- 7Now I’ll write a few of the words that my father Mormon spoke about faith, hope, and charity. This is what he said to the people as he taught them in the synagogue they had built for a place of worship:
- 2I Mormon will now speak to you, my dear people. And it’s by the grace of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy will, because of the gift of His calling to me, that I’m permitted to speak to you at this time. 3I would like to speak to you who belong to the congregation, who are the peaceable followers of Christ, and who have obtained a sufficient hope to enter the Lord’s rest, from now until you rest with Him in heaven. 4Now, my people, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with mankind. 5For I remember God’s word that says: You’ll know them by how they live. Because if their actions are good, then they’re good. 6God has said: A person who’s evil can’t do good. Because if they offer a gift or pray to God, unless they do it with real intent, it’s of no benefit to them — 7it isn’t credited to them for righteousness. 8If a person who’s evil gives a gift, they do it grudgingly; so it’s credited to them the same as if they had retained the gift. Therefore they’re considered evil before God. 9And it’s similarly counted as evil if a person prays without real intent of heart. It’s of no benefit to them since God doesn’t accept such a person. 10So a person who’s evil can’t do good, and they can’t give a good gift either. 11Indeed, a bitter spring can’t produce good water and a good spring can’t produce bitter water. Therefore a person who’s the accuser’s servant can’t follow Christ; and if they follow Christ, they can’t be a servant of the accuser. 12So everything good comes from God and everything evil comes from the accuser. Because the accuser is an enemy of God and constantly fights against Him and constantly invites and entices to commit sin and to do what’s evil. 13But godly things constantly invite and persuade to do good.
- So everything that invites and persuades to do good and to love God and to serve Him is inspired by God. 14Therefore be careful, my dear people, not to judge what’s evil to come from God, or what’s good and from God to come from the accuser. 15You are required to determine, so you can distinguish good from evil. The way to determine things is as plain as the daylight is from the dark night, so you can know it clearly. 16Because the Spirit of Christ is given to everyone so they can tell good from evil. Therefore I’ll show you how to decide. Everything that invites to do good and persuades to believe in Christ is sent out by the power and gift of Christ. Therefore you’re able to know clearly it comes from God. 17But anything that persuades people to do evil and not to believe in Christ and deny Him and not to serve God, then you’re able to know clearly that it comes from the accuser. This is how the accuser works; he doesn’t persuade anyone to do good — no, not one — and neither do his angels or those who subject themselves to him. 18Now, since you understand the light by which you can decide things, and this light is the light of Christ, take care you don’t make the wrong decision; because you’ll be judged by the standard you judge with. 19So I implore you to search diligently using the light of Christ in order to know good from evil. And if you embrace every good thing and don’t condemn it, you’ll certainly be a child of Christ.
- 20Now, how is it possible you can hold firmly to every good thing? 21Now I come to that faith I said I would speak about. I’ll tell you the way by which you can hold firmly onto every good thing. 22God, since He knows all things and exists from everlasting to everlasting, sent angels to minister to mankind, to prophesy about Christ’s coming, and to reveal that every good thing would come in Christ. 23God also declared to prophets with His own words that Christ was to come. 24There were various ways He revealed good things to mankind; and everything that’s good comes from Christ. Otherwise, people would have remained fallen and nothing good could have come to them. 25So people began to exercise faith in Christ through the ministering of angels and by means of every word that came from God. In this way they take hold of every good thing by faith, and this is how it was until Christ’s coming. 26After He came, people were also saved by faith in His name, and by faith they became the sons and daughters of God.
- As surely as Christ lives, He said these words to our ancestors: Anything you ask the Father in My name that’s good, in faith believing you will receive, it will be done to you. 27Therefore, my dear people, have miracles stopped just because Christ has ascended into heaven and arrived at God’s right hand, to claim from the Father His rights of mercy, which He has upon mankind? 28He has answered the requirements of the law, and He claims all those who have faith in Him. And those who have faith in Him will hold firmly to every good thing. Therefore He acts as an advocate for the benefit of mankind, and He lives eternally in the heavens.
- 29And because He’s done this, my dear people, have miracles stopped? I tell you: No. And neither have angels stopped ministering to mankind. 30They are obedient to Him, to minister according to His commands, revealing themselves to those of strong faith and of a firm mind in every form of godliness. 31The responsibility of their ministry is to call people to repentance, and to fulfill and do the work of the Father’s covenants that He’s made to mankind, to prepare the way among people by declaring Christ’s word to the Lord’s chosen vessels, so they can bear testimony of Him. 32And by doing this, the Lord God prepares the way for the remainder of mankind to have faith in Christ, so the Holy Ghost can have a place in their hearts according to the power of the Holy Ghost. This is how the Father vindicates the covenants He’s made to mankind. 33Christ has said: If you have faith in Me, you’ll have power to do whatever I consider needed and proper. 34And He’s said to everyone on earth: Repent and come to Me and be baptized in My name and have faith in Me, so you can be saved.
- 35Now, my dear people, if these things I’ve told you are indeed true — and God will show you on the last day, with power and great glory, that they’re true — has the day of miracles ended? 36Or have angels stopped appearing to mankind? Or has He withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will He so long as time lasts or the earth stands or there’s one person to be saved? 37I tell you, No. Because it’s by faith miracles are performed, and it’s by faith angels appear and minister to mankind. So if these things have come to an end, woe to mankind, since it’s because of unbelief; and everything is wasted, 38because no one can be saved, according to Christ’s words, unless they have faith in His name. So if these things have come to an end, then so has faith; and mankind’s condition will be awful, since it will be as if no redemption had been made for them.
- 39But I hold a higher opinion of you. I conclude you have faith in Christ because of your meekness. Because if you don’t have faith in Him, then you aren’t fit to be included among the people of His congregation. 40Again, I want to speak to you about hope. How can you attain faith without having hope? 41So what will you hope for? You must have hope through Christ’s atonement and the power of His resurrection to be raised to life eternal, and you’ll have this hope because of your faith in Him, according to the promise. 42So if a person has faith, they must have hope, since without faith there can’t be any hope. 43Again, I tell you a person can’t have faith and hope unless they’re meek and humble of heart. 44Otherwise, their faith and hope are useless, since no one is acceptable before God except the meek and humble of heart.
- If a person is meek and humble in heart and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, they must have charity. Because if they don’t have charity, they’re nothing; so they must have charity. 45Charity is long-suffering and kind; it doesn’t envy or brag; it doesn’t insist on its own way; it isn’t easily angered; it doesn’t keep track of wrongs; it takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth; it patiently bears all things, always believes, always hopes, and always endures. 46So, my dear people, if you don’t have charity, you’re nothing, since charity never fails. Therefore hold firmly to charity, which is the greatest of all. Because everything will pass away; 47but charity is Christ’s pure love, and it endures forever. Those who are found to possess it on the last day, it will go well with them. 48So, my dear people, pray earnestly to the Father so you can be filled with this love that He’s freely given to all who are true followers of His Son Jesus Christ, so you can become the sons and daughters of God, so when He appears, we’ll be like Him and we’ll see and comprehend Him, so we can have this hope, so we can be purified, just as He is pure. Amen.
Chapter 7