Mormon 1-6

 Main Messages 

I can follow Jesus Christ regardless of what other people do

Godly sorrow and repentance will lead me to Christ and lasting chang

Jesus Christ stands with open arms to receive me

Quote: Ammaron knew that this 10-year-old boy was very precocious, and he trusted him. Being trusted with some major assignment can be very influential in the development of confidence in the formation of the character of a young person, and indeed Mormon remembered that description. Being told that he was trustworthy likely made Mormon even more so. He was, even at that age, a very responsible person.

 Quote: Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines “sober” this way:  A person who is sober is calm, not under the influence of passion, without intemperate passion. He is cool, calm, moderate, free from inordinate passions, free from the heat of passion, calmness, coolness, habitual freedom from enthusiasm, inordinate passion or over-heated imagination. Gravity without sadness or melancholy. It also meant being moderate, frugal, continent, reasonable, and sensible.”

Mormon was, by nature, all of these things. His disposition was calm and level-headed in the worst of situations.

Quote: Mormon was no ordinary person. At the age of 10, he was appointed to become the steward of the sacred Nephite records. At the age of 15 he was “visited of the Lord’. And in his 16th year Mormon was made a leader over the Nephite army. Apparently, Ammaron, the Lord, and Mormon’s people all saw something extraordinary in his capacity and character as a young man.” These three significant events – his calling as a historian and record-keeper, his installment as a military leader, and the visitation of the Savior – likely influenced much of his editing and telling of the Nephite story.

Quote: I mention the first two attributes together—being an example in word and in conversation. The words we use can lift and inspire, or they can harm and demean.

Let us speak to others with love and respect, ever keeping our language clean and avoiding words or comments that would wound or offend.

Quote: The next attribute mentioned by Paul is charity, which has been defined as “the pure love of Christ.”3 I am confident there are within our sphere of influence those who are lonely, those who are ill, and those who feel discouraged. Ours is the opportunity to help them and to lift their spirits.

Quote: Next, we are to be an example in spirit. To me that means we strive to have in our lives kindness, gratitude, forgiveness, and goodwill. These qualities will provide for us a spirit which will touch the lives of those around us.

Quote: To be an example of faith means that we trust in the Lord and in His word. It means that we possess and that we nourish the beliefs that will guide our thoughts and our actions. Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in our Heavenly Father will influence all that we do.

In order to gain and to keep the faith we need, it is essential that we read and study and ponder the scriptures. Communication with our Heavenly Father through prayer is vital.

Quote: Finally, we are to be pure, which means that we are clean in body, mind, and spirit. We know that our body is a temple, to be treated with reverence and respect. Our minds should be filled with uplifting and ennobling thoughts and kept free from those things which will pollute. In order to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we must be worthy.

Quote: As we prove to be examples in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity, we will qualify to be lights to the world.

My brothers and sisters, our opportunities to shine surround us each day, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. As we follow the example of the Savior, ours will be the opportunity to be a light in the lives of others, whether they be our own family members and friends, our co-workers, mere acquaintances, or total strangers.

That each of us within the sound of my voice may pledge to follow Him, thus becoming a shining light to the world, is my prayer

Quote: Frustrated with the cowardice and wickedness of his people, Mormon looked for inspiration to another young general, who lived over 400 years earlier and was able to inspire his people to victory through righteousness. Captain Moroni, chief captain of the Nephite armies, is a man Mormon greatly admired. He devotes a large part of his abridgment to the wars fought by Captain Moroni and may even have names his son after this courageous captain. The description of Captain Moroni in the book of Alma (which was written by Mormon) gives some insight into Mormon’s personality. He admires Moroni for his skill as a general but even more for his faith in God. (Hatch, “Mormon and Moroni”, 107)

Quote: The scope and significance of that horrible slaughter may be seen more readily when we realize that the great American Civil War of the 1860’s, the costliest war, in terms of human life, that the United States has ever known, took the lives of 140,000 men in a five-year period. Here, 230,000 fell in a single day. (Jeffery R. Holland. Mormon: The Man and the Book Part 1)