The below transcript is based on this video.
I love happy endings! When Snow White and the prince go off to live happily ever after, or when Dorothy makes it back to Kansas—ah… happy endings are so great! But have you noticed that in life, things don’t always work out so neatly? Think about Mormon’s situation. He spends decades of his life working to teach the Nephites and defend them from the Lamanites. If the Book of Mormon were a movie it would end with a miraculous battle scene, maybe involving a wizard, and the Nephites overcoming incredible odds to be victorious. But the Book of Mormon isn’t a movie—it’s real life, and in real life sometimes things don’t work out the way we would hope. In a temporal sense, Mormon doesn’t have a happy ending. His efforts to convert the Nephites were in vain, and ultimately he was murdered by Lamanites.
In fact, scripture provides numerous examples of people whose lives did not turn out the way they might have hoped. Yes, Alma the Younger repented, but Laman and Lemuel brought no such happiness to their father. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego escaped death, but Abinadi was not so lucky. Rachel overcame her struggle with infertility, but Leah may have always felt like second place. Notice how, in each of these cases, the trials did not come from the person’s own choices but resulted from the actions of others.
Today I want to focus on one individual whose life didn’t turn out the way he hoped—but he still pressed forward with faith in Jesus Christ. This individual is Moroni. Listen to some of the first words he records on the plates: “The Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed…My father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people.” (Mormon 8:1-3).
“I remain alone.” Can you hear the sorrow in Moroni’s voice? Look at all these verses by Moroni about his lonely or sorrowful state.
“They are gone” (Mormon 8:3)
“Whether they will slay me, I know not” (Mormon 8:3)
“Whither I go it mattereth not” (Mormon 8:4)
“I am alone.” (Mormon 8:5).
“My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk.” (Mormon 8:5).
“I have not friends nor whither to go.” (Mormon 8:5).
“How long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.” (Mormon 8:5).
One important lesson we can learn from Moroni is that sometimes things don’t work out for the righteous in mortality. We can become so used to the movie happy endings that we feel frustrated when we don’t experience that ourselves. But knowing that amazing people like Moroni suffered too can bring comfort and peace to us when things aren’t perfect.
I want to share with you two additional lessons we can learn from Moroni that will strengthen us when we face difficult times. First, Moroni kept on going. Even though he had no family, no friends, no place to go—Moroni didn’t quit. It would have been easy for him to give up, but instead he wrote 10% of the Book of Mormon! Moroni reminds us that even in extreme trials we can keep moving forward.
How did he do it? This is the second lesson. Although Moroni faced enormous challenges, he maintained his faith in Jesus Christ, who gave him the strength to do more than he could have done on his own. Even though his family had not seen the miracles they hoped for, Moroni still testified, “Jesus…is a God of miracles” (Mormon 8:18-19).
Consider a few of Moroni’s Christ-centered teachings:
“Seek this Jesus” (Ether 12:41)
“I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ” (Moroni 1:3).
“Come unto Christ” (Moroni 10:30).
As I studied Moroni’s life this past week I felt three lessons sink deeper into my soul. Number one—even the righteous face extreme trials—sometimes, in mortality with respect to one or more aspects of life, there is no happy ending. Number two—when (not if) we go through such trials, we can be like Moroni—don’t quit, don’t give up. Number three—it was Moroni’s faith in Christ that gave him the courage to keep moving forward. Moroni knew that even if he didn’t have a happy ending in mortality that was okay—this life is not the end.
Recently I heard a beautiful quote from a woman in a testimony meeting. She said, “Things will work out in the end—if it’s not working out now, it’s not the end.” I love that statement. “Things will work out in the end—if it’s not working out now, it’s not the end.” Because of Jesus Christ, either in this life or the next, all of us can truly have a happily ever after.
