Text: Moroni had quoted one of his father’s sermons in the previous chapter. It could have been related to the liturgical theme of the first six chapters of Moroni. However, that connection is based on the tenuous argument that it was a discourse and that discourses or teachings were part of church practices. Chapter 8 has an even more tenuous link to liturgy, since it discusses not baptizing children. That topic deals with doctrine (teachings) rather than liturgy (practices).
While Mormon wrote from an outline that had a clear purpose, Moroni seems to have begun writing without a definite idea of what he wanted to say. He is alone. No organized church has survived, yet the Savior’s church will exist again in Moroni’s future. To help that future organization, he describes the practices of the church as he has known them. When he finishes, he is still alive and the plates are still in his possession. What else could he write about? He remembers his father’s sermon; perhaps his memory was refreshed by describing church communal meetings during which such a sermon might have been preached. So he includes the sermon.
Now we have a letter of Mormon, following a sermon of Mormon, but there seems to be no connection between them but authorship. It seems likely to me that Moroni wrote down this letter after some time had passed since he finished transcribing the sermon.
The contrast between Mormon’s and Moroni’s records is evident. Mormon was organized and goal-directed. Moroni has a theme only when he is dealing with a historical narrative (Ether) or when he is closing his father’s record. When he writes on his own, he adds short bits of information whose content comes mostly from someone else.