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.