Confounded and Mixed in Moroni 10:31

“Confounded” and “Mixed” by Roxy Kimokeo

I was curious about the meaning of the word confounded since I’ve heard it often but have never really read the definition and the very first entry said, “mixed or blended in disorder.”

That stood out to me because you had just done that study about the word “in.”

At first, I thought that “confounded” and “in” were opposites, but then I realize that confounded was actually an extension of the meaning “in.”

It is so crucial what “in” becomes mixed with. If it’s iniquity and “unclean things,” we become confounded and take on the image of Babylon. If blended with obedience to the laws and commandments, faith, hope, charity, and “every good gift,” we become imprinted with His image through His grace and belong to Him. (You are mine ).

The doctrinal commentary for these verses explains that if we accept His proposal of marriage, we become merged so intimately that our liabilities and His assets flow into each other and He makes us perfect. Our goal is to not only have our souls cleansed but that He fills our souls.

Becoming a Personal Witness

At the end of Moroni 10:32, Moroni says once this happens “ye can in no wise deny the power of God.” Or in other words, we then become a personal witness.

At the beginning of the book of Moroni, I studied a little about the word “witness” and the word “deny.” In Hebrew, “deny” is “mana” which means to hold back, to keep back, to disown, reject, or decline. As in access denied, I am not letting you in.

Or in other words, refusing to allow ourselves to be mixed with Christ!

When I studied the word “witness,” not only does it mean to attest to a fact or event, but a witness can be so strong that with great enough force, it can leave a mark behind that stands as a testimony through time.

We know that descriptions have been identified as witnesses to stand throughout time of the truthfulness of Jesus Christ. But also in the Old Testament, there are several examples of physical objects being displayed and consecrated to stand as witnesses of covenants or events. In legal terms, an object may be used to refresh the memory of a witness, which I think these physical objects are meant to do.

And so as we seek to become witnesses of Christ we are trying to establish ourselves, to leave a mark on the world through our conduct and our very being, that we know in Whom we trust, and none who see us or know us can deny that we are His. It’s all about what we choose to become mixed or blended in which leads to the nature of the witness we leave behind.