Moroni-Guardian Angel of America & Holds the Keys to the Stick of Ephraim

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Moroni Guardian Angel of America

Celebration of the Fourth of July Orson Hyde
“The progressive spirit of the times, on the one hand, and the chains of cruelty and oppression, on the other, inspired the apostles of American freedom to raise the standard of liberty, and unfurl its banner to the world as a warning to oppressors, and as the star of hope to the oppressed. The very name of America causes a thrill of patriotic devotion to her best interests to quiver in the heart of every citizen of Utah, with a zeal and a pride for the welfare of our country that does honor to the memory of those departed heroes whose ashes are mingled in our soil, and made rich and dear to us by their own blood…
In those early and perilous times, our men were few, and our resources limited. Poverty was among the most potent enemies we had to encounter; yet our arms were successful; and it may not be amiss to ask here, by whose power victory so often perched on our banner? It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones, and remains of towns, cities, and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp of Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world.
This same angel was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by visions, respecting this New World. Trammeled by poverty and by an unpopular cause, yet his persevering and unyielding heart would not allow an obstacle in his way too great for him to overcome; and the angel of God helped him—was with him on the stormy deep, calmed the troubled elements, and guided his frail vessel to the desired haven. Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water.
To what point have the American arms been directed since the Declaration of our National Independence, and proven unsuccessful? Not one!

Page 22 of the Annotated Book of Mormon

The peculiar respect that high Heaven has for this country, on account of the promises made to the fathers, and on account of its being the land where the mustard seed of truth was planted and destined to grow in the last days, accounts for all this good fortune to our beloved America…
So sure and certain as the great water courses wend their way to the ocean, and there find their level—so sure as the passing thundercloud hovers around yonder Twin Peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, and upon their grey and barren rocks pours the fury of its storm, just so sure and certain will the guardian angel of these United States fly to a remote distance from their borders, and the anger of the Almighty wax hot against them in causing them to drink from the cup of bitterness and division, and the very dregs, stirred up by the hands of foreign powers, in a manner more cruel and fierce than the enemies of the Saints in the day of their greatest distress and anguish; and all this because they laid not to heart the martyrdom of the Saints and Prophets, avenged not their blood by punishing the murderers, neither succored nor aided the Saints after they were despoiled of their goods and homes.
Would to God that we could forget this part of our experience in the land of our fathers! But we cannot forget it. It is incorporated in our being. We shall carry it to our graves, and in the resurrection it will rise with us. Had the United States been as faithful a guardian to the Latter-day Saints as the angel of God has been to them, she would never know dissolution, nor be humbled in dishonor by the decrees of any foreign powers…
When Justice is satisfied, and the blood of martyrs atoned for, the guardian angel of America will return to his station, resume his charge, and restore the Constitution of our country to the respect and veneration of the people; for it was given by the inspiration of our God.
One positive decree of Jehovah, respecting this land, is, that no king shall ever be raised up here, and that whosoever seeketh to raise up a king upon this land shall perish. The spirit of this decree is that no king shall bear rule in this country. And the islands contiguous to this land belong unto it by promise, for they are a part and parcel of the land of Joseph, and they geographically belong to it—belong to it by the covenants of the fathers: they also philosophically incline to this nearer and greater land.”
Orson Hyde Journal of Discourses Volume 6 Discourse 65


From left to right, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, former New York Attorney General Robert Abrams, former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Twelve, lay a wreath at the holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. The group was part of a joint Mormon and Jewish delegation that traveled to the Holy Land this week to commemorate the 175th anniversary of LDS apostle Orson Hyde’s 1841 trip to the Mount of Olives, where he dedicated the land for the gathering of the Jewish people.

“On a revered hill outside a revered city, President Spencer W. Kimball October 24 dedicated a garden built in memory of an Apostle’s prayer.

The dedication’s setting was the Mount of Olives, across a valley from Jerusalem, in Israel. There, on 24 October 1841, Elder Orson Hyde dedicated the land of Palestine for the building up of Jerusalem and the gathering of Abraham’s posterity. This October 24, President Kimball dedicated the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden to commemorate that event and the ongoing fulfillment of that prayer.” ENSIGN DECEMBER 1979 PRESIDENT KIMBALL DEDICATES ORSON HYDE MEMORIAL GARDEN IN JERUSALEM Complete Article Here


Moroni by Ken Corbett. See kencorbettart.com

Moroni, Joseph’s Tutor
“It is difficult to determine how many heavenly messengers appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and who they all were. President Joseph F. Smith explained that Joseph Smith was taught by the angel Moroni and received his education from above, from God Almighty, and not from man-made institutions. Moroni, who was the last prophet of the Book of Mormon, appeared more times than any other angel on record in this dispensation. Beginning with his first appearance in the Smith log home in Palmyra on September 21, 1823, he appeared to Joseph and others at least twenty-two times. Some fourteen hundred years after completing the scriptural record, Moroni revealed where the plates were hidden and began teaching the seventeen-year-old prophet. For the next six years (1823–29), Moroni prepared Joseph to receive and translate the plates and bring forth the Book of Mormon. President Cannon shared this insight of Moroni’s influence in the Prophet’s training: “[Joseph Smith] was visited constantly by angels. . . . Moroni, in the beginning, as you know, to prepare him for his mission, came and ministered and talked to him from time to time, and he had vision after vision in order that his mind might be fully saturated with a knowledge of the things of God, and that he might comprehend the great and holy calling that God has bestowed upon him.”

See Scienceviews.com

Joseph’s mother related some details concerning the training Joseph received from Moroni. She called these teaching moments “interviews.” She observed that from the very first visit at Cumorah, Moroni attempted to impress upon Joseph the consequences of obedience and disobedience. Moroni repeatedly emphasized the concept of obedience, and “ever afterwards he [Joseph Smith] was willing to keep the commandments of God.” Joseph later learned that the very purpose of delaying reception of the plates was to wait until “he had learned to keep the commandments of God—not only till he was willing but able to do it.”
What did Moroni teach Joseph Smith?
In a letter written by Oliver Cowdery to William W. Phelps, we find a partial list of Moroni’s teachings at Cumorah:
1. The things of God must be done with the express view of glorifying God, not for gaining wealth.
2. Joseph could not obtain the plates unless he kept the commandments.
3. He must understand the difference between good and evil, holy and profane, in order never to be overcome by the wicked one.
4. If Joseph was ever to obtain the gold plates, it must be by prayer and faithfulness in obeying the Lord.
5. The Book of Mormon was sealed by Moroni with a prayer of faith.
6. The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel.
7. The Gentiles and the house of Israel would be brought into the fold if they believed in the Book of Mormon.
8. The former inhabitants of this land were promised that their descendants would receive the Book of Mormon record.
9. The plates contained sacred writings and could be obtained and understood only by the power of God. They could be translated only by the gift and power of God.
10. The Book of Mormon could not be translated through the learning of the world. The worldly would want the record only for the value of the plates of precious metal.
11. By the Book of Mormon, God would do a great and marvelous work, which would show the power of God, expose the unwise learning of the world, and comfort the faithful with great signs and wonders.
12. The record would go to every nation.
13. The workers of iniquity would seek Joseph’s overthrow, to destroy his reputation, and even take his life.
14. Joseph would be preserved and would acquire the plates, after which the holy priesthood would be conferred and the Church would be established.
15. The Church would continue to grow, even though persecutions would increase.
16. In time, the ten tribes would return, and the Lord would come to Zion.
17. Joseph’s name would be known among the nations, causing the righteous to rejoice and the wicked to rage.”
Brian L. Smith, “‘Taught From On High’: The Ministry Of Angelic Messengers To The Prophet Joseph Smith,” in Joseph Smith and the Doctrinal Restoration (Provo: Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center, 2005), 332–45.

The Angel Moroni

BY Elder Glen L. Rudd Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional March 11, 2003

“I want to talk to you now about Moroni. Moroni is one of the great men in all of the history of the world. What a tremendous thing to think about an individual who lived on this earth and did what he did and accomplished all he did. I want to ask you a question, and you ask yourself, How long has it been since anyone came right up to you and said, “What do you know about Moroni?” I don’t suppose anybody has asked you that very much lately…

In Annotated Book of Mormon page xviii. Click to pre-order

That question, What do you know about Moroni, is a magnificent question. When you are going out into the mission field or when you just meet people, this is a good question to ask them. And then tell them about him. You know, he is one of the most influential men that the world has ever known. He was a prophet, a warrior, a scribe, and many other things. He was the son of a great man named Mormon.
Mormon was also a prophet, a leader, and the person who translated much of the Book of Mormon. Both Moroni and Mormon wrote that they had been visited by the Savior of the world and the three Nephites who were still living on the earth.
We know that Moroni lived a long time after the Nephites were killed off, by the unrighteous Laminates. He lived alone for about 36 or 37 years, all by himself. He finished writing what he had to write; then he hid up the plates. We know nothing about the loneliness of this great soul except that he did die. We don’t know when or how or how old he was. Some of the Brethren have felt that he was 80 years of age. Some say he was over 70. So he was pretty well up in years when he passed away. But, he was a resurrected being who after 1400 years appeared at the bedside of the Prophet Joseph Smith on the 21st day of September in 1823. That was three years after Joseph had the original first vision. Moroni lived in the fifth century of time. He was the last witness of the people who lived in that area of time. He testified that he had seen the resurrected Christ. He is also the most recent person who has lived and died on this earth who we know has been resurrected. This great man I’m talking about, I see him in my mind; a great soul. I’ll bet he was about 6’3″ or 6’4″ and had muscles bigger than mine and was really handsome and wonderful; but you wonder what happened during those years of loneliness. You wonder how many times he might have been nursed in sickness or in accident or warned of danger by the three Nephites who did appear to him. (They had the privilege of living on the earth and doing whatever they were allowed to do.) And he testified, “But behold, my father [Mormon] and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us.” He tells us that we shall know that, “I have seen Jesus.” That you should know, and that is the testimony for each of you. This is a man who had seen the Savior. He bore his testimony, and he said, “that he talked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another in [his] own language, concerning these things [that he wanted to tell him].”…

Most people never think much about him; but Moroni is still active and busy and doing all those necessary things to help bring about the full restoration of the gospel. We honor Moroni. There are 14 Latter-day Saint hymns that we sing like, “The Morning Breaks,” that’s about Moroni; and “What Was Witnessed in the Heavens?”; “An Angel from on High”; “I Saw a Mighty Angel Fly”; and ten others. These beautiful hymns that we sing in the Church are all because of the angel Moroni.
Moroni had the great privilege, as he walked across this American Continent, of finding a place and designating the place where the St. George temple was to be built. He also designated where the Manti Temple was to be. And it’s been written that he designated Kirtland and Nauvoo and probably others. Moroni appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith 22 different times during the life of the Prophet Joseph that we know of.


Moroni, the Last of the Nephite Prophets
H. Donl Peterson was a professor emeritus of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University when this was published.

The Lord chose Moroni to complete the Nephite dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He finished his father’s inspired abridgment of the Nephite millennial-long history; he commanded 10,000 soldiers at Cumorah in their final battles with the Lamanites; he abridged the writings of Ether, the record of the Jaredites, a once mighty civilization that preceded his own on this western hemisphere; and he recorded the lengthy writings of the brother of Jared on the gold plates and sealed them up. He wandered alone about the land for many years, not only concerned about his personal safety, but also fully aware of his responsibility to preserve the plates until he was commanded to hide them in the earth. Finally, after traveling extensively and fulfilling priesthood responsibilities, he deposited the plates in a hillside in what is now western New York state. What Moroni accomplished has blessed many people and will yet bless many more. This chapter attempts to highlight his illustrative and productive life…

Page 520 from the new Annotated Book of Mormon. Click for a preview of the book.

Moroni testifies in closing the record that if readers would not belittle the abridgment for its imperfections they would be given even more. Finally, he finishes the record about his people by engraving this closing sentence: “Behold, I make an end of speaking concerning this people. I am the son of Mormon, my father was a descendant of Nephi” (Mormon 8:13). We assume at this time Moroni also wrote the following on the last leaf of the gold plates:
The Book of Mormon an account written by the hand of Mormon upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi. Wherefore, it is an abridgement of the record of the people of Nephi and also the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.

An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ. (Book of Mormon title page)

A New Beginning
We assume that at the time Moroni wrote the title page to the Book of Mormon he thought his work with the plates was completed and all he needed to do further was to bury them, but the Lord had other things for him to do. Called to a new assignment, Moroni returned to the plates once again to write upon them. He also had somehow acquired new plates upon which to write since his father’s record was full. In the time between burying his father’s record, and beginning a new, Moroni had been shown several visions of the future importance of the sacred Nephite record. Sometime in these years the Lord gave Moroni the “keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim” (D&C 27:5). Moroni’s new calling extended beyond the grave to the glorious last dispensation in which he would give the sacred text to a new, young prophet.

150 Maps of the Book of Mormon in North America. Click Here!

The Size of the Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon
We are not told specifically how many of the Book of Mormon plates were sealed, but Elder Orson Pratt stated that it was two-thirds of them. This figure has been widely accepted because of the popularity of Elder Pratt’s writings (see Journal of Discourses 3:347).
Moroni in Manti, Utah
Some members of the Church are aware that at the dedication of the site for the temple in Manti, Utah, the following incident took place:
At a conference held in Ephraim, Sanpete County, June 25th, 1875, nearly all the speakers expressed their feelings to have a temple built in Sanpete County, and gave their views as to what point and where to build it, and to show the union that existed, Elder Daniel H. Wells said “Manti,” George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., John Taylor, Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Lorenzo Young, and A.M. Musse said “Manti stone quarry.” I have given the names in the order in which they spoke. At 4 p.m. that day President Brigham Young said: “The Temple should be build on Manti stone quarry.” Early on the morning of April 25, 1877, President Brigham Young asked Brother Warren S. Snow to go with him to the Temple hill. Brother Snow says: “We two were alone: President Young took me to the spot where the Temple was to stand; we went to the southeast corner, and President Young said: “Here is the spot where the prophet Moroni stood and dedicated this piece of land for a Temple site, and that is the reason why the location is made here, and we can’t move it from this spot; and if you and I are the only persons that come here at high noon today, we will dedicate this ground.(Whitney 436)
That Moroni dedicated the Manti Temple site is one of the few statements the Brethren have made connecting a Book of Mormon figure with a specific current place and action. This aids us in documenting one of Moroni’s travels and priesthood assignments. Another reference happened when William McBride, patriarch from the Richfield Utah Stake, spoke at a prayer meeting in St. George in January 1881. After recalling many experiences from the Nauvoo period and quoting the Prophet Joseph Smith on many issues, Patriarch McBride referred to the Route the old Nephites took travelling to Cumorah from the south and south west; of having to bury their tr[e]asures as they journeyed and finally burying the Records and precious things in the Hill Cumorah; of Moroni dedicating the Temple site of what we now call St. George, Nauvoo, Jackson Co., Kirtland, and others we know not of as yet. (Walker 2:525–26)
Joseph Smith published the following in the July 1838 issue of the Elders’ Journal in answer to the question: “How and where you obtain The Book of Mormon?” His reply:
“Moroni, the person who deposited the plates, from whence the Book of Mormon was translated, in a hill in Manchester, Ontario County, New York, being dead, and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me, and told me where they were; and gave me directions how to obtain them” (42–43).

The Death of Moroni
I have found only one account which speaks of Moroni’s death:
At a meeting at Spanish Fork, Utah Co., in the winter of 1896, Brother Higginson stated in my presence that Thomas B. Marsh told him that the Prophet Joseph Smith told him (Thomas B. Marsh, he being then President of the Twelve), that he became very anxious to know something of the fate of Moroni, and in answer to prayer the Lord gave Joseph a vision, in which appeared a wild country and on the scene was Moroni after whom were six Indians in pursuit; he stopped and one of the Indians stepped forward and measured swords with him. Moroni smote him and he fell dead; another Indian advanced and contended with him; this Indian also fell by his sword; a third Indian then stepped forth and met the same fate; a fourth afterwards contended with him, but in the struggle with the fourth, Moroni, being exhausted, was killed. Thus ended the life of Moroni. (Evans)


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Moroni  witnessed the long shadows cast by the setting of the sun over his once-proud civilization. He was also an integral part of the sunrise that heralded the beginning of the most glorious of days.
In my study of the Book of Mormon, I saw Moroni as a lonely survivor of a once-mighty civilization. I empathized, as best I could, with his frustrations and disappointments. loneliness and rejection are exacting tests of a man’s moral fiber. I saw him later, spiritually revitalized, as a prophet and seer whose ministry extended to unborn generations fourteen hundred years down the long vista of time. His prophecies were warnings giving the faithful of this day courage and direction on how and why to go on. I saw Moroni as the abridger of the Jaredite records, a calling of great magnitude and importance.
I saw Moroni engrave records so sacred that they have not yet been revealed to our generation. They remain sealed. I saw him record some “plain and precious parts” that were deliberately deleted from the Bible; truths that help clarify many gospel tenets.
After many years of wandering and hiding from the Lamanites, those who killed his family and friends and who continuously sought his life, he still had love for them and could still call them his “brethren.” I saw him at the conclusion of the Book of Mormon as one who had triumphed, one who had endured, one who had divine assurance that his mortal offering was acceptable to the lord.

The Pearl of great Price introduces an entirely different Moroni. There he is described as a magnificent resurrected being “glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning” (JS—History 1:32).
This angelic being was chosen to officiate in two dispensations. He was commissioned to teach Joseph Smith the gospel and to instruct him on how to establish the kingdom of God on earth in these latter days. He was to aid Joseph Smith in bringing forth the Book of Mormon, the book that Moroni had “sealed by the prayer of faith.” Moroni was also instrumental in showing the golden plates to three special witnesses.
As I have studied Church history, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Bible, I have become aware of other roles that Moroni has fulfilled and will yet fulfill. He is mentioned by name or referred to in all four standard works. I am convinced that studying the life of Moroni aids us in seeing the most complete picture to date of one who has lived upon the earth born of human parents but who is now a glorious resurrected personage. From this we can glean valuable insights pertaining to a being’s existence on both sides of the veil.
Through studying Moroni’s life we are sustained in our conviction that (1) the resurrection is a reality; (2) the state of a celestial being is truly glorious; (3) there is opportunity for continued service in the kingdom of god beyond the veil; (4) the knowledge and intelligence we attain in mortality does rise with us in the resurrection and will be a blessing to us and to others in the eternities to come; and (5) our dispensation has a great destiny to fulfill.
Finally, the scriptures remind us that at some future day we shall see Moroni at the judgment bar of God. There God will ask, “Did I not declare my words unto you, which “were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?” (Moroni 10:27).
Moroni’s life and teachings are worthy of serious contemplation.

Moroni is a paradigm for the faithful.
Moroni has been a hero of mine for many years. He has been an inspiration both as a man among men and as a great angelic being “sent from the presence of God.”
The impact of Moroni’s efforts and faithfulness is impossible to comprehend. He loved the Savior and emulated His divine example in his personal life. He demonstrated that it really is possible to be Christlike. He fought a good fight and kept the faith. He now reigns with the immortal prophets who still care for those of us who are involved in the struggle toward eternal life.
If this treatise will aid someone else in realizing the greatness and importance of this prophet-angel and the cause he so nobly espouses, I will be rewarded.” H. Donl Peterson


The Angel Moroni Came! Mark E. Petersen Oct 1983
About two weeks ago we noted one of the most important anniversaries in our Church history. It was on September 21, 1823, when the angel Moroni first appeared to the young prophet Joseph Smith in his farm home near Palmyra, New York.
As we remember it today, we declare our solemn testimony to all mankind that, indeed, Moroni did come! It is a fact, a firm and unshakable truth. Moroni came!
As an angel of God, a messenger from heaven, this glorious personage visited Joseph Smith in physical reality. It was no dream, nor any kind of mystic occurrence.
It was a visitation. Two physical beings communed together—with Moroni, a resurrected person of flesh and bones, emerging from the eternal veil and paying repeated and never-to-be-forgotten visits to this mortal farm boy, Joseph Smith. (See JS—H 1:30–54.)
Many people no longer believe in the ministry of angels. But God does! He has used this means of communication from the days of Adam. Is there any reason why He should not continue the procedure in our day?
Angels ministered to many people in both Old and New Testament times, delivering messages from the Lord. Abraham walked and talked with angels. An angel assisted Israel at the time of the Exodus. (See Ex. 14:19.) An angel fought an invading army in the days of the prophet Isaiah. (See Isa. 37:36.) When Daniel was in the lion’s den, an angel closed the mouths of the lions, and Daniel’s life was spared. (See Dan. 6:22.)
The angel Gabriel announced to the virgin Mary in Nazareth that she would become the mother of the Savior. (See Luke 1:30–33.) The same angel told the father of John the Baptist of his prophet-son soon to be born. (See Luke 1:13.)
When Joseph and Mary and the Divine Infant fled to Egypt, it was an angel who gave them direction, and upon the death of the wicked King Herod, the angel told them to return home. (See Matt. 2:13, 19–20.)
When the Savior spoke of the sanctity of little children, he said, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 18:10; italics added.)
When Jesus neared His crucifixion, He could have called twelve legions of angels to His assistance if He had wished to avoid the bitter cup. (See Matt. 26:53.) Then, are there angels? Would Jesus have spoken like that if they were nonexistent?
At His resurrection, an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. The women saw him there and heard him speak. (See Matt. 28:2, 5.)
When Stephen bore his final testimony to his persecutors, his face shone like that of an angel. (See Acts 6:15.)
An angel released Peter from prison. (See Acts 5:19.) Paul spoke of the tongues of men and of angels. (See 1 Cor. 13:1.)
The scripture clearly teaches that the purpose of the ministry of angels is “to call men unto repentance … by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.” (Moro. 7:31.) And that is very pertinent with regard to Moroni.
The Lord also teaches that, over the ages, if angels have ceased to appear, it is because of unbelief and the spirit of apostasy among men. But where there is faith, the ministry of angels will last as long as the earth shall stand or “there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved.” (Moro. 7:36.)
Because the Lord desires to save mankind, even until the end, He revealed to John the Revelator that in the latter days angels would again fly through the midst of heaven as emissaries of the Almighty. John saw that one of these angels would fly from heaven to earth and would bring the everlasting gospel back to earth, it having been lost to mankind over the ages. (See Rev. 14:6.)
That angel was Moroni. He had lived in America some fifteen hundred years ago and was a prophet of God at that time. He and his father, Mormon, were historians of the people who formerly inhabited this land. They wrote the history of their nation, engraving it upon plates of gold to resist the ravages of time, for that record was to have significant importance in latter days.
To preserve it in safety, Moroni encased it in a box which he made of stone and buried it in the ground. Some critics regard this as a most peculiar thing to do, but it would have been more unusual if he had not done so. Why?
Because what he did was in full harmony with a well-established custom followed by various nations in the ancient world to preserve and protect their precious documents.
Records have been engraved on metal over a period of many centuries. A number now have been recovered. Such treasures have been found from Korea to Sri Lanka, from ancient Assyria and Persia to India, from Java to Bangkok, from Italy, from Greece, and from the Qumran caves in Palestine where the Dead Sea scrolls were obtained.
Not all of these records were made on gold. Ancient peoples also wrote upon silver plates, brass plates, copper plates, lead plates, and in some instances even on tin, which proved not to be fully permanent, since it is subject to oxidation more readily than some other metals.
One of the most publicized of these discoveries was the copper scroll found with the other Dead Sea Scrolls in Palestine. It, too, contained ancient sacred writings.
King Darius, who put Daniel in the lion’s den (see Dan. 6), wrote his records on gold and silver sheets and placed them in stone boxes and buried them in the ground for safekeeping, just as Moroni did. His records now have been translated and published. To make certain someone would be able to read them, Darius wrote in three different languages.
Ancient Assyria’s King Sargon II had the same idea, but he used a variety of metals to make his books—gold, silver, brass, copper, and even tin. He also engraved on alabaster. He dearly desired to preserve those records for future posterity, so what did he do? Like Darius and like Moroni, he placed them in well-made stone boxes to protect them, and buried them in the ground, in the foundation of his palace. His records, too, have been translated and published.
A book made of nineteen thin sheets of gold, found in Korea in 1965, contains part of the Buddhist scripture, engraved in Chinese. The thin pages making up this valuable record are approximately fourteen inches square, hinged together so they can open and close like a book.
The plates found in Pyrgi, Italy, in 1964 are seven and a half inches long and about half that wide, are engraved in Phoenician characters, and relate to the dedication of a shrine for the goddess Astarte. They date to about 500 B.C., about the time of Lehi.
It is interesting that some of these ancient records were hidden away in specially constructed stone boxes such as Moroni’s, some completely cut out of single stones, others cemented together in sections. A few were made of obsidian and were beautifully engraved both inside and out. They were used to contain various precious things. Larger stone boxes which have been found are known to have been used for grain storage.
In Mexico and Central America scores of stone boxes have been discovered, large and small, and some of them also are beautifully engraved with designs both inside and out.
No one need be skeptical any longer about records kept by ancient peoples who preserved their writings by engraving them on metal, nor about the stone and metal boxes in which they were stored away.
Of course there are metal records in ancient times. Of course they were made of gold, silver, copper, and lead! Of course many of them date to the period in which Lehi left Jerusalem, and of course this custom was carried with him to America!
The last man in the ancient line of American prophets was Moroni. He and his father, Mormon, compiled the sacred records of their own people covering a thousand years, including the account of still an earlier people, the Jaredites, who came to this continent from the Tower of Babel. The Jaredite records were engraved on twenty-four sheets of solid gold.
Following the destruction of his nation in war, and being the only survivor of the vicious battles that were fought, Moroni also made a stone box and placed in it the record made by his father and himself and buried it in the ground for safekeeping, just as did Darius, just as did Sargon. It was to remain there until such time as the Lord would decree otherwise.
In these modern times the very mention of angels brings scoffs and scorn from some critical listeners who say that angelic ministrations are a thing of the past, if they actually ever did occur.
They assert also that there is no more revelation from heaven and that there are no more apostles and prophets in the earth, since they belonged to the time of Peter and Paul. They teach that the Bible contains all that is needed in any case and is a sufficient guide to salvation. They forget that the scripture is subject to as many interpretations as there are different denominations and creeds in this world, and they run into the hundreds.
We declare that there is revelation today! There are apostles and prophets on earth now! They are inspired, and they do speak the word of God. Marvelous and repeated angelic visitations have taken place in modern times as God once again established His divine Church on earth, following a long period of darkness.
Moroni fulfilled two biblical prophecies by coming to Joseph Smith. John the Revelator saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven, bringing the everlasting gospel back to earth. (See Rev. 14:6–7.)
John further said that this angel would fly in the “hour of [God’s] judgment” (Rev. 14:7), which could only mean the latter days. This timing made it strictly a modern affair.
He came as predicted, and Moroni was that angel. His coming opened a new dispensation of the gospel of Christ, direct from God. It had no relationship to any other religious movement. It was a new and divine episode, a modern revelation from the heavens, a fresh effort on the part of the Almighty to introduce today’s nations to the gospel of His Beloved Son.
There is only one gospel of Christ. That angel, flying in midheaven, possessed it, and brought it back to earth as a divine restoration of divine truths. And we repeat—that angel was Moroni.
In what form or shape or by what method did Moroni restore the everlasting gospel? Was it through some tangible means?
Amos of old, the inspired seer of the Lord, taught that God does His work through prophets. In fact, he said that God actually will do nothing without revealing His plans to His servants the prophets. (See Amos 3:7.)
Then what would God do about the angel bringing the gospel back to earth in modern times? There were no prophets on earth to whom he could come. The world no longer even believed in them. If the Lord would do nothing—not even send His angel to earth to restore the gospel—without the services of a living prophet, how could He accomplish His divine purpose? How could the angelic visitation predicted for the latter days be consummated if there were no prophets to receive it?
God could do only one thing, and that was to raise up a new prophet for this particular purpose, and this He did in the person of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., who lived near Palmyra, New York, in 1823. It was this young man to whom the angel Moroni came.
In what way did the angel deliver the gospel to Joseph Smith, thus restoring it to public knowledge?
The prophet Isaiah explains. In the twenty-ninth chapter of his book, he tells of an ancient record that would come out of the ground in the latter days, in a time preceding the restoration of Palestine as a fruitful field. (See Isa. 29:17.) This record would be in the form of a book, he said, having to do with a people who had been destroyed suddenly. (See Isa. 29:5.)
Some words of this book, Isaiah predicted, would be taken to a learned man who would reject them. Then, he said, the book itself would be given to an unlearned man, whom we now know to be Joseph Smith, who fit Isaiah’s description for he had only a very meager formal education. In his hands, Isaiah said, this book would be published to the world by the miraculous power of God and would become a marvelous work and a wonder. (See Isa. 29:11–12, 14; JS—H 1:63–65.)
This book was that self-same volume prepared anciently by Mormon and Moroni, containing the simple and beautiful truths of the gospel in their fulness, as taught by the ancient American prophets. It is called the Book of Mormon. It was this book that Moroni made available to the world through the services of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Thus, this record, containing the everlasting gospel, restored to man the saving truths required for salvation, which alone comes through Christ.
Moroni had hidden that record in the ground some four hundred years after Christ, and he knew exactly where to go to recover it. He had encased it in a stone box and buried it, just as did King Darius and Emperor Sargon in their days.
Having thus hidden it away, Moroni was now chosen of God to recover it and deliver it to the new modern prophet for publication. In that way he brought the gospel back to earth, for the record contained the gospel in its simplicity and in its fulness. The record was there, it was the word of God, and it came about by the act of God. It was a mighty miracle of God.
So Moroni fulfilled two biblical prophecies in coming to Joseph Smith: the fourteenth chapter of Revelation [Rev. 14] and the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah [Isa. 29]. He did come to earth as an angel. He did deliver to Joseph Smith the golden record which had been prepared under the direction of Almighty God. It is a new witness for the Lord Jesus Christ; it declares, as does the Bible, that Jesus of Nazareth indeed is the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer. That book is available to all mankind. A million copies are published each year, in more than a score of languages.
So, again, we testify that the Book of Mormon is true. It is the word of Almighty God, restored in this day by angelic ministry and by the direction of God himself. We testify that Moroni came as an angel on September 21 , 1823, revealing his ancient record and that he did so as a servant of Jesus Christ. Before its publication, he allowed twelve modern American citizens of good repute to examine the golden record so that they could bear witness of having seen or handled it.
We testify that Joseph Smith indeed was a modern prophet of God, raised up specially for the purpose we have described. And most solemnly we testify that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Son of God, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Creator. We testify further that we are His ordained servants, and we speak by the power that he restored to us and has given to us in this day. And we testify, in all solemnity, that this work in which we are engaged is verily true, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.” Mark E. Petersen Oct 1983


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