Ether 12:4 - Meet The Author

I write this post while listening to the sound of thunder and christmas carols, and by the glow of lightening and my humidifier.

I revisited my "all-purpose" verse from my mission. For some reason, I haven't read it since getting back. At least I can now confidently say it is my favorite.

Ether 12:4.

It's chalk full of goodness. (So much so, I am breaking it up into a series of posts.) It's been like a best friend to me. It always knows just what to say. It's always there when I need it. It's always supportive. It's never mean. It's always uplifting. It's Moroni. It's inspiring. It's intellectually stimulating. It's elegant.

Like I said. It's my best friend. If I could live in a verse, this would be it.

Moroni has always amazed me. For some reason, I feel a certain closeness with him, as if he were one of my dear friends. I'm always sad when the book is over and I have to goodbye.
What I find the most amazing about him, is who he is. He's not perfect. Mormon lets us know that. That gives me hope.

For those of you who do not know Moroni, let me give you a quick background. His dad, Mormon, was an incredible general. Both Mormon and Moroni almost their entire lives at war. This isn't your normal feud of the tribes. This isn't even French Revolution. It's horrific. It's terrifying. It's hopeless.
These two people have been at war, almost constantly, since setting foot on the land. Their families are being violated and tortured in grotesque ways. It's not just their families, but their friends, too. no one safe. Mayan like sacrifices are being made. The air stinks with the odor of death.

I distinctly remember putting my book and having to take a moment or two. For some reason, I missed those part the first three times I read the book.

You may have seen one of
these giant statues of Moroni

No one side is good either. The Nephites, Moroni and Mormon's people, have more than their fair share of savageness. Mormon tried to walk away from it all, but his people needed him. As much as he pleaded and taught them, they wouldn't change their ways. So, knowing they would be destroyed, Mormon helps them anyways. Eventually, Mormon dies.

So here's Moroni. He watched his father die. His wife and children have died after experiencing the unimaginable. The surviving of his friends have been scattered. The Nephite army is no more. It's every man for him self. So he goes from hiding spot to hiding spot, finishing a project his father started. He's hunted like a fox. No friends. No family. Alone.
I may be alone, but I will never be Moroni alone.

He even finishes one of his chapters by saying it would probably be the last, and that it's likely he won't live much longer.

Well guess what, he still lives. If you think about it, that's not necessarily a good thing, at least for him. He opens then next chapter like "Well, I'm not dead yet. So... Let's talk about hope!" And I'm sitting in my chair like "Are you kidding me?" What on earth could he hope for?

Not to be confused with this guy. This is a different, but
also awesome, Captain Moroni.

Here, he has EVERY right to feel jaded and depressed. His life is a literal nightmare. But no, he's going to give us some of the most powerful chapters in the entire book. He's going to teach us about faith, hope, and charity. Oh! And look at this other piece of book he found that relates a people that ended up like his. He's the last of his kind? Hunted down by the blood thirsty and terrible? Let's talk about the greatest love that exist. Are you kidding me? Is this guy for real? Yes.

I love Moroni with a deep love.

Ether was a prophet of a people that was also destroyed in a horrific manner, similar to Moroni's. Only one man that just couldn't die, no matter how much he wanted to. But that is an interesting story for another time.












Here's the verse I will be discussing. What are your insights? I just might add your comment in one of my posts, but I will definitely take note of it.

 4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.