When the Old Testament Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were on the brink of destruction, the Lord through His prophets described a condition wherein He would refuse to hear the prayers of the people.
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. (Isaiah 1:13-15)
This is upsetting because, when everything else in this world has failed us, we always count on being able to cry our distress unto God. But, you see, that is the point. God should be our FIRST resort, not our last.
One cannot ignore God and His commandments until we have gotten ourselves into a desperate mess and then expect Him to hear our prayers and solve the problem we have created. There is no use in calling upon the Lord if we have blood on our hands.
9 And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
(Jeremiah 11:9-12)
The people seem to want to just go about their daily lives doing as they please, ignoring the inconvenient words of the scriptures and the prophets.
It is important to note that, by so doing, they are not just sinning. They are breaking a covenant. These are the covenant people. The people of the book. The promises they have made to the Lord cannot just be ignored without triggering severe consequences. Their behaviors speak louder than their ceremonies.
31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
The covenants modern Latter-day Saints have made are not just ceremonial formalities one goes through in our culture at certain signposts of life (birth, baptism, mission, marriage). They are solemn promises made before God and witnesses.
We must internalize, through study and prayer, the teachings of the Gospel and externalize, through our behavior, our obedience to the covenants we have made. We must become new, Christ-like, open-hearted people.
We must not continue to worship the false gods of money, status, and materialism. We must no longer support people or parties who, in the name of power and gain, deprive people of food, shelter, health care, education, or family.
We must not allow evil men, using dark technologies, to manipulate us with fear. We must, at all times, actively demonstrate our abiding love for all of humanity with hope, faith, and charity.
Anything less than this, as in times past, will bring God’s condemnation upon us.
Source: Lesson 42; “I Will Write It in Their Hearts” Old Testament: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Just out of curiosity, what do you think about 3 Nephi 16:6-15?
Tiffany, I am not sure which issue from these verses you are referring me to. Overall I have two observations: 1. In these verses, depending upon the context, the U.S. members of the LDS Church can be seen as both the Gentiles (among whom the church was restored) and the House of Israel (who have the covenant, and the knowledge of the fullness of the Gospel). 2. The verse that really stands out for me is verse 10. I believe it is being fulfilled right now. (Note the similarity between “lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations” and “Make America Great Again”). My effort in this blog is to remind the Saints that we are not immune to “lyings, deceits, mischiefs, and hypocrisy” and that we should not be supporting the Trump party which is a major source of these evils. I agree with Hugh Nibley that “the righteous are the ones who are repenting.”