Moroni 1:1 After having made an end of abridging the record of the people of Jared

‘There is no more convincing evidence of the variety of material and structure in the Book of Mormon than the difference between the records of Ether and Moroni. Just turn the page, and the change hits the eye forcefully. And yet both came to us from the same writer, Moroni, son of Mormon. The book of Ether is narrative almost throughout. That is, it is narrative with rich commentary in pertinent places. The book of Moroni contains no narrative at all. The nearest thing to it is in chapter 9.’ [J.N. Washburn,The Contents, Structure and Authorship of the Book of Mormon, pp. 70-71]

Moroni 1:4 A few more things

“What Moroni first recorded in the book carrying his own name were vignettes – a brief catalog, if you will – of things he felt needed to be recorded before he died and the Book of Mormon saga ended. These included the words of Christ to his twelve disciples when they were commissioned to bestow the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, the prayer by which priests and teachers were ordained, the sacrament prayers, and instructions as to how those who were baptised were to be received into the ‘church of Christ’ and numbered among the ‘people of Christ’. (Jeffrey R Holland, Christ and the New Covenant)

Moroni 1:4 They may be of worth to my brethren the Lamanites

“These words not only reveal to us Moroni’s purpose in writing the book, but lay open to our minds the magnanimous character of the man. A person who can love his enemies so much that he contributes to the eternal welfare of their descendants has a great soul.” (FARMS: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, Spring-1995, p. 38)

Moroni 2:2 The gift of the Holy Ghost

The Saviour taught his disciples to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus Christ.

Moroni 2:2 Apostles

“While in every instance the Nephite twelve are spoken of as disciples, the fact remains that they had been endowed with divine authority to be special witnesses for Christ among their own people. Therefore , they were virtually apostles to the Nephite race, although their jurisdiction was, as revealed to Nephi, eventually to be subject to the authority and jurisdiction of Peter and the twelve chosen in Palestine (see Mormon 3:18-19). According to the definition prevailing in the world an apostle is a witness for Christ, or one who evangelises a certain nation or people…Therefore the neophyte twelve became apostles, as special witnesses, just as did Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions).

Moroni 3

Describes how the Nephites ordained priests and teachers.

Moroni 4:3 That they are willing to take upon them the name of thy son

“Why are the three words ‘are willing to’ necessary here? Are they important? Would it make a difference if the prayer left these out and just read: ‘ . . . and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them’? Yes, it would make a difference. It would make a difference because I cannot do this latter thing. I can’t witness, affirm, or swear that I do always remember him and keep his commandments. I would be lying, and I know it-I want to do the right thing, but sometimes I don’t. This is precisely the problem that makes the atonement of Christ and the gospel covenant necessary for me in the first place-I can’t keep all the commandments all the time no matter how hard I try. It follows that I can’t honestly witness to God that I will keep all the commandments when I know that, in some degree at least, I probably won’t.

“However, I can with absolute honesty witness that I am willing to. I can swear that this is the desire of my heart. I can affirm that I hunger and thirst after these things, that I will do all I can to be obedient. Thus even by the technical terms of the covenant renewal prayer, God lets me know that the honest commitment of my heart and my best efforts are sufficient for the covenant to be renewed, and that the covenant of faith is sufficient, through the grace of Christ, to justify me before God.” (Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ, p. 53-4)

Moroni 4:3, 5:2 Always remember him

“Those of you who have served missions may have … come upon your missionary journals put away in a closet in your home. You may have read and felt a shock as you remembered how hard you worked, how constantly you thought of the Savior and His sacrifice for you and for those you tried to meet and teach, and how fervently and often you prayed. The shock may have come from realizing how much the cares of life had taken you from where you once were, so close to always remembering and always praying.

“My message is a plea, a warning, and a promise: I plead with you to do with determination the simple things that will move you forward spiritually.

“Start with remembering Him. You will remember what you know and what you love. The Savior gave us the scriptures, paid for by prophets at a price we cannot measure, so that we could know Him. Lose yourself in them. Decide now to read more, and more effectively than you have ever done before” (Henry B Eyring, “Always,” Ensign, Oct. 1999, 9–10).

Moroni 6:1-3 They were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.

“…no price is too great to pay for the privilege of receiving this holy ordinance. We must prepare ourselves for baptism; we must be worthy to make a covenant with the Holy One; we must have a fixed and unalterable determination to conform to his will. Otherwise baptism profiteth nothing. No ordinance is binding on earth and in heaven unless it is ratified and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, and this Spirit is given only to those who are just and true. Just as those who partake unworthily of the sacrament eat and drink damnation to their souls, so those who are baptized unworthily receive cursings instead of blessings.” (Bruce R McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 248)

Moroni 6:5-6 Church meetings

‘Unless the Saints attend their meetings it will be hard for them to keep alive in the Gospel.’ (Anthon H. Lund, Conference Report, Oct. 1907, p. 9)

Moroni 6:9 After the manner of the workings of the Spirit

“The singular tragedy of the Nephite decline as recorded by Mormon in the Book of Mormon was the loss of the Holy Ghost and the spiritual gifts. Wisdom and inspiration dictated that Moroni include in his closing record the instructions by his father, Mormon, on the ordinations, the sacrament, and practices of the Church. Noteworthy is this testimony about their meetings:

“‘Their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.’ (Moro. 6:9.)

“That is the spirit that can and should characterize our worship and our sacrament meetings.

“A sister remarked to me after one such spiritual meeting, ‘I don’t recall all that was said—but I remember how we felt as we sang the closing hymn and bowed our heads in prayer’” (David B Haight, “Remembering the Savior’s Atonement,” Ensign, Apr. 1988, 13).