Moroni is most often known to people outside the church as the figure on the statue topping most of the Mormon temples. Have you ever wondered who he is and why he’s on our temples?
Moroni was a prophet who lived in the time when the events of the Book of Mormon happened. He was the son of Mormon. It is Mormon whose name is on the Book of Mormon. Mormon abridged the plates (records), written by numerous prophets over many generations, to make them a manageable size.
The Book of Mormon chronicles the history of two groups of people, all descendants of the same prophet. The Lamanites, descendants of Laman, a man who chose to turn his back on God, had always wanted to destroy the Nephites. The Nephites were the descendants of Nephi, Laman’s younger brother. God promised the Nephites they couldn’t be destroyed as long as they lived the gospel, but there came a time when the Nephites turned away from God and the Lamanites were able to fulfill their wicked goal. A terrible battle ensued, killing Nephites in huge numbers. In chapter 8 of the Book of Mormon (a section of the larger Book of Mormon, much as Revelations is a book in the Bible), Moroni takes over the records:
And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not. Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not. Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.
Moroni’s purpose was to deliver the final messages of this sacred record and then to put it where it would be kept safe until a later time. However, his personal life story is one of the most powerful in the Book of Mormon. Some scholars believe Moroni was only a teenager when he took over responsibility for the remains of the church, and the scriptures. As a teenager, then, he soon became the only good person remaining in the world he knew. His life was constantly in danger, because the goal was to ensure no Nephites remained. He stayed hidden and alone, coming out only when it was safe, to find food, ministered to on occasion by angels, but otherwise, alone and hunted. His only purpose for being kept alive was to preserve this book so the people of our time could have it. What did he think about in those long hours as he worked to finish the book, or in the lonely hours before sleep? How many people had he loved were lost in the battle?
Moroni is an extraordinary example of faith in the face of sorrow and hardship. After safely hiding the book in the Hill Cumorah in upstate New York, he slipped away. Many years later, he returned, surprised to still be alive. Again in secret, he retrieved the book and added to it, but he remained in great danger. “And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.” (Moroni 1:3) Despite the terrible sacrifices he had made, he was unwilling to compromise his faith, serving as a model for all who are asked to sacrifice or compromise their own faiths.
In these final writings, he recorded the words that have changed millions of lives. He explained how to know if the book contained the truth:
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, 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. (Moroni 10: 3-5)
When it was time for the gospel to be restored, it was Moroni, now an angel, who came to Joseph and who would eventually lead him to the plates Moroni had hidden so long ago. Moroni trained Joseph for the initial work, teaching him what he needed to do to prepare to participate in restoring the gospel to the earth.
He is shown as an angel proclaiming the restoration of the gospel in statues and pictures in honor of the great work he did in his lifetime on earth, and later in his continuing work as an angel.
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
