“Moroni’s Words to Us: How Will Keeping My Baptismal Covenant Help Me Follow Jesus Throughout My Life?” Friend, Dec. 2000, 38
Moroni’s Words to Us:
How Will Keeping My Baptismal Covenant Help Me Follow Jesus Throughout My Life?
And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God (D&C 14:7).
As prophesied throughout the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were utterly destroyed because of their wickedness and their pride. Moroni was a righteous prophet and his life was spared. As he wandered around the land to escape the Lamanites, he wrote inspired advice for us in the latter days. This advice includes one of the best known and most profound promises in the scriptures:
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things [the Book of Mormon], if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moro. 10:3–5.)
After baptism, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by those who have the authority to do so. If we live worthily, the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion and will guide us on the path that leads to eternal life.
Ten-year-old Cameron Julian of McPherson, Kansas, followed the promptings of the Spirit. Cameron loves baseball, and he was thrilled when he was chosen to be the batboy for a traveling baseball team. The team participated in a tournament and were to play in the championship game—a game to be held on a Sunday. Cameron decided to ask Heavenly Father what to do. As he prayed, he felt prompted by the Holy Ghost to miss the game and keep the Sabbath Day holy.
At first, Cameron felt really bad about missing the game. But he gradually felt peaceful about his decision. From this experience, Cameron gained a testimony that “it was hard to choose the right, but I was blessed for following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.”
Color the flannel-board figures, then mount them on heavy paper. Cut them out and use them to retell the story “Moroni’s Words to Us.”
Painting by Jerry Thompson