“We must make the Book of Mormon a center focus of study because it was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book, neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us. Mormon wrote near the end of the Nephite civilization. Under the inspiration of God, who sees all things from the beginning, he abridged centuries of records, choosing the stories, speeches, and events that would be most helpful to us. … We should constantly ask ourselves … [w]hat lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 58–59).
Moroni acknowledged that the day in which the Book of Mormon would come forth would be a time of great difficulty and unbelief. In Mormon 8:26–41, he describes the circumstances that might inhibit acceptance of the ancient record:
1. It will be a time when miracles are denied (v. 26).
2. It will be in a day when the rise of secret combinations and works of darkness shall cause the blood of the saints to be shed and cry from the earth (v. 27).
3. It will come in a day when the power of God shall be denied (v. 28).
4. It will be a time when churches and their leaders shall be defiled and lifted up with pride, envy, and corruption (v. 28, 32).
5. The earth will tremble because of fires and tempests and “vapors of smoke in foreign lands (v. 29).
6. There will be widespread war and “rumors of wars” among the nations (v. 30).
7. There will be earthquakes “in divers places” (v. 30).
8. There will be “great pollutions” upon all the earth (v. 31).
9. In that day there will be rampant wickedness—murders, robbings, lying, deceiving, whoredoms, “and all manner of abominations” (v. 31).
10. It will be a time when people reject accountability for their behavior (v. 31).
Nonetheless, Moroni noted that notwithstanding the wickedness of the last days, the ancient record—the Book of Mormon—would indeed come forth by the hand of the Lord, “and none can stay it” (Mormon 8:26). Moroni admonished those living in these difficult days to pay heed to the revelations of God, for “all these things must be fulfilled” (Mormon 8:33).