The Book of Mormon did not come to us easily. Nephi hand made a set of plates out of gold (which he had mined and refined) and engraved the record of his people upon them (1 Nephi 19:1-6). He even made a duplicate set of plates, for a reason he did not know, because the Lord told him to. Nearly a thousand years later, in the midst of a disastrous civil war, Mormon and his son Moroni finished up the records and hid them in the hill Cumorah (Mormon 6:6).
Some fourteen hundred years after it was hidden, Moroni, appearing as an angel, showed Joseph Smith where the record was hidden. After many trials and much tribulation Joseph was eventually able to translate and publish the book.
Why were we given the book of Mormon?
Latter-day Saints are quite familiar with this history of how the Book of Mormon came to us. The important question is why. Why did the Lord direct multiple prophets, over thousands of years, to work so hard to provide this record for us?
Why do you think the Book of Mormon was given to us? Angels do not come on trivial errands, to deliver books for occasional light reading to people whom they do not really concern. The matter in the Book of Mormon was selected, as we are often reminded, with scrupulous care and with particular readers in mind. For some reason there has been chosen for our attention a story of how and why two previous civilizations on this continent were utterly destroyed.
Hugh Nibley
I am not trying to be dramatic here, but the fact is we were given the Book of Mormon to remind us to serve God so we won’t be destroyed. The book describes in detail how the Jaredites and the Nephites, both mighty nations with large populations, utterly destroyed themselves. The book also reminds us that we, the citizens of the great and powerful United States, are not immune to the same outcome.
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.
Ether 2:9
Is the danger close?
So, how close are we to destruction? Are we “ripened in inequity” yet? What are the signs? According to LDS scholar, Hugh Nibley, The Book of Mormon gives us three internal danger signals: “1. the accumulation of wealth, 2. the appearance on the scene of ambitious men, and 3. the presence in the society of ‘Secret combinations to get power and gain.'” (Nibley, CWHN 7:354-55).
What we read about in the Book of Mormon is the ‘Nephite Disease’—and we have it! . . . . It is the story of what happened to the Nephites—and we are the Nephites: ‘It must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old’ (D&C 38:39). There it is in a nutshell: it is the fate of the Nephites, not of the Lamanites, Greeks, or Chinese, that concerns us; and that doom was brought on them by pride which in turn was engendered by the riches of the earth.
Hugh Nibley
1. Accumulation of wealth
Prosperity is a natural result of righteous living. The test is whether one sets one’s heart upon one’s wealth (Alma 1:30). Lehi was a wealthy merchant living in comfort in Jerusalem. But when the Lord told him to pack up and take his family into the wilderness he did not hesitate.
The danger sign of wealth in America is the dramatic and increasing inequality between the super rich and everyone else. Inequality corrupts and degrades a society. Crime goes up, education goes down. Materialism goes up and happiness goes down. Sin increases among both the haves and the have-nots.
But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.
Doctrine and Covenants 49:20
2. Ambitious men
The ambitious men referred to here are the slick, sophisticated, manipulators of public opinion such as Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Bill O’Reilly, who tell people the lies they want to hear. Men like this are more interested in self-promotion than in anything else.
They are loud and brash because that gets attention. They are the type of people the Book of Mormon warns us against repeatedly – ambitious men who acquire power and gain by using flattering words to deceive the people.
3. Secret combinations
The late 1800s were known as “the Gilded Age.” It was the time of the dominion of the railroads and saw the birth of the big oil companies. The ruthless businessmen of the time, men such as Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt, were known as “robber barons” because of their ruthless business practices and enormous wealth.
These men often got ahead of their competition by forging secret deals with their suppliers and distributors, and by forming “combinations” (their term!) with like-minded partners to eliminate competition and dominate a given industry.
Of course these secret combinations grew into what we now call the modern corporation, whose sole purpose, as they freely admit, is to increase profits (power and gain, indeed!). These combinations now dominate every aspect of our lives — including what we used to think of as a government of, by, and for, the people.
What can be done?
Clearly, unbridled wealth, ambitious men, and secret combinations are all around us. If we hope to avoid the same fate as the Nephites, we need to change course as quickly as possible.
So, what can be done? The answer may surprise you. The Book of Mormon prescription for repeated bouts of Nephite Disease is an increase of charity toward others and consistent preaching of the Gospel.
The Book of Mormon is against violent remedies. It prescribes the gentlest of treatments—charity, accompanied by strong and steady doses of preaching of the gospel. The final analysis of Mormon and Moroni was that the fatal weakness of the Nephites was lack of charity. And whenever the worst epidemics of Nephite disease were brought under control and even stamped out, it was always through a marvelous display of charity and forbearance.
Hugh Nibley
In one, perhaps surprising, example of this, “the Lamanites actually cured a bad case of Gadianton infection” by hunting them down and preaching the word of God to them. (Nibley, CWHN 7:396-97)
And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.
Helaman 6:37
As we should expect, the solution to evil is charity, preaching the Gospel, and repentance. Let’s get busy.
Sources: Hugh Nibley, “Freemen and King-men in the Book of Mormon,” The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN 8:354.
Hugh Nibley, “Good People and Bad People,” Since Cumorah, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN 7:354-55.
Hugh Nibley, “Prophecy in the Book of Mormon,” Since Cumorah, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN 7:392-93.
Yet, the LDS community can’t put any distance between themselves and the Republican Party and Trump, as corrupt a combination as could be imagined.
So we have a vicious dictator wanabe in the WH. Trump is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, yet the Church’s media source maintains a hands off policy towards him. Why? I guess it’s because we LDS have to remain constantly “positive.” No nasty comments, no negatives. Well here’s my negative. The Deseret News has been AWOL in dealing with Trump, and the consequences in terms of lives lost and much more are enormous! So pardon me if I’m negative.
Prosperity is not always a result of righteous living. Sometimes medical problems or bad luck take their toll. Some righteous people just don’t have the knack of making and keeping money. But financial polarization and inequity such as our country has developed (3 top billionaires with more wealth than the lower HALF of the population) shows our greed and our danger. And the phenomenon of corrupt Trump confirms it. The Book of Mormon warnings apply!