Click to Listen: Episode 79: Moroni 1-7
This one starts out like a machine gun as we fly through the early chapters, which are basically Moroni’s “self-help” videos for how to do a bunch of Mormon stuff. Then Mormon takes the stage (yeah, he’s back somehow) and it just gets weird from there. Oh, and I worry a lot that this might be the last episode… Thankfully, it’s not.
“Drink” Count – 7
Barely a little more than one measly beer 😦
![1f37a[1]](https://mybookofmormonpodcast.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/1f37a11-e1405273035787.png)
My Book of Mormon 
May 11, 2015 at 7:58 am
(It’s not that I’m bursting at the seams to share my thoughts right now, at 1:30 am. I just have insomnia.)
Moroni is a very strange book, almost an unofficial appendix to the Book of Mormon, containing little bits of instruction that couldn’t be fit into the narrative, so they all get lumped in at the end. Chapters 2-6 are basically Moroni’s guide on how to run a church of Jesus Christ. As Joseph Smith found, it ended up being a little more complicated than simply running meetings “after the manner of the working of the Spirit” (unless we want to just hang it all up and become Quakers, or something), thus necessitating some further instruction in the Doctrine and Covenants.
The LDS church actually takes these instructions very seriously. Someone eventually decided that meeting together “oft” should mean weekly, and fasting “oft” should mean monthly. Funny that those details should be left vague, but these sacramental bread and wine “prayers” are read each Sunday, word for word, by the priests, who, by the way, are typically 16-year-old boys. If they slip up on even a single word, the bishop up on the podium will give a disapproving shake of the head, and the priest will repeat the entire prayer over again, as many times as it takes to get it right.
What? Sacramental wine? Communal booze? Mormons drink wine? No, perish the thought! They use water, of course. Why’s that, when Jesus said to use wine? Sorry, Doctrine and Covenants spoiler!
Heads up, some of the D&C will read a lot like these Moroni chapters. Maybe that’s the reason why a few people earlier on seemed to be warning David Michael about reading D&C? But most of it isn’t like that, and the format can vary quite a bit from section to section. I find that book to have more than sufficient craziness to make up for the dry parts, so have no fear. But as David Michael will be reading Pearl of Great Price next, it doesn’t matter in the slightest.
And if you want to prepare some Book of Mormon final thoughts, get your affairs in order, David Michael. The End is Nigh.
May 11, 2015 at 8:04 am
Also, now that the plot (as it were) of the Book of Mormon is all wrapped up, it’s as good a time as any to showcase that old BoM chronology bookmark many of us received in seminary, years ago:
Or maybe, for the real old timers, your bookmark looked more like this:
May 11, 2015 at 3:00 pm
David, could you do a summary episode after you finish the Book of Mormon? I would really like to hear your thoughts on the key themes, stories, and characters that stand out to you. If you only read the Book of Mormon and didn’t have any other information about the Mormon church, how would you expect Mormon adherents to behave today? What questions does the Book of Mormon leave unanswered for you? Does it answer any questions?
I think you would have enough material for a full summary episode; plus it could function like a cliff notes episode to help others understand your approach in reading the book. Just a thought.
May 11, 2015 at 3:12 pm
I agree, I think this would be a great chance for a Mymo special. Bring a couple guests on and have a time of reflection. See what you learned, and have a few beers!
May 12, 2015 at 4:01 pm
In the next episode you’ll read Moroni 10:3-5. Please understand that this is the most often-quoted scripture in all of the BOM. It’s what missionaries emphasize to “investigators” as they teach the discussions. For dramatic effect, you really need to follow the instructions in these verses on your podcast and see what God tells you about the veracity of the BOM.
May 12, 2015 at 9:45 pm
Without spoiling the last little bit of what’s to come, I’d like to challenge David Michael to do what the missionaries typically ask a person to do, just to be fair to the tbms who occasionally tune in:
Brother David Michael,
Having read the Book of Mormon cover to cover, will you commit to ask God in prayer if the Book is true?
How do Mormons pray, you ask? Well, Brother Michael, it goes something like this. You begin by addressing it to “Heveanly Father.” You can say God if you want, but most Mormons think calling God “Father” like Jesus did is much more personal and confidence-building. After you say something like “Dear Hecenly Father,” or “Our Father in Heaven,” you proceed to give thanks for whatever you feel appropriate. This is what Mormon call “being lead by the spirit” or “following your spiritual promptings, or the whispering a of the Holy Ghost.” It’s literally as simple as saying the first thing that comes to mind if it feels appropriate or right. After a monologue of gratitude, talk to God like a friend. Ask him for help about various things, and finally, ask him if the book is true. Close the prayer “in the name of Jesus Christ” and then wait in the quiet for just a moment to see if you have any powerful, but calm feelings suddenly well up inside you at the thought of the Book of Mormon being true — good feelings, ranging from incredible calm, “peace that surpasses all understanding,” to a “burning in the bosom,” or a heat in your chest accompanied by very powerful emotions. These feelings are supposed to be the Holy Ghost confirming the truth of the book to your heart.
I guess since what I just described is what the last two paragraphs of the introduction ask you to do, so it’s not really a spoiler. You could do it on the podcast, but that might “take away from the spirit.” Missionaries would typically ask you to have this quiet moment in private.
Anyway, take the challenge or leave it, but a Book of Mormon experience is hardly complete without attempting this prayer at least once. On the podcast, or in private, you should do it, and talk about the experience in your closing episode, whether or not anything happens, when you talk about your thoughts on the book as a whole. Who knows? Maybe Mormon God has an ace up his sleeve where his holy Book of Mormon will get convince the skeptic Brother Michael to be a believer upon his reflection on it… and maybe even want to get baptized and become a Mormon!
Maybe not, but give the believers a bone. 🙂
May 29, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Is this the same Joseph Smith responsible for all that Mormon Music?
He is known as the Mormon Music Man and is a legend unto those who cleve to Music made by Mormons. So he wrote the Mormon Bible as well?
http://www.scari.org/mormon-hapless.html
I strongly suspect this is the same guy that printed money too.
Could it be this Joseph Smith was engaged in archeological excavations for hire?
His exploits far exceed the expectations of normalcy.
http://www.scari.org/Mormons.Reconstructed.html
Learning to let go if Joe is a task made difficult by exceedingly sore thinking.
For me Counter-Apologetics is the answer.
Ephima