The Salt of the Earth

As with all key phrases in the scriptures, the phrase "salt of the earth" is used consistently to describe a certain group of people. There are other key words and/or phrases that are used in connection with the phrase "salt of the earth" such as covenant, savor, saviors of men, trodden under foot of men, cast out, light, gentiles and the house of Israel, which help to define who are the salt of the earth, what their role is and what is prophesied concerning them.

D&C 101:39-40 tells us who are the salt of the earth, and what they are called to be. "When men are called into mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men; they are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that salt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is therefore good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men."

President Benson clearly taught that references to the salt of the earth in the D&C referred to Church members of this last dispensation. In CR April 1985, Ensign 15 (May 1985), he said:

"The Lord said to the Church members of this dispensation: 'But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them. For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men; and inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men' (emphasis added).

Salt is linked with light. In 3 Nephi 12, the Lord said to the people "...I give unto you to be the light unto this people." This is said immediately after saying "...I give unto you to be the salt of the earth." Light and salt are therefore linked by the words 'ye are' and the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount says "Ye are the salt of the earth," and in the next verse He says "Ye are the light of the world." This connection is made even clearer in D&C 103:8-10 wherein the Lord tells the Church members, or those who have entered into the covenant, that "they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men; and inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor."

The idea of being saviors of men is also introduced. Since we know that men can be saved only in and through the Savior, being saviors of men implies that we bring people to Christ to be saved. The Lord also makes it clear that in order to be saviors of men ye must "...hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up..." (3 Nephi 18:24).

The phrase 'trodden under foot of men' is used with the phrase salt of the earth to denote the consequences of the salt of the earth losing its savor. Both 3 Nephi 16:15 and 3 Nephi 20:16 are prophecies concerning the salt of the earth (members of the Church), and also tell us that it will be the House of Israel that shall tread down the salt that hath lost its savor. This is a reversal of the Gentiles coming to America and casting out Lehi's descendants (who are of the House of Israel) and treading them down. It is the Gentiles in the latter days who are to be cast out and trodden under the feet of the House of Israel. Since these references makes clear that these Gentiles shall become as the salt of the earth which has lost it savor and is good for nothing but to be trodden under the foot of men, the Lord is prophesying what will become of many who have entered into the covenant. (3 Nephi 16:15) These are those who have received the Gospel but rejected the fulness of the Gospel. (3 Nephi 16:10), or those who have not repented, thereby linking the failure to repent to the salt losing its savor. "And thus commandeth the Father that I shall say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts...; and if they shall do these things and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from amng them" (3 Nephi 16:10 emphasis added).

The prophecies in 3 Nephi 16; 20 & 21 concerning the Gentiles who are the Salt of the Earth are quite clear in that there is no question but that many of the Salt of the Earth (members of the Church) will reject the fulness of the Gospel, reject God's words which have been revealed unto them, and because they refuse to repent, will be trodden down under foot by the House of Israel.

In an end time context, those "cut off" include wild branches of the olive tree (Gentiles) who do not "continue in his goodness" (Romans 11:22; cf. Jacob 5-65-66), "whosoever will not believe" the words of Christ, which the Lord's "servant" will bring forth to the Gentiles (3 Nephi 21:10-11); cf. Isaiah 52:13-15), "whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son" at that time (3 Nephi 21:20), and those who "will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles" when the "arm of the Lord" is revealed (D&C 1:14; cf. JS. Matt. 1:55; JS-History 1:40).

In this end time setting, the Lord's "servant" who brings forth the words of Christ to the Gentiles, is also "like unto Moses." Jesus says of those who disbelieve his words at that time, "(It shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant (or the Salt of the Earth)" (3 Nephi 212:11).

This test may help you determine which of the Gentiles you are apart of. To whom is Nephi speaking when he says "A Bible! A Bible!"? Of the two ways in which we can interpret this prophecy, do we accept what the Book of Mormon is actually telling us or do we subscribe to current popular opinion? From what Nephi has seen when viewing our day, it seems evident that we "who are identified with the Gentiles" (D&C 109:60), are particularly vulnerable

God Has Appointed Certain Conditions Upon Mankind

It is true that God has appointed that all mankind must die physically and spiritually, both of which are the result of the Fall of Adam. God has appointed that all must come to a judgment before Him. And it is given unto us to know good from evil. Given that these conditions have been appointed unto us by God, it makes sense that God would tell us of these conditions of which He has appointed. The following from Alma 12:27-37 not only tells us what He has appointed, but that He has made these conditions known unto us by sending messengers, first to Adam where His words were recorded, and later to others. Through these messengers He also made known unto us His Plan of Redemption through the atonement of His son.

"...it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end (27). 

And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them (28). Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory (29). 

And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works (30).

 Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good-- (31)

  

Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God (32).

  

But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son (33); 

Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest (34).

And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest (35).

  

And now, my brethern, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation was well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first (36).

  

And now, my brethern, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word (37).

And in verse 1 of Alma Chapter 13, He makes is clear as to why He "   ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things (Alma 12) unto the people" (emphasis added).

The Experiential Gospel

Walking into a lighted room is a different experience than walking into a dark room. We experience the difference not only through sight, but also through what we feel by the presence or lack of light. God has revealed to us that He is the light of the sun, moon and stars and the power by which they were made, and so everyday we experience the light of God in our lives. This is true even though we may not understand or believe that He is the light of the sun, moon and stars.

I have asked several members of the Church to tell me, using one word, the way they have experienced or experience the Holy Ghost or the Spirit of God in their lives. Usually the words are comfort, peace, and warmth. I have yet to have someone use the word light. And yet He describes Himself as light, and Christ says that He is the light that we should hold up.

I wonder if we are trapped by the words that we use and thereby limit our experiences with the Holy Ghost and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we are trapped by our own words, is it because we have limited them to what we have heard others say? If this is true, we limit the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our limited experiences of it.

Alma, on the other had, describes many experiences as he retells his story to his son Helaman in Alma 36.  He says he was struck with great fear. He fell to the earth and was racked with eternal torment because of his sins. He remembered all his sins and was tormented with the pains of hell. The very thought of coming into the presence of God racked his soul with inexpressible horror. He remembered his father prophesy concerning Jesus Christ. His mind caught hold of the thought, and he cried within his heart: O Jesus have mercy on me. When he thought this his pains went away. He could remember his sins no more. And then he said: "And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold." His soul was filled with joy. He had been born of God. He tasted of exceeding joy and desired others to taste of it.

Alma describes many more experiences, but the point is our experiences should be like his. We should all experience our lost and fallen state and be racked with torment because of our sins. Without these experiences we will never experience the joy of the atonement in our own lives. We must experience ourselves as sinners before we can ever taste of the exceeding joy of which Alma tasted.

Experiencing God's word as truth and light is to experience His spirit because His word is His spirit. And it is only through His word that we can experience a 'mighty change' in our hearts. "And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God." (Alma 5:13)

Judged According to Your Works, Whether They be Good or Evil

I believe that the scriptures which reference that we are judged according to our works, can be misunderstood. Let me illustrate by asking a question: Do you want God to be fair with you when you are brought to stand before Him to be judged of your works? Most of us, without thinking, would probably say yes. But if you really think about it, the last thing we should want is God's justice, but rather His mercy. So the question becomes: How do we obtain the mercy of God? And understand that it is an either/or: You either receive the Justice of God or His Mercy.

Christ said "my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil--And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works" (3 Nephi 27:14-15 emphasis added).

This seems very straight forward and most of us would think that we better have some good works to be judged by. But we must understand that we never want to be judged by our works, since we have all sinned and have all fallen short of the glory of God.

Christ goes on to tell us how to avoid the judgment of God. "And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold him will I hold guiltless before my father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world" (3 Nephi 27:16 emphasis added).

Alma said that mercy claims the repentant and justice claims the unrepentant. Through the plan of redemption, we have been granted the blessing of repentance, "which repentance mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature" (Alma 42:22). He goes on to say that "mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice" (Alma 42:23). But the penitent are not judged according to their works because they are held guiltless before God because of the mercy of God.

"...justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved" (Alma 42:24 emphasis added).

So don't make the mistake of thinking that because of all your 'good works' you will be saved. We don't even want to be judged by our 'good works' since that invites the Justice of God. Good works do not save us. Only Christ does through repentance.