Unaware

This post was originally published on April 9, 2022, but the subject matter has been on my mind for various reasons, but mainly because I have been thinking a lot lately about what we can take with us when we die.

The Greater the Awareness or What We Take With Us

Being unaware 
is synonymous
with being 

uninformed, 
heedless, 
unfamiliar, 
unconcerned, 
negligent, 
oblivious, 
blind, 
unenlightened, 
unknowing, 
unmindful 
and ignorant.  

Being ignorant is someone who is lacking knowledge, information or awareness.  So Nephi's use of the word ignorant in 2 Nephi 32:7 is significant. He said 

"And now I, Nephi, 

cannot say more; 

the Spirit stoppeth 

mine utterance, 

and I am left to mourn 

because of the unbelief, 

and the wickedness, 

and the ignorance, 

and the stiffnecknedness 

of men; for they 

will not search knowledge, 

nor understand great knowledge, when 

it is given unto them 

in plainness, 

even as plain 

as word can be."  

By linking ignorance with unbelief, wickedness, stiffneckedness, and failure to search and understand knowledge, and then linking each of these with the word of God, Nephi makes it clear what men are ignorant of and what knowledge they fail to search or understand--the word of God.  

And by linking the word of God with "light and truth" (D&C 84:45), and by linking "light and truth" with "intelligence" (D&C 93:36), we can conclude:

That being aware 

is being intelligent, 
and being unaware 

is being ignorant.  

That one who has more intelligence (light and truth) 

is more aware, 

And the greater the intelligence, 

the greater the awareness. 

And we take that intelligence and awareness, or lack thereof, with us!

[And "whatever principle of intelligence (light and truth) we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection" (D&C 130:18 emphasis added).]

Conversely those who are unaware or who are lacking in intelligence (light and truth) are those who are not searching the word of God, and are heedless. Even among the Lord's people Jeremiah says their wise men "have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them" (Jeremiah 8:9)?

Ignorance is a matter of degree, and since we are all ignorant to some degree, to pretend we are not, is a "manner of lying and of deceit" (3 Nephi 16:1). We are ignorant of what we do not know, and in the presence of someone who does know, we cannot hide our ignorance. I cannot hide, for example, my ignorance of the French language, and will expose my ignorance as soon as I open my mouth to speak a few words. Is it the same with the word of God? Will our ignorance be exposed?

And the Lord said unto me (Abraham): 

These two facts do exist, 

1. that there are two spirits, 
one being more intelligent 

than the other; 

2. there shall be another 
more intelligent than they; 

I am the Lord thy God, 
I am more intelligent 

than they all" (Abraham 3:19). 

More intelligence is having more light and truth. His words are light and truth and have been recorded so that we "the residue of men" may receive, by His words, more intelligence (Moroni 7:31-32). For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (D&C 84:45 emphasis added). Being unaware of how critically important the word of God is, is a measure of the degree of our intelligence. 

The word of God is the separator that will eventually cause an irrevocable division among the people, either on the one hand or on the other.

Further, it is because of our negligence or sloth that we do not search or feast upon the word of God as we have been admonished. 

Nephi said to "give heed unto the word of the Lord" (1 Ne. 15:25). 

Alma tells us to receive His words with "heed and diligence" (Alma 12:9).     

"Thou shalt give heed unto all his words" (D&C 21:4). 

And "give diligent heed to the words of eternal life" (D&C 84:43). 

"I am God; give heed to my word" (D&C 11:2).

Intelligence, light and truth, and the word of God are inseparably connected. Another way of saying this is that to ignore the word of God (all that has been revealed) is to remain ignorant, unaware, heedless, oblivious, blind, and unenlightened.

We can look to Peter for the solution to our ignorance.

"And therefore 

we must labour for a little,
that we may search out 
the presumptions of ignorance, 
and cut them off 
by means of knowledge, 
especially in those 
who are preoccupied 
with some erroneous opinions, 
by means of which ignorance 
is the more firmly rooted in them" 
(Clement of Rome).

And being ignorant of the word of God makes us unaware on so many levels, not only of His words but of what is going on in the world around us. Our ignorance, or lack of intelligence, is directly linked to our lack of knowledge and/or awareness of the word of God.

First of all, before anything can happen, one must be aware of being in the world. While a measure of awareness is apparently possessed by all living things, the greater our intelligence, the greater our awareness, and awareness or intelligence is directly related to the heed and diligence we give to the word of God, which again is truth, light, spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ (D&C 84:45).

If our time here is to have any meaning at all, our brain and intellect must be clear and active. Our life here should be a constant mental exercise. 

One might argue that there are many intelligent people who are not aware of the word of God, and that is true, if we use the world's measure of intelligence. 

They may have, it is true, a wealth of knowledge about a certain profession, hobby or interest, and may even be experts or authorities. They may have unequaled skills and abilities, and may even be considered as one of the best in their given area of skill or knowledge. 

But without the word of God they remain ignorant and have a minimum of awareness of what really matters, not only in this world, but in the world to come, i.e., "...that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory...." (Moses 6:59).

There are many 'intelligent' people in the world, but the world measures intelligence differently. For example, we would consider someone outlandishly accomplished, who as a son of Indian immigrants was educated at Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard, who worked as a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and who now teaches at Harvard. We would consider such a person as being very intelligent, which is true if we measure intelligence by IQ, test passing, accomplishment, memorization, analytical and cognitive skills, and every other worldly measure.  

But even the most intelligent by the world's standards can and do remain ignorant of, for example, even knowing where they are--the world (Babylon) and of our conditions here! 

The interchange between Alma and Antionah illustrates this truth. After Alma had explained that death was a result of the fall of Adam, "there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: 'What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state, that the soul can never die? What does the scripture mean, which saith that God 

placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.'

Because Alma could see that Antionah was only focused on the 'living forever' piece of the puzzle,  and did not fully understand, he said unto him: "This is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see that Adam did fall by partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people" (Alma 12:20-22). 

Alma then explains the Lord's plan of redemption and how we receive this gift. Caution. Don't think you know the plan of redemption before you search Alma 12, and then ask yourself what is His plan of redemption, and what do His "second commandments" have to do with His plan of redemption (Alma 12:37)? What are we to do after knowing and obeying His second commandments (Alma 13:1)?

Antionah was ignorant, and Alma, using the word of God, gave Antionah an opportunity to overcome his ignorance concerning why God placed cherubim and a flaming sword to prevent Adam and Eve from partaking of the tree of life, and how, not withstanding Adam and Eve being prevented, they could be redeemed. By the way, did you know that everyone except Sons of Perdition will be redeemed, even those in the Telestial Kingdom and lower (D&C 76:32-38; 88:17-24)?

Several years ago, I went to hear Paul Volker, who at the time was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. As I listened it didn't take long for me to realize I had no idea what he was talking about. I felt totally ignorant and realized I did not have any frame of reference. It was like he was speaking a foreign language, and after just a few minutes of him speaking with me he would be aware of my ignorance. So it is with the word of God. Without a frame of reference people remain ignorant. And by frame of reference, I mean learning and understanding the Lord's language. See A New Language.

Another example concerns Enoch teaching the people the word of God and the record says, 

"And as Enoch spake forth 

the words of God, 

the people trembled, 

and could not stand in his presence" 

(Moses 6:47).  

He then tells them of their conditions on this earth.  

"And he said unto them: 

¹Because that Adam fell ²we are; 

and ³by his fall came death; 

and ⁴we are made partakers 

of misery and woe.  

Behold ⁵Satan hath come 

among the children of men, 

and ⁶tempteth them 

to worship him; 

and ⁷men have become 

carnal, sensual and devilish, 

and ⁸are shut out 

from the presence of God" 

(Moses 6:48-49).  

With these words we become aware of our condition on this earth.  

Because 

of the fall, 

We are. 

We die. 

We are carnal 

and devilish. 

We are shut out 

from the presence of God. 

This awareness of our condition on this earth increases our intelligence, and raises the question: can we overcome it?  

We are told that we can, 

and how we can 

through God's words.  

We then become more aware 

or more intelligent, 

having received 

light and truth 

through His words.  

As we receive 

more of God's words 

our intelligence 

and our awareness 

increases.  

For without knowing where we are and why, we have no hope of going anywhere. So it is with all the words of God, and our awareness or lack of awareness is directly connected to whether we receive and believe the word of God. 

The intelligence is in the details which are only made manifest by diligently searching His words. 

Think of His words as a map which can help us find and keep us on the right path.

Without the map, we are in "a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch (even if we have) commenced in the path (we will) lose (our) way, (and we will) wander off and (get) lost" (1 Nephi 8:23). Notice he does not say we might get lost.

The only remedy is to search the Words of the most Intelligent of them all, feast upon them, and retain them as the treasures they are. Only in feasting upon the words of God can we see the light shining in the darkness.

However, there are more and damning consequences for being ignorant. 

Peter is purportedly to have said that 

"...all evil springs 

from ignorance; 

and ignorance herself, 

the mother of all evils, 

is sprung from 

carelessness and sloth, 

and is nourished, and increased, 

and rooted in the senses 

of men by negligence.  

For nothing is worse 

than for one to believe 

that one knows 

what one is ignorant of, 

and to maintain 

that to be true 

which is false" 

(Clement of Rome). 

Let's examine some of the 'evils' that can and do result from ignorance. For one, without the light of His words we are navigating in the darkness and have no idea or at least not a clear idea of where we are.  

Being clearly aware of where we are is the key to making sense of all that goes on around us, but more importantly without knowing that we are in the world where Satan reigns--with the blessing of God--we can mistake Satan's world as the 'real world' when it is God's 'real world' that we should desire. 

And we actually become very comfortable in Satan's world. 

Another 'evil' is that people ignorant of the Lord's word do not have a clear picture of the Atonement and what it means to repent and are therefore in jeopardy of being subject to the justice of God.  

They may, however, have some of His words, but have not diligently searched them and therefore remain in the midst of darkness.

Because they do not understand God's justice their idea of salvation is simply the teachings of men mingled with scripture, and because many share the same ideas, they take comfort.

Consider this example. If you teach your child that to 'let your light shine' means to be good and set a good example, and another teaches her child that it is Christ's light that we should hold up and follow and not our light, which of these two children is on the right path? (Isaiah 50:11). 

Or this one. You believe that God loves you so much and that while you are not perfect, you are basically good, and even though you have made mistakes, God's love for you is so great, he will ignore or forgive your mistakes and usher you into His presence. If you believe this you are not only ignorant of God, but are ignorant of the justice of God. 

We are commanded 

to teach our children 

to understand the 

doctrine of repentance 

and baptism before 

they are eight years old.  

You can ask yourself why it is critical for them to understand these doctrines at this time in their lives? 

It is to get them in the gate and on the right path as soon as they become accountable to God for their own sins, at which time they can then begin repenting. 

How can we keep this commandment, and get them through the gate and in the right path if we do not understand the doctrine of Christ ourselves? 

If we are ignorant of the Lord's definition of repentance how can we teach our children to understand repentance? They would remain ignorant and unaware of their own need for repentance. And if we are not repenting we cannot understand the doctrine of repentance!

I am afraid that we don't get children in the right way (even though we have the CTR ring) but instead send them into the world on one of the broad paths. 

Going through the gate blindly does not get them in the right way.

Only "light and truth forsake that evil one" (D&C 93:37), and by not bringing up our children in light and truth, and instead rely on our traditions which take away light and truth (D&C 93:38-40), we have not taught our children as the Lord requires. 

And the reason?  

Because we are ignorant and unaware.

If we don't teach

our children 

that there are 

only two choices--

good and evil--

but instead teach them 

to make good choices 

that make their 

lives more comfortable 

in Satan's world, 

then we have abandoned 

them to the world 

without light and truth, 

to rely on their own merits.

Combine not having a clear understanding of where we are with being ignorant of the doctrines of Christ, ignorant of His gospel, ignorant of His definitions of good and evil, and ignorant of His justice and mercy, it is easy to get lost. But the danger is that while we are lost we can deceive ourselves and think that we are on the right path! Satan is the best at creating illusions.

Add to these our ignorance of the endtime prophecies in Isaiah, other Jewish prophets, the Book of Mormon, the D&C, the New Testament and the Book of Revelation, and not only do we not know that we are living in Babylon, but are ignorant that everyone and everything who remain in Babylon will be destroyed, and that it will be because of us, the Lord's people who have refused to repent. 

We don't understand the prophecies concerning America and the reversal that takes place between Lehi's descendants and the Gentiles.  We don't know that the Gospel will be taken from us because we reject the fulness of the gospel, and be given to the House of Israel (the Jews, the 10 Tribes & Lehi's descendants). 

Another resulting evil ignorance brings upon us, is that we buy into Satan's economy believing that Satan's economy is the Lord's way, and that our liberties under the Constitution are guaranteed. We are ignorant of the fact that we only have the Constitution because we refused to live the Lord's law.  

And what is the Lord's law? 

I rest my case.

As a result 

Satan will "grasp (us) 

with his everlasting chains.... 

And others will he pacify, 

and lull them away into carnal security... and thus the devil cheateth their souls, 

and leadeth them 

carefully down to hell.... 

And behold, others 

he flattereth away..." 

(2 Nephi 28:19-29).  

The only remedy to prevent being grasped in Satan's chains of hell is the word of God (Alma 12:9-11).

There is a direct correlation between ignorance in politics, placing our trust in our leaders, religious or otherwise, and ignorance of the word of God. The Constitution, even though inspired by God, is still a government of men. There is no true party and no party is a defender of the truth. Through His words we know that the Constitution was inspired by Him. "According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment...and for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose..." (D&C 101:76-80).

The Lord is not concerned with party policies (men will never solve the problems in this country regardless to which party they belong), but with protecting the rights granted under the Constitution, and we should oppose anyone who will not submit to the rule of law and protect the God-given Constitutional freedoms.  

For this purpose the Lord has told us to seek honest and wise leaders who will uphold the liberties granted to all men under the Constitution (D&C 98-10). 

Anyone who is not wise and honest, and who does not uphold these rights, should not be supported no matter to which party he or she may belong.  

The Lord knew, as did the founders of the Constitution, that character matters.

Dishonest leaders blinded by power are more likely to not uphold and protect these Constitutional liberties. 

Anyone who believes otherwise is ignorant or not aware of all that one dishonest leader can do to erode democracy and these freedoms, and is not aware of how these types of leaders supported by even a minority, lead to the events prophesied. And be aware that the apostasy of the Lord's people is the catalyst. 

They are ignorant of God's counsel to only seek for honest and wise leaders who will uphold these Constitutional freedoms. If we, however, have two unwise and dishonest candidates, then that may be an indication that the majority of the people desire that which is not of God (Mosiah 29:26-27). 

If we are not aware we may not recognize our role as the catalyst for having to choose between two dishonest candidates. 

The wise men who founded the Constitution realized that for democracy to work everyone (including the President) must submit themselves to the rule of law, something a dishonest president may not be willing to do. 

And yet millions of Americans can remain ignorant of how easily this can happen.  

Of those who are willing to support dishonest and corrupt leaders, they generally fall into one of three categories:

1) because of a single issue or policy they believed the leader would support regardless of that leader's character; 

2) those that buy into and support dishonesty and corruption and anarchy, or who want to be in the circle of power, and 

3) those who are ignorant of the damage one dishonest and corrupt president can do to democracy, and become cult-like followers of one person or party, which is by far the biggest group. 

Anyone who believes otherwise can only be classified as ignorant, or to use another term of the word ignorant, they just ignore the dishonesty and corruption. 

To God, character is paramount as a person with character is more likely to be committed to upholding the rights and liberties for all, and which are granted under the Constitution. 

We should become pro-God rather than anti-candidate, and we become pro-God when we follow His admonition to select honest and wise leaders who will hold our liberties under the Constitution.

Any member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is unaware of the Book of Mormon prophecies concerning America, and the Lord's words to Joseph Smith concerning seeking for wise and honest leaders who would protect the liberties under the Constitution (D&C 98:5-10), is ignorant of the conditions that accelerate the endtime events prophesied. 

Peter to have used the word "senses" is enlightened because he links intelligence to our faculties, the most important of which is our mind, our brain.  

We must awake and arouse our faculties in order to prepare to receive the word of God (Alma 32:27). 

Joseph Smith said that "We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect..."  

As we give heed to the light (His words) we become more intelligent, and receive more and thus become even more intelligent. 

He also said, "Apply yourselves diligently to study, that your minds may be stored with all necessary information."  

If we only get our information from what others have said or written, and then share that information among ourselves, as opposed to what God has revealed and caused to be written, we contribute to what Joseph described as the "veil of stupidity" that hangs over the heads of this people, and there are eternal consequences for remaining ignorant for "it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance" (D&C 131:6).

Peter also says that ignorance is the result of laziness and negligence. To remain ignorant, therefore, is the result of ignoring or letting His words fall by the wayside. It is willful. 

Another aspect of being ignorant is basing our decisions and opinions on very little data or evidence. 

But what constitutes evidence?  

In a court of law the standard of evidence is very strict.  For example, a person's opinion is not evidence unless the witness qualifies as an expert witness which must be determined before any testimony can be elicited. Moreover, even these experts can be challenged or contradicted by other expert witnesses. While there are exceptions, hearsay--what you heard or read from another--is not evidence.  

What a person believes is not evidence. In fact, a person's beliefs are not relevant, no matter the authority or prominence of that person.

Evidence is an available body of facts to support whether a belief or proposition is true. 

Evidence can be presented in proof of the facts in issue and which may include the testimony of witnesses with actual knowledge, records, documents or objects. 

Gathering evidence is one of the foundations of critical thinking and good decision-making.

So when someone makes a declaration without evidence we should give no heed, and can rightfully observe that that person is ignorant, or worse yet, knowingly ignorant and knowingly leading others who are ignorant to support, believe and follow him/her. 

Yet we often base our beliefs and opinions on the opinions of others thereby compounding the problem. As Brigham Young said, a person's opinion is not worth a damn. This is true of even so called 'informed' opinions.  

To accept declarations without evidence is a sign that our critical thinking is wanting and supports Peter's statement that "nothing is worse than for one to believe that one knows what one is ignorant of, and to maintain that to be true which is false."  

If we are honest with ourselves we must admit that all of us are ignorant of the truthfulness of what we hear and read. 

Those with the word of God should be the most critical of thinkers. We should never accept anything at face value and are obliged to get information, evidence and data from all of the most reliable sources and then compare all that we hear and read to the word of God to know the difference between what comes from men and what comes from God. 

As Joseph said "Thy mind O man must stretch to the highest heavens."  We cannot rely on comments on social media or limited and/or bias news sources. We cannot accept alternative facts and propaganda. While our country does support our right to have an opinion, even though alone not worth a damn, uninformed or otherwise, we are not entitled to our own facts. 

We can use and rely on 'alternative facts' or lies and propaganda, but to do so is contrary to God's words to not speak guile, which is to deceive, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and to spread those lies and propaganda is the very definition of speaking guile. 

Anything and everything we discuss must be within the framework of the word of God. 

Why? 

Isn't it rather

Narrow? 

Arbitrary?

Confining? 

Authoritarian? 

No, the word of God has immense breadth and depth.

Within the framework 

of the word of God 

we are free to 

ponder, 

speculate, 

discuss, 

criticize, 

check, and 

control 

from other sources--

It is all legitimate. 

Above all, we are not only justified in falling back on the the word of God, but we are obliged to--because there is no other framework available to appeal to. 

Without the framework of the word of God, we remain ignorant of where we are, what has happened in the world, what is happening around us and in the world, and what will happen to us, the world and those in it. Instead we put our trust in men, trusting in certain ideologies, parties, values, the arm of flesh or as the Lord puts it--in idols.

Having a zeal for someone or something is not the same as having knowledge about someone or something.  

Zeal without knowledge is dangerous.  

It is like a car with an engine but without brakes, a transmission and a steering wheel. Zeal leads to poor decision-making and makes one prone to blindly follow others. Religious and political zeal are perilous and reckless and are always uninformed.

Let me conclude with these words from the Lord to Joseph Smith. 

"It is an imperative duty 

that we owe 

to God, 

to angels...

and also 

to ourselves, 

to our wives 

and children 

[because] ...of 

the influence 

of that spirit 

which hath so strongly 

riveted the creeds 

of the fathers, 

who have inherited lies, 

upon the hearts 

of the children, 

and filled the 

world with confusion, 

and has been 

growing stronger 

and stronger, 

and is now 

the very mainspring 

of all corruption, 

and the whole earth 

groans under the 

weight of its iniquity.  

It is an iron yoke, 

it is a strong band; 

they are the 

very handcuffs 

and chains, 

and shackles, 

and fetters of hell.... 

For there are many 

yet on the earth 

among all sects, 

parties, and 

denominations, 

who are blinded by 

[ignorant of] the 

subtle craftiness of men, 

whereby they lie in wait 

to deceive, 

and who are only 

kept from the truth 

because they know 

not where to find it" 

(D& 123:7-8;12). 

We, however, have no excuse and must not be blinded by the subtle craftiness of men and remain ignorant. Why? Because we do know where to find the truth, and to continue without searching the truth for light and knowledge, not only guarantees that we remain ignorant, but is contrary to God's command to search His words, for by His words we will be judged! 

Repentance: All But The Very Elect Will Be Deceived Part 2

These posts on Repentance are best read in order beginning with Repentance: Introduction. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post.

Nephi introduces the Lord's great and marvelous work in 1 Nephi 14:7, where he says that the Lord's great and marvelous work will cause an irrevocable division between those who will repent and be saved, and those who will be damned. It is the events associated with this work that will cause all but the very elect to be deceived.

Nephi predicts a sequence of events for the times of the Gentiles. He prophesies, in order: 

—the Christian apostasy (1 Ne. 13:4–9) 

—Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America (1 Ne. 13:12) 

—the arrival of the Pilgrims in America (1 Ne. 13:13) 

—the establishment of many gentile peoples on this continent, their scattering of the Lamanites, and their obtaining political independence (1 Ne. 13:14–19) 

—the dissemination of a defective form of the Bible in America—defective particularly with regard to the “gospel of the Lamb” or the New Testament (1 Ne. 13:20–29) 

—the rising preeminence of the American people (1 Ne. 13:30) 

—and the restoration of the gospel among the Gentiles (1 Ne. 13:32–37) 

Nephi goes on to describe events that follow the restoration of the gospel, among them the “great and marvelous work.” These events include a time, prior to the Lord’s day of wrath upon the world, which foresees Gentiles who repent being numbered among the descendants of Lehi—with them to inherit this land forever

—while those Gentiles who have hardened their hearts incur the Lord’s wrath (1 Ne. 14:1–6); 

--the great and marvelous work, which causes an irrevocable division between those who will be saved and those who will be damned (1 Ne. 14:7); 

--an open confrontation between the multitudes of the earth and those on whom the power of God descends, who are the house of Israel (1 Ne. 14:8–14); 

--the wrath of God descending on all nations and kindreds of the earth (1 Ne. 14:15–17); 

--and the fulfillment of the Lord’s covenants with his people, who are of the house of Israel (1 Ne. 14:17). 

Nephi then says that he saw in vision a much fuller version, or many additional events, of this sequence. These he was “forbidden” to write (1 Nephi 14:25, 28). 

Nephi picks up again his latter-day theme several chapters later, in 1 Nephi 22. He again predicts, in order, 

--the maturation of the mighty nation of America among the Gentiles and her scattering of Lehi’s descendants (v. 7); 

--the marvelous work among the Gentiles—some time after Lehi’s descendants have been scattered—which marvelous work Nephi likens to the Lord’s “mak[ing] bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations” (vv. 8–11); 

--the fulfillment of the Lord’s covenants with the house of Israel in bringing them out of bondage, both physical and spiritual, and gathering them to their lands of inheritance (v. 12); 

--the wrath of God descending on the nations of the earth (vv. 13–16); 

--the Lord’s deliverance of the righteous by his power (vv. 17–24); 

--and the Lord’s millennial reign as Israel’s divine King (vv. 24–28). 

Thus, Nephi makes dual mention of the Lord’s great and marvelous work (1 Ne. 14:7; 22:8). But more than that, he gives us the opportunity to discover more about that work by comparing his two sequences. For example, the second sequence emphasizes the end or closing events of the last days. Nonetheless, it does mention the coming forth of the Lord’s great and marvelous work. In connection with that work, both sequences mention the Lord’s wrath descending on the nations of the world and the power of God intervening to save his righteous people. Such divine intervention fulfills the Lord’s covenants with the house of Israel. 

We therefore learn something about the Lord’s great and marvelous work: among the events Nephi’s two sequences have in common are the destruction of the wicked and the deliverance and restoration of the Lord’s righteous people. Though these events follow the great and marvelous work chronologically, they do not themselves seem to initiate something new. Rather, in both sequences these events derive directly from the great and marvelous work. By means of the two sequences, then, Nephi, without directly saying so, shows that the great and marvelous work involves these precipitous kinds of events. 

Structurally, however, Nephi does much more to teach us about the great and marvelous work than just provide two complementary sequences of events. Let us look, for instance, at what he includes in the chapters that separate his two sequences. 

First, we find a number of biographical chapters (1 Ne. 15–19). In these, Nephi reiterates that the restoration of Lehi’s descendants and of the Jews comes after the Gentiles have scattered Lehi’s descendants (1 Ne. 15:17–20). The restoration of the natural branches of the house of Israel involves their believing the gospel of the Messiah and their grafting back into the olive tree (1 Ne. 15:13–16). These chapters then outline the journey of Lehi’s party through the wilderness and their safe arrival in the promised land. For purposes of analysis, let us refer to these chapters as the “journeying narratives.” 

Next, Nephi inserts two chapters from the book of Isaiah (1 Ne. 20–21; compare Isa. 48–49), which he quotes in their entirety. These two Isaiah chapters speak of the destruction of the wicked and of the gathering and restoration of the tribes of Israel at that time (1 Ne. 20:18–21:26; compare Isa. 48:18–49:26). A closer look at this intervening material thus reveals that Nephi places the two Isaiah chapters strategically. By means of the Isaiah material, Nephi may be telling us things about the great and marvelous work without actually saying so. 

By the same token, the journeying narratives, which come just before the Isaiah material, provide us with important information: they show just how the Lord delivers the righteous of his people from destruction in a day of great judgment and restores them to their lands of inheritance (1 Ne. 15–19). These are the very kinds of events Nephi associates with the Lord’s great and marvelous work (compare 1 Ne. 22:8–12). In other words, the journeying narratives and the Isaiah chapters resemble each other in an important respect: each describes the same kinds of restorative events, one by way of narrative, the other by way of prophecy. 

When we examine the journeying narratives and the Isaiah chapters more closely, we find that everything Nephi includes between the first and second versions of his prophetic sequence pertain to that sequence. Far from being a loose arrangement of material, his entire account is organized into a prophetic literary structure. Nephi has arranged his material so that its very organization reveals a prophetic message. 

In order to better understand Nephi’s structural message, we will first examine the content of the two Isaiah chapters (Isa. 48–49). As I have mentioned, these speak of the destruction of the wicked and of the gathering and restoration of Israel. Two important themes emerge in this material: the role the Gentiles play in gathering and restoring Israel, and the role a latter-day servant of the Lord plays in fulfilling those same events. 

In the book of Isaiah originates the key idea of the Lord’s making bare his arm in the sight of all nations (see Isa. 52:10). In Nephi’s second sequence, the Lord’s making bare his arm appears to be synonymous with the Lord’s great and marvelous work (1 Ne. 22:8–11). Nephi links these ideas both structurally and rhetorically. The arm of the Lord refers to a servant of the Lord who is a descendant of David, who precedes Jesus’ second coming. That servant is known in the book of Isaiah by a number of metaphorical pseudonyms, such as the Lord’s hand, ensign, arm, and an arrow hidden in the Lord's quiver. The term arm, I have found, connotes the Lord’s intervention in the affairs of humanity through the instrumentality of this servant. 

The Davidic servant, in effect, accomplishes the same restoration of Israel and Judah that the Prophet Joseph Smith attributes to a latter-day David. Israel’s and Judah’s conversion and restoration, Joseph predicted, will occur in a “day of power.” According to the two Isaiah chapters, a servant of the Lord, who at first is hidden from the world but whom the Lord reveals, will gather and restore latter-day Israel. In that task, righteous Gentiles will assist him (compare 1 Ne. 21:22–23; 22:6–8). The Lord’s making bare his arm in the sight of all nations, therefore, refers to the universally revealed mission that the Lord’s servant performs when the Gentiles assist him. 

Although we do not know the identity of this servant, we do know, from scriptural patterns, that such a servant will not announce himself but will be called of God as was David anciently through the prophet Samuel. 

Isaiah prophesies that when the Lord’s servant is revealed to the world, many will hate and abhor him, even some of his own people. He will be marred, but the Lord will heal him. The Lord will nonetheless commission him with power to set free and gather His ancient covenant people from the ends of the earth. In conjunction with this mission, the Lord will give him power to judge Babylon. 

Those who will respond positively to the servant’s message are those who will not be deceived having taken the word of God as their guide. They will separate from among the wicked by leaving Babylon on the eve of her destruction. They will participate in a prolonged journey through the wilderness to inherit Zion, a promised land. At the same time, the wicked of the Lord’s people will be cut off and destroyed with Babylon. 

By piecing together this information from Isaiah with both of Nephi’s two sequences of events, we arrive at a remarkable insight. We find that the baring of the Lord’s arm (the revealing of the Lord’s servant) in the sight of all nations has a dramatic polarizing effect on all peoples of the earth—not the least on us. It causes some to harden their hearts to the point that they will be damned for it. Others are led to repent so that they may be numbered among those whom the Lord delivers. As soon as this polarization has taken place, the Lord brings on his cleansing judgment of the earth (see 1 Ne. 14:7–17; 22:8–26). 

Isaiah refers to this series of redemptive events as “new things” (1 Ne. 20:6; compare Isa. 48:6). According to Isaiah, the new things are patterned after the “former things” the Lord has performed (1 Ne. 20:3; compare Isa. 48:3). 

Among these new events, two stand out: the new exodus out of Babylon on the eve of her destruction and the new wandering in the wilderness to the promised lands. They reflect Isaiah’s use of types—Isaiah draws on events out of Israel’s past as types and shadows of what will befall Israel in the last days. We can understand this typological viewpoint as the Lord refers to himself as the “first” and the “last” (1 Ne. 20:12; compare Isa. 48:12). 

In other words, the same God who redeemed Israel at the first, in the days of Moses, will redeem Israel at the last, in our day: the Lord is the author and the finisher of His people’s salvation. The new events of which Isaiah speaks, however, take a new, unanticipated turn. There are unknown factors that enter into the redemption of Israel that constitute a trial or test of the Lord’s people. These trying elements result when the ancient types combine in unexpected fashion to form the new events. The new events serve as a test because they may or may not conform to a person’s worldview. They influence some of the Lord’s people to accept the great and marvelous work and others to reject it. How people react to what the Lord does reflects what has gone on before in their lives, and their adherence to the word of God. The conditioning effect of the people’s faithfulness or unfaithfulness towards the word of God now comes fully into play. 

A note here that may be of interest: from the Isaianic context of Nephi’s material, it appears that chapters 48 and 49 of Isaiah—the ones Nephi quotes—may detail some of the things Nephi was “forbidden” to write (1 Ne. 14:28), the things he saw in vision that he “durst not speak” (1 Ne. 22:29). In other words, Nephi may be using material from the book of Isaiah to say indirectly what he himself cannot say directly. 

The things he was not permitted to say plainly, in order to protect those who are spiritually vulnerable, may be quite appropriate for him to say indirectly—he may be doing so in part by quoting Isaiah. Israel’s restoration fits precisely at the point where Nephi speaks of the great and marvelous work. In Nephi’s sequence, that work’s universal, polarizing effect serves as a precondition of Israel’s restoration (1 Ne. 14:7–8, 14; 22:8–12). Similarly, in the Isaiah chapters, some take part in an exodus out of Babylon and journey in the wilderness to the promised lands; others remain behind and are destroyed. Israel’s restoration in the last days, divisive as it is, thus fulfills the Lord’s covenants with the house of Israel, and which will cause all but the very elect to be deceived. 

In short, Isaiah’s message in these two chapters accords with what Nephi says about the great and marvelous work, and Nephi uses it to amplify his own message. These narratives foreshadow what will befall Israel in the last days. They outline typologically what the Isaiah chapters prophesy directly. In the journeying narratives, Nephi himself is a savior figure. Nephi is the equivalent of the Lord’s servant in the Isaiah chapters. Many times during the journey to the promised land, all of Lehi’s party depended on Nephi for deliverance. As Laman and Lemuel and others hated Nephi, so many of the Lord’s people will hate the latter-day servant, according to Isaiah. Even as the Lord vindicated Nephi, however, so the Lord will vindicate the latter-day servant and his mission. As the Lord endowed Nephi with His power, so the Lord will endow the servant with His power. As Nephi revealed the future, so the Lord’s servant will reveal the future. Nephi’s role in crossing sea and desert typifies in many ways the role of a new Moses that Isaiah ascribes to the Lord’s servant. As Moses led Israel anciently, so the Lord’s servant will lead the new exodus out of Babylon and the new wandering in the wilderness to the promised land. 

Parallels between the role of the Lord’s servant in the book of Isaiah and the role of Moses are abundant, as are parallels between Nephi and Moses. From the beginning of the Book of Mormon, resemblances between the exodus out of Jerusalem and the exodus out of Egypt appear again and again. In several instances, Nephi himself draws attention to them (1 Ne. 4:2–3; 19:10). One direct comparison in the journeying narratives spans twenty verses (1 Ne. 17:23–42). In connection with such parallels, as well as those in the book of Isaiah, Nephi says, “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Ne. 19:23; emphasis added). In the journeying narratives we thus find types of an exodus pattern in the Lord’s miraculously leading Lehi’s party through the wilderness. 

In addition to these parallels between the exodus out of Jerusalem and the exodus out of Egypt, Nephi refers to Isaiah twice in the journeying narratives (1 Ne. 15:20; 19:23). Nephi also quotes again from the verse in Isaiah that speaks of the arm of the Lord being revealed (1 Ne. 19:17; compare Isa. 52:10). Nephi again refers to the Lord’s covenant with Abraham (1 Ne. 15:18), the fulfillment of which Nephi associates with the Lord’s marvelous work and with Isaiah’s prophecy of the Lord’s arm being bared (1 Ne. 22:8–11). Finally, the role the Gentiles perform in aiding the latter-day fulfillment of the Lord’s covenant is detailed in the Isaiah chapters, the journeying narratives, and Nephi’s sequence. By checking the noted scripture references, the reader will get an idea of how precisely Nephi is using structure to teach these concepts. These literary connections tie the journeying narratives and Isaiah chapters firmly to Nephi’s prophetic sequence. They are not related just because Nephi places this material between the two versions of his sequence. All share content and subject matter. 

In short, we understand Nephi’s sequence better when we understand the intervening chapters. Evidently, Nephi chose to place these intervening chapters where he did in order to shed light on the great and marvelous work. As the climax, or centerpiece, of Nephi’s sequence, the great and marvelous work deserves to be detailed somewhere. Nephi accomplishes this structurally by giving us two versions of his sequence that culminate in the great and marvelous work, and by then interposing the journeying narratives and the Isaiah chapters between the two. From the intervening chapters we learn something of the nature of the Lord’s great and marvelous work. At least in part, that work concerns a new exodus and a new wandering in the wilderness to the promised lands for Israel in the last days. We also see that these redemptive events fulfill the Lord’s covenant with his people. 

The Lord prophesies these same events in 3 Nephi 16, 20 and 21. See Jesus' First Prophecy and Jesus' Second Prophecy. Note that while Nephi is forbidden to say anything of the latter-day servant, Jesus is not.

As you can see by this analysis,  there is more to His words than we can imagine. And so I say again: "whoso treasureth up* my word, shall not be deceived..." (JS Matthew 1:37 emphasis added). 

Note that the Lord links the "great and marvelous things" which have been hid up with His prophecies that these great and marvelous things shall come forth as part of His great and marvelous work (3 Nephi 20 & 21), and that the house of Israel will believe His great and marvelous things, and that the Gentiles will not believe them. 

And why? 

Instead of reflecting upon and searching for hidden things of the greatest value to them, they rather wish to learn how to secure their way through the world as easily and as comfortably as possible.

*Thanks to Avraham Gileadi for his remarkable gifts to bring Isaiah’s prophecy to others including me, and to the Lord for revealing the truthfulness of these things to me.

Next: Repentance: Come Unto Christ 

Repentance: All But The Very Elect Will Be Deceived Part 1

These posts on Repentance are best read in order beginning with Repentance: Introduction. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post.

"For in those days there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant" (JS Matthew 1:22 emphasis added). Compare the JS Translation of this verse with the King James version, which says: "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:24). Note that the only difference is that the JS Translation says "who are the elect according to the covenant." Also note that Joseph Smith 1 is a translation of Matthew 23:39 and chapter 24.

Jesus was asked by His disciples what will be the "signs of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or the destruction of the wicked, which is the end of the world" (JS Matthew 1:22)? Jesus answered, and "said unto them: Take heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in my name, saying--I am Christ--and shall deceive many..." (JS Matthew 1:4-5).

What does Christ mean when he says: "who are the elect according to the covenant?" He tells us when He says that His elect shall be gathered from the four quarters of the earth. He is speaking of the covenant with Abraham, so often mentioned in the Book of Mormon and Isaiah, and that the elect of the House of Israel will be gathered before His second coming. 

Jesus is talking about His second coming and events leading up to it, and in this context there will be many who will be deceived, in fact all but the very elect. Admittedly, civilizations are brought to ruin through complex pressures. But the Book of Mormon warns of one vice that stimulates and sustains other destructive forces. The Book of Mormon portends the destruction of nations by this ominous and pervasive power, showing how it gradually weakens them until they finally collapse. President Benson called one sin the "universal sin" which makes all others pale in comparison, a sin so dark that once fully committed, allows no turning back, no repentance, no remorse. The kind of deceptions spoken of by Christ are brought about by this one sin. 

That sin is pride. Pride left unchecked leads to destruction. But not destruction by God, but by the people themselves when they seek to become a law unto themselves. Pride leads to hubris, which is an anti-god state of mind which expresses itself in deliberately profane activities, which include religious activities. Hubris can be translated as pride, that is, self-conceit, and the acts that grow out of that conceit. Pride is not hubris but rather the evil disposition on which the sin is grounded and by which it is fueled. Pride does not necessarily lead to hubris, yet one cannot commit hubris without first being filled with pride. 

From a Book of Mormon perspective we can see pride leading to hubris, and hubris leading to ate (pronounced Ah-tay), and ate is the point at which a person or a people have become fully ripe in iniquity, from which there is no turning back for at this point a person or a people have willfully refused to repent. They have committed the unforgivable sin, and when they do, there remains no repentance, only destruction. They willfully abide in sin continually, and therefore "cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still" (D&C 88:35).

And at this point, God withdraws his spirit from that person or people, and they are left unto themselves. They have attempted to reorder society so that they can do "according to their own wills." But God does not then cause the destruction that is to follow, but plays a part in it by withdrawing His spirit. The wicked then destroy the wicked.

God on the other hand does not send the destruction or cause it to happen. He works to save humankind. What options are left to God when a people reject Him? 

The Lord's charge to Isaiah is what the Lord does. He told Isaiah to tell this people (us included), 

"[H]ear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10). 

This is the same reason Christ taught in parables, and in fact, when asked by His disciples why He spoke in parables, He quoted Isaiah 6:9-10. 

This seems incongruous to the usual work of God until we realize how Isaiah was to fulfill this commandment. 

It was, ironically, by proclaiming, not withholding, the gospel of salvation to Israel!

Isaiah saw that there was no way to save Israel except by the very word that would condemn them.

Note that Isaiah is telling us the response of those who hear but do not hear the word of God.

This allows us to understand properly the nature of hubris. This sin is committed not when God takes away the opportunity to repent, be forgiven, and come to Him, but when He allows the opportunity and it is willfully rejected. 

Ate, a kind of spiritual blindness, results. God delivers them "to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil" (1 Nephi 14:7).

The Lord withdraws his Spirit because the people have blinded their minds and hardened their hearts against His words, and willed it that way. The result was and will be self-destruction. When a people sin to the point that judgment must come, destruction results; but it comes because of the removal of God's Spirit, His prophets, and His restraining hand. Thus it is by the wicked, unrestrained in their wickedness, that the wicked are destroyed (Mormon 4:5). But what other choice does God have? 

By proclaiming the gospel, God sets up the conditions by which the disobedient come under ate. It is the final time the gospel is proclaimed before the endtime events caused by the people ripening in iniquity. Ripening in iniquity means that the people have wilfully refused to repent.

The Book of Mormon provides two examples of this destruction by the wicked in America with both the Jaredites and the Nephites. God's warning concerning America or 'this land' that when the people choose iniquity (Alma 10:19), then the "fulness of his wrath should come upon them. And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.... And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they shall be swept off" (Ether 2:8-10).

These conditions constitute being ripe in iniquity:

1) when "the voice of the people choose iniquity" (Alma 10:19);

2) when the people "turn aside the just for a thing of naught and privilege against that which is good, and say it is of no worth" (2 Nephi 28:16); 

3) when the people reject "every word of God" (1 Nephi 17:35); and

4) "when [they] cast out the righteous from among them" (Helaman 13:14).

"Then shall they be ripe for destruction" (ibid)

In the case of both the Jaredites and the Nephites, the sword destroyed thousands, but the people were past seeing, feeling, and repenting. Ate had fallen upon them, and it was because of their wickedness and abominations.

And even with the records of the Jaredites, the Nephites did not think it would apply to them and failed to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, or understand with their hearts. Their hearts had grown fat. The Nephites did not just dwindle in unbelief, but wilfully rebelled against God (hubris) at the very time when His gospel was preached among them with incredible power (4 Nephi 1:38).

And even with the records of the Jaredites and the Nephites, we have missed seeing that the same will happen in America again. As I have said before, the failure of the people of God (us) to repent is the catalyst. The people of the church act as the barometer for the people of the nation. The pride which led to hubris and then ate among the Jaredites and the Nephites began with the church and was evident by the inequality that existed among them. "The people (of the church) began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning... (3 Nephi 6:12) The work of pride caused them to compete with both God and man, and it resulted in a spiritual blindness so profound that the people could neither see nor feel, thus fulfilling the Lord's command to Isaiah to blind their eyes, close their ears, and make their hearts fat. It was not because He withheld His Gospel, but because He proclaimed it with power and authority!

Final catastrophe of the Nephites was their unsought reward--not the losing of battles to the Lamanites. And why? Keep in mind that the Nephites at the end were the same people who had lived the Lord's law for almost 200 years. They had all things in common, and there was neither rich nor poor and all were free. They experienced great prosperity and many great and marvelous works. The people of Nephi waxed strong and multiplied exceedingly fast and became a fair and delightsome people. They were married and blessed by God. And they did meet together often to hear the word of the Lord. There was no contention because of the Love of God which dwelled in the hearts of the people. There was not a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. They were one. 4 Nephi 1:1-20

But cracks started to form. A small part of the people revolted from the church. Pride found its way into the hearts of the people. And they were divided into classes. They came to the point where they rejected God and His gospel, and the wicked people "were led by many priests and false prophets to build up many churches, and to do all manner of iniquity" (4 Nephi 1:34). Thus a frenzy of church building took place as the apostasy become ever more complete. Indeed, "there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of the Gospel of Christ. "And this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity" (4 Nephi 1:27-28).

In response, priesthood power, as opposed to ecclesiastical power, and the power of the Holy Ghost were removed. The Gifts of the Spirit were withheld, such that miracles and revelations ceased. When a people deny the power and gifts of God, they are removed. Grieved, the Spirit departed. The saints themselves "began to be proud in their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, and became vain like unto their brethren" (4 Nephi 1:43). The three Nephites were all that remained as the last of the righteous. The voice of the people had chosen iniquity.

And Mormon lamented, "I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually" (Mormon 2:15), and the "Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin" (Mormon 2:13).

While these types point to our day, there are some who will not be deceived. The Lord refers to these as His very elect. And what distinguishes those who are not deceived? "And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived..." (JS Matthew 1:37 emphasis added). 

This blog is not written for my own enjoyment, but because I can clearly see that which will come to pass. There is only one remedy for us to not be deceived, and that is to treasure up His words. The theme of this blog is the word of God. I cannot say it loud enough or enough times just how crucial the word of God is in our day. Without it, we will be deceived, and find ourselves cut off from the Spirit of God. Partial truths from the pulpit, blogs, podcasts, and social media will not cut it. We are either armed or being armed, with the Sword of Truth or we are not. There is no middle ground. Only the word of God will keep us from being deceived in these last days.

I often see His revelations as benchmarks of where we are with respect to the word of God. When applied to ourselves we can see on which side of the divide we will fall, for as Nephi said concerning the Lord's Great and Marvelous Work: "For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or the other--either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken" (1 Nephi 14:7 emphasis added). 

Note that Nephi uses the same language as did Mormon when he said that he "saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually" (Mormon 2:15 emphasis added).

See I Am Obliged, But We Have The Book! America and America in Isaiah's Prophecy for more specific prophetic details and events concerning America.

Both temporally and spiritually! And yet just as vague ideas exist about the 'gathering of Israel" the same applies to the Lord's Great and Marvelous Work, and the fact that the Lord will hasten His work in its time. Both the gathering of Israel and the Lord's Great and Marvelous Work are part of the same end-time scenario, and while commenced, has many more events associated with it according to the Lord's revelations of these events. 

Our misunderstanding their prophetic context may risk turning our zealous labors (zeal without knowledge) into wild fruits, which are good for nothing but to be cast into the fire and burned.

One of the most remarkable revelations given to Joseph Smith is found in D&C 45, some of which we will cover in this Part 1. Again your response to this revelation is a barometer of where you are.

The Lord begins:

"Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words" (See also D&C 6:2).

Right at the outset we are charged twice to give heed to His word, of which He reminds us, using the double edged sword imagery, that we will be found on one side or the other. 

"Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been given; Hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being;

Three times in this verse alone he tells us to 'hearken' and 'give ear to Him.' He specifically admonishes those of His church. Now connect the Lord's charge to Isaiah: "hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes." 

And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls are not saved.

And a sixth time He says "hearken unto my voice." We can begin to see how we can be saved both temporally and spiritually, as we hearken to His voice.

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him--

And for the seventh time in four verses--Listen to Him!

Saying, Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased, behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

The blood we drink at the time we witness unto God that we are willing to take upon us His name.

Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.

From the Book of Mormon we know that to believe on His name is to believe His words, and to believe His words is to Believe in Him, thereby connecting the divide between those who believe His words, and those who do not. Make note that you just can't say 'well I believe' without knowing and receiving His words. 

Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders listen together, and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts;

Again--eight, nine, ten! No comment needed.

For verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and life of the world--a light that shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.

Do we find ourselves bathed in His light or are we in the darkness? The darkness without His light, is the result of His withdrawing His spirit because of the willful refusal of His people to listen, hear, see, and repent, being ripe in iniquity, which leads to destruction (ate) both temporally and spiritually.

I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life.

Those who receive His words receive Him, and obtain the power (His Gospel) to obtain eternal life. Another way of saying the very elect.

I will jump forward to verses 25; 28-30, but please read the verses between to lay the foundation. The Lord is giving us a time frame when the Lord will start gathering His very elect. And that time frame is the time when the day of the Gentiles comes to an end.

He says:

"But they shall be gathered again; but they shall remain until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (D&C 45:25 emphasis added).

What is the time of the Gentiles? It is the time when the Gospel is still being preached to the nations. Nations mean Gentiles.

"And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel...." 

Those that sit in darkness are the House of Israel. The light they receive is the Gospel of Jesus Christ delivered to them by the Lord's latter-day servant. (More on this servant in Part 2.) Or as Paul wrote: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceit; that blindness in part happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25 emphasis added).

The Gentiles, of which we are identified receive the light for a time, but eventually willfully reject it because of pride and their refusal to receive the fulness of the Gospel. It is then that the Gospel is taken from us and given to the House of Israel, who, for the most part, receive it. 3 Nephi 16:11. They, the House of Israel, believe the words delivered by the servant and those who assist him. (3 Nephi 20 & 21). See Jesus' First Prophecy and Jesus' Second Prophecy.

And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (D&C 45:28-30).

When God sends "righteousness" down from heaven and "truth" out of the earth, "to sweep the earth as with a flood to gather out mine elect from the four corners of the earth" (Moses 7:62 emphasis added), will you be ready? What shall you do when records that were sealed up by prophets whom God had "shown all things...come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel" (1 Nephi 14:25-26 emphasis added)?

Either you will be among "they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived," or among the foolish who are cast "into unquenchable fire" in the day God makes "an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked" (D&C 45:57;63:54). Either on one hand or on the other.

In each dispensation the Lord has had to say "I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them; for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off" (Moses 6:27). 

Again notice the connection between Jehovah's words to Enoch and Jehovah's words to Isaiah: "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10 emphasis added).

"And for these many generations (down to our own), ever since the day that I created them, have they gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark..." (Moses 6:28).

Like the Israelites in Moses time, we are uncomfortable dealing with God directly. We prefer our own counsels and conversing among ourselves. And when a people's devotion to God becomes but a shallow version of his law and word, it lacks the power to withstand evil. 

When the Lord says that all but "the very elect" will be deceived, doesn't that imply that everyone else will be? 

Refusing to search the prophecies, on the other hand, makes people "willingly ignorant" of what will transpire when Jesus comes again and catches them unprepared (2 Peter 3:2-10).

I have linked here D&C 45 for your reference. Begin at verse 31. Pay particular attention to verses 56-57 concerning the 10 Virgins, and how those who were not deceived had taken truth, which is the word of God, as their guide.

Next: Repentance: All But The Very Elect Will Be Deceived Part 2

Repentance: They Shall Have Joy in Their Works For a Season

These posts on Repentance are best read in order beginning with Repentance: Introduction. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post.

I had a friend who passed away recently who was a magician, and he loved to display his tricks and illusions to anyone at any time. It didn't matter where he was, whether it be in church, a restaurant, a retail store, among friends or among strangers. He would go into a fast food restaurant and while waiting for his order, go to nearby tables and perform his tricks, always to the delight of his audience. He carried tricks in his fanny pack and would switch them out every few days. There is something about a well executed magic trick that is intriguing and fascinating. He used to say that tricks worked because of deception, and the more skilled the magician, the better and more complicated the deception. "All magicians are liars," he would say. But we are fascinated by being deceived, and we ask to see the trick again and again.

I used to ask him how he did some of his tricks and on occasion he would show me. And you know what? I was always disappointed because the deception was so simple, and once I saw what he was doing, there was no more delight. I was still impressed with his skill in performing the trick, however. It took him many years of practice to become a good liar, and the better he was at lying, the better the trick.

You have probably seen some of the best magicians perform their magic, and there have been some elite magicians and/or illusionists who are considered the best of all time. Usually ranked number one is Harry Houdini, but even David Copperfield and Lance Burton make the top ten. 

Now use your imagination for a minute and consider the most skilled magician, with his vast knowledge and unlimited skills, a former Son of the Morning, once considered among the very elect in Heaven. He is so skilled, in fact, that it was necessary, if he was going to be among us, to have some protections given to us by our Father, so that we might not be deceived, at least not throughout our entire test here. 

Now imagine also that this most skilled magician has everything in the world in his power to use to deceive us, such as communication systems, images, worldly powers, money, social media, history, our wants and desires, the word of God; priesthood leaders: whatever He can use to distort and deceive and work his magic. He can also use other humans and even his followers as his assistants, even the most impressive, or at least would impress us the most. To some, that would be those who are successful and powerful. To others, it would be those who are kind and appear very loving. And to others those in authority; those most educated. And to others it would be those who look and act like they do. I believe that were Satan to appear to an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he would appear clean shaven, with a nice suit, white shirt and a tie, because he knows that this is an image we hold dear.

Satan can cause us to identify our own favorite political, economic, historical and moral convictions with the gospel. This is falling into the trap of insisting that our way is God's way and, therefore, the only way. We can be lead to support a fascist, if he claims he is against abortion. He delights in seeing us believe that capitalism is His way and that socialism is evil, or vice versa. He so transfigures the Lord's definition of good and evil that it is possible that we believe evil to be good and good to be evil.

He does some of his best work in the name of religion or political ideology.

We are inundated with images that foster success, good health, mental well being, happy families, and work ethic. These images are often accompanied by images of expensive cars, clothes, large houses, yachts, and financial security. He loves to sell effort, excellence, and success. 

Virtually every instance of the expression "imaginations of the heart" in scripture likens such imaginations with idolatry and following other gods. Moses cites, for example, a classic kind of self-deception, at the same time harkening back to the curses he had just enumerated in connection with the covenant: "And it came to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace (salvation), though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst" (Deut 29:19). Moses thereby gives us to understand that self-deception, or "drunkenness," follows a personal lack of "thirst" for the knowledge of God. 

Paul concurs when he says that imaginations--or reasonings and rationalizations--are a kind of conceit or pretense that exalts itself "against the knowledge of God" (2 Cor 10:5). 

And Nephi identifies the large and spacious building he and his father saw in vision as the "vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men" (1 Nephi 12:18). Nephi notes that a great and terrible gulf--the justice of God--divides those in the building from the godly--those who are repenting. And Satan, Master Magician, helps us to imagine ourselves as the godly which is only our imagination. By engaging in self-deception, basing our behavior on false pretenses, we sell ourselves short of divine blessing. We endanger our lives as we face perilous times, denying the good effect of God's word and His enduring love for us. What better way to illustrate this than by the Lord telling us that we will have joy in our works for a season?

Deceitfulness of riches is also another trick Satan uses because it is easier for us to put our faith in what is on hand rather than in God. This is also true of the deceitfulness of good human genetics which also turn us toward our own human goodness and away from God's goodness. We become captured by images, now in higher resolution than ever, sucking us into the vortex of Satan carefully leading us down to hell.

We become anti-enemy instead of pro-God. This is more evident today than ever in my life as we are inundated with anti-Trump or anti-Biden conflicts which have divided us even further. But to God this division is irrelevant except as an example of how much trust we put in men, and how little trust we put in God.

He can even use the truth to deceive us. He can deceive all but the very elect. More on this in another post.

Some of Satan's favorite and most effective tricks:

1. Deflects us from the doctrine of two ways (Good vs. Evil), and gets us focused on values, or human good and evil instead;

2. Transfigures the word of God, waters it down, and leaves us with partial truths which are much easier to accept;

3. Carefully leads us down to hell, without us even knowing it;

4. Pacifies us, and lulls us away into carnal security, and delights when we say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well (see He Flattereth Away), for every step in the direction of increasing our personal holdings is a step away from Zion;

5. Uses flattery to bolster our self image, and causes us to think we are the chosen people (see Vain Imaginations and The Goodmen Letters);

6. Perverts the right way of the Lord, and causes us to hearken unto the precepts of men, put our trust in men, and to deny the power of God, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the gifts of the spirit, the Spirit of Revelation, and the Spirit of Prophecy;

7. Encourages us to live the Gospel and have joy in our works rather than to proclaim the Gospel;

8. Grades sins, and causes us to understand that as long as we don't commit the really bad sins we are OK, or he tells us that whatever we do is not sin;

9. By the sleight of hand Satan tricks us into thinking we are on the straight and narrow path that leads to the Tree of Life, while we are actually in the large and spacious building;

10. Subsitutes the following religious activities for the Gospel of Jesus Christ: hard work, temple attendance, meeting attendance, living the law of tithing, being a good neighbor, listening to and watching general conference, being a faithful church member. We call these activities "living the Gospel" all the while causing us to take our eye off of the Lord's definition of His Gospel: "this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me" (3 Nephi 27:13 emphasis added).

Satan also uses other methods: he aspires, coerces, contends, flatters and accuses. He is known as "the accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10). Anyone who aspires, coerces, contends, flatters and/or accuses, is following Satan's example.

Appearance and/or form over substance is a very effective illusion. In Boston in 2007 a man stopped in a subway with his violin and began to play as if he was a street musician. He opened his violin case and played for about 45 minutes. A few people stopped, listened for a while and then dropped some money into the case. After he was finished playing, he counted about $30 from his efforts. Little did the people know, but that the man was the world's best and most famous violinist. His name was Joshua Bell. In fact just a few days before, he sold out the Boston Orchestra, where every ticket was in the hundreds of dollars. 

This story illustrates just how effective Satan can be by using appearance and circumstances to diminish or enhance a person's value, or as the life coaches or success peddlers would say, your self-image is so important that no matter who you are, without the proper self-image you would not be valued. I would add, by those you are attempting to influence.

In our ward in Gilbert, AZ, a sister, an African American, the only member in her family, would bear her testimony each testimony meeting and she always would sing a song before speaking. I loved the discomfort that I could see among the proper members of the church. I heard some even ridicule her. And yet she always bore witness to the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but because of how she was perceived her witness was discounted. We value appearance and even mistake it for being good. But as my friend Tim would say. It is not about us being good, but about us choosing good. Which means repenting or turning to Christ, who is Good.

I love our ward in Metz, France because there are few suits or even white shirts. Sisters often wear pants. It is so refreshing to be away from the culture pressure to look the part, the unsaid coercion and disdain. It felt so good to wear a turtleneck sweater one Sunday.

Obituaries in Utah, and everywhere I guess, are a reflection of what we value in ourselves or in others. What do obituaries focus on? They appear to me to be pure flattery, one of Satan's tricks used to make us feel good. Achievements, hobbies, family, roles, and successes--obituaries certainly prove that we do not fulfill the measure of our creation. If you had to write the obituary for Alma, Mormon or Moroni, what would you write? If you could write your own obituary, what would you include or exclude? 

But by far Satan's most effective illusion is the use of rhetoric. Hugh Nibley said that "The disease our world is suffering from is not something peculiar to a uniquely scientific and permissive age, it is the very same virus that has finished off all the other great societies of which we have record. The ancients call it rhetoric. What it amounts to is the acceptance for the sake of power and profits, of certain acknowledged standards of lying." 

Rhetoric creates an unreal world, or as Satan would call it, "the real world." That is its great power because it distracts us from God's world, which is the 'Real World.' 

Rhetoric is everywhere around us, in every system, every image, every advertisement, every movie, every television show, news or otherwise, every conversation, every church meeting, and every culture. As with a jet engine, the efficiency of rhetoric steadily increases as its surrounding element approximates more and more to a perfect vacuum. As it destroys the real world around it, the power of rhetoric becomes ever more invincible.

We see that some of our greatest businesses are built, not on secret formulas, but on the conversion of those trifles into symbols of youth, beauty, health, super-fun, family togetherness--the soft caress of a child, the flag unfurled--that is what they are selling. Rhetoric creates a world of lying, deception and make believe. Satan has so ingrained it into our world that it ruins everything, including its peoples' capacity to think. But we cannot let it alone because it pays too well, and even though it destroys everything else, there is nothing that can stop it. 

Except the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The Lord calls rhetoric 'the mainspring of all corruption' which is upheld by the influence of Satan, and "which has so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity."

Rhetoric simplifies, shortens and spices. It flatters. It is intoxicating, and we become addicted to it.

"It is an iron yoke, it is a strong band; they are the very handcuffs, and chains and shackles, and the fetters of hell" (D&C 123:7-8). 

But the trick is, we don't even know we are in chains and shackles.

Will any people of God remain who do not fall prey to foolhardy economics, criminal politics and watered down religion, which is rhetoric? Never has it been more on display than in current American politics, fueled by the lying, the corruption, the thirst for power and influence, and the desire to destroy the God given freedoms of others. Just by being aware, we can see what damage has already been done by people falling into the traps set by the greatest deceiver! Nothing tells us better the direction a civilization is moving or how far it is along the way than the passions and appetites it feeds on. See The Stranglehold of Babylon

Another effective tool of Satan's is the use of labels. He can demolish the opposition with labels such as Jews, blacks, patriots, nice guys, poor, rich, socialists, immigrants, family man and on and on. And he can give his followers' worse crimes a religious glow with noble labels such as integrity, hard working, tough-minded, charitable, successful, rich. 

The ways of Babylon are always described with high purpose, solid virtue and impeccable respectability.

Why is Satan the Master Magician? Because he has no virtues. He has no choice but to use deception. Nothing in his character or his being is worthy of any praise from God. Contrast with Christ who describes Himself as the great I AM. I AM that I AM He says. His influence is not because of what He does, has done or will do, but by virtue of who He is! Satan on the other hand, wants to be God and the only way he can imitate God is by the power God has given him on this earth. He encourages us to be like him and seek money, fame, glory, power, and to worship idols that we don't even think of as idols, like family. He encourages us to have joy in our works, but he knows it is only for a season.

With Satan's skills and resources, we would need some very powerful tools to keep us from being deceived. And Christ has made it easy for us if we hear what He says to us. 

1. He tells us to feast upon His words, to search them, hold fast and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and be armed with the Sword of Truth. Why? Because the Sword of Truth (His word) cuts through all of Satan's crap and makes it so we will not be deceived. 

2. Do not put your trust in men (any men). He tells us this to protect us from being deceived. Look to God and live.

3. Do not put your trust in your riches or in the arm of flesh, its power and weapons.

4. Quit conversing among yourselves and hear His voice.

5. If you will, please add in the comments what you would add to this list.

I Knew Duffer as a Dog

I knew Duffer as a dog,
She knew him as her pet.
She loved him because he was her pet'
I loved him because he was a dog.

I knew him as he was
Not what she thought he should be
But he learned as he was trained,
And he became a good pet.

He was rewarded for doing good
And punished for being bad,
But he could stay
And on command would lay.

But I knew that he was just a dog,
And I loved him.

Question:

Do we define each other by the roles that we play
And how well we play them?
Or do we accept each other as
We are and by whom we may become?

The difference between having "joy in our works" for a Season, and rejoicing at hearing the "Voice of Joy" is the difference between the "real world" and the "Real world."

Repentance: All But The Very Elect Will be Deceived Part 1