“Denying the Holy Ghost”
In these final verses of his epistle to Moroni, Mormon recounts the awful consequences of the spiritual decline of his people. He emphatically declares that it is Nephite pride that has brought about the destruction of the nation (verse 27; see also D&C 38:39; Ezra Taft Benson “Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, pp. 4-7). Because of their pride and wickedness the Nephites in Mormon’s area were seeking to ignore, minimize, or discredit the authority of all who would try to teach them the things of God (verse 28). Because they were “denying the Holy Ghost”-meaning that they were fighting against the Spirit and the things of God-their destruction and doom was sure and the prophecies about them were being fulfilled. Mormon’s epistle ends with a farewell and a hint of possible subsequent letters or visits.