Thursday, April 16, 2020

2 Nephi 28:15-16


15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!
16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.

Who stands in danger before the Lord?  Those that pretend to preach but are wise, smart and teach false doctrine.  Solomon counseled, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil”  (Proverbs 3:5-7).

Mormon gives us an outstanding example of a man who fits this description.  Upon his death, Zeniff appointed his son, Noah, king.  We know nothing about him until after he was made king.  Mormon gives us this description, “For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart.  And he had many wives and concubines.  And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord.  Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness” (Mosiah 11:2).

In spite of his wickedness, he, along with his corrupt priests, would deny they were wicked and not following the Law of Moses when challenged by Abinadi.  We know this because, after fleeing the king, Alma1 wrote down his words.  Remember, they were addressed to Alma1 as well as the king and the other priests.  Only Alma1 took them to heart and repented.

Leaders like Noah perverted the way of the Lord.  What will be the consequences of their choices?  “[T]hey shall be thrust down to hell” (2 Nephi 28:15).

As Mormon ended his record of the Savior’s ministry among the Nephites, he wrote:

“And when ye shall see these sayings coming forth among you, then ye need not any longer spurn at the doings of the Lord, for the sword of his justice is in his right hand; and behold, at that day, if ye shall spurn at his doings he will cause that it shall soon overtake you.
“Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!
“Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation, or by prophecy, or by gifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power of the Holy Ghost!
“Yea, and wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ!” (3 Nephi 29:4-7).

Moroni2, as he finished his father’s book, wrote, “[W]ho can stand against the works of the Lord?  Who can deny his sayings?  Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord?  Who will despise the works of the Lord?  Who will despise the children of Christ?  Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish” (Mormon 9:26).

These false priests and church leaders will turn away the just, scorn against the good, and say these things are of no worth.  Ignore them, they say.  Malachi faced this with problem with the Jews.  “Ye have wearied the LORD with your words.  Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?  When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment” (Malachi 2:17).

When that day comes, the Lord will deal with the wicked.  They will be full ripe for destruction.  The Lord told the Brother of Jared,

“And [The Lord] had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when 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 cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.  “And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
“And 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” (Ether 2:8-11).

When does wicked become “fully ripe?”  Richard Draper explains.

“When iniquity ripens fully the cursings come. But what constitutes being ripe in iniquity? The Book of Mormon gives specific conditions: (1) when ‘the voice of this people should choose iniquity’ (Alma 10:19); (2) when the people ‘turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth’ (2 Nephi 28:16); (3) when they reject ‘every word of God’ (1 Nephi 17:35); and (4) ‘when [they] shall cast out the righteous from among [them], then shall [they] be ripe for destruction’ (Helaman 13:14).”[1]


[1] Hubris and AtÄ“: A Latter-day Warning from the Book of Mormon, Richard D. Draper, Maxwell Institute.

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