"An Enemy Hath Done This": Part 11

The End of the World?

In the Parable of the Tares, we learn that "the end of the world" refers to the "destruction of the wicked" (Matt. 13:39, JST).

So the question that is naturally on everyone's mind is: 

   How are the wicked "destroyed?"

This is actually the flip-side of the question we have already addressed, which was "how are the wheat gathered?"

I suppose an easy way to finish this Post would be to just refer you to the example of the city of Ammonihah, whose inhabitants rejected the Lord's servants (Alma and Amulek), and burned the believing women and children on a pyre of scriptures, and cast the believing men out their city.

   But who wants to take the easy way?

"He Will Come Out Against You"

​Amulek warned the folks in Ammonihah (this was his hometown; these were his friends and family he was talking to):

   If ye will cast out the righteous
   from among you, then
   [notice the "if/then" structure,
   and notice the triggering clause]
   will not the Lord stay his hand;
   but in his fierce anger
   he will come out against you.

(Alma 10:23)

That's an awfully poetic way for Amulek to put it: "the Lord will come out against you."  But what does that actually mean?  How does the Lord "come out against" the wicked? Doesn't the Father send rain on the unjust as well as the just?

A couple of interesting events transpired to fulfill Amulek's words.  "And the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof" (Alma 14:27).

   Ooof.

Stay away from collapsing concrete, just a bit of friendly advice, as the wicked in 3 Nephi 8 learned when "many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate" (3 Nephi 8:14).

   Ouch.

But you probably want to skip to the gritty part; okay, okay, there's plenty of carnage to go around, I assure you.

   The people of Ammonihah
   were destroyed; yea,
   every living soul
   of the Ammonihahites
   was destroyed, and also
   their great city, which they said
   God could not destroy,
   because of its greatness.

(Alma 16:9)

Well, how specifically was the city destroyed?  I mean, it wasn't literally God smiting people, giving them all heart attacks or blasting them with lightning bolts, was it?

So while the scriptures ascribe judgment ultimately to God, someone else is doing the dirty work. 

Mormon solves this puzzle for us in a stunning declaration; read this verse twice:

   The judgments of God
   will overtake the wicked;
   and it is by the wicked
   that the wicked are punished.

(Mormon 4:5)

Ah, so we see it was the Lamanites who descended upon Ammonihah and slew the people, not God.  

God's judgment in this case was not dished out directly; after all, God has a heart full of blessings; He doesn't delight in destruction at all (see Moses 7).

But the wicked?  They love it; they love to play with matches and to behave badly.

Dwindle, Dwindle, Light Star

"But Tim," someone says, "is that all there is to it?  The wicked are going to blow each other up?  Go full-on-Mad-Max and annihilate civilization like the Jaredites?"

Good question; you see, 9 times out of 10 when we discuss the destruction of the wicked we're thinking of Second-Coming-level-fire-and-brimstone stuff; we're imagining apocalyptic-grade-glory nuking the sorry sons-of-balaam to ash.

​But listen, I'm not worried about that; no need to lose sleep over the earth being baptized with fire, because by then it will be too late to do anything about it. 

There's nothing we can do to change the coming eschatological exclamation point (!) that will finish this age of the world.  What concerns us in the here-and-now are the commas (,) that punctuate our lives and provide a space in which we can repent before the end of all things.  

Remember, there are more ways to destroy a people than just natural calamities and pestilence and famine and the sword.

After all, we're all going to give up the ghost soon enough ― we're lucky to get 100 years on this earth.  So death is already inevitable for us all.  What good is wiping us off the face of the earth when we're already at death's door?

No, no; put your armies and navies away for a moment; forget about blood and horror.  Instead, get out your False Priests who oppress.

Very good, now we're seeing the most effective way for the devil to "destroy" a people on both sides of the veil (that's the real prize) is to get them to "dwindle in unbelief."

Just think: isn't it surprising that the Book of Mormon sets up the entire narrative of the Nephite civilization in terms of "dwindling?"  There must be an important lesson for us to learn.

The angel said to Nephi:

   It is better that one man
   should perish than that
   a nation should dwindle
   and perish in unbelief.
   
​(1 Nephi 4:13)

What in the world was the angel trying to say here; how does a nation "dwindle" in unbelief? 

And more importantly, does "perish" refer to something more than just temporal death, but to a people's eternal condition?

Well, there's lots of "dwindling" in the Book of Mormon:

   1.  The Jews dwindled in unbelief (1 Nephi 10:11).

   2.  The Lamanites dwindled in unbelief (2 Nephi 26:15).

   3.  The Nephites dwindled in unbelief (3 Nephi 21:5).

   4.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has dwindled in unbelief . . . .

Wait.  Is that true?  Has the Church dwindled; is it dwindling?  

Notice that dwindling is always associated with . . . wait for it . . . unbelief.

Is there "unbelief" in the Church?  ​Well, didn't the Lord tell the early Saints that our "minds have been darkened because of unbelief" (D&C 84:54)?

Unbelief-able!

"Where's the Be[li]ef?"

The verb "to dwindle" means to diminish.  It could be in size, but it also refers to strength or amount.

In spiritual terms, "dwindling" refers to the gradual dimming of Christ's Spirit.

This is how Mormon described the way it happened among the Nephites in his day:

   Because of their unbelief
   and idolatry . . .
   [oh, that is interesting, to see how Mormon connects unbelief with idolatry; do we have a problem with idolatry?  Is there a golden calf in our LDS tent today, to wit: the veneration and elevation of the prophet and the temple above all else?]
   the Spirit of the Lord
   hath already ceased
   to strive with their fathers;
   and they are without Christ
   and God in the world;
   and they are driven about
   as chaff before the wind.

(Mormon 5:15-16)

So that, my friends, is how to destroy a people:

   Unbelief + idalotry = Without Christ

But just because a people "dwindle" and are "destroyed" doesn't mean they have to perish for all eternity, not yet! 

   There's hope.

What is the Solution?

As Clark Burt likes to say, we have to offer people "the remedy."  So I can't end the post without providing a solution.

How can we avoid perishing?  Nephi tells us:

   The words of the righteous
   shall be written, and the prayers
   of the faithful shall be heard,
   and all those who have dwindled
   in unbelief shall not be forgotten.

   For those who shall be destroyed
   shall speak unto them
   out of the ground.

(2 Nephi 26:15-16)

See the promise of restoration and redemption?  Christ is revealed through "the words of the righteous."

   The word of the Lord is truth; 
   Whatsoever is truth is light, 
   Whatsoever is light is spirit, 
   Even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

(D&C 84:45)

So by connecting the dots we learn, "His words are Him!"

   1.  Christ invites us to "partake of his salvation," which He "hath given it free for all men" (2 Nephi 26:27).  * Pay 10% tithing*

   2.  Christ seeks to "persuade all men to repentance" (2 Nephi 26:27).  *Follow the prophet*

   3.  Christ wants us to "partake of his goodness," which is offered to everyone; "none are forbidden" (2 Nephi 26:28).  *Hold a current temple recommend* 

   4.  In light of these truths (#1-3), Nephi transitions to Christ's commandment "that there shall be no priestcrafts" (2 Nephi 26:29).  *No recommend for you if you don't pay us tithing*

   5.  The fullest expression of Christ's Spirit is manifest in love.  "All men should have charity, which charity is love" (2 Nephi 26:30).  *Stay on the Covenant Path and you'll be fine*