Teach
Moroni was the son of Mormon. This is the same Moroni that we refer to as “Angel Moroni,” that is blowing a trumpet on the tops of many temple spires. He is also the same Moroni who appeared to Joseph Smith and told him where the gold plates were buried and gave him instructions on how to receive them.
When Moroni was a mortal man, he was the last Nephite on the earth. He watched all of the Nephites get destroyed, including his own father, Mormon, the captain of the Nephites. This is how he felt, in his own words.
Read or Summarize Mormon 8:1-4
1 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.
2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.
3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.
4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.
Teach
Moroni wrote the last bits of things his father asked him to, before his death. Moroni watched his people, the Nephites get chased down and killed by the Lamanites, and he barely had the tools needed to finish the Book of Mormon. He had no idea what would happen to him, but he didn’t care, as long as he could just fulfill what Heavenly Father needed him to do. He wrote:
Read or Summarize Mormon 8:5-7
5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.
6 Behold, four hundred years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior.
Teach
It had finally happened. The destruction of the Nephites was prophesied from the very beginning of the Book of Mormon. Now we learned how it happened. It was only 400 years from the birth of Jesus Christ. This was only about 364 years after the Resurrected Jesus Christ walked among them, taught them, and blessed them. These people’s great grandparents most likely were among the children who were called and personally blessed by Jesus Christ.
As his father, Mormon, abridged the Book of Mormon, he taught Moroni all of the words of the prophets that we’ve read about this year. Imagine the pain and the sorrow that he felt as he realized that he was alone.
Discuss
If you were in this situation, how would you feel? What would you write if there was only a little bit of space left for you to write on the Gold Plates?
Teach
Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Moroni decided to give advice to us. The Lord showed him our day, and he wanted to warn us and teach us of the importance and goodness of God. He wrote:
Mormon 8:34-35
34 Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
Teach
When we go through hard things and feel alone in our sufferings, we can be like Moroni and teach others about Heavenly Father’s Great Plan of Happiness that includes the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can feel better as we serve others.
Watch
Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson.
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