1500 years later, Moroni Drops In

Mormon 6

11 And when they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us, (among whom was my son Moroni) and we having survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow, when the Lamanites had returned unto their camps, from the top of the hill Cumorah, the ten thousand of my people who were hewn down, being led in the front by me.

12 And we also beheld the ten thousand of my people who were led by my son Moroni.

13 And behold, the ten thousand of Gidgiddonah had fallen, and he also in the midst.

14 And Lamah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Gilgal had fallen with his ten thousand; and Limhah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Jeneum had fallen with his ten thousand; and Cumenihah, and Moronihah, and Antionum, and Shiblom, and Shem, and Josh, had fallen with their ten thousand each.

15 And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had deserted over unto the Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth.

Moroni

September 21, 1823 (autumn equinox) 

Moroni visits Joseph Smith 3 years after the first vision. Joseph was 17 years old now and had heard nothing else from the Lord.  He had a heavy heart and began praying wondering where he stood with the Lord.  He had been rejected by folks and as most teenage kids would do turned to friends who were a bit rowdier then what people might expect from a child called to being a prophet.  He was a drinker and a happy go lucky young man and because if that, he wondered if he lost the Lords calling. 

While praying Moroni came, 

Joseph Smith History 1:33-34

33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.

34 He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;

Joseph Smith History 1:36-41 

36 After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:

37 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

39 He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

40 In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. 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.

41 He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in.

 

All night long Moroni came gave Joseph the exact same message and left again. 

The next day Joseph Smith went to the place he saw in a vision and found the gold plates. He reached in to grab them and 

ZAP!

Being a poor farm boy, on his way to get these gold plates, he had been planning on melting those suckers down saving his family from their poverty. 

Moroni showed up again and he got a good telling off and Joseph was instructed to visit the same spot every year to be instructed by Moroni until he was ready to take the plates and start translating them. This time wouldn’t come until 1829, when Joseph had married his Emma and they both got the plates together. 

Glorious 

There are times when
You might feel aimless
And can't see the places
Where you belong

But you will find that
There is a purpose
It's been there within you
All along

And when you're near it
You can almost hear it

It's like a symphony
Just keep listening
And pretty soon you'll start
To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece
And there are melodies
In each one of us
Ooh it's glorious

And you will know how
To let it ring out
As you discover
Who you are

Others around you
Will start to wake up
To the sounds that are
In their hearts

It's so amazing
What we're all creating

It's like a symphony
Just keep listening
And pretty soon you'll start
To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece
And there are melodies
In each one of us
Ooh it's glorious

And as you feel
The notes build
Higher
You will see

It's like a symphony
Just keep listening
And pretty soon you'll start
To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece
See there are melodies
In each one of us
Ooh it's glorious