Moroni 2

Chapter Overview

What happens in Moroni 2

Moroni records the words Christ spoke to His twelve disciples when He gave them authority to bestow the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. This brief chapter preserves one of the most sacred ordinances of the early Nephite church.

Scripture

The bestowal of authority to give the Holy Ghost

Study note

Moroni records the exact words Christ spoke to His twelve chosen disciples, giving them authority to confer the Holy Ghost. Christ instructed them to call on the Father in His name through mighty prayer, after which they would have power to bestow the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. This authority was given privately, at Christ's first appearing, before the multitude witnessed subsequent events.

1 The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them—

2 And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.

3 Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first appearing; and the multitude heard it not, but the disciples heard it; and on as many as they laid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost.

Key Themes

Themes in Moroni 2

The gift of the Holy Ghost given through priesthood authorityThe importance of mighty prayer in exercising divine powerChrist as the source of all spiritual authorityThe pattern of ordinances performed in Christ's name

Prophetic Connections

How this chapter points to Christ

Moroni 2:1-3 Acts 8:17-18

The pattern of conferring the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands parallels the apostolic practice described in Acts, where Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritan believers, who then received the Holy Ghost.

Apply This Today

Living Moroni 2

The bestowal of the Holy Ghost is not a casual event but requires calling upon the Father in mighty prayer. Moroni's preservation of this ordinance reminds us that spiritual authority is real, that it comes from Christ, and that the gift of the Holy Ghost is among the most precious gifts available to believers.

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