To Meet You Before the Pleasing Bar of the Great Jehovah

To my son,

One of my favorite prophets in the Book of Mormon is Moroni. As you know, he was the final prophet to write in the book and his words are especially pertinent to us today because he saw our time and left his testimony and teachings for us specifically. The final battle of Cumorah took place around 385 A.D., at which point nearly all of the Nephites were killed. Sometime between then and about 400 AD his father Mormon died, and he was alone for at least twenty more years as he wandered with the records and recorded his for us. He said this: “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” (Mormon 8:35). That means he saw you and he saw me. He knew what our day would be like and he wrote for us specifically. He said again, “Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words” (Mormon 9:30). He of course is dead now, but his words are alive and we have them in the Book of Mormon. The Lord will hold us responsible for how we hold his words. Consider this promise from Moroni in the final chapter of the book: “And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: 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?” He said something similar in the last verse of the book: “And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen” (Moroni 10:27, 34). Do you see what he is saying? We will one day meet him when we are judged, and the Lord is going to ask us about the words that Moroni wrote. I hope that we will be able to tell him how much we valued his words and witness he worked so hard to leave us!

So what did Moroni write that is important for us? There is a lot that he left us, but here are three questions that I think are particularly important. He asked this probing question, “Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ?” Hopefully for you and me the answer is that we are not ashamed to be witnesses of the Savior, but surely we live in a day where the world seeks to make us ashamed of our faith in Him and His commandments. Moroni also asked, “Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?” That is another thought-provoking question. Do we desire the praise of the world more than the things of God? If so, then we are valuing misery over happiness. We have to be careful that we are not more concerned with getting approval from the world than following the Savior. Moroni also asked this penetrating question: “Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?” In other words, do we value having things for ourselves more than we value helping those in need around us? The world in our time tempts us to seek for more possessions and bigger houses and nicer cars, but Moroni reminds us that we should seek first to help those in need around us. That has far more value than adorning ourselves with fleeting possessions that will not last. I hope you and I will consider Moroni’s questions and spend time reading his words, so that we will be prepared to meet him someday! 

Love,

Dad