Moroni

 This week we finish off the Book of Mormon with Moroni 10. Here are some insights about the prophet Moroni I have gleaned over the last three weeks of study.

Moroni is a sad and solitary character.  If you follow the time stamps in the Book of Mormon it seems that Moroni lived alone for three decades after the final Cumorah battle.  He was constantly on the run, hiding from the Lamanites who wanted his blood. It is remarkable that in the end he dedicates his book for the benefit of the the very people who killed his own family and nation. I also find it touching and suitable that he was chosen to reveal the plates to Joseph Smith.  At the end of the Book of Mormon we see Moroni placing the plates in the earth and then, at the beginning of the Doctrine and Covenants, we see Moroni instructing Joseph Smith to retrieve them and translate them.  

I often listen to the Church News Podcast, and at the end of each episode, the host asks his/her guest, "What do you know now?"  So, I ask myself, after reading and studying the Book of Mormon again this year, what do I know now that I didn't know at the beginning of the year?  Most of my insights this year came from the different podcasters I listen to.  Jack Welsh and Lynn Wilson were constantly showing how the writing in the Book of Mormon fits into the tradition of ancient Israelitish texts. They pointed out how many times the Book of Mormon uses chiasmus, and how often important terms or ideas are repeated seven times within the text, (a significant number in Jewish theology).  Bryce Dunford from Talking Scripture never missed a chance to point out temple imagery in the Book of Mormon.  It really helped me understand what temple imagery is and why modern prophets have been emphasizing temple worship so much in the last 10 years. Finally, this year I have benefited more than in previous studies of the Book of Mormon by applying teaching from the book in my personal life.  I have seen the stories  as symbolic of universal human experience and God's guidance in those stories as direction for the world in how to handle universal challenges. I have also had stories come up right at the time when I, personally, needed the messages that story taught.

I am genuinely sad to be ending this year of studying this book.  I admit that I do not face studying the Doctrine and Covenant with as much anticipation as other of the standard works. Still, who knows,  maybe this will be my best Doctrine and Covenants year ever.