In Ether 4 [RE], Moroni says, “And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the promise that these things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles.” Moroni saw the destruction of his people and the awful state of unbelief of his brethren, the Lamanites. He knew the promises made to the Lamanites in the latter-days. We can read of those promises throughout the Book of Mormon. Moroni knew that the Gospel had to come to the Lamanites through the Gentiles. And that’s exactly what worried him.
Almost immediately after what I quoted above, Moroni expresses to the Lord his worry that the Gentiles will mock the things that they are supposed to deliver to the Lamanites. After giving his reason for worrying (i.e. weakness in writing) he reiterates, “And I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.” The Lord proceeds to reassure Moroni while teaching a very important lesson to us, the Gentiles.
Among other things, the Lord says, “I will shew unto them [the Gentiles] that faith, hope, and charity bringeth unto me, the fountain of all righteousness.” All three of those things must be present if the Gentiles seek to bring the Lamanites to Christ. We’ve discussed faith before and we’ll discuss it later, so let’s talk about hope. Hope, according to the Book of Mormon, is a very big deal and is much more than just wishful thinking. In the previous chapter (Ether 3 [RE]) Moroni writes, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith and maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” I know of a group of nine people that received such hope, and they were blessed for it, for they knew that they would enter into Jesus’ kingdom. But for all that is said about that kind of hope, charity is greater still in the eyes of God.
And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope. Wherefore, man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared. And again I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again, to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity. Wherefore, except men shall have charity, they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father. (Ether 4 [RE])
Moroni makes a distinction with the words “among” and “in” when referring to the mansions of the Father. You will be “among” or “in”, depending on the presence of charity. The same principle is illustrated by the difference between the kingdom promised to the nine Nephite disciples and the kingdom promised to the three Nephite disciples. To the nine Jesus said, “ye shall come unto me in my kingdom” while to the three He said, “ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father” (3 Nephi 13 [RE]).
In D&C 27 [RE] the Lord tells the saints that, to remove their condemnation, they need to “remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written, that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's Kingdom.” Does the fruit meet for the Father’s Kingdom have anything to do with the charity that is required to be “in,” and not just “among,” the mansions of the Father? Does it relate to sitting down in the kingdom of the Father rather than coming to Jesus’ kingdom? Does it relate to the natural fruit of the vineyard that is so difficult to produce? Does it relate to the fruit-bearing branches that are necessarily connected to the True Vine described in John’s Gospel? Perhaps these are all related and extremely critical to the work that is facing us. But if this was all so important, wouldn’t it be part of Christ’s doctrine? Let’s take a look. At the end of His discourse on His doctrine in 3 Nephi 3 [RE], Jesus said:
Verily, verily I say unto you that this is my doctrine. And whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil and is not built upon my rock, but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation and the gates of hell standeth open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
Immediately after He finished His discourse on His doctrine, Jesus gave His sermon. It is almost identical to the Sermon on the Mount. I would say that that sermon describes, above all else, charity in action. It is what charity looks like. It is what a person with charity, not only says, but does. At the end of that sermon, Jesus said:
Therefore whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
Repenting and being baptized is like someone who “buildeth” (present tense) upon a rock. Having charity as the Lord does, as He explained in His sermon, is like someone who “built” (past tense) upon a rock and now has a house. The former is a process while the latter is a product of that process. What is the ordinance of baptism meant to teach us and do for us, anyway? Definitions for “ordinance” include “a piece of legislation enacted by a municipal authority” and “an authoritative order; a decree.” Thinking about the ordinance of baptism in this manner, it can be understood that baptism is a law from God. I suspect that all ordinances of the Gospel are laws. We already know that “out of Zion shall go forth the law” as the house of the Lord will be there (2 Nephi 6 [RE]). I imagine it would be just as correct to say, “out of Zion [and the house of the Lord found there] shall go forth the [ordinances].” The ordinance of baptism is a law and Jesus demonstrated the fulness of that law in His life and taught the fulness of that law in His sermon.
Let’s apply this to our day. Going back to Ether 4 [RE], Moroni lets us Gentiles know that we need charity, the fulness of the ordinance or law of baptism, to participate in the work that God is doing. “If the Gentiles have not charity because of our weakness…thou wilt prove them and take away their talent.” Needless to say, this is a very high bar. And charity apparently comes from a very high Source. In Moroni 7, Mormon tells us that it is the Father that bestows the pure love of Christ upon all the true followers of His Son Jesus Christ (as an aside, I wonder if there is any equivalency between “true followers” and “true worshipers”). Back in Ether 4 [RE] Moroni “prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity.” Interestingly enough, the Lord refused to grant Moroni’s request. I think I have an idea why the Lord couldn’t promise to give charity to us Gentiles.
As we have seen when the Lord asked His Nephite disciples what they desired, three of them had to specifically ask for that which would allow them to bless and convince all the people upon the land. The Lord could not force that charity upon them. It all depended on their desires. It only makes sense that some Gentiles will only receive charity if they specifically request it. No one can ask for that blessing for you. The three Nephites “were caught up into heaven and saw and heard unspeakable things” directly before they preached to all the people and converted them all (3 Nephi 5 [RE]). Could it be that what they saw and heard in heaven was the Father bestowing charity upon them? I can’t say, but whatever it was, it seems that it was the final necessary component that enabled the great and marvelous work that happened among the Nephites in that generation.
Moroni knew that some Gentiles would need charity. He knew that a great and marvelous work would have to come forth in our generation. He was personally acquainted with the three Nephites who convinced an entire generation that Jesus is the Christ. Moroni, who knew the Lord intimately, could not secure charity for and in behalf of us Gentiles. Can anything less than the charity possessed by the three Nephites be adequate to convince the Lamanites in our day to come unto Christ? I don’t think so. Whether or not we possess that charity will depend entirely upon our desires. Ask and ye shall receive.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart that ye may be filled with this love which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son Jesus Christ, that ye may become the sons of God, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is, that we may have this hope, that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen (Moroni 7).
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