Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price

Lehi is the first Book of Mormon hero. Although we don’t currently have his writings, we learn of him through his son Nephi, who wrote the first record of his family and people. From Nephi, we learn that Lehi was a good father, a prophet, and a man of great faith and courage.

Lehi was a wealthy man, living at the time of Zedekiah’s reign over Judah (about 600 B.C). He and his family lived quite comfortably and their life could easily have continued along a smooth and undemanding path had not Lehi received, and more importantly, accepted a call from God. When he was called to be a prophet, he promptly went to work doing the challenging assignment God gave him. He was to call the people to repentance. As can be expected, the people didn’t want to be called to repentance. This was at a time when there were numerous prophets, including Jeremiah, and none of them were successful at bringing the people back to the path God required of them.

All of the prophets were in great danger. Jeremiah was imprisoned after he warned that the temple and Jerusalem would be destroyed if the people didn’t change their ways. For his own safety, Lehi was instructed by God to pack up whatever belongings were needed to live in the wilderness and leave. His wealth must be left behind. The man who once lived in a large, impressive home was now to live in a tent.

"And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness. (1 Nephi 2:3-4"

How would you react if asked to leave behind everything you own except for the absolute essentials? Do you remember the rich man who approached Jesus?

"And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

"And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

"And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." (Mark 10:17-22)

When Heaven seems far away and a long time in coming, sometimes we can begin to focus so much on our material possessions we lose sight of eternity. When weighing the eternal results of our choice, it would seem easy to give up our possessions, but very few actually do it.

Lehi did, however. God said to leave it all behind, go live in a tent and go someplace, but you won’t know where until you get there. He had no idea where he was headed or what the journey or the rest of his life would look like…and yet he went without question.

The years ahead were difficult, filled with hardships and sorrow, as well as joy and faith. While Lehi was not perfect—no one is—he was remarkable for the way he worked hard to follow God’s plan for him and for his family no matter how long and hard the journey was. He continued in faith through years of hiking the wilderness, a long ocean journey, and the building of a new home in the land God had provided for them. During this time he struggled with the wickedness of two of his children. His wife delivered two more children in the wilderness. He watched with pride as his younger son Nephi grew into a valiant prophet and was followed by all but the two rebellious brothers.

It was many years before Lehi again lived in a real home instead of a tent or a boat, but throughout it all, he held onto his faith. When God asks us to leave behind something we thought was important, and go to uncharted territory, whether it’s a physical move, a spiritual journey or a simple walk into a new way of life, we can look to Lehi for inspiration and comfort.

Moroni is most often known to people outside the church as the figure on the statue topping most of the Mormon temples. Have you ever wondered who he is and why he’s on our temples?

Moroni was a prophet who lived in the time when the events of the Book of Mormon happened. He was the son of Mormon. It is Mormon whose name is on the Book of Mormon. Mormon abridged the plates (records), written by numerous prophets over many generations, to make them a manageable size.

The Book of Mormon chronicles the history of two groups of people, all descendants of the same prophet. The Lamanites, descendants of Laman, a man who chose to turn his back on God, had always wanted to destroy the Nephites. The Nephites were the descendants of Nephi, Laman’s younger brother. God promised the Nephites they couldn’t be destroyed as long as they lived the gospel, but there came a time when the Nephites turned away from God and the Lamanites were able to fulfill their wicked goal. A terrible battle ensued, killing Nephites in huge numbers. In chapter 8 of the Book of Mormon (a section of the larger Book of Mormon, much as Revelations is a book in the Bible), Moroni takes over the records:

“And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not. Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.”

Moroni’s purpose was to deliver the final messages of this sacred record and then to put it where it would be kept safe until a later time. However, his personal life story is one of the most powerful in the Book of Mormon. Some scholars believe Moroni was only a teenager when he took over responsibility for the remains of the church, and the scriptures. As a teenager, then, he soon became the only good person remaining in the world he knew. His life was constantly in danger, because the goal was to ensure no Nephites remained. He stayed hidden and alone, coming out only when it was safe, to find food, ministered to on occasion by angels, but otherwise, alone and hunted. His only purpose for being kept alive was to preserve this book so the people of our time could have it. What did he think about in those long hours as he worked to finish the book, or in the lonely hours before sleep? How many people had he loved were lost in the battle?

Moroni is an extraordinary example of faith in the face of sorrow and hardship. After safely hiding the book in the Hill Cumorah in upstate New York, he slipped away. Many years later, he returned, surprised to still be alive. Again in secret, he retrieved the book and added to it, but he remained in great danger. “And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.” (Moroni 1:3) Despite the terrible sacrifices he had made, he was unwilling to compromise his faith, serving as a model for all who are asked to sacrifice or compromise their own faiths.

In these final writings, he recorded the words that have changed millions of lives. He explained how to know if the book contained the truth:

“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10: 3-5)

When it was time for the gospel to be restored, it was Moroni, now an angel, who came to Joseph and who would eventually lead him to the plates Moroni had hidden so long ago. Moroni trained Joseph for the initial work, teaching him what he needed to do to prepare to participate in restoring the gospel to the earth.

He is shown as an angel proclaiming the restoration of the gospel in statues and pictures in honor of the great work he did in his lifetime on earth, and later in his continuing work as an angel.