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In a recent post, an investigator who has been studying the doctrines and teachings of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC), questioned our very direct and uncompromising approach in calling out the specifics of the apostasy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the true doctrines, principles, and ordinances of the gospel that were restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. While this person apparently is starting to see the truth in the doctrines and principles that we teach, he or she wonders why we are so specific in targeting "solely" the LDS church for having departed from the same.

There may be others who might also be confused about how we carry out the Lord's charge to us to cry repentance to those in apostasy who otherwise should have been the Lord's covenant people. We therefore offer to you here the response given by Jeffrey G. Hanks, President of the TLC Quorum of 12, to this investigator's inquiry. Many people in latter-day restoration churches, and in particular the LDS church, have been conditioned to expect only soft, calm talk and "smooth things" (Isaiah 30:10) from their leaders, and now think that this is the only way God's servants are to speak. However, we invite you to momentarily lay aside your prejudices of what you have been taught to expect as rhetoric from a servant of the Lord, and to compare what President Hanks says here with what prophets of God in the scriptures have always said or done when called to cry repentance to the Lord's people gone into error.

Dear TLC,

I have been investigating your church. I do see logics [sic] in it. That is why I have continued my search of it. But I have come to a to a doctrine that has put me in question.

In reading the D&C, I have found a scripture that leaves me quite unsettled about continuing my investigation of the TLC. In D&C 18:20, it states, "Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil." I know that the church of the devil is not namely one particular church. That it is the acts of wickedness hearkened unto by Satan's temptations, such as fornication, drunkenness of wine, etc. and all things that are abominable before God. That if it were namely one particular church, all the others would be Christ's, and we know that is not so either.

But it is unsettling to see the TLC church contend against and attack solely the LDS church and I see the LDS church contend against and attack no church. The TLC web site is dedicated to bringing to fault the LDS church and picking apart their leaders. In 3 Nephi 11:29-30 it says that this sort is not the Lord's doctrine, one man against the other. How am I to continue my investigation of a church who does not follow the doctrines of God?

[Name deleted]

I believe the scriptures and Israel's history itself can answer your question. Let me ask you a question and let you consider the answer: Who was Isaiah crying out against for their rebellions against God? Who was Lehi crying out against for apostatizing from the truth? How about Jesus Christ himself? Who were the people who He so profoundly chastised and denounced as "vipers" and "wolves in sheep's clothing?" Let me help you out: All of the above mentioned Prophets were sent to rebuke and call to repentance an apostate Israel, God's true church that had fallen into apostasy. The LDS Church today has fallen into the same trap and scenario of apostasy that has occurred so many times in Israel's past. Today is no different. In fact, the Book of Mormon is full of prophecies that declare the apostasy that would take place in the latter days and delineates many parallels which show how it happens.

[Name deleted], if you really do more than just a surface study of the truth you will find that all the Holy Prophets denounced the apostates of their day. You said it yourself, "and I see the LDS church contend against and attack no church". It seems that the ones who are out of harmony and order with the scriptures and the Prophets are the Leaders of the LDS Church and their people, for THEY CALL NO ONE INTO ACCOUNTABILITY, nor do they recognize their own apostasy from the teachings of Joseph Smith and the basic elements of Zion. The LDS Church has rejected everything pertaining to Zion and the building up thereof, therefore, God today has sent Prophets again to warn them of their destructions and utter abolishment if they do not repent. That is what you are reading on our website. That is our calling and purpose. We are to gather out a remnant of Faithful from within the LDS Church who will overcome their pride and blindness and wake up to the great apostasy which grips modern Israel today. Are you also willing to put yourself and your current situation to a 'reality check'?

[Name deleted], go again and read your scriptures with a new understanding; see how nearly every Prophet in the scriptures warned the 'true church' of their day that they must be destroyed if they did not turn from their rebellions. I testify to you that we of the TLC have been called by God to make the same warning to modern Israel, the LDS Church. Mock not at this assignment that we have. In fact, I implore you to heed it very carefully, for your position and decisions regarding these important issues will set up how you will stand when the mighty destructions and judgments of an offended God descend upon the wicked.

I advise you to read some scriptures and contemplate them:

2nd Nephi 28
Mormon 8:35-41
Jeremiah 23:1-27
All of Isaiah
3rd Nephi 16:10-20
3rd Nephi 20 and 21
D&C 112: 23-26

Alma 4:19
Alma 12:9-11
Lecture 6 on Faith, by Joseph Smith

Ezekiel 8
Joseph's last dream, TPJS, page 393, also DHC 6:609-610,

See also Presidents Hanks' article on Joseph's last dream.

I could go on and on, but if you do not want to see the fact of Israel's apostasy today and the pride and vanity which motivates their actions, then what I declare to you will make no sense.

I advise you to re-read our pamphlets again without so much defensiveness and blindness spiritually. Only with a change of heart, will you be able to see what we are declaring. You see [Name deleted], we are calling out to the Elect to awaken. Only the Elect of God will see this truth and feel the need to follow it. The rest will go on their merry way to their destruction as has been done so many times in Israel's past. The same scenario is repeating today.

By the way, the LDS Church is the Church of the devil, in concert with all false ideologies which shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men and pervert the true ordinances and principles of God. This truly qualifies them as being part of Satan's great purpose to try to destroy the things of God on this earth. I have spoken the truth in these things and it is for you to judge your relationship to God and the truth of things in these very last days on the earth.

[Name deleted], may the Lord bless you in your studies and guide you to the fountain of truth.

Sincerely, as an Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ,

Jeff Hanks

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Scriptural References in President Hanks' Response:

 

2 Nephi Chapter 28:

1 And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass.
2 The things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which are a remnant of the House of Israel.
3 For it shall come to pass in that day, that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other, Behold, I, I am the Lord's; and the other shall say, I, I am the Lord's. And thus shall every one say, that hath built up the churches, and not unto the Lord;
4 and they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another; and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.
5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people, Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept: for behold, there is no God to-day, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men.
6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept: if they shall say there is a miracle wrought, by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles: he hath done his work.
7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say, eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
8 And there shall also be many which shall say, eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God, he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this. And do all these things, for to-mrrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the Kingdom of God.
9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false, and vain, and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark;
10 and the blood of the Saints shall cry from the ground against them.
11 Yea, they have ALL gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.
12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted; and their churches are lifted up; because of pride, they are puffed up.
13 They rob the poor, because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor, because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek, and the poor in heart; because in their pride, they are puffed up.
14 They wear stiff necks, and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray, save it be a few, which are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err, because they are taught by the precepts of men.
15 ¶ O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all they that preach false doctrines, and all they that commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord; wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell.
16 ¶ Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of nought and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth: for the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity, they shall perish.
17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations, they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.
18 But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth; and great must be the fall thereof:
19 for the kingdom of the Devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the Devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger and perish:
20 for behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good;
21 and others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say, All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well; and thus the Devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them, I am no Devil, for there is none: and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.
23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the Devil, and all that have been seized therewith, must stand before the Throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion.
25 Wo be unto him that crieth, All is well;
26 yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith, We have received, and we need no more.
28 And in fine, wo unto all they that tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God. For behold, he that is built upon the rock, receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation, trembleth, lest he shall fall.
29 ¶ Wo be unto him that shall say, We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough.
30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are they that hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom: for unto him that receiveth, I will give more; and them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
32 ¶ Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts: for notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me: for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

 

Mormon 8:35-41:

35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shewn you unto me, and I know your doing;

36 and I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none, save a few only, which do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substances, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and afflicted.

38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, which sell yourselves for that which will canker, WHY HAVE YE POLLUTED THE HOLY CHURCH OF GOD? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness, than that misery which never dies, BECAUSE OF THE PRAISE OF THE WORLD?

39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick, and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?

40 Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord; and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?

41 Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.

 

Jeremiah Chapter 23:1-27

1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.

10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

11 For BOTH PROPHET AND PRIEST ARE PROFANE; yea, IN MY HOUSE HAVE I FOUND THEIR WICKEDNESS, saith the LORD.

12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: IN THE LATTER DAYS YE SHALL CONSIDER IT PERFECTLY.

21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

22 BUT IF THEY HAD STOOD IN MY COUNSEL, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

 

3rd Nephi 16:10-20

10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you at that day, When the Gentiles shall sin against my Gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all these things, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them;
11 and then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my Gospel unto them;
12 and I will shew unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you, but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my Gospel.
13 But if the Gentiles will repent, and return unto me, saith the Father, behold, they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel;
14 and I will not suffer my people, which are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.
15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost his savour, which is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Thus has the Father commanded me, that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance.
17 And when the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which saith,
18 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
19 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
20 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.

 

3rd Nephi 20 and 21:

[3 Nephi Chapter 20]
1 ¶ And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.
2 And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet.
3 And it came to pass that he break bread again, and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat.
4 And when they had eat, he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.
5 And when they had given unto the multitude, he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.
6 Now there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;
7 but he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink;
8 and he saith unto them, He that eatheth this bread, eatheth of my body to their soul, and he that drinketh of this wine, drinketh of my blood to their soul, and their soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.
9 Now when the multitude had all eat and drank, behold they were filled with the spirit, and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they both saw and heard.
10 And it came to pass that when they had all given glory unto Jesus, he saith unto them, Behold now I finish the commandment which the Father hath commanded me concerning this people, which are a remnant of the house of Israel.
11 Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled: Behold they are written, ye have them before you; therefore search them.
12 And verily, verily I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled, then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people. O house of Israel,
13 and then shall the remnants which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east, and from the west, and from the south, and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.
14 And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance.
15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after that they have scattered my people,
16 then shall ye which are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them, which shall be many; and ye shall be among them, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
18 And I will gather my people together, as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor:
19 for I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoops brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he which doeth it.
20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, That the sword of my justice shalt hang over them at that day; and except they repent, it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your Father Jacob; and it shall be a new Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.
23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be cut off from among the people.
24 Verily, I say unto you, Yea; and all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.
25 And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying: Unto Abraham, and in thy seed, shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed:
26 the Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant.
27 And after that ye were blessed, then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed, unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles, shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel;
28 and they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my Gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me, I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.
29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people: and I have covenanted with them, that I would gather them together in mine own due time; that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers, for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.
30 ¶ And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them,
31 and they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
32 Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice; and with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye.
33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.
34 Then shall they break forth into joy-sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.
36 And then shall be brought to pass that which is writen: Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
37 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
38 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.
40 And then shall they say, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
41 And then shall a cry go forth, Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
42 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel shall be your rereward.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee; (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:)
45 so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
46 Verily, verily, I say unto you, All these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people, be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people: and it shall be the land of their inheritance.

[3 Nephi Chapter 21]
1 And verily, I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion.
2 And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign: for verily, I say unto you, That when these things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles, that they may know concerning this people which are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people which shall be scattered by them;
3 verily, verily, I say unto you, When these things shall be made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father from them unto you:
4 for it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel;
5 therefore, when these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter, shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed, which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity:
6 for thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the Gentiles, that he may shew forth his power unto the Gentiles, for this cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel;
7 and when these things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people which are of the house of Israel.
8 And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
9 For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvellous work among them; and there shall be among them which will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them.
10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the Devil.
11 Therefore it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not believe in my words, which am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said,) they shall be cut off from among my people which are of the covenant;
12 and my people which are a remnant of Jacob, shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.
14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles, except they repent: for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots,
15 and I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds;
16 and I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:
17 thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;
18 and I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.
19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.
20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day, whosoever will not repent and come unto my beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel;
21 and I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
22 (Chapter X.) But if they will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance,
23 and they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob; and also, as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem;
24 and then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, which are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.
25 And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst:
26 and then shall the work of the Father commence, at that day even when this Gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily, I say unto you, At that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.
27 Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name;
28 yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father, among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance.
29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight: for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rereward.

 

 

D&C 112:23-26:

23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.

24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;

26 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, saith the Lord.

 

Alma 4:19:

Aand this he did, that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness, and all the contentions which was among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them, save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

 

Alma 12:9-11:

9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying, It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command, that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word, which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him;
10 and therefore he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God, until they know them in full;
11 and he that will harden his heart, to him is given the lesser portion of the word, until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the Devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of Hell;

 

Ezekeiel Chapter 8:

1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.

8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

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