Reviews

What part do members of the Church play in the last days relative to the stages of decline that America faces and the threat of a divine broom? The ripening process is becoming more obvious in the larger culture.

But what of the Saints who live among the Gentiles? What does the Lord expect of Church members now and in the days ahead? What have living prophets said about our influence, about our day, and about the impact we can have on the people and events of our time?

Are Church members prepared to make a difference in the world in which we live, or have we become so enamored with the culture of the Gentiles that we have become like the Jews of Jesus’ day? We think we are righteous because we carry our scriptures to church on the Sabbath, but perhaps we are not very knowledgeable about the doctrines of the Restoration. We have mental testimonies, but lack substance in our application of the gospel to everyday life.

Latter-day Saints have the important task, if they can, to convert the world to the message of the Restoration. That is the only way to preserve the Gentiles. Elder Joseph F. Smith warned the Saints:

It appears that Latter-day Saints also face two options: We can be about our Father’s business of sharing the gospel, preparing youth to serve missions, building strong marriages, constructing temples, and researching family histories (much more available to us now with the advent of computers). Or we can become intoxicated with the inventions, media, toys, and lifestyle of the Gentiles and sink ourselves into destruction.

The Lord explained to the Prophet Joseph Smith that the members of the Church must be faithful to their covenants and obligations or else they will be the first to fall under His chastening hand:

Simply being a member of the Church in these latter days will not be sufficient to survive the turbulent times ahead. The Lord will not bring judgments upon the wicked of the world if His own people have strayed; if they are not honoring their covenants. Having the fulness of the gospel, having been blessed with living prophets, apostles, latter-day scripture, and sermons available through television and radio transmission, the Internet, a variety of Church printed publications and other media offerings, and scriptural commentaries, leaves us little excuse to not be at our best in spreading the gospel worldwide.

Church History

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began inauspiciously. On April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York, six of the fifty-three individuals gathered in a small farmhouse officially incorporated the Church as a legal entity. The Book of Mormon had been published a week earlier. From such small and humble beginnings, the Church has grown rapidly. It now has members in practically every country of the free world. The future looks bright. In an address endorsed by President Spencer W. Kimball, Elder Bruce R. McConkie predicted that this work would roll forward to fulfill its worldwide destiny:

In its early days, the Church was driven from state to state and from pillar to post. It was forced to move from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, and then to Illinois. The Saints were treated rudely by state officials and the local citizens until they were forced to move from Illinois to the Great Basin.  Establishing settlements in the Mountain West was a prodigious effort to form a bastion of safety and security far removed from the influence of those who would do the Church harm.

The Saints settled in the tops of the mountains, as Isaiah foresaw (Isaiah 2:2-3). But even in this mountain retreat, they were threatened by the federal government’s attempt to put down the “Utah rebellion,” as it was called, when Johnston’s army traveled west in 1857-58.

From those dark and threatening days, however, we have grown to become an impressive people throughout the world. Our purpose in coming west was not to become hermits, for our mission extended to the world community. The mountains simply gave us space away from the Gentiles to become a people prepared to minister to the world. Our missionaries now have gone forth out of this sanctuary to every free nation of the world to carry the message of salvation to every soul who will listen.

In the past hundred years or so, the Church has prospered in its journey “out of obscurity and out of darkness” (D&C 1:30).

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We now live in a day of respectability for the Church and its people generally. Our good works are beginning to catch the attention of the nations. Prophets travel the world to meet with governmental leaders and the Saints and encourage them to live the gospel and keep the Church membership in order. Temples have begun to dot the earth as we maintain some one hundred twenty such edifices worldwide, with more being planned.

The national press gives the Church more positive coverage. Doors to more nations on every continent have been opened to us. Church leaders have built bridges of understanding with leaders and people of the free world. We now have a substantial number of Church members in the Congress. We have prominent men and women in positions of leadership in government, education, commerce, finance, banking, the judiciary, and medicine.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, reviewing the rise of the Church in these latter-days, concluded: “We stand on the summit of the ages, awed by a great and solemn sense of history. This is the last and final dispensation toward which all in the past has pointed.” Then he predicted:

Modern Times

As the message of the Restoration spreads across the national and international landscape, our toughest confrontation is still with those whose religious thoughts are different from ours. We are not, in their minds, Christians. Joseph Smith’s recital of his experience in the grove brought a rebuke from the clergy of his day who claimed that the heavens were closed and that divine manifestations were no longer possible. Our message as a Church has brought opposition in many quarters. The blame has not always been one-sided, however, as the Saints manifested their share of inadequacies.

The Lord explained to the Prophet Joseph Smith that He could not build Zion with the Saints of his day. For example, after the Saints’ failure to build Zion in Missouri, the Lord responded when the Prophet made inquiry:

In plain words, the Saints were not sufficiently united as a people to establish Zion. Later, as persecution mounted, the Prophet again petitioned the Lord for redress. The Lord answered:

Then the Lord emphasized the overall problem, which was that His people:

The early Saints were simply not prepared to accomplish the formidable task of building Zion, despite the desire of many of them to do so. The Lord explained that before they could succeed, before they could be spiritually and emotionally prepared, they would need to be endowed with power from on high, which could happen only after the temple in Kirtland was completed. With hindsight, we can see that early Church members had neither the experience, the maturity, nor the numbers to carry out this task.

The Church was forced to move again, this time to the banks of the Mississippi River in Illinois. There they drained the swampland and proceeded to build Nauvoo while seeking redress from the federal government and the state of Missouri for their recent losses. Their efforts were fruitless; both state and federal parties rejected the claims of the Saints and were unwilling to help – primarily because of political expedience. In Nauvoo the Saints built a temple that was the first sacred edifice to incorporate the ceremonies of the modern endowment, temple marriage, and sealing of families, the ordinances performed in present-day temples.

The redemption of Zion would have to wait until “my army become[s] very great, and let it be sanctified before me … that the kingdoms of this world may be constrained to acknowledge that the kingdom of Zion is in very deed the kingdom of our God and his Christ” (D&C 105:31-32).

We have come a long way since those early days of pioneering. The Church currently presents a robust picture of institutional health as the kingdom moves forward throughout the world under the direction of a Church organization poised to handle future growth.

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We are establishing congregations and houses of worship throughout the free world. Gone are the days, we hope, of being driven from homes and from the nation in which we live. We can now concentrate on spreading the gospel and its blessings to all of the Father’s children. Apostles and prophets teach us of the Church’s mission. We must do better this time than did the early Saints.

Our coming to the West was done in order that the Saints “may be prepared, and that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands” (D&C 105:10). We have learned much as a people since those early days.

Now we are taking advantage of the productivity and political safety of a great Gentile nation that once kicked us out of its borders. We are using technological developments and modern conveniences to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. The pioneers would have marveled at our present lifestyle. Prophets can now cross the country in less than a day, in contrast to months of plodding along in wagons or on horseback. Missionaries reach fields of labor in hours rather than days or weeks.

Prophets of old looked down the stream of time to our day. The Lord told Joseph Smith:

The Saints Are Accountable

As Church members preparing the earth for the Millennium requires spreading the gospel worldwide, establishing a righteous people, and redeeming the dead, we are making a solid effort to move the work of God along. “It is no light thing for any people in any age in the world to have a dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ committed into their hands,” said President Wilford Woodruff, “and when a dispensation has been given, those receiving it are held responsible before high heaven for the use they make of it” (Journal of Discourses, 22:205; italics added).

President Brigham Young declared:

President Young gave this sober warning to the members of the Church:

There is one principle I would like to have the Latter-day Saints perfectly understand – that is, of blessings and cursings. For instance, we read that war, pestilence, plagues, famine, etc., will be visited upon the inhabitants of the earth; but if distress through the judgments of God comes upon this people, it will be because the majority have turned away from the Lord. Let the majority of the people turn away from the Holy Commandments which the Lord has delivered to us, and cease to hold the balance of power in the Church, and we may expect the judgments of God to come upon us; but while six-tenths, or three-fourths of this people will keep the commandments of God, the curse and judgments of the Almighty will never come upon them, though we will have trials of various kinds, and the elements to contend with – natural and spiritual elements. While this people will strive to serve God according to the best of their abilities, they will fare better, have more to eat and to wear, have better homes to live in, better associations, and enjoy themselves better than the wicked ever do or ever will do. (Journal of Discourses 10:335-36; italics added)

Apparently, as Latter-day Saints, we need a preponderance of our members to live the gospel and honor their covenants if we are to be protected from the judgments that will come with certainty unless the inhabitants of the land repent. But consider our present levels of activity and Church participation. What areas of Church activity function at a minimum level of “six-tenths, or three-fourths” – 60 to 75 percent? How are we doing with respect to tithe payers? Young men on missions? Family home evenings? Temple marriages?

If we are not reaching these performance levels, we cannot build Zion any more than could the earlier members of the Church. The Lord’s rebuke still holds: “Those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them” (D&C 103:4).

How are we doing in building stable marriages, avoiding the curse of divorce, stamping out pornography, and changing the media’s efforts to exploit people by presenting sexual themes that lead to so much heartache and misery? We still must answer the question: Are we avoiding the negative elements of the Gentile culture, or are we embracing them and partaking of the sins of our day in an effort to be popular and to fit in to their society?

Every Member a Missionary

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord counsels Church members to share the gospel with the Gentiles: “I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.

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Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads” (D&C 88:81-82).

Elder David B. Haight testified:

An inspired prophet, David O. McKay, expanded this fundamental principle in 1959 while at the Hyde Park chapel in London, England. He proclaimed these four simple words: “Every member a missionary.”

In 1974, another prophet, Spencer W. Kimball, broadened our vision as he encouraged us to serve more diligently by lengthening our stride.

 … President Ezra Taft Benson declared: “Missionary work – the preaching of the gospel – has been the major activity of the true Church of Christ whenever the gospel has been upon the earth.” (Improvement Era, June 1970, p. 95.)

Each of us has a sacred duty to personally assist the accomplishment of the mission of the Church in proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, perfecting the Saints to receive the ordinances of the gospel, and the teaching of the doctrines of salvation and the temple. (“Call to Serve,” 83)

As Latter-day Saints, we must be about the significant mission given us because we possess the gospel and priesthood keys committed to the earth for the last time, in the last dispensation, for the blessing of our own families and for all of Heavenly Father’s
children.

Our faith and declaration is that this Church is the only true church upon the face of the earth (D&C 1:30). That claim may be offensive to some, no doubt, in a day of liberal theology and a lack of doctrinal emphasis. But we have been commissioned, and this work will proceed to its final culmination if we will do our part.

The Gentile Culture

A disturbing trend in the land in our day pertains to the right to express ourselves as Christians. Ironically, Christmas, a federal holiday honoring Christ, is now almost off-limits to Christians. “Merry Christmas” is now “Happy Holidays.” We no longer have Christmas trees but rather “holiday trees.” The message seems to be: “Spend money to help the economy, but don’t pay attention to the message of Christ while you are shopping.” This concern was mentioned by the First Presidency in 1979, and it has now grown to be a major issue:

The Church … recognizes that a vital cornerstone of a free society is the principle of religious liberty …

We, thus, deplore the growing efforts to establish irreligion, such as atheism or secularism, as the official position of the United States of America, thus obscuring and eroding the rich and diverse religious heritage of our nation. We refer here to attacks on time-honored religious symbols in our public life. Such symbols include:

1. The reference to “one nation under God” in our pledge of allegiance;

2. The motto “In God We Trust” on our coins and public buildings;

3. “Praise [for] the power that hath made and preserved us a nation” in our national anthem;

4. Use of the Bible to administer official oaths;

5. The words “God Save the United States and this Honorable Court,” spoken at the convening of the United States Supreme Court;

6. Prayers at the beginning of legislative sessions and other public meetings;

7. The performance of music with a religious origin or message in public programs;

8. The singing of Christmas carols and the location of nativity scenes or other seasonal decorations on public property during the Christmas holidays; and

9. References to God in public proclamations such as at Thanksgiving.

Those who oppose all references to God in our public life have set themselves the task of rooting out historical facts and ceremonial tributes and symbols so ingrained in our national consciousness that their elimination could only be interpreted as an official act of hostility toward religion. Our constitutional law forbids that. As the Supreme Court said in another leading case: “The place of religion in our society is an exalted one, achieved through a long tradition of reliance on the home, the church and the inviolable citadel of the individual heart and mind. We have come to recognize through bitter experience that it is not within the power of government to invade that citadel, whether its purpose or effect be to aid or oppose, to advance or retard. In the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality (School District of Abington v. Schempp; 374 U.S. 203, 226 [1963]). (“News of the Church,” 108-9)

That was more than a quarter of a century ago! Can anyone legitimately argue that the public display of the Ten Commandments establishes a state religion? Does public prayer or acknowledging God constitute an offense to the principles outlined in the Constitution? Do nativity scenes go against the principles of sound government?

Some in our land would reduce Christmas to a secular event limited to Santa Claus, reindeer, elves, and shopping bags! Organizations immediately bring legal action if a religious practice or display appears in the public domain.

On the other hand, alternative lifestyles that destroy the moral fabric of the country are considered free speech and defended in the courts of the land. Conservative values are ridiculed. Movies and other media portray individuals with religious values and beliefs as bordering on mentally unstable! More and more frequently, television and movies present morality as old-fashioned while murder, violence, and sexual promiscuity take front stage.

The Present and Future of America

We have entered a new millennium.

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We have enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity of unprecedented length in our nation during the past three decades. Though war is with us at present, we have had sufficient time to lay the foundation to carry out the three-fold mission of the Church. Perhaps we have become complacent. The Lord warned:

Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.

For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth.” (D&C 29:8-9)

And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations. (D&C 87:6)

It appears that we are not going to sail off into the sunset. Persecution may yet rear its ugly head again as the values and standards of the Church run counter to the immoral practices of the Gentiles. Latter-day Saints are required to make a difference in their communities. If there was ever a day in which Latter-day Saints could sit idly by and watch the ripening process take place, that day is past. We are moving into times that will try the hearts and souls of God’s people.

Which Way Will the Gentiles Choose?

So, what does the future portend? Will the Gentiles accept the gospel of Jesus Christ as Church members and missionaries share their testimonies, or will the present inhabitants of the promised land become more and more entrenched in filth and debauchery? The answer is foreshadowed in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, in Doctrine and Covenants 45. The Lord reviewed some of the signs that would take place in the last days:

And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth.

And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.

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. (D&C 45:26-28)

After explaining the restoration of the gospel in the days of the Gentiles, the Lord said:

But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men.

And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.

But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.

And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one another. (D&C 45:29-33; italics added)

These revelations indicate that the Gentiles will not, in large numbers, accept the gospel. Nephi indicated the same thing: “Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me.” He left the door open, however, if they would change: “Nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long” (2 Nephi 28:32; italics added).

Such an ominous message should give Latter-day Saints the incentive to share the gospel with everyone with whom they come in contact. Sharing the message of the Book of Mormon is an important step in stopping the onward march of wickedness in this land. As the world ripens in further iniquity, the lives of the Saints must stand out as models for others to emulate, to be motivated to learn why the Latter-day Saints can be at peace in the midst of evil and social misery. Promises are extended to the faithful concerning divine protection if we are worthy of such blessings. The Lord explained to Joseph Smith about the days ahead:

And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;

And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.

And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.

And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.

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And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.

And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy. (D&C 45:66-71)

The revelation concludes: “And all nations shall be afraid because of the terror of the Lord, and the power of his might. Even so. Amen” (D&C 45:75).

It appears that the stages of decline will continue. Days of persecution apparently lie ahead. From the verses quoted above, however, we know that the Lord is in control, and He has the power to protect the Saints if need be – but only if we are giving Him our best efforts. If we are faithfully carrying out our mission, He has promised that He will “preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire” (1 Nephi 22:17).

The scriptures contain positive promises to the righteous. Presently, we live in a day of quiet optimism and opportunity to bless the Gentiles. Never has there been a better time to live on the earth. But it is also a day of vigilance, of warning, of heeding the word of the Lord, and of listening carefully to the counsel of prophets. Dangers lurk in the world, as 9/11 demonstrated. We must learn from the Jaredites what happens when people fail to heed prophetic counsel. When people become complacent and caught up in their own selfish interests, when they neglect family and neighbors, when they break covenants and family ties, the Spirit of the Lord withdraws, and they are left to suffer the results of their own pride and wickedness.

Our task is to show the Gentiles a better way and appeal to them in sufficient numbers to prevent the judgments of God from coming upon this land until we have given them every opportunity to partake. But in the long run, it appears that another Jaredite, Nephite, and Antediluvian tragedy is in the making. The Lord may have to intervene to rescue the righteous as He did in the past. This time, perhaps, it will be by His coming to usher in the Millennium, a thousand years of peace, when war will be no more, when the prophecies and the great work of that period will be fulfilled. Mortals do not know how far away that time period may be.

The signs of the times are clearly upon us. As the Saints of God, we must rise to our tallest spiritual stature as missionaries, emissaries, and models of right and decent living if we are to influence this nation to avoid the tragedies that took down previous civilizations on the land. Latter-day Saints can make a difference. We must make a difference. We now have sufficient numbers to affect for good the nations of the earth. That influence can only increase if we will be true to our covenants, to our way of life, to the God of heaven. He is depending on us to save the rest of His family, if they will receive His gospel. The simple key for Latter-day Saints is to follow the prophets, seers, and revelators who teach us the way to salvation. The events of the future will test the souls of the Saints. Exciting and thrilling days lie ahead as the hand of God is made manifest in the affairs of men.

Listen again to the warnings of the last two authors of the Book of Mormon record to us and the Gentiles of our day:

Turn, all ye Gentiles from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel. (3 Nephi 30:2)

And Moroni’s plea rings in our ears:

This cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God-that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. (Ether 2:11-12)

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, years ago, gave this warning, which still applies:

The word of the Lord is clear that those who do not keep the commandments and observe the laws of God shall be burned at the time of his coming. For that shall be a day of judgment and a day of sifting, a day of separating the good from the evil …

It will be a time of great and terrible fears, of cataclysmic upheavals of nature, of weeping and wailing, of repentance too late, and of crying out unto the Lord for mercy. But for those who in that judgment are found acceptable, it will be a day for thanksgiving, for the Lord shall come with his angels, and the apostles who were with him in Jerusalem, and those who have been resurrected. Further, the graves of the righteous will be opened and they shall come forth. Then will begin the great Millennium, a period of a thousand years when Satan shall be bound and the Lord shall reign over his people. Can you imagine the wonder and the beauty of that era when the adversary shall not have influence? Think of his pull upon you now and reflect on the peace of that time when you will be free from such influence.

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There will be quiet and goodness where now there is contention and evil …

Certainly there is no point in speculating concerning the day and the hour. Let us rather live each day so that if the Lord does come while we are yet upon the earth we shall be worthy of that change which will occur as in the twinkling of an eye and under which we shall be changed from mortal to immortal beings. And if we should die before he comes then – if our lives have conformed to his teachings – we shall arise in that resurrection morning and be partakers of the marvelous experiences designed for those who shall live and work with the Savior in that promised Millennium. We need not fear the day of his coming; the very purpose of the Church is to provide the incentive and the opportunity for us to conduct our lives in such a way that those who are members of the kingdom of God will become members of the kingdom of heaven when he establishes that kingdom on the earth. (“We Need Not Fear His Coming,” 82-83)