Book of Mormon (Plain English Version)/Mormon/Chapter 9
Moroni questions latter-day people...
(compare Mormon, chapter 9)
And now I, Moroni, speak about those whom I saw, who will not believe in Christ (the previous chapter was addressed to believers of Christ).
Will you believe in Christ when He comes on that great day when the earth is rolled together like a scroll, and when the elements will melt with fervent heat?
And when you are brought to stand before the Lamb of God, will you then say there is no God?
Will you deny Christ while in His presence?
Do you think you could live with Him, aware of your own guilt?
Do you think you could be happy living with that holy Being when your soul is racked with guilt for having abused His laws?
You would be more miserable living with a holy and just God, being aware of your filthiness, than you would living with the damned souls of hell. For when you realize how exposed your soul is before God in His glory, and realize the holiness of Jesus Christ, your soul will be filled with a flame of unquenchable fire.
Turn to the Lord, you who are unbelievers. Cry mightily to the Father, in the name of Jesus, that perhaps you may be found spotless--spiritually pure, fair and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb at that great and last day.
Again, I speak to you who deny God's power, who say there are no more revelations, prophecies, and other gifts, such as healing, or the speaking and understanding of foreign or unknown languages.
Whoever denies these things does not know the gospel of Christ and has not read the scriptures. Or if he has read the scriptures, he does not understand them.
For do we not read that God is unchangeable forever? If you have imagined that He varies, then you have imagined a god that is not a God of miracles.
But I will show you a God of miracles--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same God who created the heavens, the earth, and everything in them. He created Adam and Eve, who fell from the garden. Because they fell, Jesus Christ came, who is the Father and the Son. Because of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected (redeemed from the death of the body).
Because of the resurrection, when the trumpet will sound at the great and last day, everyone will be brought back into the Lord's presence to be judged. Whoever was happy, being righteous on earth, will still be happy in his righteousness. And whoever was unhappy, being wicked on earth, will remain unhappy, and will still be wicked.
To those who have imagined a god who cannot do miracles, I ask, have all the miracles I have mentioned come to an end? No, for God has not stopped being a God of miracles.
Are not the things that God has done marvelous to our eyes? Yes, and who can comprehend His marvelous works? Who can say that the creation of the heavens, of the earth, and of Adam and Eve, all from the dust and by His word, are not miracles?
Who can say that Jesus Christ and His disciples did not do many mighty miracles?
If there were miracles then, how can God stop being a God of miracles when He is an unchangeable being? He has not changed, for He continues to be a God of miracles.
The reason He stops doing miracles among people is that they lose faith, turning from the right way, and they grow in ignorance of the God they should be trusting.
If one believes in Christ without any doubts, then whatever he asks the Father in the name of Christ will be given to him. This promise is to every person on the earth.
For the multitude heard Jesus Christ, the Son of God, say to His three disciples who will never die,
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every soul. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved, but those who do not believe will be damned.
These signs will follow those who believe:
In my name they will cast out devils and speak in new languages. They will hold deadly serpents and consume poisoned drink and suffer no harm. They will lay their hands on the sick and heal them. To all who believe in my name without doubts, I will confirm all my words, no matter where they live on earth."
Now, who can stand up against the Lord's works? Who can deny His words? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise Christ's children and their works?
All of you who despise the Lord's works will be amazed, and then perish.
Do not despise revelation, but rather, listen to the Lord's words.
Ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, for what you need. Do not doubt, but believe, and begin to come to the Lord with all your heart, working out your salvation with fear and trembling before Him.
Be wise in the days of your probation. Rid yourself of all uncleanness.
Do not ask for something to fulfill your selfish desires. Ask with determined faith, that you will not give in to any temptation, but that you will serve the true and living God.
Do not be baptized or take the sacrament of Christ unworthy. Do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
If you do this and continue in righteousness throughout your lives, you will live in God's kingdom.
I speak to you as if speaking from the dead, for I know you will have my words when I am gone.
Do not condemn me, nor my father Mormon, nor others because of our imperfections. Thank God for showing you our imperfections, that you may learn to be more wise than our people have been.
We have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters we call reformed Egyptian. This language has been handed down and changed by us, according to our way of speaking.
- Note: One example of their changed speech was the elimination of the phrase, “And It came to pass". Mormon and Moroni never used that phrase in their own writings. It was archaic even in their day.
If our plates had been large enough, we would have written in Hebrew, which we have also changed over the years. If we had the space to write in Hebrew, our record would not have the writing imperfections it now has.
The Lord knows what we have written, and also that no other people know our reformed Egyptian language. This is why He has prepared a way for it to be interpreted.
We write these things to rid our robes of our brethren's blood, who have lived in unbelief. We want our brethren (the Lamanites) to know about Christ again.
According to the prayers of the saints who have lived in this land, and according to their faith in Jesus Christ, may God the Father remember the covenant that He made with Israel's descendants and bless them forever. Amen.