Scriptural warnings about apostasy are addressed not only to those outside the covenant, but also to people who have received the light of the gospel. The purpose of these warnings is repentance, soberness, and humility. A warning should not be turned into a claim that every member of a modern institution shares the same spiritual condition.
The Gentiles: A Warning and a Conditional Promise
In 3 Nephi 16:10–15, Christ delivers a prophetic warning in the Father’s own voice, which He repeatedly states the Father commanded Him to say. This prophecy speaks of a future day when “the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel,” describing the superlative state of wickedness among them which follows. Moreover, the Father states that once this rejection occurs, He would bring the fulness of His Gospel from among them, and instead bring it unto the house of Israel.
This is followed by a promise that those among the wayward Gentiles who repent and return unto the Father may yet be numbered among His people, although it is coupled with a further warning that if they would not repent, they would be subject to obsolescence and even destruction or domination by the house of Israel. It should be noticed that the Father’s call for the Gentiles to “return unto me” in v. 13 could not be applied to those who never knew Him.
Mormon 8:35–41 similarly calls out pride, iniquity, spiritually polluted churches, neglect for the poor, and materialistic love of extravagance and opulence. Moroni specifically directs these warnings to future readers of his book: “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.” He warns of “secret abominations to get gain” which cause the mourning of widows and orphans, as well as innocent cries from the blood of their dead fathers and husbands unto the Lord for justice.
In the midst of Moroni’s rebuke to these hypocrites whom he views as ashamed to take on the name of Christ in favor of worldly praise, he asks, “why have ye polluted the holy church of God?” Hugh Nibley, among other scholars, has identified this as a reference to the latter-day Restored Church, explaining that “pollution is necessarily an inside job,” and asking, “why should the true Church be any more immune to the blandishments of money and fine clothes and beautiful churches today than it was in the days of the Nephites?” Nibley argues this warning was not directed toward either the primitive church, nor to the apostate churches already identified in vv. 32–33 who offer absolution in exchange for money, and who were guilty of altering “the holy word of God.”1
The Prophet Joseph Smith identified the Latter-day Saint people collectively with the Gentiles spoken of in scripture during the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple in 1836, saying, “… O Lord, we have spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments which thou hast given unto us, who are identified with the Gentiles.” It should be noted that the Saints’ status as Gentiles or Israelites was contingent upon their acceptance of and participation in the higher ordinances of the Fulness of the Gospel, which qualified them for membership in the house of Israel.2
Other revelations given through Joseph Smith likewise call covenant believers to account. Doctrine and Covenants 84:54–57 speaks of general condemnation due to unbelief and neglect of the Book of Mormon and former commandments, while D&C 112:24–26 identifies the latter-day judgments as coming first upon the Lord’s house, “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.”
These warnings should be sober reminders to all humble followers of Christ that there is no substitute for authentic discipleship and complete devotion to God. No amount of performative posturing or verbal profession can deceive a God who sees men’s hearts as they really are.3
Ephraim and the Danger of Divided Allegiance
Hosea 7:8–16 prophetically portrays Ephraim’s foolish mingling with foreign peoples and seeking external sources of aid without returning to the Lord. He warns that as a result of this, their “princes shall fall,” and they would be held in derision among the Gentile nations whom they had applied to for help.
Isaiah 28 provides an abject prophecy about the pride and the fading glory of Ephraim, set forth in a metaphor about drunkenness and spiritual stupor. Verse 7 specifically warns that “through strong drink [they] 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.” Verse 8 viscerally illustrates this shameful state of affairs: “all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.”
The following verses, when understood in their original Hebrew idiom, express the Lord’s exasperation with constantly having to speak to this people in euphemistic or childish gradualism, rather than being able to teach them knowledge and doctrine plainly.4 Verses 14–18 finally record an infamous prophecy about the leaders of this people, saying, “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves… your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”
D&C 133:30–34 identifies Ephraim as the Lord’s servants in the last days, to whom the lost ten tribes would return from the “north countries,” bearing “rich treasures” and being “crowned with glory” by the children of Ephraim. It is self-evident that Ephraim is here identified with the Restored Church, who would perform this work for the other tribes. It also establishes that at least some of the people of Ephraim would be worthy to carry out these sacred duties in fulfillment of divine prophecy.5
Revelation, Repentance, and Continuity
Fred C. Collier’s Book of Revelations and his Unpublished Revelations, Vol. 1 invite study of covenant responsibility alongside these scriptural warnings. Wilford Woodruff’s November 24, 1889 revelation directs the Presidency not to deny God’s word or law and to seek the Holy Spirit in its actions. Whether later institutional decisions honor this commandment is a question to be examined through the relevant revelations and historical record, as well as by humble prayer.6
Paul’s warning to Gentile believers in Romans 11:17–25 condemns boasting over others and reminds readers that we can all stand only by faith. The warnings above leave room for repentance and restoration. The same spirit should govern an inquiry into apostasy: humility, attention to what God has said, and willingness to return unto Him.7
Sources
- 3 Nephi 16:10–15; Mormon 8:35–41; compare 2 Nephi 28:26–32. Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1967), pp. 415–416. ↩
- Doctrine and Covenants 109:60. Fred C. Collier, Celestial Family Union and a Perfect Law of Theocracy, Doctrine of the Priesthood, Vol. 30 No. 7 (2013), pp. 43–46, on adoption into the family of Israel; see also its opening discussion of the higher Nauvoo Family Order. ↩
- Doctrine and Covenants 84:54–57; 112:24–26; 1 Samuel 16:7. ↩
- Avraham Gileadi, commentary on Isaiah 28, verses 9–13. ↩
- Hosea 7:8–16; Isaiah 28:1–18; Doctrine and Covenants 133:30–34. ↩
- James 1:5–6; Moroni 10:4–5; Doctrine and Covenants 9:8–9; 46:7–8; 50:17–24. Fred C. Collier, ed., Unpublished Revelations, Vol. 1, third edition, Part 118, pp. 411–415, especially 413, verses 4–9; Fred C. Collier, The Book of Revelations, covenant teachings. ↩
- Romans 11:17–25, King James Version. ↩
Read the related studies in Faithfulness to the Restored Gospel: Continuity, Change, and Apostasy.