This week in my religion class we started reading the Book of Mormon starts with the title page and the testimonies. My teacher said something that I had never really thought of before in relation to one of my favorite people, Moroni was one of the most self-conscious writers in the Book of Mormon, and looking back it's blatantly obvious to me.
The title page was the last thing written in the Book of Mormon (before the sealed section of course but let's not dwell on that) and the very last sentence I now see in a whole new light, "And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ."
Moroni was extremely self-cautious about his writing but that is one of the things that makes me love this man much more than I already do. I had the amazing opportunity to serve part of my mission (I came home early and served a service mission) in the Rochester, New York Hill Cumorah Visitors Center Mission which meant I was a sight sister and gave tours at the Smith Farm.
(By the way, the original of the above painting is hanging in the Grandin Building and I got to see it all the time!)
I think a lot of people kind of miss some of what is going on in Moroni's head in that moment when he had to put the plates in the ground at what we know now as the Hill Cumorah and walk away.
Moroni lost a lot in his life, his father, his family, everyone he ever knew, and basically, the world as he knew it. He became a nomad of sorts, traveling from place to place avoiding the Lamanites because if they found him they would kill him, no questions asked. So when it came down to it, for years all he had was the Lord and the plates. That was his mission in life, and for a while, that was his purpose.
So one day, when all was finished and the record was done he built a box, placed the plates in the ground, covered it with a stone and then walked away. I imagine him looking back several times, perhaps longing to feel the familiar weight of them once again. I think every missionary that comes home and has to take their name tag off feels some of what Moroni did, it's a sense of loss, a sense of emptiness and an intense wondering of, "what do I do now?"
As we all now eventually Moroni passed away, how we don't know, but we do know his mission in life was accomplished. However his mission in death was not over, it was a long way away from over.
I don't know about you but it takes a lot of faith to not only have to leave your and your ancestors' life work in the ground, walk away and then entrust them to a fourteen-year-old boy. However, I can just imagine him counting down the days before he could tell Joseph Smith about the record that was in the hill about all these amazing people who had lived, and it was waiting, for him!
I can just imagine him walking into Heavenly Father's office going, "Twelve more days!" while Heavenly Father smiles at him and then goes back to whatever he was working on while Moroni merrily rushes to tell other people that it's twelve days until other's will get to know about this amazing record!
He is and forever will be one of my favorite people because of his faith, legacy, and example.