Book of Moroni
Time
Around 401–421 CE. The final book of the Book of Mormon, written by the last surviving Nephite prophet, alone and hunted.
Main Content
Moroni, son of Mormon, writes this book after his father’s death in the final battle at Cumorah. He is alone, fleeing the Lamanites who kill any Nephite who will not deny Christ. His book is a collection of final instructions: teachings on priesthood ordination, the sacrament prayers, the mode of baptism; and his father Mormon’s epistle on faith, hope, and charity (Moroni 7), which is among the most quoted passages in the Book of Mormon.
Moroni also writes explicitly against infant baptism (Moroni 8), arguing that children are innocent and incapable of sin — “little children are alive in Christ.” The book and the entire volume close with Moroni’s promise (chapter 10): anyone who reads the book and asks God “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ” will receive a witness of its truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. This promise is the hermeneutic key the LDS Church offers every reader.
After finishing the record, Moroni buries the plates in the hill Cumorah. In LDS belief, he returns as an angel to reveal their location to Joseph Smith in 1823.
Key Characters
- Moroni: the last prophet, writing alone for future readers
- Mormon: his father, whose epistle on charity Moroni preserves
Major Themes
- Solitude and Faith: the prophet who writes without a living audience
- The Promise: the text’s closing invitation to personal revelation
- Sacred Ordinances: final instructions on priesthood and sacraments
- Infant Baptism Rejected: children are innocent and need no baptism