed to be a flicker of hope that another interim of peace could be obtained. But the Lamanites would regroup in their forces and come again. And the destruction of the Nephites did begin again. Sherrizah did fall to the Lamanites and the tales of the horrors there did reach Mormon and there was also the report of fall of Moriantum and the abomination that the Lamanites did put the Nephites through there. But even in such remote battles where the Nephites would prevail, there were also horrors to be told of what the Nephites would do to the Lamanites.

It was in these later days of the defense of Jordan that Mormon likely wrote the letter to his son Moroni detailing the conditions of the battle front. The standing order to of Mormon to Moroni would have been to continue to move the people of the Lord, the church, ever northward further beyond the pending battle front and keep the records of the Nephite safe and from the hands of the Lamanites. This Moroni had done and would continue to do. Yet at this time Mormon wanted Moroni to know that the hope of his Jordan defense was in the process of failing and that he needed to put the people and the records to flight again. It would be during this time that Mormon would stop giving the details of the horrors of the war in his recordings. To gain a snippet insight to a few of those horrors were one may read Moroni chapter 9. Whether Mormon made the a part of his unabridged record in the large plates of Nephite, I do not know. But Mormon basically took a pause in his reporting of the history of the fall of the Nephite nation for the next 4-5 years until it was that the battle front had been pushed further north even to coming near to the lands of Cumorah and where the lands of ice and snow would begin. There is was that Mormon's retreat nearly had caught up with Moroni's fleeing with the records before it.

Here Mormon turned the page on his attempted strategies of prepare, fight and then retreat in keeping the cause of the Nephites alive. Later in American history, it would work for General Washington, but it would not work for Mormon and the fate of the Nephite nation. And Mormon was running out of land to run to and just around the corner the Nephite records were in danger of coming into the hands of the Lamanties who had vowed to destroy them and everything that was Nephite. So at this juncture Mormon sent forth a proposition to his old Enemy King Aaron, which Mormon considered that just might appeal to the old Lamanite king. Both King Aaron and Mormon were now in their 70s and perhaps that which kept the Lamanite king going was the hatred and desire to see the Nephite nation destroyed by his hand. Mormon had been attempting to prolong the Nephite stuggle but now Mormon would offer what King Aaron most wanted, an opportunity to end it with the likelihood of a total Lamanite victory over the Nephites. Mormon said if the king would grant him a season to gather in all the remaining faithful Nephites he could get to join him in this last land of the Nephites, he would gather them all together to stand and fight and not run from the Lamanites any longer upon the hills of Cumorah.

Mormon's proposal accomplished a number of things. First it gave Mormon a season of time to prepare a workable strategy of defense round and about the hills of Cumorah, in which Mormon had a hope, though he knew that the wickedness of the Nephites would likely mean their ultimate destruction. And it would give Mormon time to secure the records of the Nephites safely away in some hidden location. The Lamanite King Aaron accepted Mormon's proposal and agreed to the season of time to gather the remaining Nephites faith to Cumorah where they would meet in a stand up final battle with no more retreat. Mormon had obtained his intent and purpose. He sent out his leading men to gather in all the remaining Nephite people round and about the final land of the Nephites. And while the people gathered, Mormon and his son Moroni designed and built the the place of concealment for the Nephite records.

Though Moroni had not been fighting with the regular army at the battle front at the side of his father Mormon, there had been a number of times that Moroni and what forces he held had to defend off an advance party of the Lamanites who had been sent ahead by the Lamanite King to determine what was happening ahead of his main armies. And part of the intent of the Lamanite king was to find and destory all those hated Nephite records that told the story of the Nephite and their God. So when it came time for the final great battle, Mormon place his son Moroni at the head of one of the standing armies of ten thousand men.

It had take the Lamanite King a life time to now stand at an end of the Nephites. It had been some 55 years (330 A.D) since Mormon had defeated him in the Land of Zarahemla when both were young men. It had been about 35 years (350 A.D.) since Mormon had negociated with him a treaty at the narrow neck of land after repealling the Lamanite invading forces back down from the land of Shem. It had been about 24/23 (361/362 A.D.) years since Mormon had defeated King Aaron's forces again at the well prepared narrow neck and that had almost seemed to be an end of it for the Lamanite King. But the Nephites invaded 'his' land and he was able to rally all his people against the Nephites again. And after the intial struggles of war, the Lamanite King and his numberless men of his armies were on their march through he lands of the Nephites north of the narrow neck of land. Mormon would not show his face again until about (375/376 A.D.) just about 10 years prior. King Aaron had smelled the end of the Nephites. And though Mormon had rallied the Nephites at a standoff at and round about Jordan about 5 years prior, King Aaron's hatred prevailed and broke through and now for the last 4+ the Lamanite King could smell the blood of not only the Nephites but also that of his arch enemy Mormon. So now they both stood at Cumorah, 5 years out from Mormon's defeat at Jordan. With his countless armies, King Aaron in his mid 70s surrounded the hills of Cummorah round and about. No Nephite would survive this devised termination of the Nephite nation. That was King Aaron's intent.

Mormon's account and lessons from that last great battle are recorded in Mormon chapters 6 & 7. Moroni finished the small abridged book of his father. That was the 'few plates' which Mormon had given to Moroni to complete as Mormon had gained a promise from the Lord that Moroni would survive the final battle of Cumorah. But Moroni would not only survive the battle of Cumorah and finish his fathers book. Moroni would live for another 35 years plus, from 375 to at least 421 A.D. And Moroni would live to abride Ether's 24 plate abridgment of the record of the Jaredite, which also contained the 'vision of all' of Mahonri Moriancumr. And yet Moroni lived and he wrote his own little book, the book of Moroni contained here in. I like to think that Mormon also lived until he was at least 80 or so. Moroni records that he also survived the battle of Cumorah and even continued to fight battles against the Lamanites who continued to tract down any believing Nephites and putting them to death if they would not deny the Christ. Moroni even states that his father did subsequently die in one of those later engagements. In 421 A.D., Moroni would have been in his own mid 80s (335-421 A.D.), alone and the last Nephite of faith recorded alive according to the Book of Mormon.

Before his death, Moroni sealed up the Book of Mormon plates in a stone box in the side of the hill of Cumorah. Those plates were made up of Mormon's abridgement record of the large plates of Nephi of which we have from the Book of Mosiah to the small book of Mormon. Mormon had also included the small plates of Nephi which consists of what we have today as 1 Nephi to Omni. Mormon had found and them included in the 'bundle' of plates. Moroni added the 24 golden plates of Ether, the last prophet of the Jaredites which he 'sealed' as instructed by the Lord. But Moroni did provide us with a small abridgment of them as the book of Ether, though he did not include the details of the 'vision of all.' That remains sealed. It was Mormon who wrote the the one chapter Words of Mormon as an introduction to the small plates of Nephi and just where they fit into his abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi. It was Moroni who most likely engraved the title page of just what was contained upon the Book of Mormon plate bundle.

From this analysis we can define who the prophesied writer and spokesman of the Nephite record are as foretold by Lehi in 2 Nephi 3:18 (18-21). Mormon of course would be the main writer and abridger of most all of abridged Book of Mormon for whom the entire collection is named as being the 'Book of Mormon.' Joseph Smith's role was to be its translator and such others as Oliver Cowdery, etcetera, were but scribes of the work of translation. The absolute spokesman of the Book of Mormon must be considered as Moroni. He is that revealed angel flying through the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to the earth according to John the Revelator. He it is that preserved the record as we did obtain it. He brought it forth into the hands of Joseph Smith the Prophet and he is the keeper of the Keys of the Stick of Ephraim, which likely includes all of the record of the Nephites including the plates of brass kept by the descendants of Jospeh of Egypt.

Moroni held and does hold many roles. He was the prophet's son. He stands as that prohpet's spokesman. He was the 'stand in' head of the church while his military prophet father fought upon the battle fronts. He was the keeper and protector of the records under the direction of his father. In the last great battle of Cumorah he was the military leader of 10,000. He is that angel revealed by John the Revelator who had the everlasting gospel in the Book of Mormon which he has protected, delived, received back again and still protects today. He was the last of the living prohets of the Nephites recorded in the Book of Mormon. He lived from 335 to 421 A.D. approximately. We presume that he died and was resurrected as he has appeared many times as an angel of light and also even as a common man in a couple of accounts. And he will stand as one of the prophets of God at the judgment bar of heaven.