Moroni seeks to exhort the Lamanites—and by extension his future readers—to ponder the mercies of God and cultivate righteousness. No fewer than nine times in Moroni chapter 10 is the word exhort or a variant used. To exhort means to encourage, urge, incite, spur on, arouse, and literally stimulate us to exertion. This is important to Moroni for he is closing up the record now and seeks only to inspire us to do good.
He first exhorts us to ponder upon the goodness and mercy of God. There is nothing that will fill one’s heart with gratitude and give one a desire to do good more fully than remembering the goodness and mercy of God. Whenever any one individual or any group would stray or need encouragement, the prophets would remind them of the greatness, goodness, and mercy of the Lord in preserving them and their progenitors in all things (see 2 Nephi 9:10; Jacob 1:7; Mosiah 4:5–6, 11; Alma 24:7; 57:36; 60:11; 3 Nephi 4:31–33). Pondering God’s goodness and mercy is one of the great methods of following our Heavenly Father continually and not straying from the path. This is the method the prophets have always used to encourage the faithful to hold to the iron rod and the wayward to return.
Yes, remembering is the way to keep the covenants and commandments. As we ponder on the goodness and mercy of God, we are filled with the love of God, humbled by His overwhelming concern, filled with gratitude, and motivated to live righteously. Pondering the word of God with honesty of heart and humility of spirit will always open our minds to inspiration and revelation from the Holy Spirit (see 1 Nephi 11:1; D&C 138:1–11). As we are reminded of the goodness and mercy of God in our lives, our hearts will brim with gratitude, giving us a desire to serve our God and keep His commandments.
This act of pondering God’s goodness and mercy is the prelude to what Moroni is about to say—for if we operate within a framework of humble thanksgiving to our Father and His son, we will be prepared to respond prayerfully to the promptings of the Spirit as we receive and read the Book of Mormon.