I Know Your Doing

"Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

"And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

"For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.

"O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?

"Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?

Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads" (Mormon 8:35-40)?

I’ve been thinking a lot about what Moroni thought of us - seeing us as he did.

Because he noticed our gluttony - in the way we dress, the way we live, the way we eat, the things on which we choose to spend our money and our time.

He noticed our self-absorption – in the way we treat others and in the way we exalt ourselves.

He certainly noticed our lifestyle – the ease of it all. . .

 . . . Like being able to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world by phone, fax, email, text. . . .

Or the our modes of transportation, which was much faster and much more reliable than a horse or a camel or a donkey or by foot. . .

. . . Or the ability to relay information as in using radio, television, satellite or the Internet. . .

 . . .Or even the sheer convenience of walking into a grocery store, with its selection of meats, dairy and ice cream . . .

And I believe in seeing this and so much more, Moroni was shocked and saddened at our indifference of living our covenant to take upon us the name of Christ.

After all, he knew we were beneficiaries of the Restoration -

With ALL the truths and doctrines and gospel principles ever revealed to mankind all packed into one, final dispensation!

So maybe Moroni's underlying question was: What are you doing with what you have?

Some the most powerful words penned by Moroni are these:

"Now I, Moroni, . . . had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me. For  . . .because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ. And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ."

And only as I change the way I live: in my dressing and in my speaking; in my buying and in my spending; in my thoughts and in my deeds, will I, too, be able to say that I, Darla, will not deny the Christ.

Boy, do I have a LOT of work to do!