NOTE: the prophecies of the apostasy of Latter-day Israel are far more numerous that what has been selected for inclusion here. In particular, the prophetic books of the Old Testament and especially the book of Isaiah contain many predictions of the Lord’s great displeasure at Israel for her apostasy in a time frame that must be considered to be the last days. Indeed, should not a great portion of these prophetic books be dedicated to describing very last days events?
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. (JST Isaiah 1:2-15)
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways.
6 Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto the soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
9 And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not; therefore forgive them not.
10 O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide ye in the dust; for the fear of the Lord and his majesty shall smite thee. (JST Isaiah 2:5-10)
1 For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole staff of bread, and the whole stay of water,
2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counseller, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
4 And I will give children unto them to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, and shall say, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let not this ruin come under thy hand;
7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house there is neither bread nor clothing; make me not a ruler of the people.
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongues and their doings have been against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
9 The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and doth declare their sin to be even as Sodom, they cannot hide it. Woe unto their souls! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
10 Say unto the righteous, that it is well with them; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe unto the wicked! for they shall perish; for the reward of their hands shall be upon them.
12 And as for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they who lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof; for ye have eaten up the vineyard; and the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What mean ye? ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor, saith the Lord God of hosts.
16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
17 Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of tinkling ornaments, and cauls, and round tires like the moon,
19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
21 The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent: and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; burning instead of beauty.
25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate, and shall sit upon the ground. (JST Isaiah 3:1-26)
1 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely to them that are escaped of Israel. (JST Isaiah 4:1)
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes.
5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard; I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down;
6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
* * *
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto the wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto the mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. (JST Isaiah 5:3-7, 18-25)
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows; for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: (JST Isaiah 9:14-20)
5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (JST Isaiah 10:5-6)
1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. (JST Isaiah 24:1-6)
17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. (JST Isaiah 26:17-18)
1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. (JST Is. 28:1-8)
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. (JST Isaiah 30:9-14)
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. (JST Isaiah 56:9-12)
1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. (JST Isaiah 58:1-4)
26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds, so [are] their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? (Jeremiah 5:26-29, 31)
12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 6:12-15)
13 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them. (Jeremiah 9:13-16)
14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of naught, and the deceit of their heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them. (Jeremiah 14:14-16)
1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:1-4)
11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.
12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:11-12)
14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.
16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. (Jeremiah 23:14-22)
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I [am] against you, saith the Lord GOD.
9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace. . . (Ezekiel 13:2-10)
9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have not deceived that prophet; therefore I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (JST Ezekiel 14:9)
10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 14:10-11)
1 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds;
2 Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up [that which was] broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and [in] a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 34:1-15)
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. (Hosea 4:1-9)
And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (1 Nephi 11:35)
And again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel. (1 Nephi 21:1)
29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.
30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love, and except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
31 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish. (2 Nephi 26:29-31)
4 For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.
5 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity. (2 Nephi 27:4-5)
21 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.
24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!
25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! (2 Nephi 28:21, 24-25)
Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts. (2nd Nephi 28:32)
10 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.
11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. (3 Nephi 16:10-11)
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?
40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?
41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer. (Mormon 8:22-23, 35-41)
28 And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel;
29 But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men. (D&C 45: 28-29)
And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God; (D&C 85:7)
39 When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men;
40 They are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that salt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is thenceforth good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. (D&C 101:38-39)
46 Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them, and planted the olive-trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower.
47 And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?
48 And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?
49 Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things.
50 And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.
51 And the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge; and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive-trees. (D&C 101:46-51)
23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.
24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
26 First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord. (D&C 112:23-26)
7 Questions by Elias Higbee: What is meant by the command in Isaiah, 52d chapter, 1st verse, which saith: Put on thy strength, O Zion—and what people had Isaiah reference to?
8 He had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost. (D&C 113:7-8)
If any man preach any other Gospel than that which I have preached, he shall be cursed; and some of you who now hear me shall see it, and now that I testify the truth concerning them. (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p.p 366-367)
APOSTASY OF THE CHURCH
There’s no need to point fingers at any church that has existed or which currently exists or which will yet exist other than to show the pattern of apostasy.
If there is one constant up to including the end of the millennium, it is the backsliding of the church. We can with certainty expect that in only a few short generations at best, what was once a growing thriving people who have been blessed by the hand of God will, with time, devolve into darkness and rebellion in the pre-millenial church. It is how God prunes His vineyard separating the wheat from the chaff as regularly as the spring planting and fall harvest cycles. It is how we are tested to see if we have made the determination to love God above all else.
I’d suppose that the first instinct then would be to avoid church gatherings altogether and stay clear of any potential conflict, but that is not what God had in mind when He said:
“And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;
Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked” -D&C 29:7-8
There’s a reason why God puts us here and commands us to gather with other people who don’t always see eye to eye.
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” -Proverbs 27:17
Even if God chooses to drop us behind enemy lines like a paratrooper, we must always remember His word to us.
THE UNCHANGEABLE ORDINANCES
“Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles.” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 308—also quoted in the LDS Ensign magazine, August 2001, p. 22)
“I never told you I was perfect—but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught.” (Joseph Smith, “Thomas Bullock Report”, May 12, 1844, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 369)
“You never can find that Prophets and Apostles clashed in their doctrines in ancient days: neither will they now, if all would at all times be led by the Spirit of salvation.” (Brigham Young, October 7, 1857, Journal of Discourses 5:329)
“I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call Scripture. Let me have the privilege of correcting a sermon, and it is as good Scripture as they deserve. The people have the oracles of God continually. In the days of Joseph, revelation was given and written, and the people were driven from city to city and place to place, until we were led into these mountains. Let this go to the people with “Thus saith the Lord,” and if they do not obey it, you will see the chastening hand of the Lord upon them.” (Brigham Young, January 2, 1870, Journal of Discourses, 13:87)
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17)
The laws of salvation and exaltation pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ are eternal. The principles required for the exaltation of a man upon the earth 6,000 years ago are the same principles that are required today. God is an unchangeable being, and is no respecter of persons—every man must obey the same laws, and keep the same commandments to achieve exaltation, no matter what his personal opinions or disposition. These fundamental doctrines, ordinances, and laws for the salvation and exaltation of mankind were set forth by the Prophet of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, Joseph Smith. He taught these to the main body of the Church, as well as to his intimate “friends” as he called them, in the inner circle of the leadership of the Church.
We may learn much by observing the course of religious history about man’s attempts to learn “by his own experience” to distinguish good from evil, to progress, and to perfect his character as he works out his salvation and exaltation. We see that the unfolding of events in the many periods of religious history of this earth is quite consistent as it pertains to man’s inability to preserve God’s laws intact over time. One of the unfortunate and invariable realities of man’s existence is that man in his own weakness and self-will always changes eternal principles, doctrines, and ordinances to suit his own views of what is correct, and not according to the views of God.
LDS General Authority, H. Verlan Anderson, was well aware of this fact when he stated:
Religious history testifies that, with the single exception of the inhabitants of the City of Enoch, no people to whom the gospel has been given have remained faithful to their covenants for more than a few generations. Time after time the Lord has established His church among a group who have lived His commandments for a few years and then fallen away, thus bringing upon themselves His judgments. This cycle of human folly which so many prophets have noted, has repeated itself with such consistent regularity that any group which finds itself to be favored recipients of the gospel would do well to assume that their apostasy is certain, and the only question about it is how long it will take. (H. Verlan Anderson, The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil, p. 161)
Also sobering is Brother Anderson’s affirmation that members of the LDS Church are associated with the “Gentiles.” This makes the prophecies of latter-day Gentile apostasy, so prevalent in the Book of Mormon, all the more applicable to modern-day Israel, or the LDS Church:
If [LDS] Church members from Gentile nations [which includes the USA, see First Nephi 13:15-17] will bear in mind that the term “Gentile” when used in the Book of Mormon includes them, the prophecies therein will have much greater meaning and be more disturbing. (H. Verlan Anderson, The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil, p.164)
In the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer, which was given by revelation, Joseph Smith himself made it clear that the term “Gentiles” includes the members of the LDS Church:
Now these words, O Lord, we have spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments which thou hast given unto us, who are identified with the Gentiles. (D&C 109:60)
The prophet Nephi tells us that the Gentiles did stumble many times because the “great and abominable church” had removed from the gospel many “plain and precious things” which were “plain to the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the lamb of God:”
28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.
29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. (1 Nephi 13:28-29)
In the LDS Church, the above is construed to refer to the abandonment and alteration of principles, doctrines, and ordinances from the Lord’s Church at the time of Christ as evidenced in the secular religions of the day. This is correct, but true to the form of this ongoing pattern of the ways of the “natural man,” the exact same phenomenon has clearly occurred within the LDS Church between the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and up to the present time. The Holy Scriptures are subject to multiple levels of understanding and application, and the above passage has again been fulfilled within the last one hundred or so years in the LDS Church. Indeed, the LDS Church stumbles greatly because of a lack of understanding and from rejecting many “plain and precious things” of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ which have been removed or altered from what was revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Every essential Zion-building principle that Joseph Smith established has been changed, omitted, or altered in some way by the LDS Church from divinely inspired origins. Thus, the people of Latter-day Israel do indeed now “stumble,” with Satan gaining “great power over them.” The most insidious aspect of this is that people never are aware that they have fallen into Satan’s traps of blindness, apathy, more popular false doctrines, and friendship with the world more than love of God.
Present-day LDS teachings are clearly at variance with the principles espoused by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and their contemporaries in the former-day LDS Church. Were Joseph and Brigham mistaken in their plain, clear teachings? If they were not mistaken, then the LDS Church is clearly in apostasy, since the present-day LDS leaders reject the former doctrines and ordinances, and resort to apologetics to account for the present-day views. But on the other hand if Joseph Smith himself and Brigham Young could be so mistaken in the first place on so many essential points of doctrine and correct forms of ordinances, then there is no foundation for the present-day LDS leadership, and no reason to suppose that they would be more inspired than Joseph Smith.
APOSTASY OF THE CHURCH There’s no need to
point fingers at any church that has existed or which currently exists or which
will yet exist other than to show the pattern of apostasy. If there is one
constant up to including the end of the millennium, it is the backsliding of
the church. We can with certainty expect that in only a few short generations
at best, what was once a growing thriving people who have been blessed by the
hand of God will, with time, devolve into darkness and rebellion in the
premillenial church. It is how God prunes His vineyard separating the wheat
from the chaff as regularly as the spring planting and fall harvest cycles. It
is how we are tested to see if we have made the determination to love God above
all else. I’d suppose that the
first instinct then would be to avoid church gatherings altogether and stay
clear of any potential conflict, but that is not what God had in mind when He
said: “And ye are
called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my
voice and harden not their hearts;Wherefore the decree
hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place
upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all
things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the
wicked” -D&C 29:7-8 There’s a reason why
God puts us here and commands us to gather with other people who don’t always
see eye to eye. “Iron sharpeneth
iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” -Proverbs 27:17Even if God chooses to
drop us behind enemy lines like a paratrooper, we must always remember His word
to us. THE UNCHANGEABLE
ORDINANCES “Ordinances instituted
in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the
salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the
same principles.” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.
308—also quoted in the LDS Ensign magazine, August 2001, p. 22) “I never told you I
was perfect—but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught.”
(Joseph Smith, “Thomas Bullock Report”, May 12, 1844, The Words of Joseph
Smith, p. 369) “You never can find
that Prophets and Apostles clashed in their doctrines in ancient days: neither
will they now, if all would at all times be led by the Spirit of salvation.”
(Brigham Young, October 7, 1857, Journal of Discourses 5:329) “I have never yet
preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not
call Scripture. Let me have the privilege of correcting a sermon, and it is as
good Scripture as they deserve. The people have the oracles of God continually.
In the days of Joseph, revelation was given and written, and the people were
driven from city to city and place to place, until we were led into these
mountains. Let this go to the people with “Thus saith the Lord,” and if they do
not obey it, you will see the chastening hand of the Lord upon them.” (Brigham
Young, January 2, 1870, Journal of Discourses, 13:87) “But be ye doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22) “If any man will do
his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself.” (John 7:17) The laws of salvation
and exaltation pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ are eternal. The
principles required for the exaltation of a man upon the earth 6,000 years ago
are the same principles that are required today. God is an unchangeable being,
and is no respecter of persons—every man must obey the same laws, and keep the
same commandments to achieve exaltation, no matter what his personal opinions
or disposition. These fundamental doctrines, ordinances, and laws for the
salvation and exaltation of mankind were set forth by the Prophet of the
Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, Joseph Smith. He taught these to the
main body of the Church, as well as to his intimate “friends” as he called
them, in the inner circle of the leadership of the Church. We may learn much by
observing the course of religious history about man’s attempts to learn “by his
own experience” to distinguish good from evil, to progress, and to perfect his
character as he works out his salvation and exaltation. We see that the
unfolding of events in the many periods of religious history of this earth is
quite consistent as it pertains to man’s inability to preserve God’s laws
intact over time. One of the unfortunate and invariable realities of man’s
existence is that man in his own weakness and self-will always changes eternal
principles, doctrines, and ordinances to suit his own views of what is correct,
and not according to the views of God. LDS General Authority,
H. Verlan Anderson, was well aware of this fact when he stated:Religious history
testifies that, with the single exception of the inhabitants of the City of
Enoch, no people to whom the gospel has been given have remained faithful to
their covenants for more than a few generations. Time after time the Lord has
established His church among a group who have lived His commandments for a few
years and then fallen away, thus bringing upon themselves His judgments. This
cycle of human folly which so many prophets have noted, has repeated itself
with such consistent regularity that any group which finds itself to be favored
recipients of the gospel would do well to assume that their apostasy is
certain, and the only question about it is how long it will take. (H. Verlan
Anderson, The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil, p. 161) Also sobering is
Brother Anderson’s affirmation that members of the LDS Church are associated
with the “Gentiles.” This makes the prophecies of latter-day Gentile apostasy, so
prevalent in the Book of Mormon, all the more applicable to modern-day Israel,
or the LDS Church: If [LDS] Church
members from Gentile nations [which includes the USA, see First Nephi 13:15-17]
will bear in mind that the term “Gentile” when used in the Book of Mormon
includes them, the prophecies therein will have much greater meaning and be
more disturbing. (H. Verlan Anderson, The Great and Abominable Church of the
Devil, p.164) In the Kirtland Temple
dedicatory prayer, which was given by revelation, Joseph Smith himself made it
clear that the term “Gentiles” includes the members of the LDS Church: Now these words, O
Lord, we have spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments
which thou hast given unto us, who are identified with the Gentiles. (D&C
109:60) The prophet Nephi
tells us that the Gentiles did stumble many times because the “great and
abominable church” had removed from the gospel many “plain and precious things”
which were “plain to the understanding of the children of men, according to the
plainness which is in the lamb of God:” 28 Wherefore, thou
seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and
abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away
from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.29 And after these
plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations
of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles,
yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which
have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and
precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto
the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is
in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the
gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that
Satan hath great power over them. (1 Nephi 13:28-29) In the LDS Church, the
above is construed to refer to the abandonment and alteration of principles,
doctrines, and ordinances from the Lord’s Church at the time of Christ as
evidenced in the secular religions of the day. This is correct, but true to the
form of this ongoing pattern of the ways of the “natural man,” the exact same
phenomenon has clearly occurred within the LDS Church between the days of
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and up to the present time. The Holy Scriptures
are subject to multiple levels of understanding and application, and the above
passage has again been fulfilled within the last one hundred or so years in the
LDS Church. Indeed, the LDS Church stumbles greatly because of a lack of
understanding and from rejecting many “plain and precious things” of the
Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ which have been removed or altered from what
was revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.Every essential
Zion-building principle that Joseph Smith established has been changed,
omitted, or altered in some way by the LDS Church from divinely inspired
origins. Thus, the people of Latter-day Israel do indeed now “stumble,” with
Satan gaining “great power over them.” The most insidious aspect of this is
that people never are aware that they have fallen into Satan’s traps of
blindness, apathy, more popular false doctrines, and friendship with the world
more than love of God. Present-day LDS
teachings are clearly at variance with the principles espoused by Joseph Smith,
Brigham Young, and their contemporaries in the former-day LDS Church. Were
Joseph and Brigham mistaken in their plain, clear teachings? If they were not
mistaken, then the LDS Church is clearly in apostasy, since the present-day LDS
leaders reject the former doctrines and ordinances, and resort to apologetics
to account for the present-day views. But on the other hand if Joseph Smith
himself and Brigham Young could be so mistaken in the first place on so many
essential points of doctrine and correct forms of ordinances, then there is no
foundation for the present-day LDS leadership, and no reason to suppose that
they would be more inspired than Joseph Smith.