Moroni Chapter 10: Blogging the Book of Mormon

Here are some of my insights and wonderments about Moroni chapter 10 in the Book of Mormon.

Why would it not be wisdom in God for someone to read the Book of Mormon?  There must be a reason, because in verse 3 it refers to the "wisdom in God that ye should read them".  Are some people just not ready?  Also possible is that God is not ready to introduce some people to his Son's Church just yet.  As I read that phrase in verse 3, I was reminded of Orson F Whitney's statement about why some people aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints yet:

Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of his Church, to help it along. They are among its auxiliaries, and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else. And the same is true of the priesthood and its auxiliaries inside the Church. Hence, some are drawn into the fold and receive a testimony of the Truth; while others remain unconverted—for the present; the beauties and glories of the gospel being veiled temporarily from their view, for a wise purpose. The Lord will open their eyes in his own due time. 

God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of his great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous, for any one people.

When we look back on what Biblical history we have, it can sometimes seem that God has not been very "merciful...unto the children of men" (verse 3).  I think that perspective is gained in large part from the Jews attempting to keep up with the other nations by falsely illustrating that their God was as mean and spiteful as the gods of the other nations.  In reality, God is very merciful, as witnessed by Joseph F Smith in a vision now recorded in section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants.  Smith saw that

12 ...there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
13 And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer’s name.
14 All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection

Why did Mormon remind us of how merciful God has been over the millennia of earth's existence? To remind us that it is okay for us to be merciful, too.  God is supremely patient with us, so we can afford to be at least a little bit patient with those around us.

It seems to me that belief in Christ is a general prerequisite to belief in the Book of Mormon. If someone mocks the idea of Christ as our Savior, it would be very unlikely that they would recognize the Book of Mormon as an important witness of his divinity.

...more to come...