In this paragraph Moroni tells us that because the Nephites, the people of Christ, had dwindled in unbelief, and that the Lamanites had rejected the Gospel, he had been instructed of the Lord to hide the sacred relics in the earth; they to come forth again at some future time. These relics were, the Smaller Plates of Nephi 3 the Urim and Thummim and the Breastplate. These sacred things had long been used by the Church of Christ upon this continent, except, of course, the writings of Mormon and Moroni. All these the Prophet entrusted to the motherly bosom of the earth, there to rest until the Gentiles would repent and exercise faith in the Lord. (v. 7)
Moroni, in this Chapter gives a complete understanding of the conditions that would surround the time when the visions recorded by the Brother of Jared should come to the knowledge of the world. He makes mention of two separate times; the first had already taken place as recorded in verse two. The second is to be as the Voice of the Lord declared it to Moroni and placed on record in verses six and seven.
For emphasis we quote verses four and five of this chapter, and suggest to the student that in its connection he will read verses 23 to 25 of Chapter 12 of this Book. "Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the Brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than these which were made manifest unto the Brother of Jared. Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me that I should seal them up; and He also hath commanded that I seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the Interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord." (Ether 4:4-5)
Moroni was bowed down with a burden of care. He had seen his people, the Nephites, the people of Christ, destroyed. All about him was death and nothing appeared to ameliorate the gloom that hovered over all. The Sun shone brightly but the day was dark. Far reaching lands and fertile fields, that in times past had yielded bounteous crops to the labor of the husbandman, were now desolate. The ramparts of cities, once the gardens of their citizens, had been turned into battlegrounds where unburied bodies lay seething in their own filthiness.
As it was in the days before the ministry of the resurrected Redeemer, the Lamanites again chose apostate Nephites to lead their armies. 4 The hatred these apostate Nephites had of their former brethren was intense; their spite was keen and inexhaustible, and of all the passions that occupy the human heart, apostate ill-will is the most bitter and malignant. They left no stone untouched or unturned that they might throw at the crumbling bulwark and battlements of the Christian Religion. They hunted like wild beasts the few remaining Saints who still took upon themselves the Name of Christ, and who would not deny their belief in His Majesty. Wasted lands and ruined cities bore mute evidence of the barbarity of the Lamanite horde that swept over the face of the earth.
Moroni, we may feel sure, was about to despair. However, the Lord, seeing his distress, sought to comfort him. With the faith and courage that comes to one after a life of service to the Master, Moroni's heart and mind had become attuned to the whisperings of that Still Small Voice which comes from the Father to lead and to guide and to warn of things to come. He, almost overwhelmed with sadness, and notwithstanding the sorrow in his heart, perceived a Voice. "A pleasant Voice, as if it were a whisper"; the Voice of One from On High, Who is mighty and powerful; Whose Voice is unto the ends of the Earth, even the Voice of Jesus Christ: "Come unto Me." (vv. 13 and 14)
Moroni listened attentively to the Voice, and we, too, hear it through him. Not a voice like rushing mighty waters, not like thunder upon the distant mountain tops. But a voice like the calm of eventide with healing in its wings. Not in these exact terms, but with a meaning plain that all may understand: "The words of your prophets are the words of 'My servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.' " (Helaman 5:29) " 'Their words are My words, 'For I am He Who speaketh.' " (v. 8)
In no uncertain terms, but in plainness, that we may quickly comprehend, the Lord, Himself, verifies as His own, the words of His servants. And whether or not we believe their words, at the last day all will know "It is I that speaketh." (v. 10) 5
And furthermore, the Lord promises that whosoever believeth the words which He has spoken by the mouth of His servants, "him will I visit with the manifestations of My Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of My Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good." (v. 11)
The Voice of the Lord, Jesus Christ, in His own beautiful but simple words, proclaims the summum bonum of all existence, or in other words, the supreme or highest good from which all our blessings come: "Good cometh of none save it be of Me." (v. 12) 6
We may understand this to mean that not only does good come from Him in a personal manner or relation, but that belief in Him cause men to do only that which is good. In this way good cometh of Him. 7
Some people have the idea that God created evil since they say He created all things, and that by overcoming evil we progress. That is only partly true. We may progress by doing better that which is good. God did not create evil! It, as an opposite to good, always existed. 8