Moroni's Invitation to Prayer

At the end of the first day the Savior was among the Nephites, Mormon recorded this event: “And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched them. And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore they did not bear record; but the disciples bare record that he gave them power to give the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 18:36-37).  He was giving them the power to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost, meaning that perhaps they were receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood.   Moroni later recorded the exact words of the Savior to these disciples: “Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles” (Moroni 2:2).  What is most interesting about the Savior’s words to them for me is the injunction to call on the Father in “mighty prayer” before participating in an ordinance where the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred.  Moroni recorded the same preparatory prayer that was given by the disciples before they ordained priests and teachers: “After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they laid their hands upon them, and said: In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest” (Moroni 3:2-3).  They first prayed to the Father, and then they laid hands on the individual to ordain them a priest or a teacher.  Perhaps those who perform such ordinances today would do well to similarly prepare for the event through “mighty prayer” that the Lord’s power will be present. 

                Throughout the rest of his book, Moroni continued to focus on the importance and power of prayer.  He recorded the two Sacrament prayers in Moroni 4-5, and then in the next chapter spoke of the need to stay “continually watchful unto prayer,” to “meet together oft, to fast and to pray,” and to follow the Holy Ghost as it led them “to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate” (Moroni 6:4-5, 9).  He also recorded this powerful promise that his father related from the Savior about prayer:  “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.”  Moroni then gave us this invitation to fervent prayer from his father Mormon: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ” (Moroni 7:26, 48).  In the letter of Moroni 8 from Mormon to Moroni we are again invited to be retain that love through prayer: “Which love endureth by diligence unto prayer.”  Mormon also told his son, “I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus.”  And he also invited Moroni to similarly pray, saying, “Pray for them, my son” (Moroni 8:3, 26, 28).  And of course Moroni exhorted us to prayer, telling us to “ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ… with a sincere heart, with real intent” if the words of the Book of Mormon are true (Moroni 10:4).  Prayer must have been such an essential element to Moroni in the final decades of his life when he had no one but the Lord to turn to.  It is no wonder that his book would focus so much on the need for and power of prayer.  The book’s message is that prayer should be a central part of our lives whether in the ordinances of the Priesthood, when meeting together with the Saints, or seeking personally for the love of God and a knowledge of the truth.