LESSON 44: Moroni and the Book of Mormon Promise

PURPOSE

To encourage the children to gain a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon and

study it and live its teachings throughout their lives.

Search, Ponder, and Pray • 1. I love to read the holy scriptures,

And, ev’ry time I do, I feel the Spirit start to grow within my heart— A testimony that they’re true.

• 2. So, prayerfully I’ll read the scriptures Each day my whole life through. I’ll come to understand. I’ll heed the Lord’s command And live as he would have me do.

• Chorus Search, ponder, and pray Are the things that I must do. The Spirit will guide, and, deep inside, I’ll know the scriptures are true.

• Words: Jaclyn Thomas Milne, b. 1949. © 1986 IRI

• Music: Carol Baker Black, b. 1951. © 1986 IRI

OUR OPENING PRAYER WILL BE GIVEN BY

(Enter Name Here)

• This picture depicts Moroni near the end of

his life on earth.

• Your study of the Book of Mormon, in

Primary, is also coming to an end.

• Moroni had completed the sacred record.

• His father, Mormon, had been killed; his

relatives were dead; he had no friends.

• The arrows, swords, and shields of battle were

left on the battlefields

• There was destruction everywhere.

• For years Moroni had been living alone,

hiding from the Lamanites and protecting the

sacred records.

• He had abridged (summarized) the twenty-

four gold plates (book of Ether) and finished

his own writing on the plates his father had

given him.

• Referring to the picture, explain that Moroni

is about to place the gold plates in a stone box

in the Hill Cumorah.

• Moroni made a special promise to all those

who read the Book of Mormon..

• This promise is one of the last things Moroni

wrote on the gold plates.

• It is a promise about getting a testimony of the

Book of Mormon.

• During today’s lesson you will discover the steps to take to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon.

• You will also learn about the promise Moroni gave us.

LESSON 44: Moroni and His Writings

GO TO THE VIDEO GO TO THE SLIDES DISCUSSION TIME

Before Moroni buried the plates for the last time, he wrote a promise to the Lamanites and to anyone

else who would read the records.

He told people to read the records, really think about them, and then ask Heavenly Father if they

are true.

Moroni promised

that if people would ask sincerely,

with faith in Christ, the Holy Ghost would help them know the records

are true.

Moroni wrote that if people repent, follow Jesus Christ, and love Heavenly Father, they can become perfect.

• When Moroni finished writing on the gold plates, he hid them in a stone box in the Hill Cumorah and covered the box with a big rock. His mortal work was finished.

DISCUSSION TIME

What did Moroni want us to remember? (Moroni 10:3.)

What did Moroni say we should do to find out if the Book of Mormon is true? (Moroni

10:4.)

Who will help us know the Book of Mormon is true? (Moroni 10:5.)

What is Moroni’s promise to us?

• 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I

would exhort you that ye would aask God, the

Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these

things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith

in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it

unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

• 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye

may aknow the btruth of all things.

• How can we recognize the power of the Holy Ghost when he is testifying to us that the Book of Mormon is true?

– The Lord prompts us most often through our feelings.

– The Holy Ghost often gives us a feeling of peace that something is right and good.

– It may be a warm feeling inside us.

• What is the most important thing you can learn from studying the Book of Mormon?

– That Jesus is the Christ.

• It says on the title page of the Book of Mormon, the following:

An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon

upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi

• Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of

Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites,

who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and

Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the

spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up,

and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To

come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation

thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the

Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The

interpretation thereof by the gift of God.

• An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a

record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time

the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they

were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto

the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord

hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the

covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And

also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the

Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—

And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men;

wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be

found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.

• Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun.

• What did Moroni say about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? (Mormon 8:16.)

• By what power would the Book of Mormon come forth?

Who received the gold plates and translated them into the Book of Mormon?

Now that the work of the Book of Mormon prophets and the Prophet Joseph Smith has been completed, what responsibility do we have to the Book of Mormon?

To study it

Gain a testimony of it

Live its teachings

Share our testimony with others

Now that the work of the Book of Mormon prophets and the Prophet Joseph Smith has been completed, what responsibility do we have to the Book of Mormon?

To study it

Gain a testimony of it

Live its teachings

Share our testimony with others

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ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

You can use these steps to gain your own

testimony

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Read

The first step in gaining a testimony of the

Book of Mormon is to read and study it.

T

Remember

Moroni said we should remember how kind

and merciful Jesus Christ is and we should

fill our hearts with gratitude for him.

This love and gratitude will prepare us for

the spirit of revelation.

T

Ponder

We must ponder or think in our hearts and

minds the things we have learned about Jesus

Christ and his teachings in the Book of

Mormon.

T

Pray

We must pray sincerely, asking God, the

Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, if

the Book of Mormon is true.

T

President Ezra Taft Benson, the 13th president of the Church, said the following:

T

“There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the

keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of

Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of

testimony. …

“The second great reason … is that it was written for our

day. … “The third reason … is [that] it helps us draw nearer to God. …

“There are three great reasons why Latter-

day Saints should make the study of the

Book of Mormon a life-time pursuit.

“The first is that the Book of Mormon is the

keystone of our religion. … A keystone is the

central stone in an arch. It holds all the other

stones in place, and if removed, the arch crumbles.

T

“There is a power in the book which will begin

to flow into your lives the moment you begin a

serious study of the book. You will find

greater power to resist temptation.”

He went on to say “You will find the power to avoid deception.

You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path”

(in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, pp. 4)

T

We learn in Revelation 14:6 and Doctrine and Covenants 133:36 that an angel (Moroni) returned the “everlasting gospel” to the earth.

Invite the children to look for the golden statue of Moroni on top of some of our temples and remember Moroni, who never failed in his testimony of Jesus Christ: “And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ” (Moroni 1:3).

T

8 We believe the aBible to be the bword of God as

far as it is translated ccorrectly; we also believe the dBook of Mormon to be the word of God.

Let’s read and try to memorize the eight article of

faith.

T

When we gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon,

we also gain a testimony that—

•Jesus is the Christ.

•Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.

•The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true

church of God.

T

What are some of your favorite accounts from the

book of Mormon.

What important lessons can be learned from each

account.

T

Testimony

I want to testify to the truthfulness of

Moroni’s promise in Moroni 10:3-5.

Each of you can have your own testimony

that the Book of Mormon is true.

Would any of you like to bear your

testimony of the Book of Mormon?

OUR CLOSING PRAYER WILL BE GIVEN BY

(Enter Name Here)

THE END

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Moroni 10:3

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3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall

read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye

should read them, that ye would remember how amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of

men, from the creation of Adam even down until

the time that ye shall receive these things, and bponder it in your chearts.

Moroni 10:4

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4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would

exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal

Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest

the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy

Ghost.

Moroni 10:5

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5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.

Mormon 8:16

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16 And blessed be ahe that shall bring this thing

to light; for it shall be bbrought out of darkness

unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it

shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall

shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the

knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by

the power of God.

Revelation 14:6

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6 And I saw another aangel fly in the midst of

heaven, having the beverlasting cgospel to dpreach unto them that dwell on the earth, and

to every enation, and kindred, and tongue, and

people,

Doctrine and Covenants 133:36

36 And now, verily saith the Lord, that these things

might be known among you, O inhabitants of the

earth, I have sent forth mine aangel flying through

the midst of heaven, having the everlasting bgospel,

who hath appeared unto some and hath committed it

unto man, who shall appear unto cmany that dwell

on the earth.

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Moroni 1:3

3 And I, Moroni, will not adeny the Christ;

wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the

safety of mine own life.

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Moroni 10:3–5

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3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if

it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would

remember how amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of

men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye

shall receive these things, and bponder it in your chearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye

would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these

things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it

unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all

things.

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FACES