Moroni continues writing about the day when the Book of
Mormon came forth.
In that day, there will be pollutions all over the Earth.
The term “pollutions” is used to mean wickedness will be upon the land. This
has happened in the past. “Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the
people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and
polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem” (2
Chronicles 36:14).
“For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to
pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto
this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,
saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you” (Ezekiel 20:31).
“And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were
their brethren, of their sinful and polluted state, they were filled with pain
and anguish for the welfare of their souls” (Mosiah 25:11).
There will also be all manner of wickedness – murder,
thieves, lying and deception; in short, wickedness will be across the land. “And
thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the
Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my
gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations,
and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all
manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of
hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret
abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the
fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my
gospel from among them” (3 Nephi 16:10).
The people will, unknowingly, become followers of Nehor. “And
[Nehor] also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the
last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up
their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also
redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life” (Alma
1:4).
The devil will also “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).
“And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink,
and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little
sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a
pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for
tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a
few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 28:8).
Those who are lulled by these lies, with will enter into “the
gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity” (Mormon 8:31).
“Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
“For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and
in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:22-23).
“And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or
I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds
of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to
the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of
happiness” (Alma 41:11).
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath
made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians
5:1).
“And so the timely reminder to the Church is this: Do not ‘suppose
that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles … For . . . ye shall . . .
likewise perish; . . . ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly
destroyed’ (2 Nephi 30:1). The Church is in the same danger as the Gentiles: ‘Wo
be unto him that is at ease in Zion. Wo be unto him the crieth: All is well!’
(2 Nephi 28:24—25). Here we see how the label of Zion has been processed in a
smooth soft-sell by broadcasting: ‘All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth,
all is well . . . the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away
carefully down to hell’ (2 Nephi 28:21). That’s the business of advertising, to
cheat and lead carefully.”[1]
Churches will be established. Instead of teaching Christ’s
gospel, they will tell the people “for your money you shall be forgiven of your
sins” (Mormon 8:32).
“Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot
hear [JST bear] my word.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
“And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not” (John
8:43-45).
“And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of
what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and
ye are of his fold; and now” (Alma 5:39).
“The Book of Mormon gives two reasons that help account for
the corruption of the Bible. One is that plain and precious things will be lost
from the gospel before the Bible ‘goeth forth unto all the nations of the
Gentiles’(1 Nephi 13:29). Another reason, a more interesting one for our purposes,
is that after the Bible has gone forth, the ‘holy word of God’ will be ‘transfigured’
by the interpretation of men (Mormon 8:33). This transfiguration of the Bible
will take place during the time the Book of Mormon goes forth to Jews and
Gentiles (see Mormon 8:23–34).”[2]
[1] Prophetic
Book of Mormon – Chapter 22: Last Call: An Apocalyptic Warning from the Book of
Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute website.
[2] The
Problem of the Sermon on the Mount and 3 Nephi, A. Don Sorensen. FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 117–48.
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