3 Nephi 1 – 2
I wonder if prejudice drove some of the argument that the words of Samuel had not come to pass and that the time had passed. Could it be that among all their general hard-heartedness many of the people were even more anxious that Samuel be wrong than others, like Nephi, because Samuel was a Lamanite?
After the sign of the Savior’s birth the civilized part of the people had almost uninterrupted peace save for their conflict with the anarchist Gadiantons for nearly four years. How ironic that even as the people refuse to believe in signs any more they reckon their time from when the sign of the Lord’s birth was given.
Those who revel in their sin and flaunt it to the rest of society and demand that we accept and sanction their sin will eventually harden in their sin until they openly seek the destruction of society (like the Gadiantons). Only those who repent of their wickedness and accept the norms of righteousness they have been fighting against – placing their sins back in the closet at least and in most cases choosing repentance – will be able to tolerate civilization. The hardest ones who will not bend will begin to openly seek to destroy society.
Leave a Reply