Question
Dear Gramps,
Mormon, when he was 15 years old, “knew of the goodness of Jesus” and wanted to preach to the people. However, his “mouth was shut” and he was “forbidden to preach”. (Mormon 1:15-17)
Now, when Moroni is compiling the last bits of the record, he includes a sermon given by his father on faith hope and charity which he apparently “taught in the synagogue which they had built for the place of worship.” (Moroni 7:1) Any clue as to when this sermon was delivered? It seems Mormon’s ministry was a private one, and he was commanded not to preach. Could this sermon have been delivered before he was commanded not to (15 years-old and before) or could he have been the military chaplain at the same time he was commander, and the command not to preach was perhaps withdrawn? What’s you’re best guess for when and under what circumstances this sermon was given?
KC, from Provo, Utah
Answer
Dear KC,
As you will observe from the footnote to Mormon 1:15, Mormon was born about 310 AD, and was commanded by the Lord at age 15 (verse 16) not to preach to the wicked Nephites. In Chapter 2, verse10, however, you will read that the Nephites began to repent of their iniquity, and in Mormon 3:2 you will read the following—
And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people–Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared.
This command occurred in the year 360, when Mormon would have been about 50 years old. The sermon that you refer to in Mormon 7:1 was given approximately in the year 385, when Mormon would have been about 75 years old.
Gramps