How would you like to know what to expect prior to the second coming? If the Lord were
to give you a document that would help you know what types of things would happen, would
you want to read it? Of course! And the Lord actually has given us such a document – the
Book of Mormon. President Ezra Taft Benson taught, “The
record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior’s visit reveals many parallels
to our own day as we anticipate the Savior’s second coming.” Let’s take a look at two
possible patterns we see in the Book of Mormon and reflect on how they might apply to us
today. In 3rd Nephi 1, we find a chilling situation.
We read, “there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in
those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been
given by the prophet Samuel.” If you’re familiar with the Book of Mormon,
you probably don’t think a lot about this verse, because you know how things are going
to turn out. But, stop and notice for a moment what is going on. A group of people are about
to be put to death because of their belief in Jesus Christ. Didn’t the Nephites have
some sort of freedom of religion? Actually, they did, at least at one point in time.
My colleague, Dr. Jan Martin, pointed out that if we go back in time to Alma 30, about
75 years before 3rd Nephi 1, we learn that “there was no law against a man’s belief.”
Wow. What a change in 75 years. They went from no law against a man’s belief to you
can be put to death because of your beliefs. That is a scary loss of religious freedom
in a relatively short period of time. Because Mormon could only include less than
1 percent of Nephite history, we don’t exactly know what occurred in Nephite society that
led to the erosion of religious liberties. But we do know that in our day there are several
new threats to religious freedom. Many of our Church leaders have given important talks
on this subject in recent years. For example, President Dallin H. Oaks recently
said, “teachings and free practice of religion are essential to a free and prosperous society;
I also maintain that religious values and political realities are so inter-linked in
the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of religion
and religious bodies in our public life without seriously jeopardizing our freedom and prosperity.”
We can all learn more about the importance of religious freedom and what we can do to
maintain this vital liberty by searching the term “religious freedom” at churchofjesuschrist.org.
Let’s look at another potential parallel between the decades prior to the Savior’s
visit to the Nephites and our own as we anticipate the second coming.
In 3rd Nephi 6, we read that “the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according
to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty,
and others did receive great learning because of their riches … and thus there became
a great inequality in all the land.” It’s interesting to note that one of the
major challenges these people faced was an inequality of both wealth and educational
opportunities. We face a similar situation in our day. What shall we do about it?
I love these words from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He said, “I don’t know exactly how each
of you should fulfill your obligation to those who do not or cannot always help themselves.
But I know that God knows, and He will help you and guide you in compassionate acts of
discipleship if you are conscientiously wanting and praying and looking for ways to keep a
commandment He has given us again and again. Will you and I take Elder Holland’s invitation
for each of us to pray and ask Heavenly Father what we should personally do to address the
inequalities we see in the world today? We can receive personal revelation and acting
on the revelation we receive will bless our lives as well as the lives of many others.
As we prepare for the Savior’s second coming, let us study the Book of Mormon and look for
important patterns. I hope that we will all prayerfully ponder the importance of maintaining
religious liberties and decreasing the inequalities in the world.
We can each play an important role in preparing for the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.