Moroni and Revelation

Sister Sheri Dew gave a devotional address at BYU entitled “You were born to lead, you were born for glory.”  She discussed ways that we gain power from God.  One of those ways she discussed was through the revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  She remarked that it takes time to really learn how to receive revelation through the Holy Ghost, and she made this interesting observation about Captain Moroni: “As a young captain charged with leading the Nephite armies, Moroni sent messengers to the prophet Alma, asking him to inquire of the Lord where the armies should go. But in time Moroni received inspiration for his stewardship himself, for he became ‘a man of a perfect understanding’ (Alma 48:11)—suggesting that he learned to speak the language of revelation, perhaps even perfectly.”  I had never thought about this before, but we do indeed see a progression in Moroni as he learned and depended upon revelation from the Lord. 

                In the first battle that Moroni participated in, he leaned upon Alma for revelation.  The account tells us this: “Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites” (Alma 43:23).  Perhaps he doubted his own ability to receive revelation or simply had a great trust for Alma.   Either way he did have faith in revelation in general, and he believed that “God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni” (Alma 48:16).  He followed the inspiration and because of that his armies won the day and he defeated the Lamanites in that battle.

                In subsequent battles we see the great inspiration that he must have had in order to have such miraculous success.  One example of this was the way that he prepared and defended the city of Noah. After the Lamanites met with failure at Ammonihah, they turned to another city they thought would be easy to take, and so they turned to Noah.  But Moroni clearly had received inspiration long before on the need to fortify that city: “Behold, this was wisdom in Moroni; for he had supposed that they would be frightened at the city Ammonihah; and as the city of Noah had hitherto been the weakest part of the land” (Alma 49:15).  Other examples of this kind of foresight and inspiration include the miraculous way in which “Moroni had thus gained a victory over one of the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites, and had obtained possession of the city of Mulek” (Alma 53:6).  He also miraculously freed the prisoners at the city of Gid by sneaking in at night and arming them.  To me all of these examples point to the fact that Moroni learned how to receive revelation and was guided by the Lord. 

                By the end of the war, Moroni seems to have been very confident in receiving knowledge and inspiration from the Lord.  In his famous letter to Pahoran he said this, “Behold, the Lord saith unto me: If those whom ye have appointed your governors do not repent of their sins and iniquities, ye shall go up to battle against them” (Alma 60:33).  There was no hesitation on his part or wondering whether that was really inspiration from the Lord.  He knew that it was, and he literally saved the war by acting upon these directions from the Lord.  Moroni had mastered the ability to receive and understand revelations from the Lord.  As Sister Dew said, he learned the language “perfectly” and so we are left with his example as we strive to feel the power of the Spirit more fully in our lives.