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| Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith In His Room Picture Credit: Tom Lovell |
This will contain a lot of text quoted from the scriptures (bold-face), so sit down, get comfortable, and maybe pull out your own scriptures/study journal and take notes of thoughts and impressions that come into your heart. If you are adverse to lots of reading all at once, this post is broken up into sections, so you can study it over time.
Context
The visit of Moroni to Joseph is recorded in Joseph Smith History 1:27-54, but we will focus on verses 29-41. To give some context:29 ... on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.
30 While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
32 ... his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.
33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.
So, Joseph has met Moroni, and been told that God has called him to do something important. Now Moroni will quote some scriptures to show Joseph that all of this was in fulfillment of prophecy:
Malachi
36 After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:37 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
39 He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
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| Elijah Appearing in the Kirtland Temple Photo credit: Dan Lewis |
First, it tells us why Elijah was sent - to bring back keys of the Priesthood. The story of that happening can be found in D&C 110:13-16. We know that the keys brought by Elijah allow the work of salvation for the dead to be performed, such as proxy baptisms. (see a great talk from Russell M. Nelson from 1994 about the Spirit of Elijah)
Second, we see how important it is to the Lord that the work of saving and sealing families take place. He says, if this work didn't take place, the earth would be "wasted," as in, there would have been no point to its creation. In the phrase "the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers", Joseph Smith said that the word "turn" could be better interpreted "bind, or seal" (Teachings, ch 14), showing the importance of making sure we are sealed to our ancestors, and they to theirs.
We don't know which part of Malachi 3 that Moroni quoted, but if I had to guess, I would say it was the first 6 verses, as that is a prophecy of 1) the coming of the Lord to his temple (D&C 110:1-10) and 2) the purifying of the covenant people that must happen before the Second Coming.
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Isaiah
Going back to the account of Moroni visiting Joseph:40 In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled.
The first verse of Isaiah 11 contains a prophecy which many consider to reference Joseph Smith:
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| Joseph Smith, Jr. Photo credit: Jerry Harston |
The chapter then goes on to describe the Lord acting in judgement at the Second Coming, and the great conditions that will be during the Millennium. You might be asking, "what is the stem of Jesse, and this rod and branch thing Isaiah is talking about?" Well, you're in luck, because someone else already asked that question, and it was recorded in D&C 113:1-6:
1 Who is the Stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses of the 11th chapter of Isaiah?
2 Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ.
3 What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse?
4 Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power.
5 What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.
Verse 4 seems to be a very specific reference to Joseph Smith himself. One wonders whether the boy Joseph had any inkling of why this verse was important when Moroni quoted it to him in 1823, 15 years before he wrote this interpretation.
For those who want to study this more in depth, there is a slightly longer treatment of it in the Old Testament Institute Student Manual, 13-57 and 13-58.
The rest of Isaiah 11 talks about the gathering of Israel that will be brought to pass by way of the Gentiles. We have certainly seen that part of the work rolling onward.
Acts
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| Jesus Christ is the Messiah Photo credit: churchofjesuschrist.org media library |
Acts 23:22-23
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
I don't have much to say about this, other than, we need to be ready and prepared always, like the parable of the ten virgins, that we are not "cut off from among the people." We are learning right now that this preparation is both spiritual and temporal.
Joel
41 He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be.Joel 2:28-32
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
While the last few verses sound scary, the first few remind me of a talk I read once, given by Elder Merrill J. Bateman, then President of BYU, called Lights, Visions, and Dreams. He discusses some amazing visions people have had, spiritual as well as secular. He even mentioned one of my professors, Dr. Brad Hutchings! In his talk, Elder Bateman related a vision he had, back in the days of typewriters - he dreamed of a day when typewriters would be silent, and the printer in a different room than the keyboard. We have certainly seen that fulfilled today. And just think of the amazing advances since this talk was given in 2000. I believe much of the technological advancements we enjoy today have come as inspiration from God.
With the recent changes to church schedule and the many other ways that COVID-19 has affected so many people, we see just how blessed we are to live in a day of continuing revelation. It was almost 1.5 years ago that President Nelson announced that we would moving to a "home centered, church supported" method of gospel teaching. How difficult do you think it would be to have all church meetings cancelled if this wasn't already in place?
In addition, all of the digital ways to remain connected to people would not have been possible 20 years ago, at least not on this scale and ease. And the recent messages of hope and inspiration from church leaders are a great comfort to many. Surely we live in an era of dreams and visions being fulfilled by the young and the old.
Conclusion
41 ... And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here.We are living in the times known as "the fulness of the Gentiles," also known as the Last Days. Some of these prophecies that Moroni quoted have already begun to be fulfilled, and others have yet to unfold. Regardless of what appears to be happening in the world, we can count on one thing: the work of God will continue to go forward, and the gathering of Israel will increase in momentum as we approach the great winding up scene.
We are still living in the Restoration. It's not done yet! The last days are such an exciting time to live in. I hope studying these verses has helped you catch a glimpse of the grandeur of the plan that God has laid out for the salvation of his children, as it did for me as I sat in the temple pondering these verses. May you come to a greater sense of peace and assurance that God is directing all things to work together for the good of them that love him.
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