Mormon 9

Belief in Christ

Christ — 'the Anointed One'

And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ. Mormon 9:1

Moroni aims this chapter at unbelievers. The dividing line he draws is belief in Christ.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

Lamb of God

Lamb of God — the pure sacrifice God provides for sin

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? Mormon 9:2–3

The same Lamb who was sacrificed will be the one every person stands before. Moroni asks whether anyone could bear to live with that holy Being while still carrying unrepented guilt.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• the same title in John 1:29 — John the Baptist: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.'
• alludes to Alma 12:14-15 — Alma: in our awful state we would not dare look up to God and would wish the rocks to hide us from His presence.

Second Coming

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? Mormon 9:2

Moroni describes the day the Lord comes again in glory, when the earth itself is changed. On that day no one will be able to say there is no God.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to 3 Nephi 26:3 — Jesus expounded 'until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll.'
• alludes to 2 Peter 3:10 — 'the elements shall melt with fervent heat' at the day of the Lord.
• alludes to Isaiah 34:4 — 'the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll.'

The holiness of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ — 'Jehovah saves', the Anointed One

For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you. Mormon 9:5

Seeing how holy Jesus Christ is, while knowing our own sins, would burn like fire. That is why Moroni urges people to repent now.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to 2 Nephi 9:14 — Jacob: at judgment we shall have a perfect knowledge of our guilt, uncleanness and nakedness.

Cleansed by the blood of the Lamb

O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. Mormon 9:6

No one can make themselves clean. Only the atoning blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, can make a sinner spotless and white.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it

• alludes to Revelation 7:14 — 'washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'
• alludes to 1 Nephi 12:10-11 — The twelve Nephite disciples' 'garments are made white in the blood of the Lamb.'

Praying to the Father in the name of Jesus

O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. Mormon 9:6

We pray to the Father, and we pray in the name of Jesus, because He is the Mediator who opens the way.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it

• alludes to 3 Nephi 18:19-20 — Jesus: 'ye must always pray unto the Father in my name.'

Gospel of Christ

Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them. Mormon 9:8

Revelation, prophecy, healing and tongues are part of Christ's gospel. Anyone who says those gifts have ended does not really know His gospel.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

The unchanging God

For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? Mormon 9:9

Moroni's wording echoes Hebrews, where it is Jesus Christ who is 'the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.' The God who worked miracles anciently is the same God now.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to Hebrews 13:8 — 'Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.'
• alludes to James 1:17 — 'the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.'

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — Jehovah's covenant title

But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. Mormon 9:11

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is Jehovah, who created the earth under the Father. Verse 12 goes on to name Jesus Christ. Book of Mormon prophets teach that this same God came to earth as Jesus.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it

• the same title in 1 Nephi 19:10 — 'the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself ... as a man, into the hands of wicked men.'
• the same title in Exodus 3:15 — 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
• alludes to Mosiah 3:8 — 'Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things.'

Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son

Jesus Christ — 'Jehovah saves', the Anointed One

Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. Mormon 9:12

Jesus Christ came because of the Fall. He is called 'the Father and the Son' because He is the Son of God in the flesh and a Father as Creator and as the one who gives new spiritual life to the redeemed. This does not mean He and the Father are the same person.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it

• interpreted by Mosiah 15:2-4 — Abinadi explains why Christ is called both the Father and the Son.
• the same title in Ether 3:14 — Christ to the brother of Jared: 'I am the Father and the Son.'

Redemption and resurrection by Jesus Christ

Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. Mormon 9:12–13

Adam's fall brought death and separation from God. Christ's redemption undoes both: everyone is resurrected, 'awakened' from the sleep of death, and brought back before the Lord to be judged.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it

• alludes to Alma 11:42 — Amulek: 'the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death.'
• alludes to 2 Nephi 2:8 — The Holy Messiah lays down His life and takes it again 'that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead.'
• alludes to 1 Corinthians 15:22 — 'as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'

The Holy One

Holy One — the perfectly holy God of Israel

And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still. Mormon 9:14

After the resurrection, Christ, the Holy One, judges everyone. What we have chosen to become stays with us.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it

• alludes to 2 Nephi 9:15-16 — All appear before 'the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel'; the righteous are righteous still and the filthy are filthy still.
• alludes to Revelation 22:11 — 'he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.'
• the same title in 2 Nephi 9:41 — 'the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel.'

Creation by the power of His word

Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought? Mormon 9:17

Moroni says heaven, earth and man were created by the power of God's word. Restoration scripture teaches that the 'word of my power' by which God created is His Only Begotten Son.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to Moses 1:32 — 'by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son.'
• alludes to John 1:3 — 'All things were made by him' — the Word.

Christ's miracles

And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles. Mormon 9:18

Jesus Christ's many miracles are part of the record. They prove that God works miracles, and He still does.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to 3 Nephi 17:7-9 — The risen Christ heals all the sick and afflicted among the Nephites.

Asking in the name of Christ

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. Mormon 9:21

Faith in Christ, with no doubting, and prayer to the Father in His name bring God's power into our lives. This promise is for everyone.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to 3 Nephi 18:20 — 'whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.'
• alludes to Moroni 7:26 — 'Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing ... it shall be done unto you.'

Jesus Christ, the Son of God (His words)

Son of God — the literal Son of the Eternal Father

For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; Mormon 9:22–25

Moroni quotes the Savior's own words to His disciples: preach to all the world, and signs will follow believers in His name. The promise to 'confirm all my words' is Christ's, and it still stands.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• a parallel account in Mark 16:15-18 — The same charge and signs given by the risen Lord to the Twelve in Jerusalem.
• alludes to 3 Nephi 11:33-34 — Jesus to the Nephites: whoso believeth and is baptized shall be saved; whoso believeth not is damned.

Children of Christ

And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish. Mormon 9:26

Covenant disciples become Christ's spiritual sons and daughters. Moroni warns anyone who would despise them.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to Mosiah 5:7 — 'ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters.'

Asking in the name of Jesus

O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. Mormon 9:27

Moroni invites us to take every need to the Father in Jesus's name, with faith instead of doubt.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to 3 Nephi 18:20 — Asking the Father in Christ's name, believing.

Sacrament of Christ

See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out. Mormon 9:29

The sacrament belongs to Christ and represents His body and blood. Moroni warns against taking it without real repentance.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it

• alludes to 3 Nephi 18:28-29 — Jesus: whoso eats and drinks His flesh and blood unworthily eats and drinks damnation to his soul.
• alludes to 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 — Paul's warning against eating and drinking the Lord's supper unworthily.

Son of the living God

Son of the living God — Christ as the Son of the Father who lives

See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out. Mormon 9:29

Baptism, the sacrament, and everything a disciple does are to be done in the name of Jesus Christ. Moroni uses Peter's great confession: He is the Son of the living God.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it

• the same title in Matthew 16:16 — Peter: 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

The Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ — 'Jehovah saves', the Anointed One

And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land. Mormon 9:36–37

The purpose of the whole record is to bring the Lamanites back to the knowledge of Christ. Moroni closes his father's book by praying to the Lord Jesus Christ and asking the Father to keep His covenant through faith on Christ's name.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to Enos 1:13 — Enos prayed that the Lord would preserve a record to bring the Lamanites to salvation.
• alludes to Mormon 5:14 — The records go to the remnant 'that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ.'