“Remember That Every Good Gift Cometh of Christ”

Brant Gardner

Translation: When Moroni began this section on the gifts of the spirit, the trigger was the idea that whatever is good comes from God (verse 6). As he ends this section, he repeats the statement that “every good gift cometh of Christ.” The intent of this inserted section on the gifts of the spirit it so emphasize that the Book of Mormon fits into this context of gifts. It is a gift in itself, as Moroni indicated when he introduced it as one of the mercies of God (verse 3). He has indicated that the way one ought to receive this gift is to confirm its goodness through the Spirit, a process that in itself is necessarily a gift of the Spirit. The function of the repetition of the catalog of the gifts of the spirit is to emphasize the Book of Mormon, and the ability to know that it is true is one of the gifts of the spirit. That intent is very clearly natural to Moroni, and it suggests to us that the underlying plate text carried this meaning, perhaps without the specific references to the Pauline catalog. The translation process therefore translated content, not vocabulary.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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