#44 "I Speak Unto You As If Ye Were Present"

Mormon 7-9
*What did you all do this weekend?
Were you with Family and Friends? Did you enjoy food, laughter, shopping?
Mormon saw us this weekend, 8:35 He saw our doings. I’m convinced it was this weekend because he described my Thanksgiving Feast in 8:4 Ye must lay down your weapons of war (our forks) and do not delight in the blood shed (of the dead Turkey)! I’m just kidding. I just had that thought come to my mind when I read this verse and had to laugh.

I’m not kidding about him seeing this weekend though, and we are going to talk about what he saw in a minute, I first want to talk about Moroni, where he is and what he is doing. His father Mormon is gone now, killed in battle, and Moroni has taken over the record. Not only is his father gone, but so is all of his family and friends and everyone that he had the gospel in common with are gone as well. They have all been hunted and killed. I want to read chapter 8:1-5 As we read I want you to listen to the feelings in between the lines. What is he feeling? Sadness? Loneliness? Here he wandering around, moving from place to place trying to keep himself alive. No home to live in no food to pull out of the cupboard. Just going where he feels he can go to find food and safe shelter, unnoticed; perhaps wondering when he will be killed. How depressing this would be. We just had Thanksgiving-all the food we wanted, and even some we didn’t want, surrounded by people who love us in a nice warm and cozy house, and Moroni is perhaps seeing this. What do you think he saw? What feelings and things do you think he might have seen that would have bothered him? Well we are going to go through these chapters as he speaks to us pointing out things he sees that perhaps we should think about and either fix or be more grateful for.

In Chapter 7 He says he’s talking to the Lamanites who will get this record, but we will insert us.
7:9-10 He tells about how the B of M is written for us so that we may believe in Christ. As we read it we can believe in it and our fathers. I experienced this concept only backwards a little this weekend, so I’m sure this is what Moroni saw. How as we believe in our fathers (ancestors) we will be brought back to the Lord and the truthfulness of his words.
*How many of you get together with extended families?
While there did you discuss past relatives from long ago?

My uncle had pulled out some old photographs of our great grandparents and was pointing out different things about them. Now I know why I have some not-so-good-looking features. (ha ha) But as we were looking at those pictures different memories came forth from different people and we came to see them as real people, people with strengths and weaknesses. As some of the stories were told I realized I could start to see the Lords hand in their lives, how they came to be part of the gospel. Even one great grandma, how she wasn’t a member, but somehow, through the Lords hand ended up here in Utah where my grandpa was left to be raised by a lady that was a member, met my grandma, became a member and lived happily ever after. Well, not as happy as he could’ve been had he partaken of the fullness of the Gospel. But that’s another story another day. My point-That as I learned about my ancestors and their lives I could see the Lords hand guiding them. I could see that if they had the gospel that these B of M pages hold they would’ve been happy, truly happy.

* unfortunately Moroni also saw that because of all the happenings I didn’t read as much in my scriptures as I usually do.
8:12 He tells us that if we accept this book, meaning read, study, ponder and live what is in this book we shall know greater things! Greater what? Blessings, feelings, mysteries, Love of the Lord? Can anything be more important than those things?
No, all the projects I have going for Christmas, all the family dinners we had, none of those are more important than the scriptures, and he made sure he told me about it.

8:22He tells us that life continues and goes on, but no matter what activities we fill our time with the Lord’s purposes and promises will be fulfilled.

*Women do you think perhaps he saw Black Friday? 8:36-37 Do you think perhaps he saw us parading around-bragging that we got the bargains we wanted? Do you think that if it was black Friday that he saw, that he saw malice and persecution. Hopefully, he saw someone else and not me right? Perhaps we call it “survival of the fittest”, but either way perhaps what he saw was not pleasant. So is shopping so bad and evil? No, I am being a little silly but he tells us in v37 what is bad and evil-the love of money and substance more than the love of the poor and needy, sick and afflicted.
*Can we work on that? I’m sure there is always room for improvement.
*How many of you ate so much you were very unhappy with yourself? How ‘bout those who went shopping, were you unhappy when you didn’t get what you wanted on your quest? Perhaps Moroni saw that.
9:14 He’s telling us that whatever state we are in today will be what we will be resurrected to. If we are righteous we will be resurrected into righteousness. If we are unhappy we will be resurrected unhappy. Does our happiness stem from how much we ate or didn’t eat? Does our happiness wane if we didn’t get that $89 ipod from RC Willey?

We will be what we are today! I’m not saying that if we love to shop we are unhappy- but are you happy inside? Do you laugh often? Do you enjoy gentle breezes? Do you find joy being with or family? Or are you so unhappy that you are like a friend of mine, who told me a story that we laugh about now. Her and her husband were sitting around one night and something funny was said and both she and her husband started to laugh out loud really hard. Here little girl was 3 at the time, I believe and looked at them both laughing and started to cry and scream “What are you doing, stop that!” They stopped laughing and asked her what was wrong and she said “you’re scaring me!” It was then, that they realized that if their laughter was scaring their daughter, they didn’t laugh enough in their house.

Listen to what Moroni is telling us! Be happy today, find that true bliss, today, don’t just assume that when you are resurrected life will be perfect and happy, because it won’t.

9:6-8 If we want pure happiness we need to turn to Christ and knoweth the gospel, & read the scriptures.
9:9 God doesn’t change he is still a (v11) God of miracles.
How many of you believe in miracles today?
Do we recognize daily miracles? Record them and share them with others?
Do you think Moroni knows something of miracles- How many miracles he must’ve witnessed daily as he continued to live for 21 years more amidst people who were trying to kill him and him trying to find food and shelter.
9:15&16 He sees the Lords hand in his life and wants us to have those same blessings because the Lord is where true happiness lives.

*If you feel like you’ve not witnessed miracles daily in your life here is a scripture for you. 9:20 Because we are dwindling in unbelief, is the reason we don’t experience miracles, not because the Lord has changed.
9:21The Lord wants to provide miracles for us? Why?
9:22 so that we can have some personal experiences to share with people, so they can want, receive, recognize, and share their own miracles.
*How do we come to the point that we can be truly happy and receive more miracles?
Mormon tell us of at least 13 things.
1-9:25 Believe in Christ, not doubting he can do everything!
2-9:26Don’t despise word- keep the commandments-all of them.
Love one another-even if they got the last portable DVD player? Yes!
3- 9:27 Hearken to the words of the Lord-Live the gospel. If you can get up early to stand in line at Best Buy you had better be able to get up early enough to make 9 am church!
4-9:27 Doubt nothing-Joseph Smith said, “Where doubt is, there Faith has no power.”
5-9:27Come unto the Lord with all your heart? What does that mean? It can be different for everyone. What is standing in your way to true happiness?
6-9:27 Work out your salvation! Repent! Repent! Repent, daily of something!
7-9:28 Be Wise
8-9:28Strip yourselves of all uncleanliness
9-9:28 Yield to no temptation
10-9:28 Serve only true and living God-not the God of Target
11-9:29 Be baptized worthily
12-9:29 take sacrament worthily
13-9:29 endure to the end
All these things are not difficult they may take some time but as Moroni probably saw we have precious time that we are wasting going after worldly pursuits rather than following “Godly” Ones.
9:37 He ends this record of his father with this verse, and so do I- may we ever be faithful, just as our prophets have been. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.