Mormon 5:16-19

Mormon informs us the Nephites had become so wicked, the Spirit of the Lord ceased to work with them. The Lord had warned us of this consequence. “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).

The brother of Jared had, at one time, lost the influence of the Spirit. “And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:15).

Mormon wrote to Moroni, “Pray for them, my son, that repentance may come unto them. But behold, I fear lest the Spirit hath ceased striving with them; and in this part of the land they are also seeking to put down all power and authority which cometh from God; and they are denying the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 8:28).

Without God, Christ, and the Spirit, the were “driven about as chaff from the wind” (Mormon 5:16).

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away” (Psalms 1:1-4).

“When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.

“And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

“Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

“Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me” (Hosea 39:1-4).

There was a time, Mormon lamented, when the people accepted Christ as their shepherd and were led by God. “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14).

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20).

“Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd” (Alma 5:38).

Instead, they are now led by Satan. “And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell” (2 Nephi 28:21).

They are like a boat being tossed in the water with no sail, anchor, or any way to steer their boat. They are lost.

“Even the most righteous saints may wander through the land for a while (see Jacob 7:26 and Alma 26:36), but a different sort of wandering (‘losing one’s way’ is the root meaning of the word) is even more dangerous. This is having lost one’s spiritual way. Many descendants of Laman and Lemuel (see Mormon 5:18) were lost in this sense. The way out is to have the word of Christ as guide, like a Liahona, to point ‘a straight course to eternal bliss’ and to show that man’s final destination is no spot in any earthly wilderness but the heavenly promised land (see Alma 37:44-45).”[1]

The blessing that had been reserved for his people will be given to the Gentiles who come to this land. “And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel” (3 Nephi 20:27).

“As to Mormon’s own people, the Lord has reserved their blessings, which they might have received in the land, for the Gentiles who shall possess the land (see Mormon 5:19). But they will have another chance, for ‘after they have been driven and scattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord remember the covenant’ (Mormon 5:20). Then it will be our turn to be concerned: ‘And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways?’ (Mormon 5:22).”[2]

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[1] Book of Mormon Imagery, Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute website.

[2] Chapter 21: Scriptural Perspectives on How to Survive the Calamities of the Last Days, The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute website.