He first prepares his people for war by preaching the gospel, by strengthening their faith and their testimonies and reminding them that their cause is just. Later, he begins preparing the lands for the protection of the Nephites. When Moroni starts building up defenses, he does it all the way.

I love these verses. As I read, I can feel his strength and his dedication to the truth. What can we learn from the verses in our day? Do we not live in a world where we have threats and attacks on our freedoms and families?

Prepare Spirtually

He showed us that first, we need to prepare spiritually. Just as they needed to strengthen themselves in the gospel and increase their faith and trust in God, we need to prepare ourselves too, for the day we live in. Does that sound familiar?

In our recent conference, President Nelson said, “Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

“My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation. Let this Easter Sunday be a defining moment in your life. Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.

Living Prophet

“With Moroni, I exhort you on this Easter Sabbath to 'come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift,' beginning with the gift of the Holy Ghost, which gift can and will change your life.”1

I am grateful for a living prophet who can prepare us for what is coming in future days if we hearken to him. We must prepare spiritually by learning to recognize the voice of the Holy Ghost.

Secondly, Moroni prepared temporally. He created amazing borders and strongholds to protect his people. We also have an obligation to protect our loved ones. The best place to do that is in the home. We set boundaries to keep the enemy out of our homes. We reinforce security by keeping the commandments of God, by keeping the Sabbath day holy, by personal and family prayers and feasting on the scriptures.

I have personally prayed for very real protection of our home with angels at every corner to guard us by day and night. But we aren’t invincible even if we do everything we can. The adversary sends his fiery darts by way of media! When we are cautious as to what we permit in the home, we are strengthened and protected even more.

Fortify

We can be like Moroni as we fortify our faith, our homes, and families and as we seek the counsel of the living prophet. We will then be able to prepare and arm ourselves with the strength of God and protect our loved ones in this great battle for the souls of mankind. May we increase our faith and resolve to be as dedicated as Moroni who, if all men were like him, the very powers of hell would be shaken forever, and the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men (Alma 48:17).

“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives”, President Russell M. Nelson, General Conference, April 2018