He wasn’t feeling too well, this silver-haired octogenarian, but he completed his temple sealing assignment that day (as he had done faithfully for so many years) and then the next afternoon, despite continuing weakness, he did his home teaching as so often before. The following day his infirmity had worsened to the extent that he was taken to the hospital, from whence he never returned. A week later his earthly mission was complete, and he was “taken home to that God” who gave him life (Alma 40:11). Such was the example of my wife’s father, who preached a powerful, if silent, sermon on devotion and faithfulness during that last opportunity for service in the kingdom.
When Mormon and Moroni closed the book on their mortal ministry, grieving in their hearts over the travail and suffering of their wayward compatriots, they preached two sermons: one concerning the Savior, expressed in glorious and resounding language of conviction and testimony, plus a silent sermon of exemplary service and indefatigable loyalty to the gospel cause—despite overwhelming adversity. In one of Moroni’s last pronouncements, he bore fervent witness, declaring: “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… . Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words” (Mormon 9:21, 30). Similarly, countless Saints in numberless family circles of Zion have left behind, and will yet leave behind, a legacy of valor and courage, speaking lucidly and clearly to their descendants—as if in silent sermons from a different and better world—words of truth and encouragement by their examples of service and covenant valor. (Richard J. Allen)