Dr. Tyler Griffin
Dr. Tyler Griffin’s career in education started with six years teaching seminary in Brigham City. He then spent seven years instructing at the Logan LDS Institute and helped launch the online seminary program. Currently, he’s a professor at BYU with over ten years of experience. Dr. Griffin co-founded the BYU Virtual Scriptures Group and holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Instructional Technology (Master’s and PhD). He has authored and co-authored several religious books.
Fact Checked by Kevin Prince
Notice Moroni chapter 10 verse 28 and 29: “I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies, and behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God, and His word shall have force from generation to generation. And God shall show unto you that which I have written is true.” This is coming from the stylus of a guy who is all alone. He’s been all alone for at least 20 years and up to 36 years. He’s saying, “I got nobody else to back me up on this. I’ve got no family or friends who can say to you, ‘Yes, Moroni’s telling you the truth.'” So he’s relying on the only witness that he does have, which is God, and he’s saying, “And God will show you that which I have written is true. He’s not going to leave me hanging here.”
Look at verses 30 and 31; here is our final exhortation. “And again, I would exhort you that you would come unto Christ and lay hold upon every good gift and touch not the evil gift nor the unclean thing. Awaken, arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion, and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded.” Are you noticing there that we’re quoting Isaiah 52 yet again? This concept of awake, arise from the dust, put on beautiful garments, take off the beggarly, dirty, dust-filled garments that this mortality invites us to put on. Get up, rise up, put on beautiful garments. Isaiah 52 has been quoted in the Book of Mormon more than, I think, any other Isaiah passage; it just keeps coming up. So you might ask the question, why do Mormons wear garments? This merciful God is inviting you to change and put on these beautiful garments.
Now, just a quick Greek lesson for you. I understand completely that the Book of Mormon isn’t translated from Greek; it’s translated from a Hebrew-speaking people who are writing in reformed Egyptian. I get that. But in a Greek New Testament context, when you get these words “put on,” they come from the Greek word “enduo.” “Enduo” looks an awful lot like “endow”; that’s what it is to endow. “Enduo” means to put on a sacred garment or to sink into a sacred garment or to be clothed in a sacred garment. “Enduo” means to be endowed, and an endowment is just to put on a sacred garment. Now, you’ll notice this coming in a New Testament context when Paul says, “Put on the whole armor of God.” In the Greek, it’s “endow yourself in the whole armor of God,” put it on, and then he goes through the different elements of that armor, that clothing, that sacred clothing that isn’t metal like a medieval knight. He tells you we’re battling not against flesh and blood but against principalities, kingdoms, and thrones, and all these other things, the powers of darkness that are coming at us. So this “put on the whole armor of God” in Paul’s context is showing you what is involved with being clothed and with the robe of righteousness, so to speak.
Now look at this context, look at verse 31 again, once again from Isaiah: “Awaken, arise from the dust of Jerusalem. Yea, and get endowed in thy beautiful garments, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem.” It’s cast off the clothing of the world and put on the armor of light. In another place, Paul says, “Put on Christ.” It’s the endowment and the clothing elements, or Mormon garments, of the endowment are simply symbols of Jesus Christ himself and his power. Where does that take us? That takes us clear back to Adam and Eve when they were found naked in the Garden of Eden. The very first thing that we have record of happening at that point is the Savior Jesus Christ creating coats of skins or making coats of skins for them to have them put them on, to endow them, to cover their nakedness, to clothe them. A Lamb of God is sent to die so that I can be covered, so that you can be clothed, so that we can be endowed with power so that we aren’t naked and exposed to the law, to the consequences of all of our foolish decisions and our poor uses of agency.
Hence, here’s this great prophet Moroni. He spent a lot of time alone; he spent a lot of time pondering God’s goodness; he spent a lot of time pondering and seeking truth and reading how many records, and he knows what he’s talking about. So you’ll notice his final exhortation here, number eight, started with “Come unto Christ.” There’s no other way; there is no other solution; there’s no other path that can lead to enduring joy. It’s only through Christ.
By Dr. Tyler Griffin, Source Expert
Dr. Tyler Griffin embarked on his professional journey by teaching seminary courses for a period of six years in Brigham City, Utah. Following that, he dedicated the subsequent seven years to instructing at the Logan LDS Institute, located adjacent to Utah State University. Alongside his participation in the Seminary Preservice program, he spearheaded and supervised the implementation of the online seminary program. Dr. Griffin has been an educator at BYU for well over a decade and holds a co-founding position within the BYU Virtual Scriptures Group. His undergraduate degree is in Electrical Engineering, while both his master’s and doctorate degrees center around Instructional Technology. Dr. Griffin is the exclusive author of “When Heaven Appears Distant” co-author of “Come Unto Me: Illuminating the Savior’s Life, Mission, Parables, and Miracles” and co-editor of “Millions Shall Rediscover Brother Joseph.”
Fact Checked by Mr. Kevin Prince, Source Expert
Kevin Prince is a religious scholar and host of the Gospel Learning Youtube channel. His channel has garnered over 41,000 subscribers and accumulated over 4.5 million views. Mr. Prince also created the Gospel Learning App, a reliable platform where individuals seeking truth can access trustworthy answers to religious questions from top educators worldwide.
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