In part 1, we reviewed quotations from Malachi and Isaiah used by Moroni to teach Joseph Smith about the purposes of the restoration. In this post, we'll look at the rest of what he said.
We begin in the New Testament.
Acts 3:22-23
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Moroni offered some explanation for these verses:
He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when “they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,” but soon would come.The phrases "destroyed from among the people" and "cut off from among the people" seem to refer to the Way of Death, or rejecting the covenant/Gospel of Christ. Thus, in contrast, it seems to me that the saying "him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you" refers to the Way of Life, or accepting the covenant/Gospel of Christ.
Joel 2
Next, Moroni quotes the end of Joel chapter 2, with some obvious references to covenants (see verse 32) and also some obvious references to spiritual gifts (see verses 28-29):
28 ¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
Verse 31 clearly references a coming day of judgment -- the "great and terrible day of the Lord." The purpose of the restoration is to give us what we need in order to withstand that day. We find deliverance through calling upon the name of the Lord in Mount Zion. In other words, the Priesthood, together with its ordinances (including temple ordinances) prepare us to stand clean before God on the day of judgment.
Joseph says the angel mentioned that this prophecy of Joel is "not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be."
Then Joseph says this:
And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here.We're left to wonder what was quoted and what was said.
We also learn that this divine message was repeated four times over the next few hours.
Conclusion
What I take away from reviewing these scriptures is that the purposes of the restoration have been clear and consistent from the very beginning. The plan laid out by the voice of the angel echoes the same things we hear President Nelson emphasizing today: Faith, repentance, saving ordinances, Priesthood, and temples. Moroni makes it clear that all of this is designed to offer us a way to withstand the day of judgment and stand clean before God.
In these visits to Joseph Smith, Moroni summarizes the purposes of the restoration using the Bible. At the very end of the Book of Mormon, he summarizes the purpose of the Book of Mormon (the instrument of the gathering of Israel) using his own words. Notice the references to judgment, prophecies being fulfilled, spiritual gifts, covenants, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and standing clean before God.
27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?
28 I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall hiss forth from generation to generation.
29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true.
30 And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.
31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen. (Moroni 10)
