The Day of Judgment

It seems that one of the most important topics for Mormon was the judgment. As he wrote about the ministry of the three Nephites who would not die, he said, “Therefore, great and marvelous works shall be wrought by them, before the great and coming day when all people must surely stand before the judgment-seat of Christ; Yea even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and marvelous work wrought by them, before that judgment day.” He wrote that these three Nephites would remain in this transfigured state “until the judgment day of Christ” (3 Nephi 28:31-32, 40). He made it clear that all of us would have to stand and be judged before the Savior. Without repentance, our sins will witness against us at that day, as Mormon warned in his words to his son Moroni about infant baptism. He declared, “And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption. Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ” (Moroni 8:20-21). For Mormon the judgment was not a figurative thing to talk about; it was a real future event for all of us, and he wanted all of us to prepare as he wrote in another passage: “And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;… And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ” (Mormon 3:20, 22). Mormon earnestly wanted all of God’s children to repent and be prepared for the day when they would stand before Christ to be judged of their works on earth. No one can get out of that future meeting.

                Perhaps one of the reasons this topic was so important to him was that he saw the terrible wickedness of his own day. At one point he wrote to Moroni, “How can we expect that God will stay his hand in judgment against us? Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face!” (Moroni 9:14-15) He yearned for all to be prepared for that day, but in the end with the terrible atrocities committed by his own people he was ready for them to face their judgment and receive the reward of their deeds. As he wrote about their destruction, he said, “And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you. O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you” (Mormon 6:21-22). Of course, they were not righteous and these words must have been for us as well: we can be blessed in that judgment day if we choose works accordingly now.

                In his final words contained in Mormon 7 and written to those in our dispensation, Mormon again focused on the judgment. Testifying of the Savior, he said, “And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat. And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.” Every man must be raised up as a resurrected being and stand in judgment before the Savior. And Mormon sought to help us prepare for that day through his words. His final testimony was this: “And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen” (Mormon 7:6-7, 10). And so Mormon finished his part of the Book of Mormon with a reference to the day of judgment and an invitation for each of us to be prepared for that day by following the example of our Savior here in mortality.