Any attempt to answer this question must include considering that the compilers of the book claim to have seen our day. Moroni’s first writing after receiving the plates from his father Mormon includes a rather detailed description of what he had seen of our day:
it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead.
And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness.
Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins (Mormon 8:26-32.)
How could Moroni be so specific and certain? The answer is quite simple, “Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Mormon 8:35.)
“Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing!” What a breathtaking declaration. Nephi is equally direct in explaining why he wrote what he wrote:
And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.
11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.
12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.
13 And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.
14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God,and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day.
15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen (2 Nephi 33:10-15.)
These are stunning claims by two Book of Mormon contributors. They provide a context for pondering everything included in the book. Nephi, Mormon, Moroni and others clearly saw something in our day that caused them to include what they did in the book. Moreover, they felt commanded by Jesus Christ to write what they wrote.
Given this, an important question we could ask ourselves is, “what am I to learn for my profit and learning from what I am currently studying?”
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