Moroni's Invitation to Believe

One of the themes that we see throughout the part of the Book of Mormon given to us by Moroni is the need to believe.  He consistently warned against unbelief and repeatedly invited us to believe in God.  For example, in Mormon 9 he challenged those of our day who do not believe in Christ, promising that one day we will indeed know even if we choose not to believe now: "And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?" (v1-2)  His words stand as a witness to our generation that is filled with so much unbelief.  He went on to extol the blessings that believing brings: "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth....  And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned; And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover; And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth" (Mormon 9:21-25).  Answers to prayers, miraculous works, and ultimately eternal life will come to those who truly believe.  Surely Moroni clung to his own belief in God as he wandered the world alone for decades after the destruction of his people.  

           After giving us the account of the brother of Jared's encounter with the Savior, showing us the great blessing that came to this one man because of his belief, Moroni spoke powerfully about our need to believe in Ether 4.  He wrote warning from the Lord about unbelief: "And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.... He that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me" (v10, 12).  We can tell whether one really believes in the Lord by whether that person believes those servants the Lord has sent.  Moroni, continuing to quote the Savior, also taught us that great things are hid from us because of unbelief in our day: "Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.  Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief."  He suggested that when we will "rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness" then "great and marvelous things" which have been hid from us do await us (v10-15).  It is our unbelief that holds us back from receiving great knowledge from the Lord.  Moroni gave us these promises from the Lord about the power of believing: "But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record....  Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name" (Ether 4:11,18).  Manifestations of the spirit, spiritual signs, and even salvation will be found by those who believe in the Lord and His gospel.  

            In the book of Moroni, Moroni emphasized again the need for belief and left us our own measuring stick for our lives.  Quoting his father he wrote, "It is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain" (Moroni 7:37).  Then in the final chapter of the Book of Mormon he left us this invitation: "And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men" (Moroni 10:19).  The great gifts of God--miracles, the ministering of angels, and the numerous gifts of the Spirit--will come to us if we cast off our unbelief.  God has not done away with His gifts, and Moroni's witness to us is that if we truly believe they will come to bless us in our day.  Indeed, Moroni's promise to us all is that "whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world"--a better world here and hereafter (Ether 12:4).