Moroni 7:29-31

And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

Much of the rest of Christianity understands angels to be some distinct class of beings, and has invested them with wings, originally symbolic of their speed in doing the work of the Lord. In fact, the gospel teaches us that angels are people like us, and that the angels that minister in this world have lived or will live on this earth as humans. I mention this to emphasize the fact that God does not work by magic, but his miracles and servants abide by eternal law which seems magic to us because we do not always understand the laws on which their behavior is based.

We should not expect to see a cessation of miracles in our lives, and it is appropriate in some circumstances to pray for miracles, whether it be healings, intervention on behalf of one who is wandering in sin, or other matters of import. God's concern extends to each of us, but His ability to help us depends upon our faith and our faithfulness. God does not expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to be constant in seeking His help and His grace to aid us on our way.

Although miracles are given to bless the believers, we should not expect miraculous intervention in every matter about which we pray. If every prayer were miraculously answered it would actually prove to be a hindrance to the exercise of agency. And so we pray in faith, asking for the miracle, but we also work in faith to do as much as we can to provide the desired outcome.

Moroni 7:28

For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

In the New Testament when the phrase "the law" appears it almost always refers to the law of Moses, and certainly Christ answered the ends of the law of Moses. However, in this case I do not believe that Mormon is referring only to the law of Moses, because Christ answered the ends of all law so that He could claim all those who have faith in Him. Because of the atonement of Christ we all belong to Him.

The depth of the relationship between Christ and His true disciples is profound. He changes our very nature so that we do not desire evil, but naturally cleave unto every good thing. Without that divine influence we are prone to be attracted to the things of the world, and lose our way. It is true that the rebirth in Christ whereby we reject all unrighteousness is not instantaneous, nor even necessarily monotonic. Even when we are embraced in His love if we do not watch ourselves, our deeds, our words, and desires, we have the agency to depart from Him and be enmeshed again in the cares of the world. We must avail ourselves of the gift of repentance continually, with the promise that if we do so Christ pleads our cause continually before the Father, and we can be restored to grace.

The great Plan of happiness is eternal, so we cannot comprehend its grandeur and extent. We can only approach the infinite through faith on One who does comprehend the infinite. However, as we do so minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, then year by year, Christ's grace is sufficient to cleanse us from the stains of this world, and mould us into Celestial beings, until we are prepared to live with Him and His Father eternally.

I testify to the efficacy of Christ's atonement. I also testify to the need to watch and pray always lest we fall into temptation. Finally, I testify to the completeness of God's plan, which encompasses human weakness and human desire, allowing us a space for learning and a space for repentance, so that eternal exaltation is within the grasp of all, and indeed He desires that all of us avail ourselves of this plan so that we may dwell with Him in eternal joy.

Moroni 7:27

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

There are really two reasons why this verse attracts me. First, of course, is the implication from the question that miracles continue, even today. I have seen enough of the Lord's miracles in my own life and in the lives of others that I also know that miracles continue, even today.

But I am also intrigued by the phrase "his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men". We understand that Christ's atonement is necessary for our salvation, and that He performed it because He had power over sin. However, it is interesting to consider the fact that He also has rights in relationship to His atonement. Since He paid the price voluntarily He has the right to bless, guide, and protect us. If we consider what a blessing it is in our lives to render service to others, it can help us understand how precious this right must be to Him.

Moroni 7:20,21

And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing? And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.

One aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we are lifted above that which is part of our human nature to do things which direct us toward Godhood. In the human realm it is impossible to lay hold on every good thing, and so we need to exercise faith - and indeed, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ - to attain to that goal. The power of His atonement is not just to grant us forgiveness for sin, nor even just to wipe away pain and sorrow, but also to strengthen and lift us so that we become, in Him, more than we could ever be on our own.

Moroni 7:19

Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

As Mormon talks about judging righteously and recognizing what is good, he urges us to search "in the light of Christ." I think it is appropriate to relate this counsel to how we look at the things around us. We certainly must exercise our own best efforts to recognize good and evil, but we will be most successful if we allow Christ to illuminate our paths. His spirit and His influence are both compared to light. As we view things in that light their true nature will become clearer to us.

We are given great latitude in what we do, and so we are allowed to consider areas such as entertainment and hobbies which may not be obviously good or bad. However, if we observe in the light of Christ we can be warned when a given path, although apparently innocuous, may lead to danger further on. Such warnings keep us safe, and help us to avoid losing time and energy to the distractions of Satan.

Moroni 7:15-16

For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.


The way to know good from evil is through the Spirit of Christ, also called the Light of Christ. To me the challenge is not so much to distinguish good from evil as it is to distinguish good from better, or better from best. I believe that this is part of the reason why we are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost when we are confirmed members of the church. By having the gift of the presence of a member of the Godhead we are able to be more attuned to the things of God.

All of us are committed to doing good, and I believe that commitment is bearing fruit in each of your lives. The goal of a lifetime, one of the principle purposes for mortality, is to learn to distinguish that which is good from that which is best and most in keeping with the will of God. As we do this we rely more and more on the Gift of the Holy Ghost for perception and guidance, and on the atonement of Jesus Christ for strength and repentance, and we prepare ourselves to live with God forever in His kingdom.

Moroni 7:13

But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

I am fascinated by the use of the word enticeth (in any of its forms) for the workings of the Spirit. It is good for me to remember that the works of righteousness can be more enticing than things of evil if I keep myself close to God through obedience, study, and prayer. I suppose that is a good way for me to tell if I am in tune with the Spirit of God - If I am attracted to good then I am probably doing pretty well. If I feel lethargy about good things that should be a pretty clear warning that I need to correct my behaviors and attitudes post haste.

Welcome

With a moderate amount of trepidation in my soul I have decided to switch my scripture posts to a blog instead of emailing them out. I will try this for a while to see how it works. I guess the motivation is that it will allow people to post comments and everyone can see them. Like I said, I will see how it goes.