View source for Book of Moroni

{{Short description|Part of the Book of Mormon}}
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{{Books of the Book of Mormon}}
'''The Book of Moroni''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|'|r|oʊ|n|aɪ}}) is the last of the books that make up the [[Book of Mormon]]. According to the text it was written by the [[prophet]] [[Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)|Moroni]] sometime between 400 and 421 CE. Moroni consists of ten chapters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/title-page?lang=eng|title = Title Page}}</ref>

== Narrative ==
[[Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)|Moroni]]'s people had been destroyed by the [[Lamanites]] down to the very last person. They were hunting Moroni so they could make the [[genocide]] complete. But when he was not fleeing for his life, he took the time to write a few things that might be edifying to those same Lamanites.

The first thing he wrote down was the procedure that [[Jesus]] used to make [[Apostle|apostles]], priests, and teachers. Then he described the procedure for administering the [[Ordinance (Latter Day Saints)|ordinances]] of the [[Last Supper]] and [[baptism]]. If a member of the church committed [[sin]], and three witnesses condemned them before the church elders and they still did not repent, then their names were blotted out of the church rolls.

Moroni chapter 8 is an [[epistle]] from [[Mormon (Book of Mormon prophet)|Mormon]] to his son Moroni written soon after his son was elevated to the ministry, and it focuses almost solely on the doctrine of baptism. Specifically, it calls [[infant baptism]] extreme error.

Mormon says that Jesus came to call sinners to [[Repentance in Christianity|repentance]], but children are not capable of committing sin. Mormon denies the dogma of [[original sin]].

In Moroni chapter 9, his father Mormon reports that he is still alive, but the Lamanites were victorious in battle, and a number of leading [[Nephites]] have been slain. Mormon fears that the Lamanites will utterly destroy his people. Nevertheless, he is still preaching the Word of God to them, but when he uses harsh words they get angry, and when he uses soft words they harden their hearts against it.

The Lamanites took many prisoners in the battle. They slew all the men. They fed to the women the flesh of their husbands and they fed the children the flesh of their fathers, and gave them almost no water.

Still, these atrocities pale in comparison to those of the Nephites in Mariantum, who availed themselves of the daughters of the Lamanites, tortured them to death, and ate their flesh. Mormon asks his son, rhetorically, how [[God]] could be expected to withhold judgment from such a people. He especially grieves for the widows and their daughters in Sherrizah, who are starving because both armies have carried away most of the food. And Mormon can do nothing for them, because the army of the Lamanites is between him and that city.

In 421 CE, Moroni wrote a few more things before adding his plates to the ones his father sealed up in the hill Cumorah. He asks anyone who reads these records in the latter days to ponder them in his heart and ask God in prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, if the things are true. And if they ask with a sincere heart, the truth of them will be made manifest through the power of the [[Holy Spirit]].

==Analysis==

Chapter 1 is a short introduction. Chapters 2–6 contain some direction as to how the church was organized. The [[Ordinance (Mormonism)|ordinance]]s of [[Baptism (Latter Day Saints)|baptism]], the [[Confirmation (Latter Day Saints)|Gift of the Holy Ghost]], and the [[sacrament]] are detailed. Also, some general instruction on the laws in the church are given.

Chapter 7 is a sermon that [[Mormon (prophet)|Mormon]] gave to the [[Nephite]]s. This sermon focuses on the essence of [[Goodness and value theory|good]] and [[evil]].

Mormon finishes by talking about [[miracle]]s, [[faith]], [[hope]], and [[Charity (virtue)|charity]].

Chapters 8 and 9 contain two [[Epistle|epistles]] to [[Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)|Moroni]] from his father, [[Mormon (prophet)|Mormon]]. The first talks about the beginnings of [[apostasy]] among the [[Nephites]], focusing particularly on the practice of [[infant baptism]]. The second details the awful state of the Nephites and foreshadows their destruction.

Chapter 10 contains [[Moroni's Promise]]<ref>{{Mormonverse|Moroni|10:3-5}}</ref> and some advice for people in the present day. He writes about spiritual gifts, [[faith]], [[hope]] and [[Charity (virtue)|charity]]. Moroni declares that his words are the words of one "speaking out of the dust" which alludes to a prophecy of [[Isaiah]] (see [[Isaiah 29]]:4).

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* [[James E. Faulconer]], [http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=2330&index=1 "Sealings and Mercies: Moroni's Final Exhortations in Moroni 10"] ''Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture'' 22/1 (2013)
* [[John W. Welch]], [http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1390&index=4 "From Presence to Practice: Jesus, the Sacrament Prayers, the Priesthood, and Church Discipline in 3 Nephi 18 and Moroni 2–6"] in ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'', 5/1 (Spring 1996), pp.&nbsp;123–124
* Alan C. Miner, [http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1386&index=6 "A Chronological Setting for the Epistles of Mormon to Moroni"] in ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'', Vol. 3/2 (Fall 1994), pp.&nbsp;94–113

==External links==

{{Wikisource|Book_of_Mormon/Moroni|Book of Moroni}}
* [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/1 The Book of Mormon: The Book of Moroni]

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[[Category:Books of the Book of Mormon|Moroni]]
[[Category:Angel Moroni]]