Mormon Chapter 9
Scripture Mastery
Mormon 9:3-4 Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws? Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.
Mormon 9:18-20 Moroni gives a logical discourse on miracles. And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.
2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation-behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God-then will ye say that there is no God?
verse 2 "in the day of your visitation" Moroni asks the non-believers, "Will you believe in Christ on the day you actually see him?" This "day of visitation" is the day when the Lord visits the earth, to rule and reign for a thousand years. Since we will not all live to see his second coming, there is another meaning to the phrase "in the day of your visitation." At the time of our death we will be brought before him for the partial judgment. Then we shall be either lifted up in paradise and quickened by his transforming glory or suffer with others in spirit prison who have spurned his message and scoffed at his sufferings and death.
"the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat" Here is a graphic description of the dramatic physical changes the earth will undergo at the onset of the Millennium. The glory of the Lord will effect this change, and only those of a terrestrial or celestial glory will be able to abide his presence and tolerate the conditions on earth at that time. We will have a new heaven and a new earth, and all the corruptible things on earth will be removed. The bodies of those who are telestial or even lower will be consumed in the fires of his glory, and their spirits sent immediately to "hell" in the spirit world-the spirit prison. There they will remain until the time of the second resurrection at the end of the Millennium.
Moroni, betraying a bit of frustration over the intransigence he sees in the latter days, also asks, "And in the day of the final judgment, when you are brought to stand before the Savior, will you still say there is no God?" I do not wish to make light of Moroni's frustration, but I can almost hear him saying, "HELLO! Is there anyone in there?!!"
3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?
verse 3 Moroni begins this verse with a question to the non-believer that has an obvious answer. The non-believer will then be compelled to answer: "No, I see him and can't continue to say I don't believe in him."
Moroni then asks the non-believer, whose conscience is racked with guilt, if he thinks he would be happy living with Christ in that condition. The obvious answer is that no one who feels unworthy will be happy living with the Savior and with the Father.
4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.
5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.
verses 4-5 The unrighteous would be miserable living in the presence of God. Orson Pratt declared:
I have often heard blasphemers and drunkards and abominable characters say, I really hope I shall at last get to heaven. If they get there, they will be in the most miserable place they could be in. Were they to behold the face of God, or the angels, it would kindle in them a flame of unquenchable fire; it would be the very worst place a wicked man could get into: he would much rather go and dwell in hell with the Devil and his host (JD, 7:89).
verse 5 "it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you" Joseph Smith taught that the inner torment of disappointment in the mind of man, the pangs of conscience in the face of his wilful sin, is as a lake of fire and brimstone (TPJS, 357).
6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.
verse 6 Then Moroni counsels the unbeliever to repent and receive Christ. Speaking of all those in the world of spirits, we know that eventually "every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess" that Jesus is the Christ" (Mosiah 27:31), including all of those in spirit prison who will eventually be judged worthy of terrestrial or telestial glory. The only exceptions are those few who remain "filthy still" (2 Nephi 9:16). These latter few will go with Satan and become sons of perdition.
7 And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues;
8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.
verses 7-8 A loving God will always manifest himself to his people and speak to them through his prophets. Only an absence of any person on the earth with sufficient righteousness-a state of apostasy-would prevent him from doing so.
9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?
verse 9 The concept explained in this verse is a rich and vital one. We are governed by God's law. That law is absolute, completely reliable, unvarying, and its consequences are inescapable. For every action there is an identical result. These results follow without respect to person. It has always been thus, in Adam's day just as in ours and in the eternities to come. An expression which is closely related to this verse is "the course of the Lord is one eternal round" (1 Nephi 10:18-19). Our God was a God of miracles, he is a God of miracles, and he will always be so. He has always spoken to the people of earth through his prophets and will continue to do so.
10 And now if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not God of miracles.
11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.
12 Behold he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.
verses 11-12 It is clear that these two verses refer to the Son, Jesus Christ-Jehovah.
"Behold he created Adam" This phrase needs a bit of explanation. We know that neither the Father or Jesus created the intelligence that is the essence of Adam's individuality. Indeed, intelligences are not created but are co-eternal with God (D&C 93:29). We know that somehow Jesus did participate in the organization of the spirit bodies in which the intelligences were clothed (D&C 93:10), even though these bodies were begotten of the Father and an Eternal Mother by a divine procreative process. Jesus may also be said to be the Creator of Adam in the sense that he organized the earthly materials which became the mortal tabernacle of Adam. Adam's paradisiacal or terrestrial body, in which he lived in the garden of Eden, was likely born to parents with celestial eternal bodies. Their identity is unknown though it is possible that the Father himself came to earth, "charged" himself with the materials of this earth, and then sired Adam (JD, 4:218).
"And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ" This sentence refers to the atonement of the Savior.
verse 12 This verse provides a succinct summary of the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These are, according to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, "the three pillars of eternity" and are inextricably linked to one another.
verses 13-14 Please do not take these next two verses for granted. They are vital and contain some of the clearest teachings on the doctrine of the atonement found in all of the scripture. There is no clear explanation of this vital doctrine found in the Old Testament, and a study of the New Testament has led to much confusion (see also 2 Nephi 2:6-13; 2 Nephi 9:6-16; Alma 34:13-16; and Alma 42:13-26).
13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.
verses 12-13 The words redeem and redemption mean something like rescue, or effect a release from captivity, often by payment. It is used in the scriptures with a few different meanings:
1. The first and ultimate meaning is that Christ redeems us when he grants us the opportunity for salvation or exaltation. This redemption is, of course, conditional and based upon man's accepting Christ, being obedient to his gospel and repenting. This verse speaks of this redemption-"And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord."
2. The second meaning is that all mankind is redeemed in that they will all be resurrected. "Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead. And the spirit and the body are the soul of man. And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul" (D&C 88:14-16; see also Mormon 9:12-13; Helaman 14:17). This verse also speaks of this type of redemption: "this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection."
The scriptures teach that Christ came into the world to "redeem the children of men from the fall" (2 Nephi 2:26). This redemption includes both definitions 1 and 2.
3. It is also possible to be redeemed in this life. Forgiveness of sin constitutes redemption from sin. By virtue of Christ's atoning blood, a man may be redeemed from sin as he repents and comes to (obeys) Christ (2 Nephi 1:15; Alma 5:21; Alma 9:27; Mosiah 27:24). A mortal who persists in righteousness may receive an assurance of his eventual exaltation. This is the gift of hope (D&C 131:5-6). Father Lehi rejoiced: "The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15).
"the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God" Moroni's language is figurative here for there is no "endless sleep," or, for that matter, "sleep" of any kind at death. Had the atonement not been made, the physical body, figuratively speaking, would have "slept in the grave," that is, remained in the grave. This is the same sense as that in which Paul speaks of Jesus's becoming the "firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20), that is, the first among all those who have died to overcome death, be resurrected, and come forth from the grave.
These two verses illustrate an example of the Hebrew poetic form called climax. In 1898 the biblical scholar E. W. Bullinger identified this poetic form in the Bible. Climax is Greek for "ladder." He described this unique form in the Bible as "a beautiful figure, very expressive; and at once attracts our attention to the importance of a passage" (Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, 256-259). Climax occurs when the same word or words found at the end of one clause are repeated at or near the beginning of the next clause. The structure of a passage presents an ascension of thought, going up by steps from one level to the next. Bullinger provides the following biblical example of climax, found in Joel 1:3-4. To make the form easily recognizable, the verse has been structured with the repeated words aligned on the left:
Tell ye
your children of it, and let
your children tell
their children, and
their children another generation. That which the
palmerworm hath left hath the
locust eaten; and that which the
locust hath left hath the
cankerworm eaten; and that which the
cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
Note the four sets of repeated words: your children, their children, locust, and cankerworm. This duplication creates a continuation of thought from one segment to the next. In a dramatic way, four generations of one family are spoken of (ye, your children, their children, and another generation). This structure indicates an ascension of thought from the first generation to the last. The four generations parallel another gradation of thought-the four "generations" of the caterpillar family: the palmerworm, locust, cankerworm, and caterpillar.
In this particular verse here in Mormon 9, this poetic form may be illustrated as follows:
Behold, he created
Adam, and by
Adam came
the fall of man. And because of
the fall of man came
Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of
Jesus Christ came the
redemption of man. And because of the
redemption of man, which came by
Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the
presence of the Lord.
The key words and concepts repeated in this passage are Adam, fall of man, Jesus Christ, and redemption of man. They create a series of parallel statements. Through these statements Adam is seen as a character complementary to Jesus Christ, and the concept of the fall of man stands opposite to the redemption of man. Through Adam (the "first man Adam," the Apostle Paul says) came the fall of man, but through Jesus Christ came the redemption of man (see 1 Corinthians 15:45).
A similar passage is found in 1 Corinthians 15:22, where the words Adam, Jesus, die, and alive are found in the couplet-"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Because of Jesus Christ's infinite atonement, repentant souls "are brought back into the presence of the Lord."
Bullinger discovered climax in the Bible more than six decades after the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. For that reason, and because of the scarcity of climax in the Old Testament, it is highly improbable that Joseph Smith was aware of this poetic device. Rather than attribute the approximately ten examples (see 1 Nephi 15:13-20; 1 Nephi 15:33-35; 2 Nephi 1:13; Mosiah 2:17-19; Alma 42:17-20; Helaman 5:6-8; Ether 3:15-16; Moroni 8:25-26) of climax in the Book of Mormon to happenstance or to Joseph Smith's uncommon literary knowledge and skill, it is more reasonable to accept that the Book of Mormon authors who used climax belonged to an ancient Near Eastern literary tradition corresponding to that of the Old Testament.
14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.
verse 14 Here again, the scriptures speak of the great final judgment which follows the resurrection. We have mentioned previously that this judgment is a formal pronouncement of blessings and condemnations. We have also spoken previously of a hierarchy of judges who will preside at this formal ceremonial judgment (see Mormon 3:18-19). But the essence of the judgment has already been made since the resurrected beings will stand at the judgment bar with celestial, terrestrial, telestial, or perdition bodies.
This verse also speaks of the "law of restoration" or the law of the harvest: "Whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward" (D&C 6:33; see also the introductory commentary for Alma 41).
"he that is filthy shall be filthy still" Because of the wording, this seems to be a reference to the sons of perdition.
15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
verse 15 "have all these things passed, of which I have spoken" Moroni has been speaking of resurrection and the judgment and the end of the earth. He now asks, "Have these things passed?" The implication is that since they have not yet passed, then life continues on, and God is still a God of miracles.
16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?
17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
verse 17 "man was created of the dust of the earth" We know, of course, that all men and women, including Adam and Eve were literally born and not merely created in the sense that a sculptor creates a statue. This phrase is figurative only and suggests that man's mortal body is made up mortal materials of this earth.
18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
verse 19 "I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God" Is it actually possible for God to cease to be God? Apparently, it is theoretically possible, though we know it will never happen (see the commentary for Alma 42:13).
20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
verse 21 Moroni refers, in this verse, to the thoroughly converted individual who enjoys a closeness of the Spirit of God. When this individual prays, he asks for those things for which he should pray, as taught him by the Spirit (see 2 Nephi 32:5). It is for this reason that he is granted whatsoever he asks.
22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;
23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned;
verses 22-23 It is interesting that in the midst of warning that only the believers in Christ will be spared the terrible latter-day destruction that is coming, Moroni cites a statement by the Savior during his earthly sojourn with his Nephite disciples regarding the importance of promulgating the gospel. Bruce A. Van Orden wrote:
My interpretation of this quotation, taken in Moroni's context, is that the latter-day readers of the Book of Mormon will reap untold blessings by contributing to the preaching of the gospel to all the world. They will thereby strengthen their faith in their Savior Jesus Christ, they will turn from their sins and unto the God of Mercy, they will witness and be blessed by wondrous miracles in the course of their ministry, and they will abide the day of the second coming and be found on the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ ("Preach the Gospel to Every Creature" in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi through Moroni, from Zion to Destruction, 324).
24 And these signs shall follow them that believe-in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover;
verses 22-24 Moroni is obviously quoting here from words spoken by the Savior to his Nephite "disciples who should tarry"-the three translated Nephite apostles. It is interesting that we have no record in the Book of Mormon text of these words. We do have a record of the Savior's having spoken these words during his Palestine ministry (Mark 16:15-18). We also know that Mormon was able to include in his record only a small part of that which was spoken by the Savior to the Nephites (3 Nephi 26:6-7).
"he that believeth not shall be damned" For a brief discussion of what it means to be damned, see the commentary for 2 Nephi 9:24.
25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.
verse 25 The resurrected Lord charged his eleven apostles in the Old World: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:15-18).
When Jesus gave to the Nephite Twelve the command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he also did so with the promise that signs would follow them that believed. This verse is the Nephite version of that same charge to the Old World apostles recorded in Mark.
26 And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.
verse 26 "ye shall wonder and perish" To the non-believers, Moroni promises that they will "wonder" and "perish." To "wonder" is to doubtfully consider. To "perish" is to die spiritually.
27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.
verse 27 "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" We are counseled by Moroni to "work out our own salvation," that is, concentrate on good works and obedience and repentance. We must "come unto the Lord with all [our] heart" and seek to do whatever he should ask of us. But his plan is that we should do these things with "fear and trembling"-in the realm of faith wherein our knowledge of him is imperfect. We are lost without him and therefore utterly dependent upon him. Yet, he will allow us to serve and worship him here in mortality without perfect knowledge, without experiencing him with our five senses. In the end he will reward us for our "fear and trembling" with peace and sure knowledge.
28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.
verse 28 "ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts" When we pray, we must learn to pray for those things in which the Spirit prompts us. If we pray for something that merely appeases our earthly or worldly appetites, then we are said to be asking for that thing "that [we] may consume it on [our] lusts." James explained: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts" (James 4:3).
29 See that ye are not baptized unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Christ unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out.
verse 29 "ye will in nowise be cast out" Moroni could have said instead, "ye will be blessed." Here he uses a figure of speech called antenantiosis which is discussed in the commentary for Jacob 4:8. In using this figure of speech, which involves stating an expression in terms of its negated opposite, his intent is to promise that the faithful who endure will be blessed beyond measure.
30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words.
verse 30 Our generation was shown to Moroni. He knew about us and our times and challenges. He is writing to no audience other than us, people in this final dispensation, both in and out of the Church. Elder Russell M. Nelson pointed out, "Most books contained in libraries of the world, were authored for contemporary readers. . . . Not so with the Book of Mormon. It was written anciently for our day" (CR, October 1999, 69-70).
31 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.
verse 31 Moroni advises us to be grateful for his weaknesses and the weaknesses and errors of the other Book of Mormon prophets because we can learn from them. It's probably fair to say that we are justified in regarding Moroni as being overly modest.
32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.
verse 32 This is the only verse in the Book of Mormon that applies a name to the form of writing or "language" in which the Book of Mormon plates were written. And, what is "reformed Egyptian"? It is fundamentally the Hebrew language recorded using a reformed or cursive version of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is likely that Moroni's reformed Egyptian is different that Nephi's reformed Egyptian, since over the centuries it had been "handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech." Please review the supplemental article, The Language of the Book of Mormon.
33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.
verse 33 Make note of the fact that some one thousand years after Lehi's family left Jerusalem, the people of the Book of Mormon are still speaking the Hebrew language, albeit an "altered" form of Hebrew. See also the supplementary article The Hebrew Language and the Book of Mormon. Moroni clearly implies that he is more comfortable with his abilities to compose in Hebrew than he is writing in reformed Egyptian. This suggests that an altered form of Hebrew was in continual use as a spoken tongue throughout the Nephites' tenure in the Americas.
34 But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof.
verse 34 "none other people knoweth our language" This is a rather remarkable statement for Moroni to make after some 1,000 years of Nephite history. After all, did not the Hebrew language spoken by the Nephites and Mulekites pervade the entire area of Book of Mormon lands? See the important commentary on this statement by Moroni in the supplemental article, Book of Mormon Myths (see especially myth six).
"he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof" Truly, one of the most remarkable aspects of the restoration of the gospel is the miraculous way in which the plates were "translated" by the Prophet Joseph. See Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 2, Appendix A, The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon.
35 And these things are written that we may rid our garments of the blood of our brethren, who have dwindled in unbelief.
verse 35 Moroni and the other prophet-writers of the Book of Mormon have absolved themselves of any responsibility for our sins. They have conveyed the Lord's doctrines to us. They have warned us. And now the "ball is in our court." They bear no blame or responsibility for our response to the book.
36 And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land.
verse 36 The term "restoration to the knowledge of Christ" refers to the spiritual gathering explained in the commentary for 1 Nephi 19:14.
"according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land" It is poignant to know that not only did the Book of Mormon prophets pray that scattered Israel would gather to Zion in the latter days, but also all the righteous people in Mormon and Moroni's day knew of us and prayed for our welfare.
37 And may the Lord Jesus Christ grant that their prayers may be answered according to their faith; and may God the Father remember the covenant which he hath made with the house of Israel; and may he bless them forever, through faith on the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
verse 37 If the reader wishes to review, yet again, the Abrahamic covenant, see the commentary for Mormon 7:10.