50 Yea, thus saith the
Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at
hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power,
and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith:
Behold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven
shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men.
51 And also the Spirit
saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying: Go forth and
say unto this people—Repent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the
kingdom of heaven.
52 And again I say
unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree;
therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and
cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even an unquenchable
fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it.
53 And now my beloved
brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside
these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed
up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of
costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon
your riches?
54 Yea, will ye
persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist
in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after
the holy order of God, wherewith they have been brought into this church,
having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which
are meet for repentance—
55 Yea, and will you
persist in turning your backs upon the poor, and the needy, and in withholding
your substance from them?
56 And finally, all ye
that will persist in your wickedness, I say unto you that these are they who
shall be hewn down and cast into the fire except they speedily repent.
Alma told the people the Spirit commanded them to repent, “for
the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand” (Alma 5:50). At that time, the Son of
God will come in glory, majesty, power, and dominion.
“Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the
Lord mighty in battle” (Psalm 24:8).
“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth
wondrous things.
“And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the
whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen” (Psalm 72:18-19).
The King of all earth and heaven will soon come forth among
the children of man. “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst
of the earth” (Psalm 74:12).
“Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children
of Zion be joyful in their King” (Psalm 149:2).
If a tree does not bring good fruit, it will be cut down. “And
now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Luke 3:9).
It will then be cast into the fire. “For behold, after ye have been nourished
by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that
ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire” (Jacob 6:7).
This fire will be an unquenchable fire.
“But if [that church is] be not built upon my gospel, and is
built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto
you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh,
and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return.
“For their works do follow them, for it is because of their
works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told
you” (3 Nephi 27:11-12).
By laying aside the principles and ordinances of the gospel,
they “trample the Holy One under your feet. “For the things which some men
esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught
and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample
under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other
words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels” (1 Nephi
19:7).
Our leaders are called of God. The scriptures tell us, “What
I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the
heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be
fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the
same” (D&C 1:38).
Our leaders regularly counsel us on things which we need to know
from the Lord. He expects us to listen to their counsel. They are teaching us about
things He feels are essential to being a follower of Christ.
With that in mind, when we ignore what our leaders say, we
are, in effect, ignoring the Lord. In Nephi’s words, when we ignore our
leaders, we “men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but
I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the
voice of his counsels.”
The Nephites were once again giving in to the Nephite disease
– pride. They were puffed up in their hearts. “And ye are puffed up, and have
not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from
among you” (1 Corinthians 5:2). They wear costly apparel.
“Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become
corrupted.
“Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false
doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted
up; because of pride they are puffed up.
“They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they
rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and
the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up” (2 Nephi
28:11-13).
They have sought after the vain things of the world, like
their riches.
“Trust not in oppression [OR extortion], and become not vain
in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them” (Psalm 62:10).
“Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to
the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your
lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The
harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved” (D&C 56:16).
“Always be willing, even anxious, to help others. Nothing else you do will give you the same genuine satisfaction and joy within because, and I quote, ‘when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.’ (Mosiah 2:17.) Ignoring the needs of others is a serious sin. Think of the words of Alma to the people of the Church in Zarahemla. He asked: ‘Will ye … persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches? Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; …
“‘Yea, and will you persist in turning your backs upon the
poor, and the needy, and in withholding your substance from them?’ (Alma
5:53–55.)”[1]
“Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut
off the memory of them from the earth.
“Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but
persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart”
(Psalm 109:15-16).
“Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be
familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto
you” (Jacob 2:17).
“And thus they did obtain the sole management of the
government, insomuch that they did trample under their feet and smite and rend
and turn their backs upon the poor and the meek, and the humble followers of
God.
“And thus we see that they were in an awful state, and
ripening for an everlasting destruction” (Helaman 6:39-40).
[1] Running
Your Marathon, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, October 1989 General Conference.
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