You Can Choose: Misery or Miracle—One by One

Moroni asks a series of piercing questions in chapter 9 of Mormon. He seems to think he’s finished—but there is still more. As I read, I feel a quiet sadness knowing I’m nearing the end of this journey through the Book of Mormon.

Those questions don’t stay on the page. They turn inward.

I think of my children and grandchildren who have stepped away from the covenant path. At a time when we are learning so much about covenants, that reality feels especially heavy.

I once wrote in my margin:

This is a horrifying thought—being uncomfortable in the presence of God. But I understand it. When I was in my darkest place, I wasn’t comfortable around believers. That feeling wasn’t imposed on me—it was self-inflicted.

Moroni’s words bring that memory back.

Verse 5 describes it as being naked.
Verse 6 points us to what we must become: spotless, pure, fair, and white. None of us gets there alone—we are cleansed only through Jesus Christ.

This chapter is chilling—if we let it be.

Moroni warns us: if we are unhappy here and refuse Christ, that unhappiness continues. “He that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.”

And yet—there is hope.

God’s miracles are found in the saving of His children, one by one. I am one of those miracles.

There was a time I hadn’t prayed in nine years. I was miserable. Finally, I asked Heavenly Father to answer my parents’ prayers and told Him I would do whatever it took to be free from that misery.

The miracles began.

I returned to the Book of Mormon. I went back to church. After my divorce, I chose to pay tithing again—an act of faith as a single mother with very little.

And I was blessed beyond measure.

God is a God of miracles—both in grand creations and in rescuing individual souls.

I think of our missionaries—so young, yet full of faith—serving with power they are only beginning to understand. What a blessing for them and for those they teach.

Moroni’s counsel is simple and direct:

·       Be wise

·       Strip away uncleanness

·       Ask with firmness

·       Serve God

·       Live worthy of ordinances

·       Do all things in Christ’s name

·       Endure to the end

·       Learn from others’ mistakes

It is not easy—but it is clear.

Through Jesus Christ, we are not left alone to become what God asks. We can be changed, cleansed, and made whole—one by one.