This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Moroni 7-9, which includes Mormon’s teachings on charity and the truth that “little children are alive in Christ” (Moroni 8:12).
Following are a few quotes from past and present leaders about these chapters in the Book of Mormon.
Moroni 7
“Mormon begins in the first verses of Moroni 7 with a testimony of Jesus Christ, of angels and of the Spirit of Christ, which allows us to know good from evil and so be able to choose the right.
He puts Jesus Christ first, as do all who succeed in giving encouragement to those struggling upward on the path to their heavenly home:
“’For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.
“’But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church’ (Moroni 7:38-39).
“Mormon saw meekness as evidence of the strength of their faith. He saw that they felt dependent on the Savior. He encouraged them by noting that faith. Mormon continued giving them encouragement by helping them see that their faith and meekness would build their assurance and their confidence of success in their struggle:
“’And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?
“’And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
“’Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
“‘And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart’ (Moroni 7:40-43).”
— President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, October 2022 general conference, “Legacy of Encouragement”
“Mormon the prophet alerted his people about the importance of having the ability to distinguish good from evil:
“’Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.
“’But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually’ (Moroni 7:12–13).
“The Light of Christ together with the companionship of the Holy Ghost must help us determine if our manner of living is placing us in the Lord’s territory or not. If our attitudes are good, they are inspired of God, for every good thing comes from God. However, if our attitudes are bad, we are being influenced by the enemy because he persuades men to do evil.”
— Elder Ulisses Soares, then a General Authority Seventy, April 2012 general conference, “Abide in the Lord’s Territory!”
“The list of doctrinal confirmations and clarifications goes on and on, but none is more powerful nor poignant than the Book of Mormon’s discourses on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement — that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then read the Book of Mormon. It will teach you and testify to you that Christ’s Atonement is infinite because it circumscribes and encompasses and transcends every finite frailty known to man. That is why the prophet Mormon declared, ‘Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ’ (Moroni 7:41).”
— Elder Tad R. Callister, then a General Authority Seventy, October 2011 general conference, “The Book of Mormon — a Book From God”
“As important as it is to lose every desire for sin, eternal life requires more. To achieve our eternal destiny, we will desire and work for the qualities required to become an eternal being. For example, eternal beings forgive all who have wronged them. They put the welfare of others ahead of themselves. And they love all of God’s children. If this seems too difficult — and surely it is not easy for any of us — then we should begin with a desire for such qualities and call upon our loving Heavenly Father for help with our feelings. The Book of Mormon teaches us that we should ‘pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that [we] may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ’ (Moroni 7:48).”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2011 general conference, “Desire”
“Brothers and sisters, may I reemphasize that the most important attribute of Heavenly Father and of His Beloved Son that we should desire and seek to possess within our lives is the gift of charity, ‘the pure love of Christ’ (Moroni 7:47). From this gift springs our capacity to love and to serve others as the Savior did.
“The prophet Mormon taught us the supreme importance of this gift and told us how we can receive it: ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure’ (Moroni 7:48).
“Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.”
— The late President M. Russell Ballard, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2011 general conference, “Finding Joy Through Loving Service”
“Having spoken in praise of labor, I must also add a kind word for leisure. Just as honest toil gives rest its sweetness, wholesome recreation is the friend and steadying companion of work. Music, literature, art, dance, drama, athletics — all can provide entertainment to enrich one’s life and further consecrate it. At the same time, it hardly needs to be said that much of what passes for entertainment today is coarse, degrading, violent, mind-numbing and time wasting. Ironically, it sometimes takes hard work to find wholesome leisure. When entertainment turns from virtue to vice, it becomes a destroyer of the consecrated life. ‘Wherefore, take heed … that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God’ (Moroni 7:14).”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2010 general conference, “Reflections on a Consecrated Life”
“The Book of Mormon provides insight into the relationship between patience and charity. Mormon, after pointing out that if a man ‘have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity,’ goes on to name the 13 elements of charity, or the pure love of Christ. I find it most interesting that four of the 13 elements of this must-have virtue relate to patience (see Moroni 7:44–45).
“First, ‘charity suffereth long.’ That is what patience is all about. Charity ‘is not easily provoked’ is another aspect of this quality, as is charity ‘beareth all things.’ And finally, charity ‘endureth all things’ is certainly an expression of patience (Moroni 7:45). From these defining elements it is evident that without patience gracing our soul, we would be seriously lacking with respect to a Christlike character. …
“Is patience important and worthy of our pondering and pursuit? It certainly is if we would avoid the demeaning classification of ‘nothing’ used to label those without charity. It is if we desire to be less a natural-man enemy of God. It is if we would be heavenly. It is if we would seek to become after the manner of Christ.”
— Elder Robert C. Oaks, then a General Authority Seventy, October 2006 general conference, “The Power of Patience”
Moroni 8
“Godly fear is loving and trusting in Him. As we fear God more completely, we love Him more perfectly. And ‘perfect love casteth out all fear’ (Moroni 8:16). I promise the bright light of godly fear will chase away the dark shadows of mortal fears as we look to the Savior, build upon Him as our foundation and press forward on His covenant path with consecrated commitment.”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2015 general conference, “Therefore They Hushed Their Fears”
“Our ‘children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalm 127:3). He knows and loves each one with perfect love (see Moroni 8:17). What a sacred responsibility Heavenly Father places upon us as parents to partner with Him in helping His choice spirits become what He knows they can become.”
— Sister Cheryl A. Esplin, then the second counselor in the Primary general presidency, April 2012 general conference, “Teaching Our Children To Understand”
Moroni 9
“The doctrine I have described will seem to be archaic and outdated to many people in a world that increasingly mocks the sanctity of procreation and minimizes the worth of human life. But the Lord’s truth is not altered by fads, popularity or public opinion polls. I promise that obedience to the law of chastity will increase our happiness in mortality and make possible our progress in eternity. Chastity and virtue are now, always have been and always will be ‘most dear and precious above all things’ (Moroni 9:9).”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2013 general conference, “We Believe in Being Chaste”
“What does it mean to return to virtue? We are calling for a return to moral purity and chastity. Virtue is purity. Virtue is chastity. … The core of a virtuous life is sexual purity, and yet this definition has almost been erased by the world. The prophet Mormon taught that chastity and virtue are ‘most dear and precious above all things’ (Moroni 9:9). They go together. You cannot have one without the other, and ‘we believe in being … virtuous’ (Articles of Faith 1:13).”
— Sister Elaine S. Dalton, then the Young Women general president, April 2009 general conference, “Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord”
“As we struggle with the challenges of mortality, I pray for each of us, as the prophet Mormon prayed for his son, Moroni: ‘May Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, … and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever’ (Moroni 9:25).
“I testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who invites us all to come unto Him and be perfected in Him. He will bind up our wounds and He will heal the heavy laden.”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2006 general conference, “He Heals the Heavy Laden”
“We who hold the priesthood of God cannot afford to drift. We have work to do (see Moroni 9:6). We must arise from the dust of self-indulgence and be men! It is a wonderful aspiration for a boy to become a man — strong and capable; someone who can build and create things, run things; someone who makes a difference in the world. It is a wonderful aspiration for those of us who are older to make the vision of true manhood a reality in our lives and be models for those who look to us for an example.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson, then a General Authority Seventy, October 2006 general conference, “Let Us Be Men”
