Moroni spent approximately 36 years as a solitary fugitive wandering “whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life” (Moroni 1:3). Despite decades of such utter loneliness, Moroni ends with a second-person point of view writing approach that reaches out personally to you, the reader.
Understanding and Appreciating Second-Person Point of View
Readers often feel alienated when an author tells them what they should think or do. Moroni, however, is not without a knowledge of his future audience: “I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not … Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Mormon 8:35; emphasis added). Moroni foresaw the characteristics and weaknesses of future generations.
A second challenge is that modern English has only five second-person pronouns: you, your, yours, yourself, and yourselves. The five archaic second-person pronouns used in the holy scriptures and prayers are far more varied and precise: thou, thee, thine, thy, and ye. Moroni 10 uses second-person pronouns 61 times: you: 18 times, your: 3 times, yourselves: 2 times, thou: 1 time, thee: 1 time, thy: 3 times, and ye: 33 times. The second-person point of view calls you personally to respond with an active faith in Christ to Moroni’s concluding teachings in the Book of Mormon.
Your Personal Search for Truth
Moroni outlines the method for determining the truths taught in the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ: “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” (Moroni 10:4, emphasis added). Each of you must find the strength to bow your head and bend your knees in humble prayer. These words have helped me and millions of others gain a testimony through the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
The phrase “with real intent” is more complex. President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, has explained that praying with real intent means that the person prays something like this: “I do not ask out of curiosity but with total sincerity to act on the answer to my prayer. If Thou wilt give me this answer, I will act to change my life. I will respond” (Neil L. Andersen, in Conference Report, Liahona, May 2020, 22, note 19). “Real intent” is not passive acceptance; it involves you doing acts of faith, hope and charity (Moroni 10:20-21).
Spiritual Gifts Will Guide You to Do Many Good Things of Christ
Next, Moroni urges, “I exhort you … that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many … And there are different ways that these gifts are administered … and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them” (Moroni 10:8; emphasis added). Moroni describes nine specific spiritual gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, ministering angels and spirits, tongues, and interpretation of languages (Moroni 10:9-16). Additionally, “If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient in me” (Moroni 10:23; emphasis added).
An example of utilizing spiritual gifts is Nephi. As a young man, he believed he could “go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for … the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them” (1 Nephi 3:7). After years of journeying in the wilderness, the Lord spoke to Nephi: “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters” (1 Nephi 17:8). For such a challenge, Nephi needed to learn God’s design for a sea vessel, where to find ore to make tools, how to make bellows and fire, construction skills, and how to recruit his brothers as helpers (1 Nephi 17:9-11,15). Nephi’s prayers and actions teach that you, too, can do many challenging things “by the power and gifts of God” (Moroni 10:25).
You Can Be Perfected through the Grace of Jesus Christ
Your hope to be redeemed by Christ is one of the reasons Moroni admonishes, “I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ and lay hold upon every good gift” (Moroni 10:30; emphasis added). He explains, “If ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32; emphasis added).
Moroni concludes, “Ye [are] sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:33, emphasis added). The spilling of Christ’s blood in Gethsemane and upon Calvary’s cross can redeem you. Hopefully, Moroni’s closing words inspire you to seek the Living Christ’s infinite atoning grace to sanctify, save, and perfect you.
After more than half a century of my daily readings of the Book of Mormon, this is the first time I have consciously become aware of Moroni’s consistent use of the second-person point of view throughout Moroni 10. I marvel that He reaches out so directly to each reader. Moroni’s personal writing approach fills my mind and heart with a sincere desire to respond, “Yes, I will strive always to remember, to repent, to covenant, and to follow the Living Jesus Christ!”